Povety Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERT EVENING. QISBORNE, TUESDAY, DEC. 3, 1907 SPLENDID PROGRESS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11141, 3 December 1907, Page 4

Povety Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERT EVENING. QISBORNE, TUESDAY, DEC. 3, 1907 SPLENDID PROGRESS.

: It is a little over two years ago since the East Coast distinct ; was ■threatened ■ with dire forebodings of stagnation and. ; disaster if a certain Minister of the 1 Crown was re-elected to Parliament. Ah extraordinary map upon which there had "been lavished a prodigal expenditure of printer's ink was. produced 'to! show^ m | black blots the great area of country that still, retnained In -native; hands, barred, bolted, and to •settlement. The policy of thehon^ gentl€>man fef erred to was declared to be "toihoa," his sympathies; were , with , native conservatism whicli required the. Maori territory to be presef ved for' the "Maori, and • so long 4s he was to be permitted to have charge of affairs so: Ipng would the great black | spots ) remain :on the imap to denote that ■ the lands of; Poverty Bay were given up ft© the Native fern and -the ; wild pig. jThis distorted view of things received 'correction at the time by the -splendid record of work done that the Native Minjister was able to present to Jfiis constitu:ents, and that the district has riot suffer|ed by his re-election is amply demonstrated m the official statements laid before jthe Native Land Commission during its [present visit to Gisborne, showing beyond ial] question that the sgttleineiit of native jlands m. these parts has made and.ismak. ■ing niost gratifying strides. Anyone at .all closely acquainted ; with the district Iknows that there are now m Cook County ivery few areas of unsettled native land, jand m Waiapu the proportion of unoccu* country compared with the whole not very great. The statements laid hefore the Commission are. worthy of brief recapitulation.- In the- Whangara block there are 11,585 acres leased, bringing m substantial rents, and a comparatively small area of 683 acres is reserved to the natives. In Mangatu block 42,276 acres are leased and arrangements have just been completed which will facilitate the throwing open of the remainder, 32,020 acres, : at an early date. In Mangatu, 3 and 4, 3680 acres has been leased and 6000 acres is proposed to be utilised by the Maoris. The statement of the East Coast trust lands make^i an admirable showing. Lands to the total of 51,870 acres have been sold, 60,768 acres has been leased, and 37 3 768 acres

has been set aside for occupation by the Natives. There is now available for lease or for occupation by natives, as may be, determined, a further 92,000 acres. The Tai-Rawhiti Land Board, though it was the subject of a most ungenerous attack m Parliament a few months ago, has not been idle, and the- record of its operations m th& past .twelve months, excited approval and favorable comment from/the head of the Commission. :* The Board since October ; 1906 '.has' granted .leases and apprpyals oyer ?38; blpcHs of, an aggrega,£e ; ar^jt c .<i£. 7§>P^Q. .acres,,,. besides which 2300 acres has been vested,^ tS c Board, and 42,665 acres have been prepared' for settlement! As was explained by Colonel Porter yesterday, 30,000 acres of the latter area was ready last year, but under instructions, from the Native Minister its disposal was very properly held over pending the passage of the Native Land Settlement Act during the session just closed, which from the point of public policy vastly improves the conditions under which these lands are dealt with, especially. : m the- provisions- for limitation of area, and disposal by publicauction. The Board has now 34 blocks of 45,565 acres on its hands, and the bulk of this was stated yesterday to be ready for immediate disposal. -It will thus be seen that with the, lands which the Trust Board and Tai Rawhiti Board have m hand for settlement there is an area of 137,000 acres available for settlement at the earliest opportunity that the. land can be profitably brought into the market. In addition there is over 8000 acres m theAnaura block, formerly lock,ed up, which, through; the good offices f of the Tai, Rawhiti Board is to be taken up and farmed by. the Maori owners. All this spells prosperity for Poverty ■ Bay. It shows that the district is not standing still and that the days of lock-ed-up Maori lands are practically; over. Though _ the results we- have indicated are due m a large measure to the careful , administration of the local officials it must not be forgotten that it was at the instance of the Native Minister ; that legislation was introduced which « made such a satisfactory settlement of the Native question m this district possible. It will- now be necessary for those who are accustomed to throw political brickbats at the head of the member for Waiapu ; on account o f his Native land - policy to adopt some other mark of opprobrium than the falsified term If Taihoa." >