MAORIS MUST PAY RATES, SAYS MR LANGSTONE

Northern Advocate, 24 March 1937, Page 7

MAORIS MUST PAY RATES, SAYS MR LANGSTONE

Hint Of Grants For Affected y Counties C Special to "Northern Advocate ”l GiSBORNE, This Day. “Where a native can pay, he will have to, and I have warned them V that they will be forced to do so,” said the Minister of Lands, the Hon. F. Langstone, after receiving representations from East Coast local bodies pointing out the serious position which had arisen from the non-colleetlon of native I' rates, " ’•' - ’ Mr, D. W. Williams, the chairman, said that since 1930 when all native rates had been wiped off, £30,000 in arrears had accumulated. The council sought assistance in forcing collection where land was practically fully developed and was, producing, and also asked that if native land was treated -in a different way from European, the responsibility should be a national one, and local bodies affected be compensated by increased subsidies. ■ “The Maori is being shown that he cannot continue to side-step the issue. The Department agrees that the Maori should be protected from injustice,” . Mr. Langstone said in reply, “Scrounging On Others” “If the Maoris do not pay thbir rates, they are scrounging on others, who do, for they are using the roads. I have told the Maoris that it is their duty to pay their share % In Matakaroa County, the administrator obtained a receivership over one or two properties, influencing others to make rate payments, so that 52 per cent of Native rates had beep collected. Mr, Langstone said that he had conferred with the Minister of Public Works regarding increased assistance for those counties affected by the Native rating problem. It seemed certain that the Government would have to come into the breach, and when local bodies applied for grants, the Public Works Department would be seized of the importance of the, condition in certain counties. j The secretary of the Waiapu Hos- j pital Board, Mr. J. Todd, said that the 1 Maori "was not meeting his share of the hospital bill. Collection from pa"keha patients was about 40 per cent and from Maoris 11 percent. Mr Langstone undertook to place this aspect of the problem before the Minister of Health.