SALE OF MAORI LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15889, 9 April 1915, Page 3

SALE OF MAORI LAND.

APPLICATION FOR A TITLE. VALIDATION OPPOSED. Many persons purchased land from the. Maoris in the early days without- knowning much about the titles, relying upon the word or bond of the natives. These purchasers have entered into possession of tho land, and having been undisturbed in occupation have acted upon the transaction in good faith. Subsequently flaws have been found in the title;, ;:nd it has become necessary to seek \alidaticn. A somewhat curious race of the kind has just been the subject of inquiry by the i'okerau Maori Land Board. The case in question was an applicant! for an inquiry a- to the petition to Parliament of \\. H. Hargieaves and jthers praying for validation of sale of, md prucuiation of title to, the Uaki jlock of 185 acres, between the Otaraatea md Oiuawhare Rivers, in the Kaipara district. The petition was before the House in 1911, and on June 20, 1914, was •eferred to the Tokerau .Maori Land Hoard by the Native Minister, the Hon. IV. H. Hemes. The facts alleged for the applicants by Mr. J. W. dittos, who represented them, were that in 1877 the late Mr. Joseph Gittos purchased the block from the two original Maori owners for the sum of £100. The transfer was signed but was lost, and no trace of it could be found. Immediately upon completion of the purchase Mr. Joseph Hargreaves entered into possession of the land, and enclosed it with his adjoining land by fencing it in. From that time forward Mr. Hargreaves and his family remained in undisputed possession and occupation of the property, no attempt ever being made to oust them. Mr. Hargreaves pie-deceased hie. wife, Mrs. Mary Hargreaves. When the latter died her executors forwarded ti»e petition to Parliament asking for validation of the sale of the block named, there being no other means of securing the title. The Minister was authorised in a washing-up Bill to refer the petition to the Tokerau Maori Land Board, ar.d acted accordingly. When the matter came before the board in September last the successors to the original native vendors opposed the application. Evidence was given by Aperaniko Wi Karaka and his sister, Makareta Kerei Mu, both of whom stated that their father Wi Karaka, had told them that the block had not been transferred by sale, but that payment for the land was a horse. They' wanted money instead of a horse. Both stated that they had not objected to the occupation of the land by the Hargreaves. The decision of Judge T. H. Wilson, president of the Tokerau Maori Laud Board, which was delivered yesterday, reviewed the facts as stated. The Judee said that havino; heard the evidence in the case and the objections against the anplicafion he was satisfied an actual nale of the block had been made to Mr Joseph Hargreaves. and that the successors to the 'original vendors arn::iwrfd therein. The board therefore onb-d that the transfer from the native »«™ to Mr. Joseph Hargreaves shield le val.da.ed.