THE GREAT QUESTION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 13, 18 January 1907, Page 3

THE GREAT QUESTION.

Native Lands in the Rohe Potae. No. 11. > In the previous article wrs brief) J r sketched the positicn of the Furopean settler, under existing conditions in the Rohe Potae, and some of the disabilities which the settler labours were touched upon. No doubt these conditions obtain, to a certain extent, in all back-block districts of the North Island, but, speaking from a wide experience and a knowledge of a great portion of the colony, I sa} r , emphatically, and without fear of contradiction, that to see the backblocks, at the worst, and hardship in its most aggravated form, one has tc go to the Rohe Potae, and stay long enough to understand the true inwardness of things in general. _A great, dumb, neglected country, with its free, broad, fertile acres, lying waste. Fern, and gorse, and ragwort, struggling for ascendancy against each other in a land which should be cultivated to the last inch; a land which, in its richness, is capable ot carrying a population equal to, or larger than any other, per acre, in the colony. Periodically a party of politicians takes a tour through the country. They only see a corner of it, but all have the same tale to tell, and impressions to relate when they return to town : " Astonished at the fine stretch of good land. The colonyhas a-fine asset in the King Country." And a " fine asset" in the abstract, it is allowed to remain. However, there are signs that at last, not only the Government, but the townspeople, are awakening to the fact that it may be to their interests to do something towards getting the Native Land settled. The pity is that they have procrastinated so long, never dreaming that every years delay, made the matter of adjustment more difficult. At least the ordinary townsman did not know, but some of the Government members must surely have understood. The inevitable result of the policy was that every year's delav ment the Government getting a bigger hold on the land. Every survey put through, and every application to the Land Court, meant the Government getting a piece of land in payment for the work done. If that was the Government policy it certainly savoured of " cuteness " in one sense, but was deplorably shortsighted in -another. The Maori is shrewd, and has clung tenaciously to all the best land on the railway, and main roads. The townships are Native-owned, and most of the vast timber areas as well. Since the land was first opened by the Government settlement has_ been slowly progressing, the population of the out districts increasing, and the townships growing in value enormously. The Maori has adopted the only course open to common sense. He has parted with that portion of his land which would never have risen above pastoral value, and as a result has increased the value of his more marketable property to a much greater degree in proportion. Vested interests have been created in the townships, and the incoming settlers, aud business people will have to bear the brunt. Thus, the result of all the Governmental procrastimation means that they have acquired a few> hundred more acres in the back-blocks, and have increased the value of the better situated lands and townships, to a much greater extent in propor-

tion. As far as the Maori is concerned, this would not have mattered much if each were to participate equally, but as with the Pakeha so with the Maori, and while the Maoli, in general, is a good and shrewd dealer, there are always a certain number who are unable to take advantage of opportunities. Moreover, the shrewder and more influential Natives naturally got their interests located in the best positions, and a few will now reap the benefit at the expense of the mass. I was informed only the other day by a man thoroughly conversant with the matter, that, taken' broadly, the whole of the Native-owned land in the King Country would work out at an average of less than 200 acres each to the Native owners. Of course there are these who have much greater interests, but other? have correspondingly less. Moreover, those who have the greatest areas, as a rule, have the best situated land. Thus if the Government decides to adhere to the oft repeated statement that they will deal fairly, and equally with the Natives, and safeguard their interests, they have a hard row to hoe and a subject which requires delicate manipulation. The Maori side of the question, briefly put, is that he has been restricted from dealing in his land in any way except by selling to the Government for a lower price than he could have obtained 1 from privrte individuals. If he did not choose to sell, the land had no market value, ?nti was practically of no use to him. Had he been ever so willing, he h£d no ir,cncy to farm his land, and could bcrrow nothing on it. Other influences in the shape of tribal custom, a race sentiment, also operated to a degree, but quite apart from those, he was powerless to use his land. At first, it hardly mattered, but then came the land hunger on the Pakeha, and arose the cry for the adjustment of the Native lands. Inquiry into the customs of the Maoris, and the knowledge that numbers of families were interested in different blocks, lead to the demand for the individualisation of titles. This was inade t]ie watchword of the land hunters, and of those who considered it a step towards raising the Maori from his irresponsible, comministic state of living. Like other popular cries it had its advantages, and given good workable machinery the proposition was a sound one. But how has it operated for the Maori ? In the first place, under agreement with the then existing Government, the Natives had reserved the Rohe Potae, and intended it to remain Maori territory. When the cry arose for the individualisation of titles, the older chiefs heeded not. The land was their's, and they were satisfied, Then some cunning individual, seeing his opportunity, would file an application for certain lands. The chiefs, knowing little of Court proceedure, would take no notice. The application would be heard and the land awarded to the claimant. Later, when this beeame known, the others

would move and have a rehearing; litigation was started and expenses began to pile up on the lands. It thus became necessary for interests to be defined. First the tribal interests, then the family interests, and afterwards the individual interests, besides which, there were succession interests, the portions of minors and other matters to The court work alone meant a constant expense, and each time the land was divided, -it had to be surveyed. This meant piling up the charges on the land until the Government had acquired a very substantial lien on ev.ery block dealt with, and the interests of some of the owners were reduced to negligible quantities. So far, there was not much to complain about. If the Maoris wanted to fight over the ownership of the blocks they were entitled to pay for the luxury, and the surveying of the land was a necessity. There is one thing, however, which calls for strong comment on behalf of the Maori. It has now been ascertained that most of the old surveys are incorrect; the work has to be redone and the Maori has to pay again.