A DEAL IN LAND.

NZ Truth, Issue 473, 11 July 1914, Page 7

A DEAL IN LAND.

A PAKEHA PROPOSAL TO THE KAIKOHE NATIVES. Mrs. Elliot and Her Best Endeavors Over the Kaikohe Railway li Parliament to Have a Word on the Matter ?— What is the Leader of '. / •.. the Opposition Doing?

In its last issue, 'Truth" gave a retort of certain proceedings m the Native Land Court, at Auckland, . -where Mr. J; J. Sullivan, acting on .behalf of certain riative landowners at Kaikohe, threw some rather interesting sidelights on a, native land deal where the parties " are \ Mrs. Rachael Winifred Elliott, wife of Mr. George Elliott, broker of Auckland, and better known as the President of the ' Auckland Exhibition, and a number of natives from Kaikohe. "Truth" also published -part of the agreement entered'into between the natives and Mrs. Elliott, aid m order that the public, whichjs how becoming . " . DEEPLY INTERESTED IN NATIVE . ; ;- „ LAND MATTERS should not be kept entirely m the dark, "Truth" proposes to give' the agreement m full,- and- also give some more information' on a deal, -which m the face 'of things iis entirely opposed to the interests of the country, and also for the purpose of showing how, m the words . of Liawyer Blomfield, partner of Mr. C. J. Parr, Mayor of Auckland,' the d|al was made m the best interests of the natives themselves. Also, m: view of the fact, that the railway station! and premises are m very close proximity to the land at KaikohV ''Truth" wants io show how far Mrs. Elliott used her best endeavors/to, i So I . what; she promised. ' 'This 'particular agreement runs as folloWs:^ '; ■' •'■' : ' '■" '; ■' . . Memo iof agreement made this . 21st day .of September, 1912,' between- ; Rachael Winifred Elliot, . wife', of ' George Elliot, of Auckland, .Broken (hereinafter called the contractor^ on the , one part, and Hone - Ngapua, Niuranga Ngapua, Kori Ngapua, Ruatara , Ngapua, ' and Mat|re Ngapua. all of /Kaikohe ■' , (hereinafter called the contractees)* -. '■:s■"'■. ■ ;■■ '• -'- ' ' ; ' .■•.'. . . Whereas by agreement between the parties, the transfer of that "... parcel of land containing 80 acres . more or less, situate at, Kaikohe, t! knownjas part of Kohewhata ßlock ' j '-, ,69, was executed by the coritract- , ees ,m favpr\ of the contractor, and whereas the, purchase money to be ! ,_, paid under. , such transfer is one half only of the Government valua- / ; '; tion of the interest transferred 'in such , block, and is to. . be repre- • sented by /an equal half interest m the! said block to be held by the said, contractor arid T . the remaining half interest is to be held for the benefit oflthe cbhtractees' in ' the shares and [proportions hereinafter set out" and subject to the' terms and 'conditions hereinafter set put. 1 ; • • ." Now, it Is hereby agreed as follows:. — v . (1) The contractor shall use her best endeavors to procure . '■' the location and erection of the Kaikohe Railway Station and premises on the said land or as near thereto as possible', at as ,. early ' a date as possible. , , (2) The said land shall be surveyed by the contractor and shall.' be roaded- and sub-di-vided into township allotments m such manner as shall bo / considered by a qualified sur- ; ' veyor -"best suited for the disposal of the said lands. ' '■■ (3), The ''--'said township sectipns shall be advertised for sale and shall be disposed of at the best advantage either by auction or otherwise according to the state of the land market. (4) The proceeds of the said land shall be applied first m payment of the said surveyed road and other expenses incidental to the converting of the said' lands into township sections and to the disposal there- • (5X The balance of the pur- ' chase money shall be divided ' m the manner following, that . is to say, that the contractor shall take one. half part of the same, and the contractees "shall take the other part m the shares following, that is to say: Hone Ngapua, 66% shares; Nuixanga Ngapua, 30 shares; Kori Ngapua, 12 shares; Ruatara Ngapua, 14 shares; Matire Ngapua, 10 shares. This precious document is signed by the natives whose names appear, and by Mrs. Elliot, her signature being witnessed by her husband, George Elliot. ; It is further sot forth that proper books of accounts shall be kept and opened for Inspection, and that the reserved price for the township sections shall be fixed by two independent p&rtleß, and m the event of a disagreement, by an umpire to be chosen by Independent parties." It is also set out that the contents of the documents had been read over and explained to the natives by a duly qualified and licensed interpreter, while BRINGING UP IN THE REAR as it were, is E. C. Blomfield, solicitor, Auckland. It will be noted from the agreement that tho purchase money to be paid is to be one-half only of the Government valuation/ It is necessary to mention that the Government valuation of the property,, is £1600, which, roughly speaking is £20 per acre. Therefore, m tho faco of the agreement t^ho natives who parted with their acres would be entitled to £800. It is interesting to learn from tho papers available iv the Native Land Board offices at Auckland, that the sum of money received by the natives is £740, which la receipted as being full payment of sale of part of Kohewhata, No. 69. Perhaps "Truth" Is not entitled to ask what has becomo of. the remaining £60?. Pcrhaptf it has boon swathped up m costs. Perhaps it has not. When, however, we go to the Lands Transfer office m Auckland, wo como across another fact, which, to our lay mind, should bo capable of

BEARING A VJ3RY SIMPLE EXPLANATION.

ULnyhow, an explanation haa been asked for. and no doubt will be forth-lyrqjPß-—on jiiep^&edtu of tltl«, V*-.to

be, found the rather curious statement that the <area transferred from the natives to the Mrs. R. W. Elliot aforesaid is 82 .acres, 3 perches. It was concerning this increase of area, it will be remembered that last week Mr. Sullivan asked the Land Court Judge, Wilson, what "Truth" considers to be a very pertinent question, viz., whether there would be a corresponding increase m the cash consideration for the natives who have parted with their land, arid who now, seem to smell" a : rat, or consider that they should have made a much better bargain. Of course, now that the matter, has been questioned,-, and is to be more or less re-opened at Kaikohe m August next, "Truth" does not propose to offer any comment. It is not for us to say that the deal is an improper one. This paper cannot say it and . * CANNOT PRESUME IT. This paper presumes that, everything has been fair; and square, and if eventually it is found that the deal has hot been a fair and square one, then , we shall say what m the circumstances will be the proper thing to. say. Unhappily for the deal m native land it bears a political significance, and this is where the matter interests the whole community.. Now, m the deal, Mrs. R. W. Elliot can be safely dismissed out of the matter. "Truth" does not hesitate to say that the proper person, the person to. whom we can look for an answer- to the suggestion | that the deal has a political significance, is the husband of Mrs. Elliot,' the George. Elliot, broker and President of the Auckland Exhibition aforesaid. .Of all THE SOMEWHAT CURIOUS ! j: . "'•■■' ''•■■■:'. CLAUSES'--. '„".' - j of the aforesaid memo of agreement I between the natives and the wife of the aforesaid George Elliot, clause One is the most interesting, and requires the maximum amount of explaining away before the community, which is interested; will believe that what is meant therein is not that Mrs. Elliot, through her husband, will use her political influence to . have .the Kaikohe railway station built on the said land or' as* near thereby as possible. If "Truth" is right m assuming that Mrs. Elliot meant by "her best endeavors" her "political influence" to get the Kaikohe railway station and premises .built on the said land or as near thereto as possible, might we not also inquire with whom was she going to use her best endeavors?. Was it with the Government of the day? Politically, "Truth" does not know . how Mrs. Elliot stands. If, as Mr. Blomfield said, last weekj.Mr. Elliot is ' THE OWNER OF 1 A BIG BLOCK - of Auckland city property, then we can , easily conclude that Mr. Elliot's sympathies are not with the Social Democratic Party. However, why humbug over the matter. George Eliiot is a rich man, a rich speculator, and as rich as he is' a "Fat" man with the sympathies of a "Fat" man, arid they He m the direction of the "Square Deal" Government. If there was to be any political wire-pulling^ Mr. George ElUot and not his "dummy" | wife would dp it, and m view of what | has happened there seems to have been I political wire-pulling. The "best en- j deavors" to have the Kaikohe railway station and premises located and or- i ected, etc., have proved eminently sue- | cessful. The railway station at Kaikohe has been built m close proximity to the land m question. Its property has been /considerably enhanced, and "Truth" has good reason for thinking that Kohewhata blocks just at present are worth £ 100 tho quarter acre. But 'what' "Truth" does not want to get away from is this clause of the agreement. It means, if it means anything, that Mrs. Elliot PROMISED THE NATIVES of Kaikohe to use her best endeavors, i.e., political pull, to get a railway station near to the property which the natives were parting with for the proverbial "old song." That railway station has been so located and erected, and by the Government m power. 'Last week, m tho Native Land Court, Lawyer Blomfleld said that he did not know of a better agreement for the Native who parted with, his acres to the Pakeha. Perhaps there is much m the agreement which discloses howmuch the Native is going, to make. All that "Truth" can sco is that Mrs. E'llot, as the contractor, Is going to make a small fortune. We. do not know, for instance, the value PLACED ON HER' "POLITICAL PULL." That might be of great advantage to the Native, who is being asked to sell his. acres at a ydluo which "Truth" cannot describe other than small. Perhaps the Native is going to get a lot out of tho sale of the land, if ever it is sold. In the meantime, steps have been taken which prevent the Issue of the title right to Mrs. Elliot, and also from what "Truth" has gleanod, m the course of its investigations into this extraordinary land deal, thoro Is going to bo, or is likely to be, litigation over the property, m which case something may come to light which will show how easy the Native is when It comes to parting him from his land, land which the Pakoha is greedily coveting, and which, undor tho presont Governn.ent, is taken from hi' by legislation which is politically a sort of confidence game. That tho eyes of politicians eagerly scan tho columns of "Truth" was made manifest onco moro by the discussion anent this caso In Parliament last Tuesday night To L. M. Isltt, tho member for Chrlstchurch North, belongs tho honor of bringing tho matter » beforo tho House. "Truth" herewith prcsonts Mr. isltt with somo further Information which ho may use to advantage if ho cares to refer to tho question again. Mr. Isltt, speakingon tho question of Maori leases, said he had accused tho Native Minister of seeking to lure tho Muorl to part with the land, and ho had been assured that ho was wrong. Then ho bad gone to Taranakl, and although sovoral LlDcrals had urged him not to spook about tho Native leases, ho had insisted upon doing bo, with tbo result, he claimed, .that ha bad carriod^ hla. audience ia

I the Taranaki centres with him on every occasion. He read from a contract of lease of Native land to a Eurdpean woman a condition that the contractor should do her best to secure the erection on the land, or as near as possible to it, the Kaikohe railway, station. Mr. Herries: Oh, I ki ow about that. That was done before we came into office ,^ Mr.. Isitt said the date of the lease Was September, 1912. He was prepared to accept the . assurance of :the Prime Minister that this woman had no influence with the Government to procure the erection of the railway station. But what were they to think of a reputable firm of solicitors who would, . . ' FOR A CONSIDERATION, ' prepare a lease with such a condition m it? It was about time ttie Law 15ociety got to work. The agreement, he thought, was simply a deliberate attempt, on the part of the woman, to play upon the credulity of ttie Maoris. He believed ; that transactions that were simply scandalous were going on m Native land, and that speculators were despoiling the Natives, getting between them and the men who were ultimately to farm the land. He declared that land aggregation was going on as the result of the legislation of tho present Government; Notwithstanding the airy fashion m which the Ministers of the Crown disclaimed . any- responsibility ' and endeavored to shunt the same on to the previous Government, "Truth" hopes that the matter, so far as its. practical aspect is concerned, will not be allowed to end. with the above discussion. Certainly "Truth" never- expected the matter to be mentioned so early, and, as a consequence, it is scarcely ready to give: all the facts at its command. However, m view of what was said In Parliament, .particularly m view of the Ministerial sttaement that the thing w \b ' • DONE BEFORE THE PRESENT, GOVERNMENT came into office, "Truth" considers it will bo In the public, interests that more should be said on this somewhat I dubious deal. . , : This particular agreement between Mrs. Elliot arid the Natives m question, is dated September 21, 1912, and ■ the confirmation of the transfer was made by the Native Land Board over which President Dlnnie presided, on October 19 of the same year. A glance at the Year Book will suffice to show I that the Ward Ministry resigned on March 28, 1912;. that the Mackenzie Ministry , was announced about tho so ne time, and that on July 10 the Mackenzie Ministry resigned, after, being defeated on a "no confidence" motion. Then the Massey Ministry entered into office. That was In July, 1912! It cannot be denied, therefore, that when this transfer WAS DATED AND CONFIRMED, the Massey Government was m power. It may be true that negotl- Uons for the acquirement of the Natives' land w/sre commenced during the existence of the Ward Government, but it was not until the Massey Government was firmly installed m office that the transfer was effected and subsequently confirmed. Be it noted, also, this last was not done m KaJkohe, where the Natives reside, but In Auckland, where Mrs. Elliot and her husband and legal representatives reside. Apart, however, from this fact, let us como to another point which goes to make the Ministerial statement m Parliament on Tuesday- last all the more curious. According to tho proclamation plan m the Lands Transfer Office at Auckland, tho site of the railway station at Kalkoho was not finally approved of until September, 1913. That is to say, NEARLY TWELVE MONTHS AFTER th ) oxocutlon of tho transfer and Mrs. Elliot's promise to uso her "best endeavors," etc! "Truth" need hardly mention the fact that earlier this year Mr. Massey opened tho railway at Kaikohe amidst great rejoicings. Incldcntal'y, it might now bo asked, If the facts laid bare by this paper are consistent with the Ministerial statement that the thing was done < before tho present Government carao Into office? It appears to "Truth," In view of the inconsistencies, which arc now very apparent, that Parliament should deal more folly with, and Inquire more Bearchln&ly into, this matter. Tho public Interest will bo best served by «ucb an Investlgatl >n. and probably It Will help to bring to light other Instances whero tho "Europcanlaed" Maori la getting a "squaro deal" from his wldo awako Pakoha brethren.