NATIVE LAND.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1240, 23 September 1911, Page 14

NATIVE LAND.

Sir,—Your reports of the Mok'aii Inquiry were read by ine with great, interest. Mention was, made therein of a possible claim on the "Land Transfer Assurance Fund." No doubt it will surpriso most of the* subscribers to The Dominion to lenow that .a land transfer title is given to Native land without a contribution to the assurance fund by the owners. Why the Crown should guarantee the titlo free of cost to the Natives is beyond my comprehension, as tho pakeha lias to contribute to the fund when bringing his land under the "Act."

There are other privileges granted to the Natives by legislation, but which are denied the European. For instance, a land transfer title will bo issued to the owner of a Native Land Court partition, though it does not have a frontage to a road; now; the pakeha, in subdividing his property, must provido a road frontage to fach allotment, or else sell tho portions without road access to an adjoining owner. If there are any new roads, they have to bo formed to tho satisfaction of tho local authority before tho Land Transfer liegistrar will issuo a title. With th.e Native lie can sell or lease his land, though it lias no road access.

In opening up Native land for sale or lease the district Maori land boards have power to form roads without consulting tho local authority. They may—as in tho case of the Oliotu Block; recently reported in your paper—only form bridle tracks, leaving the lessees to rate them-/ selves to provido money to widen these tracks into dray roads. I have not yet heard of a case where a local body lias not demanded a road suitable for vehicular traffic from a pnkeha when he is subdividing. Why should a Maori bo treated differently to tho pakeha? Tho Maori land boards, again, havo power to classify land. To my mind tho Crown land boards should have the classification of all Native land, as there is under tho present system a possible way to get past the provisions of the "Act" regarding the limitation of area. Tho present legislation is far in advance of the previous "Acts," and it is well administered an this district, but T think the Maoris should bo placed on the same footing as the European regarding tho subdivision of their land. I am,, etc., MANGAMAROKI. Wanganui, September 19.