THE NATIVE LANDS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 160, 31 May 1909, Page 2

THE NATIVE LANDS.

Farmers 1 Union Resolution. At the annuai Provincial Conference of the New Zealaroi Farmers' Union, held at Auckland during last week, a remit referring :o the Xative land question was introduced for discussion by the Hamilton ':. rar.oh a; follows: — "That as too t-cr-tirued unsatisfactory position, with regard to the opening up of Native lar-ds is causing serious loss to the whole Dorr.in:or and the Auckland Province in particular, the Government again he ureed tc bring down more satisfactory legisiaion to enable these lands to ho dealt with, and that the Native lands be made more equally liable with European to contribute to the local rates, and that the various bodies be requested to cooperate with a committee set up by the Farmers' Union Conference."

Mr J. Boddie, Te Kuiti, in moving its adoption, said that this was a question of questions, and he hoped that it would receive the consideration it deserved at the hands of Parliament this session The locking up of Native lands in Auckland province was one of the biggestjexisting bars against settlement and progress. The position, was so acute that it could not be allowed to continue. In his district the Europerna settlement had gone on I v leaps and bounds, but a vast proportion of the land was owned by Natives. In the Te Kuiti district they had hundreds of thousands of acres of solenoid land which they could not devtlon without roads. Thj present racing prevented them from buliding roads, and land on every hand was locked un and iving idle How long would this hide-bound, conservative policy go on? Plow long would this injustice be continued?

Mr Shaw, Kawhia, in seconding the motion, said the Maori iar.d laws were the most absurd on the Statute Book. In his district the great proportion of the land was locked up. and the Maoris were no more to blame thantbty were. If they went round the k!?ori kaiaingas they would find the Natives in a state of semi-starvation. They owned the best of the but under the present laws could not work then:. " At Kawhia the harbour was locked in with Native lands, and the Europeans bad to ge into the baekblceks. and build roads through Native >m:ls to enable them to get there. The Europeans were being strangled, despite the fact that the Kawhia district was one of 'the richest in the Domincin. Major Lusk. Te Kuiti. sale the Native land laws were ::. su:h a h-ntless muddle that no one understood their). The only was to satisfactorily solve the difficulty was to wine out all the existing legislation, but he th :-t:ght there was too much in the Native vested interests to permit :ha:. Mr Thorp, said the Government had made no attemnt to cone with the situation. Tr.c Hcyai Commission could do nothing, because Sir Robert Stout v.-ps -.veil kr.owr. to be a faddist, and the Nr-ti"-s were going to be the landlord; Un-.i; then- turned out the Hon, James Carrel', they would accomplish nothing. Mr Bennett, Te Fuke. said that more than one-fourth of the land in his district was owned by the Natives, and the local authorities lost one-fourth of their rates.

Capt. Col beck took up the altitude that the Natives werj not entitled to the unearned increment which would attend free trade. The Natives had paid nothing for reading and railing the land, and should net receive the full value of the improvements Europeans had effected. If free trace was to come and if the Maoris were to be placed on the S2me footing as the Europeans, they should not be entitled j to the unearned increment, but be paid ! according to the value of the land bc- | fore the raihvavs came. ! Mr G. J. Garland said he did not mind the Natives getting the unearned increment, as long as the laud was settled and the Native forced to pay his rates, and share his burden as a citizen of the Dominion. But until they got rid of one member of the. Ministry they would get nothing. Mr Boddie, in reply, contended that while there were many difficulties in the way, they were not such as could not be overcome, and he hoped that the aigtation now afoot would result in a satisfactory settlement of the problem. The motion was carried.