UNPAID NATIVE RATES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19806, 29 November 1927, Page 14

UNPAID NATIVE RATES.

Sir,—l have read the consolidation scheme of the .Minister of Native Affairs, and I iiav<.' reluctantly come to the conclusion that it stands pre-eminent as a shining example of how not to do it. What is wanted is some relief for the rating authorities which are unable ■to collect rates on native land. What is offered them reads like a wetj-thought-out scheme to defer payment till the day of judgment. I see that pious hopes were expressed in the House that this consolidation scheme would result in the solution of the problem of outstanding native rates, but I venture to say it would take a judge of the Supreme Court t**' decide what the scheme really is wrapped up as it seems to be in a'perfect jargon of. unnecessary vagueness. One thing only appears quite clear, that is, that the rating authorities will be no nearer getting any relief than they were before. ar,d that the present confusion is to be worse confounded than ever. The only reason one can imagine for the House accepting such an involved muddle as any solution of the unpaid native rates question is that it is a tired and weary House, and cannot be bothered wasting its time about :t when it wants to get away home. J- Tiiornes. 231, Parnell Road.