THE PARLIAMENTARY EXCURSION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 38

THE PARLIAMENTARY EXCURSION.

> ' was urged to do tWs before any «teps were taken to build the Main Trunk railway, i and the position was pointed out that the opening up of this great forest area meant that the leasing of it to sawmillers would pay the interest on £3,900,000, which might he expended on railways and roads throughout the district, and when the sawmillers had finished the colony would be -still left the estate, which -would be worth then j from £5,000,000 to £10,000,000. The question of the taxation of the 6,000,000 acres of land at (present 'held 'by the Maori • people, -and the necessity of compelling the Maori's to pay for unoccupied and unimproved land, whether they are residing on it or not, is" of supreme importance, continued Mr Macdonald. T7o appreciation of industries among the Maori people would take place until they had to face the question of finding money to pay the ordinary land taxation of the country and the taxes on -the land they held. In fact, in my judgment, the land legislation of thi6 country will never be perfect until it is provided by the State that any man, be he Maori . or European, who fails to beneficially occupy and -improve the land held by "him in areas of over 10.000 acres, should be liable to be dispossessed of It "by the State at the land tax valuation.

THE RESOURCES OF THE NORTH. (From Gtte Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, July 22. AH members of the parliamentary party which journeyed through by the Main Trunk route expressed great surprise at the vast extent and the fertile nature of the country opened up. The question of Maori ownership of h\nd and timber area 6 was closely inquired into, and the Hon. T. K. Maedonald, who was more familiar with the country than -the others, said, in an interyiew, that for many years past the extent and value of the WaimaTino forest was not known, and for the past 22" years the -Government had never realised the true value of that great belt of oountry. Out of €50,000 acres in the Waimarino County fully, one-third was first-class milling bush. Practically speaking, there were 300,000 acres available for milling in the Waimarino County. The bulk of this 300,000 acres belonged to the Maori people, and had been unoccupied for all these years, and was practically valueless to the Maoris and unknown except to a few _ Europeans. The Maoris were now beginning to lease land t<) sawmillers at rates of which 2600 acres just leased might be taken as an example. On a 42 years' lease Is 6d per acre was to be paid for tbe first 10 years, 2s an acre for the next 11 yearF, and a, rental of not less than 5 per cent, of the Government valuation for the laet 21 years. That Government valuation would certainly not be less than £4 per acre, and might be nearer £10. That would represent 4 s per acre for the last 21 year* in addition to the rental, which would amount to £15,580 for the period. The sawmiller iiad to pay the Maoris £3 per acre, for the right to mill every acre that was cleared of milling bush. When one reflected that the ■ valae of this land prior to the construction of '*he railway was absolutely nil. one realised what an -enormous benefit had been conferred upon the Maoris. Competent j authorities at Ractihi had informed him that the value of the milling bush to the Maoris was £5.000.000, and that v.p till 1 now they had not paid one single penny of taxation on the land held by them. In the Waimarino County the county could not collect taxes which it had imposed upon 1 the Maori land, and these taxes represented 1 rather more than one-tbind of the county's I revenue. The whole of the Waimarrno 1 forest could have been purchased by Sir 1 Harry Atkinson's Government 20 years *go j iw U to 2s per acre. The Government J