PLACING OF MAORIS ON OWN LAND

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 52, 24 November 1937, Page 7

PLACING OF MAORIS ON OWN LAND

■Press Assooiation.)

Success Claimed for the Ngata Scheme N.Z.'s NAT1VE PROBLEM

(By Telegrapli—

: CHRISTOmjRCH, Lasfc Night. " There is a widespread belief that in 1 Now Zealand the native problem has I been handled more lairly and niore justly than anywhere else in tho world, I xegret to say that that claim is rather ■ legendary. The problem is just about the same everywhere and there are many variations of the tragic mesa i that so often results from the contact ! of whites on natives." These words ' were part of an add'css on the Maori people givOn to the Christchurch Rotary Club by ProfCssor I, L. G. Sutherland, Professor of Philosophy at the Canterbury TJniversity College. Professor Sutherland said that the Maori problem' in the Dominion was at a critical stage. The Maori race had undergone a ren&iscnce after many dire [ prophecies that it would die out and it was essential that the new hope given I the Maoris by such policies as the Ngata scheme should be fulfilied. The Maori population in New Zealand was l'apidly increasing nntil now it was between 85,000 and 90,000, Professir Sutherland said, and in spite of the death rate amongst the Maoris being nearly twice as high as the European rate the native race was increasing at a much faSter rate than the white. The need for fuller undoistanding between the two rftces, European and Maori, existed at the present moment. Goodiyll towards the Maori had been expreaeed for years and the present Government in proclaiming its goodwill was making many promises 0? its intentions to assist the Ma'ori people. To Sir Apirana Ngata more than any other man went the credit for what had been done-in 25 years. That vast experiment, the Ngata plan, had achieved great success— that of placing Maoris as farm^rs on their own lands. Some 10,000 Maoris had tlius been placed in settlement schoines in tho NOrth Island and extraor4"lnary progtess had" been made and tho scheme was now°3ustifying itself ccjnc.mically. Some years ago irregularihies had been; foufid in the adminisirati -n. A Poyal Commissioa had been sct up -nd as a result of its recommendations Sir Apirana had resigned. Nevertheless he knew of no other native policy in the world constructed in such difficulties and. worked for so untiringly which' had achieved the success of Sir Apirana Ngata's. The Government was at present developing the Ngata schemes. The.progress of the Maori people de-' pended on the develqpmnt of their own individuality and the Maori leader realised the need for this. One thing was! certain. If the present niovoaient was: not fulfilied and the new hope of Maorisj was lost then the natives would surelyrfevenge themselves, not by active repri-j sals nor by their extinction, but by be-j coming a pauper race dependont on the' whites who had been xesponsible for their state.