KING COUNTRY PROBLEMS
BISHOP CROSSLEY'3 VIEWS.
MAORI V. PAKEHA.
THE LAND TENURE GRIEVANCE.
Some interesting observations regarding King Country problems were made by Dr. Crossley, Anglican Bishop of Auckland, when interviewed by a Hebald representative yesterday.
Bishop Crossley has just returned from his first extended visit to that .district, and explained that his views of it wore therefore those of a fresh visitor.
"I was greatly impressed with the possibilities of the country, and with the ardent optimism of the present settlers," remarked the Bishop. "To one who is not a land expert, that optimism seems to take the shape of a dangerous readiness to advance the price of land. The conditions of land, tenure are in some districts highly unsatisfactory, and I regard it as one of the first duties of statesmanship that a readjustment should speedily be made regarding both Maori leases and the control exercised by the native councils. It is on both sides a necessity for the common wellbeing of this new nation that no grievance should exist between : the pakeha settler and the Maori landowner. The New Zealand settler seems to me to be predominantly Celtic in nature, inasmuch as all seem possessed of what is known as the land hunger. This is producing a feeling of unrest, and a state of friction between the Maori and pakeha. All lovers of New Zealand must look with anxiety upon an economic condition which, if not readjusted, might precipitate the two components of the nation into a regrettable hostile position, one towards the other.
"The townships like Taumarunui and j Te Kuiti," proceeded the Bishop, "are 1 simply advancing by bounds. As a keen advocate for town-planning, I hope that the Government will enable, such rising townships to possess themselves of a reserve belt of land at a certain distance out from each township, and round the same, thus securing lungs for such townships as they grow, recreation for their youth, and beauty for their neighbourhoods. The forethought, for instance, which provided Adelaide, in South Australia, with such a reserve belt, elicits the gratitude of every citizen of Adelaide to-day. These belts should not be used, as is done in some cases, for the purpose of municipal endowments, but as a safeguarded land freedom for the inhabitants. One was driven," added Bishop Crossley, "to balance the relative demands for railways and roads as features in opening up the country, and it struck me that ambitious conditions run too much in the direction of railway construction, and too little towards securing well-made roads and reliable bridges. Given some main arteries in the way of railways, it struck me that the best development of the country, both from an economic and social point of view is rather in the direction of making good roads than in the jealous clamour for sectional railways. If the country were, readily accessible and easily driven* through it would be a veritable paradise for the tourist. The contour of the hills, the beauty of the rivers, and the rapid change and 'variety of scenery all make this district a very happy hunting ground for the health-seeker and the holi-day-maker. I was particularly charmed with the beauty of one drive, viz., to Kakahi, where "l had the joy of dedicating a little wooden church in a place where a Bishop of Auckland had never been before."
KING COUNTRY PROBLEMS
New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14849, 28 November 1911, Page 8
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