MAORI LAND LEGISLATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11199, 20 October 1899, Page 5

MAORI LAND LEGISLATION.

[BY TELEGRAM. —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington, Thursday. In spite of the Premier's custom of posing as the friend of the native race, no one, either Maori or European, will give him 1 credit for being in earnest when lie brings : down the Maori Lands Administration Bill just as the session is about to close. It is a measure of no less than 51 clauses, almost j every one of them debatable. How could j the Government seriously expect the House j to pass such a Bill? To bring it on at the 1 present stage of the session was an absurd waste of time; for even if it managed to get ' through the House, what time would the Council have to deal with it? It appears , that the Premier has been keeping his native followers sweet" all through the session with promises of legislation that would , meet their wishes, and he had to make some show of considering the Bill. Quite a num- ! ber of members (to use Mr. Taylor's words) j have already secured their steamer tickets and gangway passes, and the House has still to deal with the San Francisco service, the , Railways Authorisation Bill, the Supplementary Estimates, and the Appropriation Bill. Such being the case, what hope could the Maori Lands Administration Bill have had , even if the natives themselves were agreed about it. But they are almost as much divided as the European members. At halfpast twelve a motion to report progress was carried by 26 to 24. The Premier staged that he would ask the House to pass a resolution prohibiting any further transactions in native lands until the Legislature dealt with the question next session. i