THE NATIVE LAND QUESTION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2578, 12 August 1909, Page 3

THE NATIVE LAND QUESTION.

[To the Editor.] Sir, —I have hoped that the caustic comments passed upon the mal-adminis-tration of the Native Land Department by several of your correspondents of late, would have been _ followed by a strong agitation for a just and equitable policy on the part of the Government. ..

There is no doubt that autocratic power is wielded by the interested parties who almost openly defy the Europeans who wish to see the Native Lands settled, and the fact of the retirement of a judge whose efforts were directed towards that end, and the absolutely silly statement about the dearth of surveyors delaying work, show that the sympathies of the Native members arc entirely with the Maori element, while so long as a gullible public will accept vague statements and pleasant platitudes, the Native Minister will supply the article cheaply. \ If the Native Minister were in Parliament solely as a representative of the Maoris, we could, perhaps, appreciate his attitude and he in a position to combat his' efforts; but ho is supposed to renresent the European Electorate of Gisborne, yet on his own showing he has done little or nothing of the work he is paid to do, or towards settling Na-. tive Lands whose idleness so deeply affects the prosperity of ‘this district. For years we have been waiting for the settlement of the Waiapu lands, yet we seem to be as far off as ever from thatdesirable accomplishment. Socialists rail against landlordism and, appeal to the Government to breakup large areas of land which Europeans have spent years in breaking in and improving, while ono or two men aro practically prohibiting the resumption of magnificent virgin forest, or-else grudgingly leasing upon terms frequently mequitable to the tenants, and at high rents, occasional blocks which the owners have been enabled to deal with through the efforts of Native solicitors. Thus there is being created a body of loafing landlords who are a curse to themselves as a race, and whose degenerate descendants will on the expiration of the leases inherit large areas of highly improved sh«ep country which European enterprise, European capital, and the general development of the whole Dominion by European enlightenment, have made of high value, and to which high value the said heirs have contributed not a hand’s turn nor a penny. It is predicted by many who have seen the forest lands of the aforesaid Waiapu that the district will, if properly handled, bo a second Tara/tuu. and the country from, Capo Runaway to Opotiki, be a second East Coast, carrying hundreds of prosperous sheep men. is it right then that all this country should revert to those who have done nothing for the country that spoon-feeds them ? To prove that assertions of “blocking” or unwarranted delays are not made without foundation, I may state that an Opotiki solicitor, told me that it seemed almost impossible to get a Native Land Court to sit there and deal with the work. There were, he said, over a "hundred items, such as Succession Orders, Incorporation, Leases, etc., waiting to be dealt with, and he was weary of sending requests to headquarters to have them attended to; the task seemed hopeless, and as an instance of how such delay affects the welfare of the whole community, there was one well-known Poverty Bay settler whose lease had been signed 12 months ago, whose landlords were really anxious to get the matter settled (for many of the Natives are only too willing "to have their country handled, if the Government would let them) and who had camped for months on the property, making a small .beginning in the; 'way, of clearing, but who was afraid to build a home or spend much capital lest the Court should refuse to consent to a lease for which he was paying five per cent, on the Government Valuation, with ( no compensation for , any improvements, but which he was v ready to bring into profit. After repeated requests, a personal visit to Wellington, and in the end, by the influence of the Member for the Bay of Plenty, who realises the injustice of such delays, a sitting of the Court lias been consented to at last, and a day has been appointed during this month when 254 cases of all kinds must be brought forward for adjudication! Just imagine a Supreme Court Judge being called upon to deal with two hundred and fifty-four cases at one limited sitting! It is so manifestly unlikely that all can be even brought forward that someone’s business will suffer a further postponement and cause a delay that is unjust to all concerned. I hope that others will ventilate all the grievances that exist in transactiqns, with Natives, .till- impartial officials are at last appointed to deal justly and in a business-like manner with Native affairs. —I am, etc., “EXPEDITION.”