THE FUTURE OF OUR NATIVE LANDS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1898, 5 November 1913, Page 14

THE FUTURE OF OUR NATIVE LANDS.

WHAT THE PAST TEACHES.

FAILURE OE TINKERING METHODS.

COMPREHENSIVE POLICY SUGGESTED.

[By 0. K. . Wilson, M.P.]

Of the million people of this Dominion tit ' P o ™ l ? 3 . 6 "fe to conclude that dfiTJ £ ai l find themselves .duprtly .-affected by tho Native Land question, and for this reason there is o™, no A y 5° muc ? l Pi'blio interest and sympathy sliown in Native legislation as its paramount importance cFesenwß. Xet of all questions that are before us to-day, this seems. to. me to make the most urgent demands on our.immedi- =■ Bte attention. ..I realise'that it is impossible that ■Ministries or Parliaments,can move in •any direction unless tho public of the country is behind them. I therefore address myself to your readers in the nope of (overcoming a little of the existing apathy. . ... 'I , First, I want to show that the Native laws, though justifiable if they were proving really beneficial to the Native race, are a. great present and future detriment to tho Stato, and, secondly, I propose to show tliat the condition produced by our legislation is ©yen more detrimental to the Maori. Futllo Efforts, -In studying our" Nativo • A'ots from , 1865 to tho present day, wo find there has. been no attempt to deal with tho Maori race —its guiding and- development—but only concerns itself,-with tho Nativo lands—their' alienation, or restriction of alienation to tho European. And even in this direction tho'attempts that have been made; in tho last 40 years, to- allow. of settlement without dispoiling the Maori have proved \ so futile and so subject to abuso, that it •was found necessary to repeal or amend the Acts almost as soon as they had . been passed. : _ As a result, the confusion of our Native land' laws -was admitted by everyone. Tho recent commission reports: —Tho history of over 40 years' legislation on' tho | subjcct reveals sharp changes or oscillations of policy corresponding with the changes of Government and political parties. But while . there .has been no material change in ,tho;method of investigating, titles, tho mind of the Legislature has swung like . a pendulum between/the extremes of restriction and free trade in Maori •lands." ' Complications and Delays. So from. tho constant alteration of the. _ laws, the; procedure for obtaining , Native;land became so complicated that a. leading, legal authority states publicly, that ..'.'no lawyer 'could honestly advise arclient 'of his to have-anything whatever to do with' Nativo land dealings." .Tho same authority gives the following account of the. troubles that beset the seeker for Native land:—"

' "We give',a short account of tho"proceedings- in. Rangiwaca to illustrate some of tho difficulties and ,tho delays., experienced by the Jlr.oris in securing titles to their lands. SomG of: tho complications caused by.'thbi "Crown purchasing while tho block' is passing 'through the maD/j^stages''from n communal, to an individualised block may also be seen. After sitting nearly four months and taking voluminous evidence this Court determined tho title to Rangicontaining '56,000 odd ..aferesji-jawarding the land to 331 owners by_ order dat-ed April 19, 1893. These proceedings , cost.'*tne .Maoris in Court

fees £70, in solicitor and agents' costs over. £1200, and in living expenses attending th 6 Court, not allowing for waste and', estimating the figures very low, about £800. So that, apart from cost of survey, the original investigation cost the Natives over £2000. Immediately after ascertainment of title the Crown purchased 22,000 acies, which were partitioned in 189G, entailing further expense to the non-sellers in partition and survey charges. In 1898 tho Maoris took the first step'towards individualising their interests, and mado seven subdivisions, six into individual and family holdings, the balanco in one large block of 25,000 acres held by 210 owners. It is quite usual for a partition to be mado for the benefit of a few owners—thirty in the present case —who obtained their holdings while the rest of the owners are left to their own devices to carry on among themselves in the future the necessary partitions. In tho twelve months following this partition the Crown had purchased another 6000 acres, which necessitated further partitions of four blocks in Juno, 1899. On this occasion the communal owners of the residue availed themselves of the opportunity to make thirty subdivisions. This by no means i reduced all tho holdings' into compact family interests, so that in 1900 and again in 1901 furthor partitions were made. At each step costs were incurred in Court fees, agents' fees, and expenses of attendance. We find that Court costs on partition amounted to nearly £100, cost's on succession orders £20,-and survey charges borno by the Maoris who have not sold fcheir interests about ~£OOO, while agents' fees and expenses of attending Courts may be estimated at £750. Wo think that at a low estimate tho cost to the Maoris of obtaining their titles to this block since 1893 may bo put down at £4200. Further surveys are required to complete partitions recently made by the Court, and further subdivisions will bo necessary in order to reduce some of tho areas from hapu (or subtribal) to. individual and family holdings. The Crown has bought 29,000 acres in the block at an average price of ss. an aore, paying £7200. Now, let it be remembered that tho Maoris havo had to undertake the task of securing proper titles •to their lands without capital. They have been

compelled to sell portions of tho land to pay tie cost, and in the case of Bangiwaea one may say that they have lost more than one-third, of the block in order, that they may eg euro titles to the rest. And the final subdivisions have not yet been made." Land-seekers' Difficulties. By lata Acts, these harassing laws have been , amended, but not fundamentally altered. To obtain the lease or sale of a block of Nativfi land, it is now necessary for the applicant and Native to come to a mutually sat-

isfactory arrangement. Tho board is then approached and asked to call a meeting of assembled owners. AYhen tho necessary fees have been paid and thb forms complied with, tho meeting is ,_called :by : notice, in the Gazette, which state;) ,tho terms' of lease or sale and the!-'price' offered!" The" meetihg' is held, and if the Natives assembled piss tho necessary resolutions, and

accede to tho proposals, one would think the difficulties had been overcome. But not so. Tho application must then como before tho board, which may —and often does—refuso to grant it. Now I contend that tho board has no right to put an applicant to tho expense of calling a meeting of assembled owners if they intend, at a later date, to refuso to confirm their resolutions, as a considorablo sum of money is thus entirely lost to tho settler. The terms of the transaction and the prico offered have been agreed upon and published, but tho Maori is still allowed to withdraw from his agreement. A second applicant, after reading the Gazetted price, may offer tho owners a trifling rise, and there is lievor any lack of Maori speculators and interpreters • ready to persuade tho Nativo that a higher bidder can bo found. A rise as small as a penny an aero has boon known to tempt him to break his agreement. In this case also tho land-seeker is str.indcd without any chance of recovering tho sums of money paid away. Why, by all that's just, cannot the Natives and tho applicant bo got together, and the terms agreed to and ratified without. more ado, and be binding upon both parties ? It is impossible, until one had started on tho quest for Native land, to realise thoroughly tho'insane, idiotic procedure, entailing such expense, worry, and delay, and, in many cases, failure, in tho end. It is plain to any man that this' state of things has retarded the settlement of tho country. Why Lands Llo Idle. In the preceding paragraph I spoke of dealing with blocks divided among: a numbor of owners. It is necessary where tho block contains a heavy list of owners —60, 70, or 100. Some are mutilated to the extent, of 200 shares, the individual interests, of course, being very small. Under the present system, it would indeed be a very brave land-seeker who would venture into acquisition of such blocks. The owners might be scattered all over tho country, but, he must go or send an agent to obtain every signature separately to a proxy. Some of the interests are • ridiculously smallj some are unalienable, and to Bubdivido and

■ cut these out. would be out of the | question, so tnosi traots are doomed to remain unoccupied till some simpler and less expensive method of dealing with them is adopted. This in itself would perhaps not matter so tremendously, but that these waste tracts cause a serious trouble in isolating the adjoining lands, and, as I hope to show later on, are, in every way, a serious detriment to neighbouring settlement. The Speculator Nuisance. Although the laws, have been framed so as. to place every obstacle in the way of acquiring Native lands, even going to the length of refusing to bind a Native to a signed agreement ( if ho chooses to back out of it, yet so great is the demand for land that tho speculator hasn't been quite discouraged. The get-rich-quiok instinct is so strong in us all that even this barrier of difficulties lias been pierced. Now the man who is purely a speculator is nearly always an unmitigated nuisance, and ho proves himself no loss so in this connection. Ho is useful certainly in that-he advances settlement. He takes risks tho farmer could not take, and parts with his land to the farmer, but, unfortunately, he provides no access to it. It may bo an isolated block surrounded by other Maori lands of tho class I havo referred to—so complicated as to titles and ownership that they cannot be touched —or by lands • that may not be legally ■ alienated. Now tho incoming ' settler knows nothing of this condition of things. He supposes that the adjoining lands will also shortly be brought into occupation, and that ho i has only to 'wait a year or two until ' the country,! that lies - between him and ' his railway'is taken lip, and then the i

district can combine in the usual way and make roads. But nothing of thiß kind occurs, or can occur, until the Nativo land legislation is revolutionised. So tho settler is left in a state of isolation and privation horrible for a man, but unspeakable when endured by- women and children. Still Another Crlevanco. • The Government by its legislation in setting up Land Boards to deal with certain blocks of Native land permit them to subdivide these bl-ocks, and (without making any provision for reading) throw them upon the market. Now, although these farms are settled under Government sanction, tho holder cannot obtain a loan on the saijie under

the Advances to Settlers Act, because up to the present time the refuses to recognise such land as tangiblo security. I need' not dwell on tho seriousness of this. Cheap and handy money is ono of tho first essentials in tho developing of land. Bo sure no class of land is moro in need of it than Nativo leaseholds. An Increasing Sourco of Worry. I now como to tho gravamen, of tho whole indictment against the existing Native laws. It is this: that in all these evils, we aro only gathering the first fruits of tho harvest of confusion. If it wpro the case'that tho land onco

settled, never mind under -what difficulties, tho trouble and vexatious dealings were over once and for all, tho problem might bo allowed to solve itself without recourse to any sweeping and drastic measures. But in reality, the. problem is growing more complex every day. The earlier leases will presently fall due. The laws under which they aro held aro not simplified. The number of Native owners is increasing rather than diminishing,'and so all the revaluing and assessing, the bribing and out-bidding, the necessity for meeting roguery with roguery, the litigation, the unsettlement, the disturbance, the expense and loss will renew itself in each block, and will recur again and again at intervals as the leases fall due.

Even now the future evils begin to make themselves felt. There are large leases that have been taken up Bomo ten or fifteen years ago. There are still perhaps some eight years of tho lease to run. Take a block of 5000 acres—improvements effected on 3000 acres and farmed moro or less successfully, leaving 2000 still in the'virgin state. Now it will pay the tenant better to leave this remaining 2000 acres unimproved than to incur the expense of bringing it into cultivation, because, in. a few years' time,, the Native owner will come into possession of all these improvements, and if ho (the original tenant) is lucky enough in tho ensuing scramble to obtain a new lease ho will bo forced to pay a heavy increaso of rent because of his own improvements. Here we aro, faco to face' with one of the old timehonoured abuses of. landlordism —that the improver of tho land not only cannot count on reaping the benefits of his own work, but his' improvements actually militate against his interests, in that they become the property of "the landlord and lead him to raise tho rent against the lessee. Therefore, during tho latter years of his lease tho tenant makes as few improvements as he possibly can; whereby tho State, tho owner, and tho tenant aro all losers.

Hereditary Landlordism. A system of hereditary landlordism cannot be regarded as a blessing to any country, but an alien landlord class, an idle, rich, absentee landlord, with no responsibilities and no interost-B {not even the tie of race) in common with the tenant is surely tho most pernicious of curses. Even in unhappy Ireland these conditions aro fast van*, ishing, are being uprooted with vast expense and trouble, after causing centuries of misery and bloodshed, but wo aro busy fostering those same conditions here. .We are creating an alien

landlord, endowed with, and protected by, privileges that tho tenant does not possess. I own that tho Maori may not always remain an alien; His ultimate end is no doubt absorption, and in years to como this landlord class will bo to all intents and purposes part of our own people. But does that make tho caso.anv better? Tlioro ara those, Sir Robert Stout among them, who consider that tho admixture of tho Maori blood will improvo our race, and that the Maori is our mental and physical superior. If that is so, do wo do well to make him our financial superior also ? Do our Socialistic friends who find it an iniquity that a man should retain land for whiob ho has given tho best toil of tho best years of his lifo find tho prospect of a Maori landed aristocracy mo'ro pleasing P The oiily reason that we have not already been deafened with, outcries against tho riches of tho Maori is that he (the Maori), spends his wealth in such a way as not to excite envy. Ho is so improvident and thriftless that lie appears always needy. Ho spends on phjsical enjoyments instead of as a European would —in substantial comforts and more subtle amenities of life, and therefore his wealth doesn't disturb his less fortunate neighbours. But this is not likely to remain lite habit for many generations. Education "may transform the Maori'and make him even as wo are, and then if lie. still remains the privileged person he is at present ho may emulate Rockfeller in the wealth and power he may obtain. Privileges of tho Maori. I will point out at. least four substantial privileges possessed by tho Maori and not by the European: I. Exemption'from Rates. —All Nativo country is praotioally exempt from rates. Of course, there aro a few exceptions of divided interest, whero rates are paid, but these, as I say, are exceptions. I will give you an illustration of tho burden thus imposed upon the European settler. Take the Awakino County, just brought into operation, with, a valuation of 1 £500,000. .Fntytbreo thousand, or one-sixth of it, is Native lands, unsettled, and contributing nothing in rates. The. remaining five-sixths is land for which' tho Natives havo received largo sumß of money, and yet the position is that for every £600 raised in rates, £100 excess naist be bor.no by tho European, ' because one-sixth, being Native, fails to contribute a share. Many counties arc. in this condition, and some aro worse off.

11. Noxious Weeds and Rabbits.—All waste lands are to-day moro or less infected with noxious weeds, and the nuisance has to bo coped with, because they naturally infect, neighbouring farms. But it would bo quite wrong to suggest that the Nativo owner should have any responsibility in the matter. 'J ho Noxious Weeds Act only applies to Europeans, ' 111. Government Shoulders His RsFpcrisibilities;—Waste lands are also in* fectcd with rabbits, and a kind and generous Government spends large sums annually i& exterminating them on tho Natiye la&da free of cost, whilo at tho same time wo visit most exemplary punishment on the whito settler adjoining, who is doing his best to cope with the nuisance which has probably spread to him from tho Nativo waste lands.

IV. Sales Without Access.—lt is statutory law, that land cannot ba subdivided for sale unless tho owner provides access to each section, and in the casoof rural lands, tho local body has to approve of the reading before it can be passed by the authorities.

That is tho law for the European owner who wished to sell. Tho Maori is on quite another footing. He opens his land for sale —no roads, no rates, no responsibilities. Ho contributes nothing to the development of his own interest.

Add to these the privilege I have alj ready noticed; that an agreement bo-

tsTeon a European and a Nativo, though properly signed and ratified, is binding (n tlio European and not on the Maori. Are these absurdities to last for ever? Are we going to allow them to continue till irritation is set up, 'and rneo animosities begin to show themselves, or are wo going to grapplo with the situation now, beforo more mischief is hatched. and give posterity cause to remember us with gratitude?

PART 11,

THE MAORI BIDE OF THE CASE. All efforts to deal Bensibly with Native lands aro at once met with the objection that you must not infringe tho Treaty of Waitangi, ' This was an agreement between tho Maoris and tho Imperial Government at tho eloso of tho war in 1848. Tho Crown guaranteed to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand full, exclusive and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, fisheries, and other properties, but tho chiefs yielded to the Crown tho exclusive right of pre-emption over such lands as tho proprietor thereof might bo disposed to alienate at such price as might bo agreed upon. But tho Chief Justice, in 1907, gave an opinion that the compulsory acquisition, of Maori lands is not a contravention of tho Treaty of AYaitangi.

Furthermore, wo can hardly suppose that tlio framers of tlio Treaty intended to block and hamper settlement for.all time and for all generations. If so they aro responsible for many evils from which wo suffer, for besides tlio economic loss, the retarding of progress, the burden of extra rates, the increase of weeds and rabbits, there is a further evil affecting our people. That is, that the system fosters a large class of pakeha assessors, agents, interpreters, valuers, successors, and hangers-on of all descriptions. Some of theso men aro worthless and unscrupulous aa it is possible to be, and the best of them would be more valuable | citizens to the State if their energies were directed into more profitable channels., All this inconvenience we Buffer at the hands of 44,000 Natives, most of wham contribute absolutely nothing to their own support; who derive such huge incomes from their leased lands that if equally divided no member of the race would require to work, and yet who habitually come to be a charge on our public funds and our rates for hospital and charitable aid, schools, and old age, pensions, to say nothing of the expenses of tlio Law Courts where .convictions of Maoris and half-castes are becoming frequent. Aro tho Maoris Ready Benefiting? This is only a small part of what might be said to prove that tho Maori i 3 seriously retarding tho progress of this colony, but tho people of tho Dominion would have no right to complain; in fact, it- would bo grossly unfair and unjust inus to complain if tho Maori himself were deriving any real benefit from tho generous treatment he is receiving. We havo recognised them as tho original owners of tho soil. Wo have honestly tried to do them justice. 'We havo made sacrifices for them' and should be proud of the fact, and proud of our Nativo race if wo could look round and see them occupying their lands—becoming useful and industrious settlors, producing a share of t.ho country's wealth, contributing to tho cost of administration, pa'ying rates and taxes, and in some way proving to the satisfaction of their • well-wishers that they aro . undergoing (however slowly) a process of moral and physical uplifting. Then'l say we should have no right to complain of wliat tho Maori costs the community. But we know perfectly well that the very opposite is nearly everywhere" in' evidence. ■ Wealth is proving tho Worst of enemies ! to tho'Maori. Is there any fair-minded : man who : thinks ' we are honestly doing. ; our best to improve tho Maori raco. or ] who can oven shut his eyes to. tho fact i

that in the last 15 years the raw has boon rushing down tho hill of degeneracy, 'from tne effects of wealth and idleness ?

Y/hat DOO3 tho Past Show? Fifteen or twenty years ago, found the llorowhenua Lake, a tribo of Maoris lived with industry in comparative comfort. They had good flocks of sheep and cattle, owned comfortable houses, cultivated corn, potatoes, kumeroß, oto., and even Btrawfrorries and melons. A gang of finer shearers than the young men of tho pa could not bo found. That was 20 years ago beforo they began to part with their lands. Since then this tribo has received the moneys from tho salo:or lease of somo 20,000 acres, and to-day tho members of that gang of shearers sit round the ourb-stoiies by tlio hotel, brawl at tho street corner, or drive about in a state of intoxication, a menace to traffic, prematurely aged, broken down, and most of tliem hopelessly addicted to drink. They no longer livo on tlio land. Their Bmall holding's were unalienable, so they havo simply abandoned them and live' in a disreputable slum suburb. Tliey no longor grow oven fruits. They hang around tho Chinaman's shop and litter up Iho streets with orange and banana skins. They no longer have an incentive to work The vast sums of money they receive from their lands has robbed them of incontivo. They drink and gamble, and go to races, and havo no regard for money or money's worth. Ruined property marks their course— broken buggies, dilapidated dwellings, smashed bicycles or motor bicycles, ill. used and maimed horses, indicate tho habitation of tho Maori. A Demoralising Inniienoo. Tho figures relating to tho wealth received by tho Maoris of the whole Dominion aro not available, but within tho range of my personal experience on tlio West Coast I ean point to 50,000 aercs round Levin for which tho money was divided among a mere handful of Natives. Tho whole of this fertile coast was, of course, Maori land at oiio time, i and to take care that the Native received full valuu when ho parted with it, the State has expended large sums in i Judges, Land Courts, Royal Commissions, eto. The land has passed from tho Native, but where havo the proceeds gone? I quote tho statement of the Hon, Mr; Ngata when "! say: "Of all tho money paid for tho millions of, acres sold by them, not ono sixpence is left." If that is an overstatement., ho (Mr. Ngata) is responsible, not I. The report of tho Commission Bet up in 1907, consisting of Sir Robert Stout and Sir. Ngata, laid great stress on the necessity of doing all that is possible to encourage tlm Natives te become farmers. Now, it is a' fact that within tho memory of many men now living, tho Maoris all over tho North Island, were good, keen agriculturists, growing largo crops of corn, potatoes, and even wheat, and though tlwy'did not possess the modem labour-saving agricultural conveniences, they managed to produce enough food for their own use, and often a surplus for sale. This proveß that their present idle habits are not by any means inherent in tho race, but aro tho direct Tesult of the regime of luxury, to which wo havo subjected thorn. I need not hero advance arguments to prove that unearned wealth has tho worst possible influence on any people. Thinkers of all ages have agreed on this point: there can be no snore insidious foe than luxury. Even a nation as virile as tho Romans succumbed ,to it. Tlio effect is ten times more marked on an uncivilised raco. Among our own neopla tho effeteness of those who inherit fortunes is proverbial, and have the usages and restraints of civilisation, ambition, culture, travel, in ■ heritecl traditions, and responsibilities to counterbalance tho effects of wealth. ■Tlio Maori has none of these. He lives by'idifforent'.'istandards. Ho} has been fast'ciiougli' to. a'dept our standard of luxury and enjoyment, but our moral and social standards, ho despises. He

can follow with impunity w course that; would rendor a pakeha a Eooial outcast, arid so ho degenerates at an alarming rate. As a discouraged worker smonpf the Maoris in thfl north onoo said to mOj "If tho Devi! lmd framed tlio Maori land laws, lio could not hayo found a better means of destroying tho raoo. n What of the Future? Muoli harm lias already been done, ttnd of course can never bo undone, 'ino moving finger writes, and having writ moves on." / Tlio point for us to consider is how, 'and in. what direction, it- liadJ better movo next. I repeat that public opinion is tlio only true motivo force. If only,tlio public would stir itself, much godd might result. I am a beliover mj\sclf in comprehensive legislation—legislation that grapples witli tlio question otieo and for all time in ft si 111 pfe but statesmanlike manner —not such as tinkers with existing laws and effects nothing but bewildering legal intricacies. This has already been dona to sucli an extent that the result to tlio lLoweomer might appear tho offspring of lunacy. Tlio details of any scheme are hardly Buitablo to such an article as this, but are the natural subjects for discussion 111 Parliament. Oho tiling is clear, however, that if this question is to ba adequately handled, wo must make up our minds whether wo are to deal with the Native as a minor—or whether wo arc to consider him os a per,son capable of administering his own affairs. If wo accept th.o latter version, and deem tlio Maori capable, ■under proper safeguards, of looking after liia own interests, then it surely becomes. our duty to allow him to get the highest price his, property can pommand in,: the open market. Placed in competition, the two- races would Boon find their level. This is Nature's way of mailing' a Btrone virile people. It Is simple, just, effective, and but©, but inolined to be bard, even oruol, ond humanity has developed to a_ stage when it is necessary (or tto think it is necessary) to improve on Nature. Besides, this course is full of grave dangers. It would be a glorious harvest for unscrupulous speculators, aggregation', might result, and the resulting state of affairs be worse than tlio present. The Safer Way. ' ■ To me it seems safer to take tho other view—that tlio Maori is still a child—ill which case it devolves on lis to act as guardians. This duty cannot, bo shirked.. I would suggest that all his lands bo made oyer to a Board (if Trust. This body should deal with them at onco' in the best interests of tho Native, but none of the capital should lis handed to tho individual Maori, but bo. held by the board to form a fund which could bo profitably and safely invested,: say, in town endowments, or more wisely: still_ lent ,out at fair interest to such; Natives as are.willing to become farmers and improve their holdings. To further encourage tho Maori baok to the land, this body could havo power to retain, (or purchase if necessary) suitable tracts of land, cut tlieso. up into suitable farms, and put si.iitab.lo Natives on them. Part of the fund vested in , the board might bo used for Native schools, agricultural colleges, and other; aids to the general upliftinent of the-: .race. I believe such a board as this, if consisting of wise men, and. controlling a fund largo enough to finance desir-: able schemes, might gradually , audF without harshness make the Maori a lceen, industrious agriculturist, and might still accomplish something to- , wards tho regeneration of our noble but fast deteriorating Native race.

It is Midi time wo recognised a higher responsibility towards, the Maori than , to ply liim with money. I claim wo have much to answer for in our' treatment of him, aiid if eventually , t'lio ronilwiit of tlio race is to bo absorbed in our own, as those who know seem agreed i will bo the oaso, surely wo have very little regard .for posterity if wo' 1 do not make an effort to purify the stream that is to flow into ours.