THE Kawhia Settler. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1905. THE ROYAL LAND COMMISSION’S VISIT.

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 212, 9 June 1905, Page 2

THE Kawhia Settler. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1905. THE ROYAL LAND COMMISSION’S VISIT.

The Royal Land Commission has been and gone and we do not seem much happier. The first thing tbat struck us was the personnel of the Commission. All seemed, and were, very worthy people in their own particular line of business, but none of them appeared to be Royal Commissioners by profession, but appearances are oft times deceptive, Possibly we wrong the Commissioner and should look upon him as Southey did the pig: “ A democratic beast—be knows that hie unmerciful drivers seek their profit, not bis.” We might finish up with the same writer’s finale: “ O’er yon blossomed field of beans it came—and ihoughts of Lacon came,” We are not for a moment comparing these gentlemen with the “ gintiemen tbat pays the tint,” bus we cam not help repeating what we implied in a former issue, tbat the Land Commission is not only a gigantic humbug, but that its individual members are aware of the fact. Take for example the manner in which the Kinohaku sitting was conducted. The settlers of the Kinohaku and some of the surrounding blocks are writhing under the injustice of theland being a heterogeneous mass of tenures, village settlement, freehold, 0.R.P., but chiefly L.I.P. An army of lessees in perpetuity came to show the grave injustice under which they lay by having sections interlarded between theirs which had not twice, but four times the intrinsic value of their own, not because the land was better, not because there were more improvements on it, not on account of the situation, but simply because the tenure was freehold or the prospective freehold, O.R.P, How were these settlers treated ? Although some of them bad ridden mile* through a roadless bush with mud over the girths they were told that the Commissioners had no time to listen to them and they bad better come to Kawhia on Saturday aud only 25 minutes conversation was given at tbat place ! The reason was evident : The overwhelming mass of evidence in fayour of the freehold which would have been given by these back-block settlers would have been too much for even the members of tbe Commission who prate so mueh about lease in perpetuity as being tbe grandest tenure. Is it to be wondered at that these settlers went away highly incensed at the treatment received at tbe bands of these “paid servant* of a worthless Government/’ as one of them remarked. This Government has a difficult work to perform—it has to reward those who go out of their way (o do certain work for it, and it has to conciliate the strong men, whe should they turn against it would be a thorn in the flesh. Of such is tbe Royal Commission—no necessity fa know anything about tbe subject, like Fritz in the “ Grand Duchess/' who could neither read nor write so be was made the village schoolmaster. If I the Kinohaku meeting was burke 1, • tbe Kawhia meeting showed clearly the feeling on the subject of land •

tenure. Both the Awaroa as well as tUa Oparau settlere are to be congratulated on tbe completeness and dearness of their evidence, especial!) *o in tb<3 case of the former the wtlera of which district presented a very exhaustive report, which tbe chairman of the Commission announced was th? best evidence they had beard in t v course of their investigations* One matter is worthy of mention : tbe incapacity, from a legal point of view, of tbs Commissioners to take evidence which was painfully palpable. Tbe bulkof the evidence was obtained by leading questions. A Commissioner would say, “ Do you not think,” and would then go on to say what he thought. If the witness simply said “ Yes,” then it was put down as his evidence, if “ No,” the question was put in another way. If it was seen that the witness was antagonistic, as likely as not the matter would be dropped. But this was more evident in matters not pertaining to laud tenure. Heaven protect us from all Royal Commissions if this is a sample.