The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1909. THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 541, 23 June 1909, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1909. THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN.

The Hon. J. Carroll's temporary occupancy of the position of Prime Minister may have; one U6eful result at any rate. It may turn public attention to tho greatest of the country's grievances, namely, the locking up and keeping idle of the vast areas of Native land ■which the needs of (he nation yearly more urgently require to be developed and made wealth-producing. Much has been said and written in vain upon this sore subject; the Native land legislation itself .is a trackless jungle. It is time that the public, which has been so confused that it has grown apathetic, was made to understand the broad facts of the position at the present time. In its briefest form, the position is this: that there are millions of, acres of Native land either completely idle, of : only meagrely productive, and made so mainly through the sluggish indifference of the Native ister. The Natives aro practically dc* barred from disposing freely of their land, and they are given no incentive to turn the land to the best advantage. Insincerity, incapacity, and indifference have inspired a mass of foolish "paternal" legislation that is directly inimical to the country's interests and of little or no real benefit to tho Natives themselves Year follows year, and these vast areas remain locked up against settlement, and locked up in the faco of a keen demand for land on a tenuro that will permit'the development of an independent raco of yeomen. This result,' although it owes much to that spirit which'prompted Mr. Buddo to issue the supremely foolish 1 opinion that it is the crafty '"speculators" who aro agitating for the opening of the Nativo lands, is largely the work of the Aoting-Priiiu Minister. If Mu. Carroll woro possessed of cither onorgy or statesman like ideas, this 'country would have been incalculably righor and more' comfortable than it is to-day. A factor in the preservation of Maori l&acUwdi&m hu boon Uw iadiJ'fwnn.w of

the southern membeis of Parliament and neglect 'on Loth 1 sides amongst the northern members To the iiMjonly of Parliament the Native lantl question lms br'm of no inkiest, and not -rtorlh at tcntidn. There iiaa been genernl agree-. ineiit on only one point—the nocessity of I ■safeguarding the interests of tlir N.vtivo ' nico Unfortunately the idea has. giown up that tlic lights of Urn NaLivc race will bo violatod unices wlmtevcr is dono, proceeds on the piinciple lliit the Nα tive must be treated as a child. Even If the countiy could afford it, theic would bo no leal excuse fni thib exceptional treatment of the' Natives. But the mis placed concern for the M.ioiis h more than the country can afford. There is little real sincciily in any of the talk about protecting the Maori against him self by forbidding him to deal ae froelj in respect of Jut, land as the European It has become ,1 habit to adopt this 111 titudo—it has grown to be rcgaidod as tho proper thing to do, and it has boon done in many cases without thought and regardless of the consequences, "What is to become of the Maori people?" asked Sin Robert Stout and Mr Nqata hi one of thoir reports "Is the raco to pa e a away entirely? They arc a people able physically and intellectually • • The rn<:o is worth saving . Tho Maoris, wo bclievo, can not only be picscrved, but also become active, energetic, thnfty, industrious citizens" This is the verdict of honest enthusiasm, but how hopelessly it is astray when'it is tho prelude to a system that will still treat the Maori as a child ' How is backbone to be developed if the subject is to bo discouraged, and even prevented, from standing upright and taking care of himself! How can the Maori race bo brought to vigour by being spoon-fed? The surest way of killing the rate, or of destroying its host qualities, is to pro* vont it from acquiring the habits through which peoples learn to thrive and en duro But we arc not conccrnod with that aspect of yio question now What docs concern us is the fact that the sterilising of the Native lands is injuiioiis to a country which men are leaving tlnough Ihoir inability to secure hind Not only does the Government, by rostricting dealings m Native land, denj to willing hands tho right of bringing foith the buried wealth of these vast areas It offers the Nativqs no cntouiago nient to do the uoik The Government which ib constantly telling us that to place a on land is the best way of ensuring that that land will be thoroughly worked has left the Native lands unUxcd, cxcoptini; in the ciecb where they arc occupied bj Europeans, and even then the ta\ is only half that wlm-'i ia exacted fiom (.11 lands owned by whites, The nccossit) for Cjiening up the lands which mistaken sonlunent and Mn Omiholl's monumental slugglblinoss havo kept closed all tl-n " veais is acute, and will grow moii) acute as time putsch., The timn has Lome when an end must lc mado of tiro sjstom tint allows tho Natives to staive in idleness 01 to prow f.it in idle enjoyment of the funis of white energy Bj permitting a s>stem under which the big Maou landlord can leap 111 a fattod la,incvß tho incica?o of values due to the energy of the sunomiduig Europeans, and tho s»>n)l M«.ori landlord stagnate in squalid idleness, tho Government is per .petrating a gifnc \.mng The "preservation" of .i i,\u fiiat ran only bo pro soivod by bring denied the rights, or the possession of the powers, of ,1 progrcs aivo laca, is not worth the maintenance of Eiich an enoimous burden on the country 03 Hi" locking up of millions of acres of \nlunbV territory. The true solution of tho Native land'i pioblom, and, indeed, of the whole troulilesome Maori problem, lies in the demolition of the law 1 that differentiates so swccpingly between the Native <wd tho European.