INQUIRY DEMANDED.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 118, 11 July 1911, Page 3

INQUIRY DEMANDED.

A NATIVE LAND DEAL. THE MORAL ESTATE. In tlie course of his speed) in the Town Hall, Wellington, Mr Massey, Leader of the Opposition, had something to say about the iccent sale of "’hat is generally known as the Mokau Jones’ Lands in Taranaki. I his block ol land, Mr Massey explained, consisted of 5T,000 acres, and was leased many years by Mr Janes. One of the conditions on which lie tool: up the hind was that lie- was to spend a certain amount of money on it. It was held that t !, e conditions were not carried out and the land was sold, Imt prior to this a Commission, consisting of the Chief Justice and the Chief Judge of tin* Native Land Court, was set up and Jonml that the leases wor • void, end that the. land was native land, and that part ol it should he k«pt for settlement by the natives. 'ike law today laid it down that no individual could acquire more than o cert M-i area ol native land (8000 ac res of second-class land), but there was a 'iauso which provided that in the public interest the Coverument might, by Order-iii-Council, arrange lor a forger area being sold. In the case in question, when the meeting was called to get the consent of the matins to the proposed sale, only lour of them turned up. They "ere ottered !0s per aero, but declined. Another meeting was held, Tightly better terms were offered, an I the necessary Order-ia-Council was issued, and 58,000 acres of land were sold at

about iOs per acre. This iaml v-as good laud, with minerals ; n it. Within two weeks the man who had got it sold it to a syndicate at 100 per cent profit. it was now in the hands of tiie syndicate. And,” he added. “I ask if that sale is in the public interest P I say it was not in the public interest, and I say that an inquiry into the transaction should take place, (Applause.) I ask Sir James Carroll to, say what has taken place. If he will not do so as a result of my statement hero, I will ask him in. Parliament. Wo want to sec native land settled, but wo want to see it settled in tiie proper way.” (Applause.)