The Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume IV, Issue 413, 26 August 1876, Page 2

The Bay of Plenty Times

"THE SPIRIT .OF THE TIMES SHALL TEACH ME SPEED." KING JOHN, ACT IV.

Saturday, August 26, 1876.

A Parliamentary Paper recently presented to both Houses by command of His Excellency, contains several highly important and interesting reports from Mr C. O. Davis and Mr Henry Mitchell, . the late Land Purchase Commissioners for the Bay of Plenty and Taupo districts. These documents furnish an abridged history of land operations in the Arawa districts during the past ten years: seven years under the auspices of private speculators, and the last three years by the Government Agents under the Public Works and Immigration Acts. We have, scanned these papers with- the- utmost interest, as the subjects embraced ,sb.erein contain matter of great public-.moment, andof special concern to our own East Coast communities. . We here find • the precise information, regarding the nature and extent of these negotiations which many of us have often desired to- obtain, and we rise from their perusal with the conviction that a large and most valuable estate has been, either wholly or partially, secured • for- the colony, and within the boundaries of districts we may fairly call " our own." At Maketu, some eighteen miles down the Coast, we find that not less than, 90,000 acres in four blocks have been purchased for the Crown. Then at Matata, eleven blocks with an area of 20,000 acres; and 'at Rotorua, the very centre and capital of the Arawas and anti-selling land leaguers, another large block of 20,000 acres o E rich forest land ; while six blocks in Taupo,":"<£>n~ taining.B7,ooo acres, complete the purchases effected by the Commissioners, giving a total area of 217,000 acres at prices ranging from lOd. to 4s. per acre. The area for which leases have been negotiated, we are informed by these reports, amounts to 980,000 acres ; six blocks being completed and ready for European settlement, containing an

area of 235,000 acres. . The remaining 750,000 acres (chiefly in; the Rotorua. district) are not" quite- prepared for occupation, . owing . to disputes as to title amongst the natives themselves, and now.' await investigation by some duly constituted tribunal, before final' arrangements are concluded. The rentals seem to have been negotiated, on. very easy and favorable terms, averaging a id. per acre in Taupo . to . Id. per acre in the Bay of Plenty, districts, and the leases vary from-twenty-one to thirty year's. The policy, of leasing native lands by the Crown is one which does not at once commend itself to our mind ; but under the circumstances of so much innate hostility so long and strenuously shewn by these natives to parting with their lands in fee simple, and keeping in view the probability of effecting the extinguishment of native title during the term of these long leases, , we • have confidence in this mode of dealing with the Arawa lands, and in ensuring thereby, both a political and commercial success. The political importance to ' the North Island, and the Colony, of our securing these vast areas of lands, comprising the volcanic plateaux of Taupo and Kaingaroa to the Coast, cannot be over estimated. Their extent and geographical positon alone forming as it were a huge wedge of territory — its base resting on the shores of the Bay of Plenty, and its apex protruding far into the King Country beyond Tokaanu and Tongariro — renders its possession and control, by a civilised Government, a matter cf great national significance, in respect to the peace, stability, and prosperity of the country. The commercial and rigidly utilitarian advantages to accrue from the acquirement of these lands, are' demonstrated in the exceedingly able report now before us, and the following pithy extracts, in "regard to the pastoral and agricultural resources of the surrounding Arawa regions," will be read with much satisfaction by everyone interested in the East Coast settlements : —

The Arawa country, as a whole, has been cried down as a " desert of pumice ;" and those who profess to have great knowledge of soils and their adaptation to grasses, speak loudly against the runholders for taking up so dreary a country, and some of the local newspapers have criticised the action of Q-overn ment for '• wasting," as they, say, " money on such deserts." It never has been proved, however, that these poor-looking pumice soils will not grow grasses, for the simple reason that no attempt has been made to try their capabilities. Some persons indeed, in their fool-hardiness, ploughed up certain places at Taupo and scattered grass seed, forgetting at the time that the plough-share should not have touched the soil, as it did not require to be made more porous by ploughing, bur. more compressed by rollers. One thi/ig is certain, that, in . many- localities where no plough 1 share has been introduced, fine clover and various other English grasses have embedded themselves in the pumice soil, and on some of the despised runs sheep are thriving remarkably well, the runholders sending yearly their wool to the Napier market. The late William Buokland, whose praotioal knowledge in agricultural pursuits was uaosfc extensive, often expressed his conviction that the very worst-lookiDg pumioe lanfl of Taupo would be productive of English grasses some day,Bhould the work- be intrusted to competent and skilful persons From the year 1866 up to 1872, various private mdi' viduals from both the North and Middle Islands, anxious to obtain runs in the Arawa country, treated directly with the Natives, and paid large deposits to the professed owners, contrary to law, so determined were they to gain possession, if possible, of the lands in question, notwithstanding the oft' repeated assertion that the whole of the country .is a" silent barren desert." ,

. . . The peculiarity of the Arawa country, in relation to its wonderful terraces, its geysers and numerous mineral springs, is attracting nutnb3rs of visitors year by year from Europe, America, Australia, North and South Islands of Jtfew Zealand ; and owing to this large concourse of persons during 'the summer months, and the benefits derived by invalids from various mineral baths, said to contain sulphur, arsenio, naptha, alum, iron, and other chemicals, many private speculators have leased and bought plots of land unlaw ■ fully, anticipating that the district will ere long become populace, in consequence of its multitudinous springs and other advantages. That such a. country should become the property of the Crown, and that strenuous efforts houd be put forth to secure so desirable an obsect, will scarcely bo questioned by. any man of jrefle. tion, although it ia considered fashionable by newspaper writers to deplore the action of Government in its attempt to secure this valuable public domain, and to cry the country down as a " silent barren desert," broken only by its lakes — Taupo, Rotorua, Tikitapu, Rotokakahi, Okareka, Okataina, Tarawera, Rerewhakaitu. Rotomahana, Rotoma, Rotoehu, Eoloiti, and others.

When we consider the fact that under the proposed new political, divisions of the Colony, each district will have the administration of the bulk of its local land revenue, the cheering prospect dawns upon us, that the County of Eotorua, with, its territorial resources almost unbroken upon, and enhanced by the value of thirty years of colonisation in adjacent settlements, will form one of the richest divisions of the North Island. The blocks purchased by the- Commissioners seem to be chiefly in the best and most accessible districts, including large areas of totara and other valuable forests. The Maketu, . Matata, and Potorua purchases of some 150,000 acres, are

well known to be eminently adapted for agricultural or pastoral; settlement ; while tlie terms arranged with, the natives are such as will enable the county (or whatever name the local adaiinistration will assume) authorities, to bear the cost of surveys, roads, bridges, and other public works necessary for opening the newcountry to European occupation. A large portion of the report is explanatory of the native troubles, disputes, and embroglios, which have hampered the operations of the Commission during the past two years. We will not refer more particularly to this aspect of the subject, further than to state our conviction that the difficulties met with by the Commissioners are recognised by all who- have any knowledge whatever of the Arawa tribes, or their ancient Maori characteristics. Boastful of their origin from Tama te Kapua (son of the cloud), famed in Maori annals for craft and hypocrisy, they are adepts in the exercise of cunning and shrewdness, elasticity of conscience, and dexterity of invention, when questions of power, influence, and personal gain, arise amongst them,; and such questions, on a wide scale,- would be involved in the extensive land negotiations undertaken by Messrs C. 0. Davis and Henry Mitchell. "While, however, we are fully cognisant of the difficulties which have beset the Government and the Commissioners, at every step, in carrying out these land negotiations, we do not look upon these obstacles as insurmountable, an opinion strengthened by a perusal of. the report, and endorsed by the general native sentiment, coming to us from various channels throughout the district. The payment of public monies as deposits on purchas.es or leases to those • tribes, considered by the Commissioners as the owners of the soil, tended, we are well aware, to inflame the intertribal jealousies of the Arawa, and especially to provoke those chiefs and sections who were not so recognised, into an attitude of hostility to the Government negotiations, and which recently found vent in an armed interference with the progress of Te Puke surveys. It appears quite evident to us, that however skilled in native diplomacy, and however reliable the knowledge of" the situation, and the judgment of theObmmissioners may be, it will be impossible to » satisfy the • noit-recognised native claimants — who are, we-under-stand, both influential and numerous — unless another- and independent tribunal be called 1 in to decide the value *of their claims. What form this tribunal should assume, or how constituted, we do* not pretend to decide, but that perfect freedom from all local bias, prejudice, and selfinterest, must be insisted on, seems jusfc and indispensable* The Native Lands Court under- "the- new Act, i would appear to possess all" the requisite machinery for the final and impartial settlement of most of the Government land transactions in these districts. The Maketu lands- alone seem exceptional. The scene of constant invasions, and the stronghold of foregin tribes, against which the whole Arawa nation carried on incessant guerilla war for centuries, the original and ancestral claims upon the soil must be somewhat dimmed, if not partially obliterated! Such, at all events, is the view maintained by those sections of the Arawa who, although only distantly related to the ancestral owners, at length, after finally expelling the invaders, settled down as permanent co-occupiers of the country. The Native Lands Court, however, decided against these claimants in a test case, heard by Judge Smith at Tauranga, in 1871, and the Land Purchase Commissioners, acting in accordance with this decision, also ignored them in the payment of public monies, as deposits on the agreements of purchase^ and only recognised the ancestral claimants represented by Tapuika, Waitaha, and part of Ngatipikiao tribes, many of whom are residing on the Maketu lands, and others are scattered throughout the district. . Under these circumstances, we would suggest that a Special Commissioner should be appointed to settle this Maketu difficulty. The non-recognised claimants comprise many of our foremost Arawa chiefs and Government Assessors — men of influence,., and our- staunch allies in the struggle against the King movement,' the Hauhau rebellion, and in Te Kooti's wars. They are not unlikely, therefore, to be amenable to reason ; and the majority, indeed, profess an earnest desire to meet the Government views in relation to securing the Maketu lands for European settlement, and ending the existing state of estrangement which has been brought' about solely, they aver, from the non-recognition of what they consider their just Claims. We were glad to observe that Mr Davis, in a recent letter to thi» journal, considers that " -little or no diffi\

culty" "exists in < completing the acquisition: of. these Maketu lands, .and we. •• would, therefore, further suggest to the • Government, the propriety of accepting his statement, and of at once securing his services in conjunction .with -Mr ■ Henry Mitchell, to assist in ; bringing . about this, devoutly to be wished for,-, consummation. .

The Bay of Plenty portion o£ the East Coast Electorate is to be congratulated i on having one of its residents as - M.H.R., and.. Captain . Morris is to be. - congratulated on. the remarkable, we may say the -unprecedented, success of " his protest, against the return of Mr - G. E. Eead, of Poverty; Bay.- We trust sincerely that the matterr feeing • settled, all party strife will ' cease/ ancfci that the settlers will, as one man, give • our member their . hearty sympathy im his efforts to promote the interests of . the district... For our own part, while • not agreeing politically with CaptainMorris on.< many subjects, we shall, accord him su-cb> a. measure of loyal, support as may be consistent with' the view we may from, time to time see cause to take on political matters**^

A keconstrttction of the Ministry will follow the prorogation of Parliament. Sir Julius Y<)gel will go home and assume the Agent-Q-eneralship ; Mr Stafford will, as far as can at the present moment be predicted/ take the office of Premier ; and Mr Frederick Whitaker, the member for the Waikato, will be appointed AttorneyGreneral with a seat in the Cabinet, thus making that office, atlength, wha,t it should, in our opinion, all along have been — a political one.. It is rumoured in well-informed circles, that Sir Donald McLean purposes making a sojourn in .Europe at the end of the year, but who his probable successor as Native Minister will be is not known.