THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1908. NATIVE LANDS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 72, 6 March 1908, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1908. NATIVE LANDS.

THE effect on the Kins Country of the efforts of the present administration towards the opening of the Native lands for settlement should be far reaching, and contribute materially to the progress of the district. The ultimate benefit to the country in general should be no less marked, and it is to be devoutly hoped no unnecessary delay will ensue in carrying out the policy to its full extent. The fact that hundreds of thousands of acres of the best land in the Dominion have been allowed to be waste for so many years is hardly a tribute to the statesmanship of chose who have weilcled the reins of authority in the past and action v/as urgently necessary. The fact that ministerial power has been centred chiefly in the South has been advanced as 1 lie reason why the North has been allowed to remain undeveloped for so long. and doubtless there is considerable truth in the statement. Still, that our Northern representatives have been sadly lacking in knowledge of the importance of the situation, is apparent, and an awakening on their part is greatly to be desired. "The Native Land question has remained art orge too long, and the puerile attempts made to mend matters have merely been the means of

adding fresh complications to an unprecedented muddle of legislation. Native Land Commission is a direct effort to adjust matters equitably, and throw as much land as possible open to settlement on reasonable terms. It is contended that the setting'

up of a Commission was unnecessary, and had reasonable power been vested in the Maori Land Board there can be little doubt the Boards would have clone good work. A feature of the Government's dealings with King Country lands is the influence exerted by the Land Purchase Officers. The acquisition of an interest in a block by the Land Purchase Officers is equivalent to placing the whole area under " tapu." That Government dealings should have precedence—all things being equal—may be generally allowed, but that the securing of a single interest in a block of land should have the effect of locking up a large area for an indefinite period, is inimical to progress, and against the interests of Pakeha and Maori alike. The work of the Commission has been considerably increased in consequence of the arbitrary clause in the Act of last session, making it compulsory for lands placed in the hands of the Commissioner being equally divided — one half for sale and the other for lease — and the present sittings are for the purpose of revising previous work and explaining the effect of the Act to the Natives. All this delays indefinitely the bringing of the land into a state of productiveness, and a simplification of method «in dealing with the question is badly needed. The main issue for the country is the turning of the land from barren wastes into wealth producing areas, and it is to be hoped such issue will be kept prominently in view by those to whom the administration of the Act is entrusted.