The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 1880.

Southland Times, Issue 3783, 6 August 1880, Page 2

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 1880.

The importance of the native question is, we feav, very inadequately realized at this end of the colony. We are too far removed from actual contact with the Maori race to feel the degree of interest iii their affairs that residence in the North Island is the great means of begetting. The want of such interest is a matter of much graver importance than may at first sight appear, for it inevitably communicates itself to our representatives, who cannot well be expected to concern themselves deeply in any qupstion that is so completely ignored by their constituents. And thus it happens that even in Parliament native questions fail, as a rule, to receive the amount of consideration — especially from southern members — that their importance deserves. It is true that the details o£.a ijative debate are not usually of a yety ; attractive character, but ""Ttoat- is.^riQt always the case, as our readers fnay- "pre«ently: admit, and as: everj^onfelfchp^.wKc) jhas perused a very . sp^ch the Native i Minister, nj^e^jfiien^trpJfuping the Native Land^aleßJffi^in|o thd House' a,short tlmeUga,, I'jlwu&ief object of that measure is to abolish the system of free trade in native land that exists at present, and to sqbafcitnfce machinery that will enable natives, desirous of soiling their lands to do so thrbnghthe agtfncy of the varifcus "Waste Lands Boards in ; the North Island, That some change in regard to the landpurchase system now in force is most urgently . required will be at once conceded by all Avho know anything of its operation ; and we are disposed to think that the proposals .of the "Native .Minister will be found to be a decided improvement ; on the existing system. Prior to the year 1865 the Crown reserved to itself the right of pre-emption over, all land belonging to the najtive race, but that right has unfortunately been abandoned, and since the year 1871 the State has entered into competition with the public in regard to the acjuisi tion of native land. In carrying out thii3 policy, which was coincident 1 with, and indeed : a part of, Sir Julius rVogcl's grand Public Works scheme, a whole army of agentb has been employed by Go-

vernment, from Land Purchase Commissioners downwards, till a very low level indeed is reached. That these individuals have not been idle (whatever else they may have been or done) is abundantly proved by the fact that three quarters of a million has already been expended in the purchase of native land, while in addition thereto engagements, .have^ been T entered into to of> apother million" of money. Theße agents, although in the r service-of Government, have ; in -many - cases acted also; on behalf of private individuals, with the natural result that the worst land has somehow or other fallen to the share of the State. We have before us Parliamentary papers relating to the transactions of one of these Land Purchase Commissioners — a brief account of whose operations will enlighten those of our readers who h&ve not hitherto given attention to the subject. This individual, named Young, was appointed, verbally, by the late Native Minister, Mr Sheehan, at a salary of two guineas a-day ; his only duties being " to assist" a certain Land Purchase Oommissioiier. He appears to have subsequently assumed the position of Land Purchase Commissioner himself, without the formality of an appointment —and, more surprising still, was recognised as such by the late Government. In that capacity he of course required a clerk, who was paid at the rate of 30s a-day. By-and-by, however, these large salaries were, commuted to annual payments of £500 and £350 respectively. During a period of only 18 months this commissioner disbursed a sum of not less than £11,000, apparently in the purchase of native land. His accounts and vouchers were rendered with regularity and seeming accuracy. Indeed, Mr Young might have been a Land Purchase Commissioner still had not an incident occurred which led the present Native Minister to cause an investigation of his office to be made. We briefly summarise the results of that investigation. Moneys ; that appeared in Yeung's books as having been paid to natives for land had not been paid at all. Moneys charged to natives were not paid to them, but to Young's private bank account. In, other cases, moneys charged as paid to natives were paid to a certain " No. 2 account," where they disappear from view. In innumerable cases moneys charged as paid to natives on account of land were in reality paid to stoi-ekeepers for goods. , In many of these cases the natives so charged either received no goods at all, or if they did their value did not nearly correspond with the sum charged to them. In all these cases the payments were attested by vouchers, apparently duly signed by the natives, and witnessed by Warbrick, the clerk. In some cases these native signatures were forgeries, but in most they were genuine, truly, but were adroitly attached to blank forms, which were afterwards filled up as occasion required, in order to substantiate false entries] in the books. As many as 170 of these blank vouchers, ready signed by. .natives, were found "in Yo.ung's office.... The extent to. which this practice was carried on may further be gathered from the fact that a very large number of sums, amounting in all to £2000, were found to be due to storekeepers for goods supplied On -the orders of Young and Warbrick, and included in that amount are two separate items of £130 and £164 for liquor supplied to natives. . - These revelations are sufficiently startling ; but what will pur readers say to a cool thousand being appropriated by another Land Purchase . Commissioner to pay part«(6nly) of the expenses' of a native meeting. This money was obtained from the Treasury, ostensibly for the purpose of paying some compensation or otter to natives in a different locality. We may mention, in passing, that the whole cost of that meeting was £3000, but where the other £2000 came from is probably known only to the Native Office. The limited space at our disposal prevents bur giving more elaborate details of the manner in which the Native Land Purchase fund is expended — while we have not even touched upon the abuses of another fund devoted ,to native "contingencies." We think, however, that we have amply justified the position with which we started, and we shall be fully rewarded if we hay* led our readers to realize that the native question is one which has very considerable claims on their attention and interest. The reform of the Native Office has for long been admitted to be a pressing necessity, but no Ministry has yet been found bold enough to effect it—least of all that of which; Sir George Grey was the moving spirit. . We trust, however, that the revelations already made by the Hon. Mr Bryce, and those which he has indicated as still to come, will have the effect of arousing the public mind to realize the. absolute necessity for an entire reconstruction of our native policy; and for assisting him to carry out those reforms wkich are part of the Ministerial programme. .