West Coast Leases

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 96, 28 August 1923, Page 8

West Coast Leases

AMENDING LEGISLATION. Tlie West Coasf Settlement Reserves Amendment Bill, which affects portions of Taranaki, was passed by the Legislative Council, on Monday. Speaking of the measure, Sir Francis Bell said the Bill was the result of a slight failure in the Act of 1913. Ho had hoped this question of West Coast leases would not coma before Parliament again. The scheme of 1913 was that the Public Trustee should pay into the Public Trust fu,nd, out of rents from land, twothirds of the whole of the rents. The natives during the ten yearspof the leases were to receive only one-third of the rents and the remaining twothirds were to bo used for the purpose of redeeming the covenant, which entitled lessees to the value of their improvements. For various reasons ten yearn had proved insufficient. One reason Was that rents had been somewhat less than anticipated and another was that The land, tax had been so increased that it absorbed a large part of the rental. A third reason was that, through the sale of some of the land, the aggregate rental was considerably reduced.

The Bidl merely empowered the Native Trustee, with the consent of the native owners, to grant leases for another five years, after which the land would revert to the native on ners. If the native owners refusgrant’an extension, the money, would be advanced out of the fund by the Native Trustee and made a charge on Native Lands.