LANDLESS MAORIS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1821, 6 August 1913, Page 7

LANDLESS MAORIS.

IN.THE SOUTH ISLAND. . 'An interesting statement as to tho Goyerflniont,a,,mlicy in m, l^gar<l Jl |tfl,.|.nj?kinff provision-.f0r,,, landless...natives,, 'ijV-,,the South. Island .was made' by tlio Minister for Native Affairs in the House of Representatives yesterday. ■ T1i0.., question ivas raised.,by.the-rpfioEt of. tlie. Native..Affairs Committee on> a petition asking -.that a certain block of 1700 acres in the South Island should be reserved for oertain landless 1 Natives in terms of Judge Penton's ,award in 1868. The decision of the committee was commended by Mr. (J.. Parata and the Hon. A. T. Ngata, both of, whom were satisfied to learn that, as they said, a measure of tardy justice was at last to be done to South Island Natives. The Hon. W. H. Hemes said that Judge I'enton's award seelued to have slumbered in his minute-book for years and years, and the Lands Department had known nothing about it. It was' impossible to say now What actuated the Native Department in 1868, but undoubtedly that Department should have advised the Lands Department to set aside this land, not for the general uso of the South Island Natives, but for certain individuals named,in the award. The ultimate reservation ; of, the,land, not for the individu-. als, but for landless Natives generally, had been made by Mr. Cadman, when he was Minister for Native Affairs, but not on account of Judge I'enton's award. Gen-" erally speaking, ho did not think that adequate provision had been made for Natives in the South Island. It seemed to him rather that the manner in which landless Natives had been provided for was farcical. To give a man two acres of laud in tho middle of a denso bush was reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan. H© hoped either to have the whole question of providing for Natives in tho South Island investigated by a Royal Commission, or to bring down legislation to deal with it. Ho agreed with the committee that tho original award of Judge Fenton should be carried out, and he would ask the Minister for Lands to settle on the Natives either land in the block' mentioned or, if that were impossible, land of similar value elsewhere. . Mr. Russell: Why not open up the wholo question of the claims of landless Natives in the' South Island? , j Mr. Herries: The honourable gentleman ran do that if he likes to bring in a Bill. He added that he had just declared what he iproposed to do in regard to tho general question.