THE LAND COMMISSION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2671, 24 May 1905, Page 10

THE LAND COMMISSION.

RAWENE, May 16. The Land Commission sat again last evening at Kohukohu, and heard the following witnesses : — Joseph Vaughan, settler and county chairman, said that settlement in the district had not kept pace with the progress of the various industries. This h© ascribed to the locking up of large areas of the best lands in the hands of the Natives. He thought the Government should administer tho land in the interests of settlement and for the benefit of the Natives. The Natives' district suffered much from the want of roads. In view of the special circumstances he considered it was only reasonable that the county should get a proportion of the timber royalties for roadmaking. He thought a Government subsidy on rates would be better than spasmodic Government grants. Rating on unimproved value proved very satisfactory, and much tho fairest way of raising rates. Ho believed in th© freehold by all means, so far as the class of country north of Auckland was concerned. He had no experience of southern settlement on the unimproved estate. George H. Kemper, miner, suggested that Land Boards be dispensed with and the administration of laods placed in the hands of the local bodjes. He was against the freehold personally, but thought the option should be given. In prospecting around^ the district he had found gold, silver, calcium, and marble (equal to any imported), limestone, sandstone, and slate. Carl Schrider, settler at Mangamuka, strongly believed in the freehold. He thought lease with a right of purchase an ideal tenure. He strongly advocated the use of parspalum grass for all classes of land in the north. It had proved its superiority over every other grass. James F. Gray, settler at Hokianga, said he believed in the lease with the right of purchase. Cecil Norman Mardon, settler, holding under four tenures, said he believed in the freehold. The people here did not believe in the Government lease, because they did not feel secure owing to the fear of revaluation. Alfred Cook Yarborough, president of the Farmers' Union and chairman of the Settlers' Association, said the feeling in the district was entirely in favour of freehold or lease with right to purchase. He advocated the reintroduction of the homestead system. Miharea, a Native, said that the Maori should be allowed to retain 300 acres for his individual use, and then have the same right as Europeans in dealing with the land. Thomas J. Bannaher (settler and school teacher), Samuel Davies (settler), Thomas Marris Bartley (launch proprietor), Thomas " Allingham (setter and mill hand), and Herbert Holland (settler, Waikato) all said they believed in the freehold or lease with right of purchase. The commission arrived here to-day by launch and held a meeting immediately. Th© attendance of settlers was small. Arthur Peroival Blundell, settler and launch proprietor, said he believed in the freehold- He strongly advocated reintroducing the homestead system as the only means of settling the land trouble. Ernest M'Leod, county engineer and clerk, said that in the county, comprising nearly 1000 square miles, the Maoris owned about 400,000 acres, and the Government 300,000 acres. The best land was still held by the Natives. Thie was a great drawback to settlement in the district. After long experience amongst the Natives his candid opinion was that it would pay th& Government handsomely to boldly step, in and fell the Natives they would give them 10 years in which to establish their claims and then give them Crown grant, and that the Government desired the privilege only of leasing. He was a candid believer in the freehold. He was confident that if the late Minister of Lands had come north before drafting the Land Act his (witness's) opinion was that it would have included the homestead system, which had proved a great success. The system of leasing endowment lands had also been a great stumbling block to th© progress of the district. Longer leases would remove the difficulty.

Robert Stevenson, settl&r, complained of the unfair effect of the Bush and Swamp Lands Settlement Act upon his holding. Hans Christen Olsen. settler, said he wanted the freehold tenure.

George G. Menzies, Government road inspector, gave evidence in regard to the expenditure of Government grants. Among other things, he said dual control by the Government and the County Council had not proved expensive.

The commission left this afternoon for Omapere, where a meeting will be held, and return here for the nisrht.

OMAPERE. May 17

Bafore the Land Commission, Robert Page, a settler, stated that he was strongly of opinion that all land should belong to the State. Good roads were more important than the question of tenure. Thomas Mitchell advocated the leasehold, while five settlers of Waiinamaku advocated the freehold.

When the Land Commission was proceeding from Rawene to Taheke by the steam launch a man named J. Thompson fell overboard, closely buttoned in his overcoat. In an attempt to put the helm over the steering gear broke, and various articles were thrown overboard. Thompson was seen swimming a long way astern. When the launch reached him Captain Blundell jumped overboard with a lifebelt, and the rope accidentally pulled into the water George Dickenson, a gum me chant, who was unable to swim. The three men were in the water togethei% but all were rescued, Thompson and Dickenson being in an exhausted state.

AUCKLAND, May 18. Before the Land Commission, at Taheke, George Glover, storekeeper, advocated the freehold, while Michael O'Connell, a settler, supported the lease-in-perpetuity tenure. At Ohaewai, John Clarke, a settler and chairman of the Farmers' Union, said that the leasehold had been of wonderful assistance in settling the district, but he favoured tho settlers obtaining the freehold when able to pay for it.

WHANGAREI, May 19

The members of the Land Commission arrived here to-night. They were weai'ied

with the railway journey, the train having been delayed on account of heavy timber and coal traffic. The visitors find difficulty in getting accommodation as the Land Court is sitting and there are many people here.