NATIVE LANDS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 100, 25 September 1908, Page 3

NATIVE LANDS.

Departmental Report. In connection with the purchase of Maori lands in the King Country the following extracts from the report, submitted to Parliament by Mr W, H. Grace, Native Land Purchase Officer for the district, will be of interest:Re Tokanui C and Rangitoto A Blocks, with their subdivisions. —All these blocks are most suitable for small farms, especially in the case of the Tokanui Blocks and those of the Rangitoto A to the north of a line drawn from Pamotumotu Trig. Station to Otoru Trig. Station, there will be a large tract of country to the south of above line which will make a number of fine homesteads of fair average sizes suitable for dairying and grazing farms. Re Rangitoto-Tuhua Blocks.— All the areas acquired to the north cast of the railway stations are of good quality, and will turn out well for small settlement purposes, and I greatly regret that the limit placed on purchases has prevented my acquiring more of the said lands. This remark also applies to Tokanui and Rangitoto A Blocks. The Native owners who have not sold are most eager to do so now. I would point out that the vast country above described is practically unoccupied, with the exception of a few isolated spots. The principal settlement (Native) is at Mangaorongo, on Rangitoto A; but this settlement is en a block of 1,000 acres called Rangitoto A No. 15, specially set apart for a papakainga. All the above lands, if acquired, would make a splendid farming district carrying many settlers, as the land is most suitable for farms of a moderate size.

Re Rangitoto No. 612 and its subdivisions.—l regret to say that I was unable to buy more in these blocks, the. owners looking' upon 10s per acre as not the ; .value; but, that being the extreme price I could go to, I could not offer more. As to the other —larger — Rangitoto-Tuhua Blocks in which I have purchased, such as Otamati, Mapara, Tangitu, Whatikarua and some others, although somewhat rough, they will in time come in and carry a number of useful settlers. When I started purchasing you instructed me to not purchase any of the Rangitoto-Tuhua Blocks in the vicinity of Potakataka Block, owing to disputes re survey of boundaries. Since then the question in dispute has been referred to the Native Land Court, and I believe, finally settled. The owners now in all the blocks in that locality are jnost desirous to sell. The land is somewhat rough, but there is good timber on it, and it is not of bad quality, and will make good grazing farms.

Re Kinohaku East and West Blocks. —As per schedule attached, you will see I have purchased in a good many blocks, but theiv are still a great number in which the Natives have not sold scaitered amongst the holdings held by European settlers. The most of the above blocks are unoccupied by the Maoris, and are not being utilised by them. All, I am sure, could be acquired in a short time; at present the owners are holding out for better prices, and do not seem to care about dealing with the land in any other way than by sale. They nearly all say that, the interest of each incliivdual in each, block being small, only a few acres, it is therefore useless to lease, for what they would get from the land in the shape of rent would be so small that it would be of no use in the way of maintaining them. Re Taumatatotara Block and its Subdivisions. —Of the above I have acquired only 2,362 acres, or thereabouts. This block, you know, lies in the middle of a large district settled by Europeans. It is situated, as you know, in the Kawhia South Survey District. As the land is in no way utilised by the Native owners, the acquisition of the same is most necessary so as to advance the settlement of that part of the district. The owners show little dispositoin in the way of selling, nor do they seem to care adout leasing. Any owners whom I have approached wish to sell, but the price they ask is far above the value put on the land by the Government Valuer.