Native Lands.

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 306, 5 April 1907, Page 3

Native Lands.

The following is the text of a peti tion cn »hf> above question drafted by Ot ruu hr- ■ ch of the Farmers’ Union: • \\p ‘he undersigned, ratepayers hit County, wish to point progress of the impor‘ r ilfural and pastoral district i Harbour is being setd by the presence of large land adjoining theharheld by the natives, and unproductive and not : • rating for roading puraccompanying map shows ,tH mess, lying to a great . •>ii the harbour and the ; "ernent, is baulking the f r the last six or seven I < struggling to convert ip ■. n . into pastoral country, q'■ r • keeps back tbe whole d,, . in every way, but perhaps its most :-ericuH immediate result is that it mnkes it difficult for settlers to reach the harbour, which is, of course, thei’ ndHral outlet. They have recently cmried .-everal loan proposals for road in tolling but, as the native lands art exempt frum rates, tbe work must stop ; .t ib< boundary of the Maori wilderj., - . Jca\ ing m’les of “ road ’’ impa-s--abih for wheel traffic for h large par of th ■ or, between themjand the bar 1 ;r. I’ b- uld also be mentioned that Da’ive lands are a nursery for n< xi - weeds, which are already ( ' r un asinees to settlers in t> ; o; . ibat in ibo case of bush 1 are kept from drying c- ’ ’I." overhanging bush, and c f f r.i land continual carel ; ,-.ng, beside damaging the land, i - of danger to tbe neighb >uthsod, - pecially during a dry per iod * ?!-.ny ■ her disadvantages could be . it b-1 out, but it is unnecessary to g< : . • r into details, as it is palpable that Urge blocks of land situated as th if remaining in a wild state n : , b: ck tbe whole district round u i I’me harbour. We, theref ri, tru-i that the Government will a? q , • i ly as possible place these native far d in a position to be readily available hr European settlement, so that this unoccupied area adjoining the finest harbour on the West Coast o? N v Zealand may be converted into a pr> .1 active district traversed by roads, which will not only serve the adjoining land, but act as an outlet for the settv r- vho are now establishing themi •• rth' r back from the harbour, f-.ro at present separated from t : d outlet by this unoccupied region.’’