THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1908. NATIVE LANDS AND RATES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9163, 11 August 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1908. NATIVE LANDS AND RATES.

It is officially reported that the total area of Maori land completely purchased during the year ending March 31st last only amounted to 263,000 acres, and that the incompleted purchases were 55,534 acres. That is td say, in spite of the Native Lands Commission, the result of the work by the Government upon the Native land problem has been to bring less than 320,000 acres under the Crown. Mr Carroll's threat that it would take ten years to throw half a million acres open to Pakeha settlement appears likely to he realised, if this indicates the spirit of the Government. Neither the Maori nor the Pakeha benefit by the persistent refusal to sell all surplus Native lands, and to individualise the remaining lands. Not only is Maori land quite unprofitable until it is brought into use and comparatively unprofitable until it is brought under cultivation, but as long as it is exempt from rates it is an incubus in every district where it is to be found. Every justice should be done to the Maoris, but it is quite as necessary to do justice to the Pakeha settlers, whose roads and settlements are now increasing the value of the Maori lands, without these lands contributing a penny to the cost, and

without their assisting in any way whatever the development of the country. This is not advantageous to the poor Maori, because he can neither use nor sell immensely valuable tracts in which he has a share; and it is a crushing burden upon the backblocks road boards. It is bad enough in a country where roads are the main difficulty to have to make them through long stretches of unimproved land, in order to reach isolated settlements, but when this unimproved land is exempt from rating the position is made infinitely worse.