3

G.—7

REPORT. To His Excellency tfie Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand. May it please Your Excellency— We, the Commissioners appointed by Your Excellency to inquire into and make suggestions upon certain specified matters relating to Native lands, and leases of such lands, within the Waikato-Maniapoto Native Land Court District, have the honour to report as follows : — We commenced our sittings at Te Kuiti on the 6th May, 1929, and finished them at Otorohanga on the 30th May, 1929. We held sittings at Te Kuiti, Taumarunui, and Otorohanga. Some sixty-five persons appeared before us as lessees to make representations as to their respective holdings. In addition, we retftived several statements in writing from persons possessing knowledge of Native lands. A copy of the oral statements made to us is attached hSrsfco as Appendix No. 1 [not printed]. Statements in writing, lodged with usisy. Messrs. E. 0. R. Phillips, S. Preston, and W. J. Broadfoot, M.P., are also attached as~Appendic.es Nos. 2, 3, and 4 [not printed]. Each of these statements contains suggestions which we have found of assistance in our consideration of the matters referred to us. We desire especially to refer to the excellent history of Native-land dealings and settlement in the Otorohanga district, and the results thereof, given by Mr. Phillips, and the suggestions made as the result of his experience. These suggestions, like those of Messrs. Broadfoot and Preston, deal mainly with the future. None of these gentlemen out of their expert knowledge, and none of the applicants who appeared, had any practicable suggestion for remedying the troubles under which holders of existing leases claim to be labouring, other than what amounts to expropriation— 1.e., forced sale —or the cancelling of contracts lawfully entered into. This fact emphasizes the difficulty confronting us in endeavouring to find a solution of the problem. After the conclusion of our sittings we personally visited and inspected some sixty-six properties in Te Kuiti, Taumarunui, and Otorohanga districts, which had been the subject of the representations by the different applicants. We have prepared a brief report in each case of the applicants' requests, our opinion thereon, and of the property affected. These reports are attached hereto as Appendices Nos. 5 to 70 [not printed]. The first matter into which we are directed to inquire is : — 1. The operation of the existing laws relating to leases of Native lands, whether vested in a Maori Land Board or not, within the Waikato-Maniapoto Native Land Court District. Consideration of this question will involve consideration of questions numbered 2, 4, 5, and 6, set out in Your Excellency's Commission, namely : — 2. The terms and conditions of such leases as they affect the lessors and lessees respectively. 4. The position of the said lessees with regard to obtaining financial assistance upon the security of their leases for the purpose of developing the land comprised in the leases. 5. The position of such lessors and lessees with regard to improvements made upon the leasehold property during the existence of a lease. 6. The question of whether there should be any statutory provision for ipcreasing or decreasing the rentals of the said lands when the exigency of the case seems to require it. The main difficulties of the applicants who came before us related to —(a) Finance, (b) compensation for improvements, (c) rent. These questions are bound up with the main question of the efficient settlement of Native lands. (a) Finance. There is a concensus of opinion that finance cannot be obtained through any of the ordinary channels on the security of leases of Native land in the WaikatoManiapoto Native Land Court District. The tenure and conditions as to compensation are not considered by financial institutions to be such as to afford any real security for advances. The question of assisting lessees to freehold will be dealt with later.