POVERTY BAY DISTRICT.

Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 898, 22 May 1903, Page 3

POVERTY BAY DISTRICT.

1C NATIVE LAND QUESTION

(Auckland Herald.) A Herald reporter yesterday .Look advantage ol the temporary presence in Auckland of Air A. Fordo .Matthews, a well-known engineer and surveyor, of Gisborne, in order to ascertain from him some facts regarding the Poverty Hay district Air Alatthews lias for years taken a very great interest in public matters and is a member of the Gisborne County Council, besides holding other public offices. Asked as to the working of the Maori Land Administration Act, All Aiatthcws said: The Natives in the Poverty Pay district are very loth to take advantage of this Act. the reason why is hard to say, but they do object. -I'.'ven Hie Hon. Air Carroll lias admitted the difficulty m that district. Poverty Pay is peculiar in this respect, that the Natives there have had experiences in dealing with their land in globo, so far an> thing but to their advantage, ami where they are anxious and willing to let or sell their land to Kuropeans they are blocked by the Native Council. To deal with iheir land Uiey would first have to deal Uie Council, and they object to do G' lS > instead oi being allowed to. deal with the land direct. Fof ’example, the Natives have we will s;i y, a paitieular block of live thousand acres to dispose of. They first have to go to the Maori Council, and then, under the Government restrictions, they cannot let or sell first-class land in blocks exceeding six hundred and forty acres, or second-class land —most Native land comes under this category—in blocks exceeding two thousand acres. Theiefore wheie .hey have a block of live thousand acres, and are anxious to lease or sell they cannot do it without partitioning the block. This means a , big expense, whilst probably the man , with capital dealing for bush land will no! take less than live thousand acre blocks, i The restriction, therefore, as to second-class land acts as a pmhobil ive. • - What remedy do you suggest ? ’ * if you look at it m a commonsense light, the .Magna Glia. Li of land pnlie\ in New Zealand is the Lauds for Sell lenient Act. To my mind, the same process must he South. There the land was origingone through as they have :n the "ally taken up in very large areas, stocked by large capitalists, and t ears a'lcrwards selectors could select what they liked as lit for settlement. If ibis process is advisable in connection with grass land, how much more is it necessary in regard to busn laud ? ji am opposed to set-

liiiK up Maori land laws. It. mean: practically setting up t lie Native race Ls'landlords. It tlie Government is desirous of lie)pin,; tlie -Maoris, the proper plan would tie to say to them —alter putting aside reserves—“ We will imve your land valued, and take , i from von at a lair ,/uluu.tion, but not for cash. We wili issue debentures to you (taking the land absolutely), bringing you jour per cent, or four and a-lialf per cent., as the ra:-e may be. and Will pay your heirs and assigns the interest, and the debenture 1 -' shall he dealable in a hundred years or so.- 11 y this means, we would get all the waste lands the Natives have In .heir hands, and the Government administrative offices would he able to deal with the land without tlie excuse of setting up new administrative offices.” “ There arc valuable blocks of Native land in your district, are there not. ?” “There is a very large extent of fine country from Ttip-iroa almost round to Opotiki, mostly in the hand of me Native. The young Natives will tell you that 1 lie older ones say lliev don’t want, them to deal with

the land until they (the old ones) die Now, the -Maoris in that district are long-livers. As to why the old Natives are afraid to put, their lands

through the Courts, they say that when their land has been taken they have not got fair values. The Sons

say that when their fathers die fhev will he willing to deal with the land under this Act. But will they' I do not. think so.” “ Jluve the interests of your riistticl. been looked alter by members''" It has always seemed to me that if I billowed the actions of the Auckland members right through (Poverty Bay being a portion of the old Auckland provincial district), they tailed to help us as they ought to have done. hi my knowledge of the district oT twenty-two years, I must confess J know of little aid from M. U.K.’s." “ As to the progress of I lie district ?”

“ Tho place is going ahead very rapidly, hut simply from the initiative of the settlers, who help themselves to a great extent. The Poverty Bay district would have paid Auckland if more interest had been taken in it. We there now are strenuously fighting tfi set up a laud board of our own. At present we arc under the Hawke’s Bay land district, but good men as the members of this hoard are, they do not know much about our part of

the distreit, and I may tell you that the requirements of our district are tremendous. The prosperity of Poverty Bay, however, is so good that you hardly know how to calculate it.

You will have noticed from flic returns of the last four months’ exports the place has nearly doubled since last year. Land is being taken up there wherever people can get it.”