NATIVE LANDS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 872, 19 July 1910, Page 8

NATIVE LANDS.

SETTLERS' VIEWS NOT WANTED. PREMIER REFERS THEM TO A | PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. j Somewhat suddenly and quite unexj-;; pectedly a deputation from the King jj.. ,- Country, which waited on the Prime ! Minister' yesterday, had the ground cut J . from under its feet. It had come down i to bring under the notice of the Prime i Minister several matters, including that : of non-payment of rates by Maori land- ! owners and a request that legislation bo passed to enable Native land boards to [. grant to the lessees in A f ativo'township ; tho right of purchase at a fair valuation. | When Mr. Jennings, M.P. for Taumariwui, who introduced the deputation, j mentioned that legislation was desired to allow of the rating of Native laud— !- Sir Joseph Ward said: "I have publicly 1 announced that that is to be done. I | . don't see 'any necessity for taking up | your time or mine iu dealing with this i matter." Aftti a pause, the Prime Minister added: "I uon't want Ho stop ! the deputation, but we have our hands ; pretty full at present, and there are } other gentlemen waiting for me. I don't I Bee the use of the deputation asking us to do,something we have already said we . aro going to do. If you want to ask it, j by all means ask-it." Sir Joseph also j eaid the Government had announced its decision to go into the matter of the i tenure ill Native townships. ; Shortly afterwards, Mr.,. Thompson { (chairman of tlie Taumarunui Town I Board), who was to have spoken on the subject,' rose to make -a remark on it. I. "It seems," remarked Sir Joseph, "that i ' you probably don't believe what I liavo /said, and I don't like that." Sir Joseph ■ jtlieu' represented that as the Government i had promised to deal with this matter j St would.be purposeless for the deputation to go into it. I The deputation then proceeded to deal .rith some of the other resolutions with ] Vhicli it was armed. When these had ! been stated, Mr. J. Boddie, Mayor of Te I jKuiti, said tho fact that the Primo ilin- ' jster had been able to make such. an ; emphatic statement in reference to the | nating of Native lands would give plea- [. cure over the whole of the North Island, I .and one of the greatest injustices would j ie removed. . ' j Sir Joseph Ward: I made that statei. meat publicly when I was in the north ! fomo time ago. i "Does that include Native township r legislation?" aslced :i mcmbiu ot tho deputation. t "You will have to . wait till-the legis- | , Jation comes down," replied Sir^-Joseph, i" -"When it comes down you will have a I,' .chance to make representations."" I Interviewed by u Uojiimo.v rcpresentui live later, Mr.. James Boddie ■ (whowas i. to have spolcen on the question of rating | - ' of Native land) said that in .the Wai- ! -tomo county forty-three per cent l , of the' ;. gross capital value represented umateable Native land. One road, which' had leen handed-over by. "the Government-to. the county,; had to be maintained by .twenty-five per cent, of- the settlers, ber ■ cause seventy-five per cent, of the-, landj ' abutting on the'road was' Native-land. In the Kawhia . county, which was a f/ typical one,. thirty to forty per cent, of j the _ capital value • was- represented -by i Jsativo land. In such a small borough i «s Te Kuiti. the unrateable Native land treprcsented twenty-live' thousand pounds r fif capital value. This land was worthf.rom one hundred to one hundred.- and fifty pounds, per acre, and its value had : , .<_ I)een greatly enhanced.by the European | 6ettlers, hence, the injustice of the -posi- ! tion. Another ' peculiar aspect of thie position was that the Hospital rate was j ; collected, .on. thor capital value, and th'e i. Europeans thus hacLto pay the Hospital I .irate for the Maoris,-as well as them.selves. Another anomaly was that -a ; special rating area could-.not be defined : *5? ".contained oyer a certain area of Na-' .tivo land.