THE NATIVE LAND LAWS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5437, 29 March 1889, Page 2

THE NATIVE LAND LAWS.

♦ MEETING NEAR AUCKLAND. SPEECHES BY MINISTERS. Auckland, to-day. At the native meeting, the Native Minister in reply to Paul and Major Kemp said it hail yet to be proved whether the laws lately passed pressed unduly on the native race. They had tried to frame laws so as to press as lightly as possible on the natives and to leave them free to deal in what manner thoy pleased with their own lands. Paul, Major Kenjpj and other chiefs had gonr> to Wellington and protested agaiijsf. the laws being passed. All that they had to say was carefully listened to by the Government and received every consideration. At the same time Government saw plainly enough that it was absolutely necessary that some new native land laws should be passed last session, and as the suggestions offered by chiefs opposed to the .Bill were not what Government considered }n the interest of the native race they refused to adopt them. He was quite sure, however, that if the laws now in force were not sufficient to do every justice to natives the Government were prepared to accept recommendations from chiefs and from meetings held throughout the colony, the only desire of Government being to do justice to the natives. He quite agreed with Paul that there should be only one law for Europeans and Maoris. Before that could come to pass, however, it was absolutely necessary natives should bring their lands under the jurisdiction of the Native Land Court. He could not agree with Major Kemp when he said that native lands should not be rated, because lie must remember it would be absolutely unfair to rate European land and not native land. Sir Frederick Whitaker also delivered an address. He asked the natives to tell him how the Treaty of Wattangi had been broken. The Government had considered every scheme brought forward by the natives for dealing with their lands.