The Maori Affairs Bill, 1952

Te Ao Hou, Autumn 1953, Page 54

The Maori Affairs Bill, 1952 KO TE PIRE MO NGA MEA TAKE MAORI, 1952 I tera putanga o Te Ao Hou ka whakamaramatia te aronga o nga ahuatanga hou e pa ana ki te iwi Maori me o ratou whenua kua whakakaupapatia ki Te Pire Mo Nga Take Maori, 1952, ka takoto ano i te Kawanatanga ki te aroaro o Te Paremata i tenei tau. Mo nga mokamoka whenua Maori, ka peheatia? Kei tenei tuhituhinga nga ata whakamarama. Ki ta Te Pire e kore ai e haere tonu te wawahi i runga i nga ture Kairiiwhi paanga whenua tupapaku. Ko ta Te Pire i whakarite ai inaianei ki te mate tetahi Maori kaore ana wira ka tuku ona whenua me ana taonga ki ana tamariki ki ona whanaunga tata ranei i a te Maori i ana tikanga. Penei na mehemea tokorima nga tamariki a taua tupapaku ka wawahia ona paanga whenua me ana taonga kia orite tonu ki aua tamariki. Ina ra mehemea kotahi ruuri ano te paanga whenua o taua tupapaku ka whakaratotia ki aua tamariki tokorima. He takitahi rawa atu nga Moari e hanga wira ana ka tuku i o ratou paanga whenua he tangata ke. Kei te marama te mutunga mai o enei ahuatanga. E hia nei mano nga paanga whenua Maori takitahi kua kore noaiho he wariu ara ia kei raro iho pea i te kotahi kapa. Ko etahi ano o aua paanga takitahi kei raro iho i te rima paati rau atu rau atu, a ko te rahi ano o etahi he uaua te ora o te tangata kotahi kei roto ano i nga rau tona nui. He mea hemanawa rawa atu tenei nga mokamoka whenua Maori, haunga ia ki te hunga no ratou aua whenua engari ki te hunga kei a ratou nga mahi whakahaere penei me Te Kooti me Te Tari Maori. He nui nga mahi he whakatikatika i nga taitara he whakarato i nga moni reti a he whakatikatika i nga riihi. Kaore he amuamu mo te nui o te mahi engari ia ko te kaha pakupaku o nga mokamoka whenua nei e pau ana te 5/- a Te Kawanatanga hei utu i nga raruraru mo te utu i te whakaratotanga i te 2/6 o nga reti, a ko etahi ano ma te 50 tau katahi ano ka eke ki te kotahi kapa te moni reti. Ko ianei ra nga ahuatanga a e tika ana kia hangaia he ture hei whakatikatika. Ki te kore hoki he raruraru tona mutunga. Kua puta nga korero mo nga rongoa hei whakatikatika i enei mate ara mo nga mahi whakatopu paanga, mo te whakawhaiti i nga In the last issue of Te Ao Hou a general sketch was given of the new laws affecting Maoris and Maori land proposed in the Maori Affairs Bill, which the Government intends to place before Parliament again this year. In this article, special detailed consideration is given to the question of the many very small interests in Maori land, and to the methods proposed by the Bill for dealing with those interests, and for preventing their further cutting up, or “fragmentation”. At present, when a Maori dies without a will, his interests in Maori land go according to Maori custom. If he has five children, each child gets a fifth of each interest of the deceased, and so on. If the deceased person has a share of, say, one rood in a block, then that rood will be split among his children. Very few Maoris leave wills devising their lands to persons other than those who would in any case inherit by Maori custom. The result is plain to see for anyone who has anything to do with Maori land. Thousands of land interests exist which are literally worth nothing—less than one penny. Many more interests would amount to areas of less than five perches. Small blocks of land, which at the best would support one person, have hundreds of owners. This means not only that owners find difficulties in the way of using the land, but that in some cases the trouble and expense of even leasing it to others are too great to make this course worthwhile. As well as these drawbacks, there is a tremendous strain thrown upon the Court and the Department organisation in keeping title records up to date, and in distributing rents among owners. The work involved in distributing rents is often out of all proportion to the actual money concerned. It is costing in some cases (in clerical wages, etc.) 5/- to distribute 2/6. Many owners have shares so small that they are entitled to rents of less than a penny a year; cases are known where it would take over 50 years before some very small shares would be entitled to a penny rent! This is the position, and it is no longer a question of whether any change should or can be made, but how soon something can be done to improve matters. As things are now, there is even a danger of the Maori Affairs administration collapsing with the rapidly growing number of interests. Various suggestions have been made for improving this position. Some people have pointed to the consolidation schemes as providing

paanga ki te tangata kotahi kia totopu ai, me whakakore atu ranei nga whenua Maori me hoko e Te Karuna, a me whakakaporeihana ranei. Tera e taea nga mahi whakatopu paanga me nga whakakaporeihana, engari e kore te Kawanatanga e whakaaro ki te tango i nga whenua o te Maori ki te tango pokanoa ranei i nga paanga whenua o tetahi Maori ka hoatu he tangata ke. Ko te whakatopu paanga te taanga manawa i nga ra ka taha; engari ki te ata tirohia ano ahakoa pehea te nui o te mahi kua whakapaua ki nga mahi whakatopu paanga ina noa ake te wahi o nga whenua mo tenei mahi kua rakuhia. Ko te whakatopu paanga he mahi nui he mahi roa a ma nga tangata tohunga kua whawha ki tera tu mahi e ata takatau. Ahakoara he taanga manawa noa iho te mahi whakatopu paanga ka matemate nga matua ka whakauruurua nga tamariki hei kairiiwhi a nawai ra ka hoki ano nga taitara ki nga ahua wheru o mua atu. Tetahi ahakoa pehea te pai o te mahi i nga mahi whakatopu paanga ka toe tonu etahi mokamoka hei whakaanini i nga apiha mahi i tenei mahi. I te timatatanga o nga mahi whakatopu paanga kawea ai nga paanga mokamoka ki nga wahi whakarihariha, ka wehea hei rori hei rahui ranei. Na he pai tonu te whakaaro me whakakaporeihana nga whenua Maori ara me tuku aua whenua ma tetahi komiti e whakahaere e riihi ranei. He nui nga whenua Maori kei te peneitia a ka nui te ora o te hunga no ratou aua whenua. Engari ia tera ano ona makenu—ahakoa ano hoki kei raro nga whenua i te kaporeihana ka haere tonu nga mahi kairiiwhi ki nga paanga o te hunga kua tupapakutia kia whai rarangi ingoa ai hoki mo te karawarawa i nga moni hua o aua whenua. E tika ana hoki me ata mahi nga kaute o nga kaporeihana ahakoa kore hua hei karawarawa, engari kia noho tika ai nga kaute hei maunga ringa mo te Tari Taake. Ka piki haere te tokomaha o te hunga kei runga i te rarangi ingoa o aua whenua ka taumaha nga mahi ma nga tangata mahi i nga kaute a kua timata tonu te hemanawa haere o taua hunga inaianei, e ako a ko ake nei e kore e kitea te aroaro whenua. Ko te whakakaporeihana me te tuku i nga whenua ki te ringa o te Kaitieki ehara i te rongoa pumau mo nga hemanawatanga o nga mokamoka whenua Maori. Ina tetahi mea hei ata whakaarotanga. He tokomaha o te hunga no ratou nga mokamoka paanga whenua Maori e whakaae ana ki te hoko i o ratou paanga mehemea ka whiwhi ratou i tetahi utu tika. Ko te nuinga o taua hunga kua whati ki nga taone mahi ai, a ko o ratou mokamoka whenua kua kore noaiho he the answer. Others suggest that the Court should be given power to award an interest to one successor only, if it thinks the interest too small to be split up. Another view is that the whole root of the trouble should be eradicated by doing away with Maori land altogether—with the Crown gradually buying it up. Yet another suggestion is that the solution lies in making more use of incorporations, or something of the sort. Of these suggestions, consolidation and incorporation appear the most promising. The Government is not prepared to consider any course which would deprive Maoris generally of their land, nor any course which would result in arbitrarily benefiting one successor at the expense of others. As for consolidation, great hopes have been pinned to this in the past, but it is painfully clear that the immense amount of work so far put into this operation has not produced proportionate results. Consolidation is a slow and difficult process, requiring the services of highly trained officers. It would not be practicable to undertake consolidation in more than a comparatively limited way. Apart from this, consolidation does not provide any final answer. Even if a consolidation scheme results in the holding of land in worthwhile areas, the same old trouble of splitting interests goes on, as owners die and are succeeded. Then, too, there is the point that no matter how well a consolidation scheme is carried out, there are always a number of small interests the location of which is a headache. One solution in the past has been to cut off a block of the roughest part of the land for these small owners. Sometimes this land is put into roads or reserves. Consolidation, by itself, does not even for the time being dispose of all the small interests. The incorporation suggestion is interesting, and has some obvious advantages. It means putting the land into the hands of trustees or committees of management to work or lease. Many incorporations have been working successfully for years. This is all very well, but it does not do away with the main evil. Even when interests are incorporated, succession still goes on, lists of owners must be kept, and profits distributed to those owners. The incorporation must keep fairly detailed accounts, even if only for taxation purposes, and for all except the biggest blocks the cost of keeping proper records and accounts is, with the growing numbers of owners, becoming a serious burden. Incorporation and vesting in trustees does not really avoid the difficulties arising from numerous interests. There is another side of the whole matter. Many owners with comparatively small interests

take ki a ratou. Otira i te kaha paku o etahi o aua paanga ma te pane kuini noa me nga raruraru o te ture ka pau te moni hoko a kaore noa iho he take i hokona ai e tetahi tangata whai paanga ki tetahi atu tangata whai paanga. Ko ta Te Pire he wehe i tetahi putea moni ki te ringa o te Kaitiaki Maori no nga hua ra o ana tahua taua putea (a me nga hua hoki o nga tahua a nga Poari Whenua Maori kua whakakorea ake nei) hei tango i aua mokamoka. Ka ata wehea aua paanga e tangohia penei, ka hokona ana totopu ki tetahi Maori hei tuunga whare hei mahi ahuwhenua ranei. Ka utua te moni tika ki te hunga no ratou aua whenua a ka noho tonu ki te Maori mo ona whakaaro. Tetahi ma konei ka taea e tetahi tangata whai paanga te tango mai nga paanga o etahi atu kia totopu ai te wahanga ki a ia. KO TE TAHUA MONI HEI HOKO WHENUA: Ko ta te Wahanga XIII o Te Pire i whakarite ai me wehe tetahi tahua moni ki te ringa o te Kaitieki Maori me hua ko Te Tahua Moni Hei Hoko Whenua, no nga moni hua o nga tahua a te Kaitiaki Maori me nga Poari Whenua Maori kua whakakorea ake nei. Ma te Tahua nei e tango mai nga hea pakupaku me te utu o nga raruraru. Ana totopu aua paanga e ahei ana te Kaitiaki Maori ki te hoko ki tetahi Maori ki te uri ranei o te Maori; ki tetahi Maori ki te uri ranei o te Maori; ki tetahi kaporeihana ranei; ki te Karauna ranei hei tuunga whare Maori hei whenua ahuwhenua Maori ranei; engari kaua ki tetahi tangata ke atu ara ki te Pakeha. Ko nga whenua ka hokona ki te Pakeha. Ko nga whenua ka hokona ki te Maori ki nga kaporeihana ranei ka noho whenua Maori tonu. Ko nga moni o nga hoko nei me era atu moni hua o aua whenua ka whakahokia ki te putea moni hei hoko whenua ano. Ko nga whenua kei te ringa o te Kaitieki Maori e whanga ana ki te hoko ka tukua ki te riihi. Ina me whakamarama penei ka totopu nga paanga kua hokona mai i tetahi poraka ka wehea ka hokona. E ahei ana Te Tahua ki te hoko mai i nga paanga o tetahi tangata mehemea ka whakaae taua tangata a i runga ranei i nga ahuatanga e whai ake nei:— KO TE HOKO O NGA WHENUA TUPAPAKU: Ki te mate tetahi Maori tetahi uri ranei o te Maori, he paanga whenua Maori ona, ka tuku ona whenua ki te Kaitiaki Maori i tona tuunga ‘Kaiwhakahaere Mo Nga Whenua Maori’. Ma te Kooti Whenua Maori e whakatau ko wai ma hei kairiiwhi mo aua would be just as well pleased to be quit of them if they could get a reasonable price. Families have moved from their home districts to cities or industrial areas, and their small, scattered interests of land are no good to them—in fact a nuisance. Legal costs and stamp duty often make a sale not worth while, even as between owners. What the Bill proposes, then, is to set up, under the management of the Maori Trustee, a fund, drawn from the accumulated profits of the Maori Trustee (including those of the former Maori Land Boards) to buy up small interests, for the use of Maoris generally. The interests bought will be earmarked, and cannot be disposed of except to Maoris or persons of Maori blood, or for Maori purposes such as housing or development. A fair price is to be paid for the interests, and the land is not lost to the Maori people. At the same time a simple and inexpensive means is provided for the sale of interests as between owners, thus allowing an owner to build up, by degrees, a worthwhile interest in a block by buying from owners who wish to give up their interests. CONVERSION FUND: Part XIII of the Bill establishes, under the management of the Maori Trustee, a fund known as the Conversion Fund, drawn from the accumulated profits of the Maori Trustee and of the former Maori Land Boards. The fund will finance the acquisition of small interests in Maori land, and the costs of administering these interests. The interests may be sold by the Maori Trustee to any Maori or to the descendant of any Maori; to a body corporate of owners; or to the Crown, for the purposes of Maori housing or Maori land development, but not to any other person. All land sold to a Maori or to a body corporate continues to be Maori land. Money derived from the sale of any land as above returns to the fund, as do all revenues received from such land while it is held as an asset of the fund. Land held in the fund can be leased while it is awaiting sale. The idea is that, when the Maori Trustee has accumulated in the fund enough interests in a block of land to make up an area which can be economically used, he shall have the area partitioned out and offered for sale. Purchases may be made by agreement with any owner, or under the following provisions:— PURCHASES ON SUCCESSION: On the death of an owner of Maori land, being a Maori or a descendant of a Maori, his interests are temporarily vested in the Maori Trustee in the capacity of ‘Maori Land Administrator’. The Court determines, in the

paanga whenua a ko ta te Kaitiaki Maori he whakarite i te wariu o aua paanga, ko te wariu a te Kawanatanga. Mehemea kei raro iho i te £50 te wariu o te katoa o aua paanga whenua o te hea takitahi ranei o nga kairiiwhi ka hokona e te Kaitiaki Maori ki nga moni o te Tahua kua whakaingoatia ake nei, a ko nga moni ka whakaputaina ki nga kairiiwhi, mehemea hoki kei runga ake i te £50 ke heke ki nga kairiiwhi penei ano i ta ture i whakarite ai. Ki te whakaae tetahi whanau me tuku o ratou paanga whenua pakupaku ki te mea kotahi kei te pai tena, engari kaua e heke iho te wariu o te katoa o aua paanga whenua i te £50 ko ia nei te tino mea. Otira mehemea he wira ta te tupapaku ka wariutia ano ona paanga whenua a mehemea kei raro iho i te £50 te wariu o te wahanga i tukua ki tetahi tangata ka tangohia taua paanga ki te puteo kuo whakahuatia ake nei. Mehemea hoki i eke ki te £50 makere atu te wariu o aua paanga whenua i tukua i te wira a taua tupapaku e pai ana tena. Kaore he aruaru a te Pire i te hanga wira a te Maori. Ki te taupatupatu nga whakaaro mo nga wariu me tono kia ata wariutia ano e te Kawanatanga engari me utu nga raruraru o taua wariutanga, a ki te wariu peneitia te whenua e kore e whakaaetia tetahi atu wariu mo te toru tau. E ahei ana te Kaitieki Maori ki te whakatoitoi ki te hoko i etahi paanga whenua. Ko tenei ritenga mo nga whenua tu ngahere he uaua ki te wariu a mo nga whenua ranei kei te noho taumaha i te mokete. KO TE HOKO O NGA PAANGA WHENUA KUA WEHEA E TE KOOTI: Kei te Wahanga XVI o Te Pire e mau ana nga korero mo nga mahi wehewehe paanga whenua. E ahei ana Te Kooti ki te whakatau ko nga paanga whenua o tetahi Maori ana wehea, ahakoa tapiria ki etahi atu o onga paanga, e kore e whai kiko ki taua Maori me hoko ki te Kaitiaki Maori mo te utu ma te Kooti e whakatau. Ki te whakae te Kaitiaki Maori ki taua whakatau ka tangohia aua paanga whenua ka whakaputaina ko te moni ki te Maori. usual manner, the persons who are entitled to the interests of the deceased, and the Maori Trustee then has the duty of ascertaining the value of those interests. Generally speaking, values are ascertained from the current Valuation Roll. When the interest, which in the ordinary course would pass to any successor, is of a value less than £50, it shall be purchased by the Maori Trustee for the Conversion Fund, and the value thereof paid to the successor. If an interest is of a value of more than £50, it shall be passed on to the successor in the usual way. Provision is made for the making of any family arrangement among successors, but the great principle is that no person shall receive any interest which, by itself or together with any shares he may already possess in the same land, will entitle him to a value of less than £50. Where the deceased Maori left a will, the interests are valued in the same way, and if the interest left under the will to any person is less than £50, it is bought for the conversion fund, and the person to whom it was left gets the money instead. If, on the other hand, the interest is worth £50 or more, it goes to the person named in the will. The Bill in no way interferes with the right of a Maori to make a will. Where any disagreement exists as to value, a special Government valuation may be obtained, upon the deposit by any interested party of the cost of such a valuation, but where a special valuation has been made of any land, no further special valuation shall be made within a period of three years. The Maori Trustee is given power to refuse to purchase any interests. This provision is meant to meet cases where there would be undue difficulty in valuation, as in the case of timber lands, or where the position is complicated by reason of some existing mortgage. PURCHASE ON PARTITION: In Part XVI of the Bill, dealing with partitions, the Court is given power, when making any partition, to recommend that any interest—which, by itself or in conjunction with any other interest to which any owner is entitled, could not, on partition, in the opinion of the Court, be used with advantage to the owner as a separate holding—be acquired by the Maori Trustee for the Conversion Fund at a price to be fixed by the Court. If the Maori Trustee accepts the recommendation, the interest shall be bought by the Conversion Fund, and the price paid to the owner.

KO NGA HOKO WHENUA I RUNGA I NGA MAHI WHAKATOPU PAANGA: Ko ta te Wahanga XVIII o Te Pire he whakamana i te Kooti Whenua Maori i runga i nga mahi whakatopu paanga ki te tango i nga mokamoka whenua pera ano i runga i nga whakaritenga mo nga paanga kua wehea e Te Kooti. KO NGA HOKO ANA WHAKARAPOPOTOTIA NGA RARANGI INGOA O TE HUNGA WHAI PAANGA: Ko ta Wharangi 424 o Te Pire he whakawhiwhi i te Kooti ki tetahi mana hou e taea ai te Whakatikatika te Whakarapopoto nga rarangi ingoa o te hunga whai paanga ki nga whenu Maori. Ina te whakamarama o tenei. He nui nga whenua ka mutu ano tona taitara riiwhi ki nga paanga o te hunga kua tupapakutia he ota wehe me te tino noa atu o nga ota kai riiwhi, a he mahi nui te whakawhaiti i te toputanga o nga paanga o tena o tena o taua hunga. Eahei ana te Kooti ki te whakawhaiti i aua paanga ki te hunga e tika ana a a te otinga o tenei mahi ka whakamana ai i runga i a te Ture i ana whakaritenga. Ko nga mokamoka paanga e ahei ana te Kooti ki te whakatau kia tangohia e te Tahua moni pera me ta te Pire i whakarite ai. KO TE WHAKARAPOPOTOTANGA: Ko nga paanga whenua Maori e ahei ki te hokona i raro i nga ahua o te wehe paanga, o te whakatopu paanga o nga whakarapopototnga rarangi ingoa ranei ko nga paanga i whakataua e Te Kooti Whenua Maori e kore e whai kiko ki te hunga no ratou aua paanga whenua. I runga i nga tikanga kairiiwhi whenua tupapaku ka hokona nga whenua kei raro iho i te £50 te wariu. Otira e ahei ana te Kaitieki Maori ki te hoko paanga whenua Maori kia putu ki tana putea mehemea he hiahia hoko to tetahi Maori. KO TE HOKO A TETAHI TANGATA WHAI PAANGA KI TETAHI ATU TANGATA WHAI PAANGA Ko ta Wahanga XIX o Te Pire he whakatangatanga i nga ahuatanga e taea i tetahi Maori whai paanga te hoko te tango mai ranei nga paanga o tetahi atu Maori whai paanga mehemea ra ki te whakatau a Te Kooti kei raro iho i te £200 te wariu o aua paanga. Kaore he tono kia whakamana te hoko e Te Kooti engari me tono kia whakataua nga hea o te kaihoko ki tetahi o raua. HE KUPU WHAKAMUTUNGA: Kei te mohio iho ra te hunga na ratou i whakakaupapa tenei Pire tena ano ona makenu. He uaua rawa atu te whakatau i nga wariu o nga whenua, a ko tetahi whai kia kaua e tangohia nga paanga whenua Maori kei nga papakainga, PURCHASE DURING CONSOLIDATION SCHEMES: In Part XVIII of the Bill, the Court is given during the course of any Consolidation Scheme a similar power of recommendation to that existing on partition, i.e., the Court may recommend the sale of uneconomic interests to the Conversion Fund, and the Maori Trustee may accept the recommendation and carry out the transaction. PURCHASE ON MAKING A CONSOLIDATED ORDER: Clause 424 of the Bill confers upon the Court a new jurisdiction—to bring up to date any existing title order. This means that where the title to any piece of Maori land consists of, say, a partition order with a very large number of succession orders, so that there is difficulty in determining anybody's interest without a great amount of work, the Court may compile from the existing orders a consolidated list of owners and shares which, after some formalities, will be given legal effect. In making such an order the Court is given power to recommend the sale of uneconomic interests to the Conversion Fund, as in the case of partitions. GENERAL: The interests which can be sold under partition, consolidation and on the making of a consolidated order, are those which, in the Court's opinion, are not of sufficient size to make a worthwhile usable holding of land for any purpose. On succession, the interests to be sold are those of a value less than £50. The Maori Trustee may, however, at any time, by agreement, buy any interest at all for the Conversion Fund, at prices agreed upon with the owners. TRANSFERS OF LAND BETWEEN OWNERS: Part XIX of the Bill makes provision for a cheap and simple method of transfer of interests among owners in the same land, where the interest is, in the opinion of the Court, of a value not exceeding £200. Instead of proceeding by way of formal transfer, parties apply to the Court for the making of a vesting order, vesting the interest to be transferred in the new owner. CONCLUSION: It is realised by those responsible for the working out of these new proposals that the

kei nga urupa me nga rahui penei. Kua korerotia ake nei e tika ana me waihanga etahi kaupapa hou a ko enei kua whakaaritia atu nei i roto i Te Pire e whakaarotia ana tera e pai noatu hei rongoa mo nga ahuatanga e pa ana ki nga mokamoka whenua Maori i raro i nga ture kiriiwhi paanga tupapaku. Kia marama ehara i te mea ko te tino whakaaro he tango i nga whenua Maori e te putea kua kiia ake nei, kaore mehemea ka whakaae tetahi whanau ki te whakawhaiti i nga whenua o ratou matua kua tupapakutia ki te mea kotahi, tokorua ranei kia totopu ai e pai ana, kei te whakaae te Pire ki tenei ahuatanga. Mehemea he paanga whenua Maori totopu o tetahi tangata ka taea e ia te karo te ngau o nga rei o te Pire ki aua paanga whenua Maori ona ana mate ia, me hanga he wira ka tuku i aua paanga ki ana tamariki, ki ona whanaunga ranei a ki tetahi tangata ranei engari i runga ano i nga wariu kaua e heke iho i te £50 te wariu o te paanga ki te tangata kotahi. Ko te tino whakahe ki nga ahuatanga o te Ture kaore he painga o te wawahi haere tonu i nga paanga whenua Maori kua kore noaiho nei he take i te kaha paku. have drawbacks. The matter of values provides difficulties, and it will be necessary to ensure that owners are not deprived of their interests in places of special tribal or family importance, or in Maori reservations. As has been said before, however, some change is urgently necessary, and the proposals here set out were worked out in the Bill as seeming to offer the fairest, most practical and effective means of tackling the problem of splitting interests. It is emphasised that the object is not to buy up for the Conversion Fund as much land as possible. If successors can agree among themselves to an arrangement which will not result in an interest being split up too far, there is ample power to allow this to be done. Again, if a person has interests in Maori land of a reasonable size and value, he can avoid entirely the operation of the scheme by making a will which leaves the interests among his family in such a way that no one person receives a share of less than £50 value. The whole idea underlying the proposals is that it is worse than useless to go on cutting up shares which are already too small for any purpose whatsoever.