NATIVE LAND PROBLEM.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 11370, 1 September 1908, Page 2

NATIVE LAND PROBLEM.

NEARING THE END

PROSPECTS NEVER BRIGHTER

(From, Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, last night , ' The members of the Auckland and East Coast deputation who-.. waited upon the Minister fqr Public Works this morning were also . introduced 1 yesterday to the Native Minister (the Hon. Jas. Carroll) by Mr Alfred Kidd, M.P., when advantage was taken of the opportunity to urge the speedy settlement of the native land- problem in he north. : Those present were Messrs J. D. McKenzie, E. Harding, Andrew Bell, W. Jack. Joseph Carroll (a Bay of Plenty Baume, -Poole, Jennings, Alison, "Heke.Ngata, and Pa rata, and Hon. Captain Tucker. Mr Harding, in urging the importance of the speedy opening up of native lands in the North Island', said the country was suffering, as a result of the large areas of native lands which remained locked up. v Neither the natives nor the country derived any benefit, and the adjacent owners were penalised inasmuch. as the waste land ' in " the vicinity yielded no' rates to assist in. road work.' The progress of settlement was sadly handicapped, and! a conference of settlers at Wliangarei had suggested tli & adoption of some modified system of. the Lands for Settlement policy in regard to native lands. Under this -system, it was advocated, there would be no necessity to wait until the title of ownership* was, ascertained. The purchase money could' be paid' into a trust fund, and held' until the question of title had been agreed upon. This policy, if adopted', should, Mr Harding urged, apply to 'the land already held under-lease from* the natives, and if thrown the market the owners Avould receive a fair return. Mr McKenzie supported the previous speaker, and said that a vast- amount of time was being lost by the natives attending the Native Land Courts. Mr Jack also spoke in support of Mr Harding's proposal. Mr Ngata. M.P., made some important points. In speaking- of the Native Land Commission he said they had gone further than the taking of mere record^. The Commission had dealt -'with three- , quarters of a, million acres of native lands north of Auckland. The -titles of these lands had been ascertained', and there was a further area of 150,000 acres the ownership of which was not yet- decided upon. Of the three-quarters of a million acres mentioned about half would b<* thrown .; .open ij», either . by sale or lease. . The^Commission had not adopted a .compulsory position, and the imtivesVwere influenced:. by the trend of public feeling in favor of the .utilisation of native lands. The ntvtives. themselvf s had informed! the Commission of their wilr lingness to part with one-half of their lands. In the north, the member for the Eastern Maori district addedi 'the prospects for native land settlement were now brighter than. ever' before.The Hon. Mr Carroll, iii reply, butlined much of the information regarding the native land policy recently described by him in the course of ah interview published '.in these columns. After referring to the difficulties of the native land problem and the old method of depending upon what the Government could j purchase -from - the Maori by ; contract, he said the road was now clear for the speedy settlement of the problem. They had .reached' a stage 'when .'they knew ! that the settlement of native kinds would be carried out upon fixed' lines. The; Commission, since its '"-appointment l.iad dealt with a total, of thi'ee million acres, and 211,171 acres had -been;^ dealt with for the purpose of settlement.' January next would see the Commission terminate its labors after .'completing a> vast amount of work. A drawback up to the' present had, been -. the- ".difficulty . in finding .surveyors, but efforts : had .been made to overcome this difficulty. Since the inauguration of the present .policy 1,404,500 acres had been either leased or sold. With a strong staff of surveyors tliey would be 'able,, during, the course, of the coming year, to open close on, 1,506,---000 acres'" of Maori land. It was his intention, the Minister said', to pay special attention to the north of Auckland;, and one block known as the OUtkanini block, near Helensville, would be throwni. open for lease on September 25. Some 7150 acres were included in the block, situated only five miles west of Helensville. The land in question, the Minister added, would be open for selection on a 25 years' lease, with the right of renewal for another 25 years. In a h umber of cases,, however. prefci)?jnce would be given to native owners if they chose to make application.