EDUCATIONAL RESERVES.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 11977, 21 September 1906, Page 5

EDUCATIONAL RESERVES.

» THEIR ADMINISTRATION BY RELIGIOUS BODIES. DISCUSSED IN THE HOUSE. AN INQUIRY ASKED FOB. (From Our Pnrliatnentitry Bp*»cial). (By telegraph.) WELLINGTON, September 20. Refering to the answer given by the Minister of Education to his question regarding the appointment of a Commission to inquire into the position and administration of reserves entrusted to the Wesleyand and Roman Catholic authorities, the member for the Eastern Maori district said the Minister's answer was that this was a question of policy which had not yet been considered. Mr Ngata said he recognised that the Minister of Education had not held office long, but he would remind him that during the late Minister's term of office it was one of the matters that had received considerable attention: the question of enquiry into reserves handed over by natives sixty year* ago to Bishop Selwyn and the Roman Catholic and Wesleyan authorities. There had been numerous inquiries to some of these trusts; in the case of Te Aute there had been twelve, and in regard to Wanganui eight, by select committees and Royal Commissions. He found that since 1873 there were only two inquiries into the position of the trusts held by the Wesleyan and Roman Catholic authorities. During the late Mr Seddon's term of office he said he was determined to make enquiries into the trusts. He had begun with Porirua, following with an enquiry into the Wairarapa reserves. Then theTe was the recent enquiry into the Te Aute and Wanganui trusts. All of these were Church of England trusts. Speaking on behalf of the natives, he urged that before the Government introduced a bill giving effect to these Royal Commissions the work of enquiry should be carried into completion by ascertaining the position of the Roman Catholip and Wesleyan trusts. If thii was done the member* would be able to follow better the proposed legislation. It was rather an invidious position to place the Church of England authorities in, that they should be singled out by the late Government. It was only natural that enquiries should also be asked into other trusts.

The Minister of Education (Mr FowWr), replying to Mr Ngata, said he thought it would be possible that in any legislation that was introduced to make provision to take in other truata after enquiries had been made. The assertion that the Church of England had been singled out was wrong, and prominence having been given to the position of one or two special reserves under their charge tbe matter had to be enquired into. The other reserves Trere oft,, belonging to tht AV-esleyan authorities and anothor to tlio Roman Catholic body, both iv the .\urkland provincn.