THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1890.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8373, 29 September 1890, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1890.

The annual "Reports from Officers in Native Districts" used to be very eagerly read when the question they dealt with was, whether there was to be peace or war. In these reports we were told whether this or that chief had lately shown himself loyal to the Queen, or was disposed to throw in his lot with the King party. The speeches delivered at native meetings were carefully analysed, and the precise meanings of emphatic words discussed. All that has passed away. A generation is rising up which finds it difficult to believe that the people of Auckland once upon a time spent uneasy days and nights, fearing that the city might be assaulted by an army of savages. The reports from the officers in native districts are now read only by those who take an interest in the social condition of the natives, to see how far they are maintaining their numbers, if they are making progress towards industry, and if they are becoming sober. There is, however, one report in the Parliamentary Papers recently issued, which contains matter of importance closely affecting ourselves. We refer to the report of Mr. G.T. Wilkinson, the native agent at Otorohanga, who, besides dealing with such subjects as the health and social condition of the natives, temperance, and industry, narrates what is being done in the important matter of acquiring land for settlement in the district through which the colony has made a railway.

Scarcely any subject can be of more importance to New Zealand than this. The colony can only master the difficulties it has to encounter in one way, and that is by the progress of settlement. There is absolutely no other method that we can rely upon. It is matter for regret, seeing how protracted a business this acquiring of the land has been, that the railway was constructed at all beyond Te Awamutu, but that has now been done, and all that we can do now is to purchase the land as quickly as possible, and make it available for settlement. The Land Court lias been sitting for some considerable time at Otorohunga, and from July, 1886, to June, 1890, it has adjudicated upon 1,000,000 acres, represented by 13G separate blocks. The present state of the law is unfavourable to quick dispatch of business. Formerly, ten grantees were put in a block, as representing a division of a tribe, and a purchaser had only to deal with these ten. Now, however, the law enjoins that the Court shall put in the certificate of title the name of every person who has a claim. In one block in the King Country there are 991 owners, another has 523, four have over 300 owners, six have over 200 owners, and so on. A separate negotiation must be made with each of these owners, and 111 the case of minors, of whom there are many, the difficulty is greatly increased. It must be remembered, too, that the Rohepotae block was not put through the Court with the intention of selling. The object of the owners was rather to keep out outsiders. The negotiations for purchase on the part of the Government were commenced somewhat more than a year ago, and Mr. Wilkinson has to report that but little progress has been made. The offer of the Government is 3s Gd and 5s per acre (according to quality and position of the land), with ten per cent, out of each block returned as reserves. This has not proved tempting, but it is a good price, and the Government could not safely go any higher. The purchases being conducted as they are, the Government may buy up many interests in a block and have to wait for years before they obtain as many of the adjoining owners as will eive them an area fit to open for settlement. For all that we can see they may have to lie out of their money in some instances for twenty years. There are other causes which have prevented the land from being acquired. The natives have made money lately by the sale of flax and by cutting flax and by the sale of rabbit skins, they have also imbibed an idea that if the restriction proclamation were taken off, they would get better prices from private purchasers, and therefore they hold on. They have also taken to sheep lately, and think they will thus be able to keep themselves in cash. This speculation, however, is not likely to be successful, owing to the half-starved dogs and pigs which abound in the King country.

The policy of land purchase pursued is, we believe, that when a native is willing to sell, the native agent concludes a bargain with him. No statement is made of how many acres the Government have bought, and from what is said we are led to infer that the purchases have been very small. At the pace in which things are going, the present generation will not see the country alongside the railway settled. This is a most melancholy outlook. Nothing is to bo gained by stirring up Ministers. The reply will simply be, "We purchase whenever a native offers to sell." Every native whose name is in a Crown grant must be dealt with separately, and if there are 991 (as in

one case,), the interests must ail be acquired one by one. We think it is matter for very serious consideration whether the Government should not withdraw the proclamation, and allow private purchases, simply following the rale of seeing to it that the natives have ample reserves. The natives would no doubt be tempted by higher prices, because private purchasers would only buy thegood land, which they would at once occupy and cultivate. There is at present no great anxiety to buy native land, but it must be remembered that a railway is running clean through the country, giving the settlers easy access to the townships of Waikato and to Auckland. The Government might still purchase whenever it had an opportunity. Private purchasers would bring influences to bear on sections of the natives with whom the Government can do nothing, and who have a dislike to have dealings with the Government. The Hon. Mi-. Mitchelson, who is Minister of Native Affairs, is to be in Auckland soon, and it would be well if he gave some explanation of how the Government mean to proceed. The subject is of great importance to Auckland and to the colony, and it is only natural that the people of this district should be desirous to have that large territory, upon which the Government have spent so large a sum of money, opened for settlement. But at the present time it would seem that the whole thing is at a standstill.