THE ROTOITI NATIVES AND LAND SURVEY

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8784, 26 January 1892, Page 5

THE ROTOITI NATIVES AND LAND SURVEY

[BY TELEGRAPH.— CORRESPONDENT.] Rotorua, Monday. Some excitement exists at present amongst the natives residing in tho neighbourhood of Lake Rotoiti, owing to the determination of one of the kaput to have the TokerauMatawhaura block surveyed and passed through the Native Lands Court. The other claimants to the land object to any survey of their block in question being made, arid also to its being brought before any Native Land Court, and openly declare they will shoot the survey party should they appear on their block, giving as a reason that the costs of surveys and tho Courts are eating up the land of the Maori, and they are desirous of preventing all such expenses. A meeting is now taking place at Rotoiti to take steps to prevent the Tokerau survey being proceeded with at present. This action of the natives is merely carrying out the policy laid down at Fox's big meeting, hold at Maketu, in September last, and which was adjourned to Rotorua until February next, when the question will, no ,doubt, again be gone into most vigorously. This movement on the part of the Arawa natives is largely sympathetic with that of Kemp's Wanganui meeting, held recently at Parakino, and at which sowie of the Arawa chiefs were present. Our own local chiefs at Rotorua are not unanimous—a few of them being determined to carry out the work of the Native i-and Court until the titles to their lands are individualised. The action of the Arawas is mainly due to their dilatoriness of the Go- , vernment, and their system of native land 1 procedure, which allows of an interval of I years to intervene between the adjourn- | ment and the sitting of a Court.