NATIVE LAND QUESTION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1562, 19 September 1905, Page 2

NATIVE LAND QUESTION.

SUGGESTED REMEDY.

Following up a series of articles crificis* ing the native land laws, the New Zealand Herald ventures to suggest a remedy which just about gets to the fringe of the question:— While there is danger in opening native lands without reasonable restrictions, because of the laud grab that would set in, still that is no reason why restrictions should not be reasonable. Dealing with native peoples, of course, requires very considerable tact and diplomacy. Their tribal oustoms arc ingrained, and if the? had the suspicion that their lands were being taken arbitrarily they might be liable to offer unreasoning resistance. If, how* ever, a board or committee of men aocus* tomod to deaiiDg with Maoris, and con* versant with their tribal oustoms, men who, by reason of long service, are trusted by the community, Maori and paksba alike, were appointed to draft a workable measure for control of native lands, for the guidance of the Government, some good would undoubtedly result, but the present system of framing laws by theor* ists, and by a House composed of mem* bers not 10 per oent of whom know any** thing about the Maori lands question, can produce nothing bnt chaos. By the appointment of sneh a board or committee, formed, say, of Native Land Court judges and others, it would be, of course, only a matter of time to effectually, properly, fairly, aud reasonably deal with the great Maori lands question, and thereby advance settlement, and give opportunity for the bringing of the land to some measure of its productive capaoity. If the acquiring of Maori lands wore conducted on a system somewhat on the same lines as pakoba lands are taken under the Lands for Settlement Aol, the first stop would be, of course, to see that each native having an interest in a blook is left with sufficient land for bis support. To do this the simplest plan wonld be to cut off one portion of the block bs a papakianga reserve, or homestead block, for the whole of the natives, instead of wasting time and incurring heavy expense by catting off » small individual portion of eaoh native, The balance of the block would then be at once available for settlement. If the Government was afraid of the natives dieposing of or wastiug the money, it could be placed in the hands of the Public Trustee, who would invest ft, paying oat to eaoh native hie interest or rental in the shape of annuity. The natives could apply to the Court from time to time as they found it necessary lo suhiivlde the portion of land which had been allotted to themae a papakianga reserve. Buoh a proposal as this would be received with delight by ali the Maoris who have given this question consideration. To attempt the subdivision of the block left amongst the natives would be a task which might' be better left to the natives themselves. To lock up seven millions and a-half acres of native land, while there are only 40,000 natives in tho colony, is absurd on the faee of it, and in the interest of Maori and' pakeha alike, the sooner some adequate and reasonabls measure for the opening np of these lauds is devised the better. Sufficient has been said to illustrate the hopeless state of the present native land laws.