NATIVE LAND LEGISLATION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 895, 15 August 1910, Page 9

NATIVE LAND LEGISLATION.

Sir, —While Mr. Massey's motion is pending, it will, bo well to draw attention to .one instance of tho. grasp kept by the Government upon the business affairs of the unfortunate Maori. By Section 230 of the Native Land Act,. 1909, it is provided'that no Native j.shall borrow any money from any other source than .that of the Government Advances to Settlers, without the consent of. the Governor-in-Council being first obtained. As the law provides that no person can lend money to a Native without getting the transaction confirmed by a Native Land Board, which is presided over by a nominee, of the 'Government, and that tho duty of the board is to closely scrutinise tho security, ■ rate of interest, and • inquire whether subsistence land bo left for the Native who is,borrowing the money, it becomes difficult to understand tho necessity for this legislation. The moro extraordinary is it when, by the section. Ihave referred to, that Department is relieved of the necessity of applying to a Native Land Board for any confirmation or sanction to mortgages taken from Natives, and the Department need not even inquiro whether the Native borrowing - has any "land left to live upon, besides that which ho is occupying and borrowing upon; so that if tno provisions of tho security should be'put into operation for default in paying principal or interest, and the property bo sold, he would be landless, for all the Department cares—it would have no .responsibility.

Now, that is riot the only objection to this class legislation. It is "well, known that the Advances to Settlers Department lias for a long timo past, and is still limiting; and probably for years to come will have to limit its advances to £500 upon any one-applica-tion; That is to say, the' Department is now failing in tho objects for which" it. was established, viz., to help tho settler. It is commonly known that this limit makes the Department practically useless to the farming community—any farmer in the Dominion will admit that; and so also, if a Nativo wishes to borrow money for farming or to pay off an existing encumbrance of more than £500, it is useless to him. Now, what happens to tho Maori in such a. case. Ho cannot make any mortgage for money required, because ho does not know whether he can obtain tho consent of the Governor-in-Council, or what evidence ho has to supply in such a caso, and so he is obliged to go to tho expense of a preliminary agreement with somcono to lend him tho money, and 1 then to mako application to a Native Land Board to recommend the Governor to consent to a mortgago, and

having employed and paid an agent tho costs of doing this, and having obtained tho consent, ho lias then to go on with the mortgage. Until tho Maori lias, so to speak, qnalilied himself to obtain the money, no oho will treat with him, except in this preliminary way Tho result is that the cost to him of borrowing tho money is double tuiu; or the ordinary individual. Volumes could be written'of the ws...s in which tho Natives havo been hampered in their transactions'by tho Government of tho day, and as the above will show, they are still hampered and put to endless expense and inconvenience, and I venture to say, so long as the present Minister for Native Aifairs is in office, the Administration will not assist tho Natives.

How many landless Natives are there in tho North Island for whom Native Trustees havo sold tlid land- of their trusts to the Government of tho day, and pocketed the money during tho period when the Crown was purchasing lands, at a time when ; the legislation did not require such purchases to bo, inquired info by a fraud commissioner or Native Land Court, leaving tho unfortunate minors, on attaining majority, to find themselves landless and penniless. Such cases .aro innumerable. I admit that, after great and irreparable injury had been done to scores of the young pooplo of tho Maori raco, the law.was amended by making tho purchase monoys payablo to tho Public Trustee, which was an instance of locking tho istablo door after tho horse, (monoys) had been stolen. —I am, etc., ' X-RAYS.