HELPING THE MAORIS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 303, 16 September 1920, Page 6

HELPING THE MAORIS

THE NATIVE TRUSTEE BILL

POLICY OF DEVELOPMENT OUTLINED

~l n M°ymgr last night the committal of tho Nativo Trustee Bill, the Minister of « nh ™ Allaire (Sir .William Hemes) said the Bill was one that had been required for a considerable time past, and that would supply "a long-felt want" for the Nativo people. Its introduction had been delayed by the war. The measure was based on the report of the Commission that sat in 1312 to consider matters relating to the Public Trustee. There were constant complaints from the Natives that on account of his multifarious duties the Public Tmstee did' not devote sufficient attention to Jsative, business. The Commission recommended that there should bo a Native Trustee to have charge of Native business, at present in the hands of the Public Trustee, and the Bill followed that recommendation. At present it was very hard for Natives holding lands in severalty to borrow money. The Public Trustee had a lot of money locked up belonging to the Natives, hut it was very difficult to get hiim fcoi advance sums to the Natives to enable them to better their position. The power of administration of Native wills would be retained by the Public Trustee, but'so far as loans to Natives were concerned it was proposed to establish a common fund for the Natjve Trustee, and it. would' be 1101 small fund. The Native Land Boards at present. held some i£5"8,000 for Natives, and this sum would go into the new common fund. Tlie Public Trustee had another .£262,000, whiojl would be transferred according to the terms of the Bill to the Native Trustee. These latter moneys were in the hands of the Public Trustee awaiting claimants, but as in ordinary banking business they could be invested and paid out to the claimants as the claimants came.

"When the pakeha asked the Maori why the latter did .not cultivate the lands he owned, said the Minister, the answer of the Maori invariably was: "Put us on the same footing ns the pakeha in regard to obtaining money in order to improvo our holdings, and we are-quite prepared to assume the responsibilities of the pnkcha, and to pay rates and such thines." The Bill would enable the Public Trustee, through the board to be constituted, under clause 10, to lend money under certain securities. It was not proposed to lend on land that was held in common, but to lend to any Native who got a partition and was holding his land in severalty. "Of course," said the Minister, "we shall have to invest a certain amount in gilt-edged security, but there will be a considerable balance, and we shall be able to lend to Natives who hold land under a partition of which they are the sole owners,- and who really wish to start dairying or cultivating their land. The board will, I think, always have a sympathetic ear for the Native." A puty to the Natives. The Dominion owed a duty to the Natives who were anxious to develop their own lands and to have tho same tunity of advancement as tho pakeha, added Sir William Herrics, and the Bill was designed to discharge that duty. The Maoris could not lie blamed for failing to cultivate their lands if they lacked financial support. The Bill would give that support, and would have thegreat advantage of promoting the partition of land and assisting to break down the communal system. The Native Trustee would lend money only, on partitioned blocks and incorporated blocks. He would administer reserves and trusts more sympathetically than the Public Trustee could be expected to do, and the beneficiaries of the trusts undoubtedly would gain an advantage. . Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne) expressed general approval of tho Bill, but thought that the Government should not perpetuate the Native trusts. Provision should be made for the discharge of trusts, in order that the Natives might bo able to assume full control of their own affairs.. The Native trusts were not really assisting the. Natives, they were not promoting settlement, and they wero not paying their due sharo of taxation. The Maori View. Approval of the Bill was expressed by the Hon. A. T. Ngata (Eastern Maori). I he' Native members, he said, had been aware of the intentions of the Bill for soveral years, and they had already made various suggestions. They regretted the unavoidable delay in its appearance in the House, due to the \var. He believed that the provision for financial assistance to Maori farmers should be made moro specific, and should include adrti' co '\?" '"" (1 ,1?1[1 without land transfer title Mr. Ngata said that the best way to train Maoris in farming was on tho colony system, which provided the impetus of emulation. The Maori was used to lagging behind the pakeha, but he did not like to lag behind his brother Maori. He denied that the Native trusts were not benefiting the Maoris, and argued that it would not be fair to apply Hie full graduated land tax to Native blocks awaiting subdivision and allocation. The patrimony of the -Maoris had dwindled rapidly m recent years, and the House should not forget that the Government had bought ve»v large areas of Native land at very low nrices. Tile Government was still buying Urewera land at the 1909 values, grcntyy to the advantage of the pakeha settler. He had- never quarrelled much with the prices, sinco nine/tenths of the Maoris frittered away the money any way. But it was not fair to say that th; Maoris wero evading land taxation that they ought to pay. Tho Maori lands had been treated for national uiirpose* as Crown lands.

Mr. _T. M. Wilford (Hutt) asked if Hie Bill was a policy or an adventure. Would it not involve large extra expenditure, for nflTjiinistration? He would vote for the Bill because it was approved l>y Air. Ni'.atii, who nosssesed exceptional knowledge of Native affairs, but he would like move information. Mr. Wilford suKKP c t-?tl that the Natives had not been treated fairly in tho purchase of Urewera'laud. Sir William Berries, in- reply, said that the Native Trustee would use the machinery of the Native Department and Native Land Boards as lav as possible. Be did not believe that any substantial extra ehar?e for administration would be involved. The purchase of Native lands was a matter of general policy. The Government could not Rive less than the official valuation, and iu most cases a new valuation was made. Be did, not thi'it tb" Natives .were treated unfairly. The Bill was reported from committee without amendment. , The Bill was read a third time and passed. POST AND TELEGRAPH BILL "A MAN MAY BE HIS OWN POST OFFICE . . . ." Questions aliout the effect of certain clauses in the Post! and Telegraph Amendment Bill were yesterday asked of Sir Francis Bell, when the second reading' of the Bill was moved in the Upper Bouse. Members exhibited some curiosity as to the interpretation of the clause dealing with the Departmental monopoly of the business of carrying letters lor hire. Thev asked whether it would be permissible" for local bodies to send documents from one department to another through their messengers, or to send out by messenger circulars containing, saj, notification of the regular meeting. Sir Francis Bell summed up tho effect of the clause in the following words: "Tho sender of a letter may dispatch it by his own servant or special rnessengei employed solely bv Mm. That is to saj. anyone may send a letter or> batch of letters by his.own servant, bn hemust not allow that servant to carry letter; for others Be may bo his own post office, but"belli"not be tho post office for "Wwls read a second time. Sir William Ball-Jones compliment«l tho Government upon what it wa doing to encourao the small depositor in the i ost Office Savings Bank. The Legislative Council yesterd'ir, P»f' ed the Coroners Amendment Bill in .tuo form in which the measure was intrpttncd from the Lower Bouse. The Bill provides merely that, the fee* to be pßlrt persons attentling inquests may be h.\eel by regulation.