NATIVE LAND QUESTION

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1861, 15 September 1906, Page 3

NATIVE LAND QUESTION

DISCUSSION IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL,

REMARKS BY MR ORMOND.

to Gisborne Times.) Wellington, last Dight The Nativo Land question and its tela (ion to the general policy of land settle meat formed the subject of an interesting disoussion in the Legislation Oauno 1 this afternoon. The Hon. J. D. Ormond, wuomoved For the return which was prosaotsd to the Council a few weeks ego dealing with native lands, moved to day for fuitber im* foimstion as to the occupied and urn occupied area. The return which had been furnished iodicatad, Mr Ormond said, that 2 880,718 acres out of the whole area oi 8 497,0C0 acres wore returned as waste land. The return, he said, showed that I ihe native lmds exceeded tho whole aroa of Giown lands available for settlement, the Crown land 3 remaining totalling 1 763 000 acre?. Tho MioistsL’s proposal to make over for endowments for pub is put coses lacd that was so tied up would ceoessatily not offer much to settlers of attaining tho freehold. Ihey would of course be leasehold, so that the O-own lands were disposed of as far as selthment was concerned. The Min stsr ssemed to be sanguine that holders of leases in perpetuity would exchango for leases under the new Act. The Government would be disappointed in it 3 hope that leasees in perpetuity would oenvert. Although tbe lease in paipsiuily was the greatest mistake that was over psrooitted, a man who held it would require some consideration that would be reasonable, because if it was not the lessee would adhere to bis lease. Tbo excess cf holdings which would be put into tbo raa k ; t within the n- xt ten years would amouo*. to 80,COO aores a year. The total value was stated at £2,222,565. This land, he contended, would cot be available for aoy but capital iats. Nobody else would have a ghost oi a , chance. A person with less than £BOOO , could not compete, so it was idle to say (bis was any provision for the £ mill man ephn wanted to go cn the land, loe b Minister might sueeoed with tbo £50,000 limit, but tho statutory declaration won d -ouch so many ptoplo that they would demand it should not be corried-kicugn without oireful cjusido.-aticu. Tcis meant that a successful farmer wno had spent his life in building up au tolmo 0., say 50 000 acres, would be provent:d under tho Bill from doviaing it to bis sons. This appeared to he the moat cold blooded and monstrous proposal that had over been ■ made to the Legislature,

Tlia lion. A. Tilt oontondod that Ml' i Ormond was tliwoussing (ho policy of tho Laud Bill, which wa* not boforo tho Council'.' Tho Spofthcv: Tho nativo land quoatlon Oiuinot bo disouaaod very well without considering tho othoc lamia of tbo colony, but I think tho kon. gontleman in going into tho dataih of a Bill which ia not before tho llouao ia going a littlo too far. Mr Onuond claimed that tho romsuka of tho Primo Minister as to tho Government's intontiona regarding native landa eutiilod him to disonaa tho policy. Tho Speaker said tho lima waa not opportune for a dieouasiou of tho wholo land question. Tho Hon. Mr Ormond: I shall givo uotioo of motiou enabling mo to do it. I shall not wait for tho Land Bill to raiao a difouaston on this part of tho land polioy. Thero will bo no laud for ao’.tlora whom wo doairo to aoo popplo this country. I Proceeding with his romarks Mr Ormond pointed out that tho Auckland district, with its largo area of Native lands, was tho most concerned in this question, 'l’ho unproductive area of Nativo lands in tho colony amounted to ‘2,870,000 acres, but tho area occupied and tho area un-> occupied were not stated, but ho believed there wero two million acres either oe~ cupicd by Natives or leased to Europeans, Anothor million would have to besot aside for tho sustenance of tho Natives. Con-, soquontly (concerning blocks of 1000 acres) there wore 4,-107,000 acres lying idlo and in tho way of progress. According to the strtement by tho Minister of Lands and Native Adairs the Lands Department would not be able to obtain more than half a million acres because tho Natives wero going to work or lease the remainder.

that were so, then tho Government would have no lands available for settlement dining the next ten years, For years and years past they had mado no progress with Nativo lands. What had boon tho result of last year’s Fill ? 110 did not think a single transaction had taken place under the Act, bccauso owing to tho delay in sotting up tho boards thoru had been no administration, The great bulk of tho native laud was now absolutely inaccessible, or did anyone ever droatn or hops that the natives had either tho moans or the capability for dealing with theso lands'? Such a man was a droainer. The only oourse was to lot the boardß visit the native distciote, and decide with the natives what lands they and their descendants could utdiso and farm, and then tho rest oould be doalt with. The dream of tho Native Minister was to build up a vust Maori landlordism, whioh would be absolutely ruinous and distruotive of the Maori race. It would bo to tho detriment and ruin of tho Maori, who would spoadily disappear. His proposal would not oast much, for tho putobasiug value of theso lands was small. It would be possiblo within the next few years, with energetio administration, to settle twenty or thirty thousand people in theso wasto lands. The Hon. T. Kelly said half the North Island was native land. The Hon. G, Jones : A lot of it is unusable.

The Hon. J. Rigg ! Half of it is un usable.

The Hon. T, K. MoDonald : There are millions of aores of good land. The Hod. Me Kelly invited tho Counoil to picture itself the wealth that this great area could produoe. On the motion of the Hon. T. Hscdonald, the debate was aejourned to Tuesday next.