THE Kawhia Settler. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1907, THE NATIVE LAND COURT.

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 331, 27 September 1907, Page 2

THE Kawhia Settler. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1907, THE NATIVE LAND COURT.

Much is being said and written about native affairs, and tbe Government profess a strong desire to have an alteration of tbe laws so as to have tbe condition of Maoris and tbeir lands put on sueb a footing that justice will be done, and the progress of New Zealand not hampered as at present. Not ev<n tbe Native Minister can pretend to bilwve in the Taihoa Policy as be ing tbo best, or indeed anything else than the very worst, policy. We do not io end to go into the whole subject; but merely wish to point out one gre vious injustice that is being perpe. traioJ, and which has bsen going on for many years past. We refer to tbe sitting of the Native Land Court at distant places from the residence of natives having the greatest interests in cases corning before tbe court. Often when a native goes from here to Kihikihi, Otor >hangft or Te Kuiti, where iheso cour are generally held, it costs bitn and bis witnesses from 10 to 200 per ten’ of ail tie benefit- received fcoan the transactions, and so deadly has this b come that u ‘.less the amount of the c& e runs into hundreds of pnupds the ma ter in j heed on the '• Tr.boa” list. There are natives here who have a strong desire to Indi -

viduali e their lands and would grea ly benefit by so doing, as would the whole community at large, itnit they a-e quite unable to bear the initial ex pense without hampering-themselves

with debts that would '•ompletely neu traii-e all benefits accruing from s icb action, and so they are living in a state of suspense and harassment that is eacugh to effect tbeir reason. It is obvious to all who know the inner workings of those in power, or rather of the advisers of those in po""“, th.-jt s imetimestbepc sbn«l 4-- es'fcvf b <- living in and about the dLi.-ic a wber the Land Courts are held keep the Court from, sitting in Kawhia. To tbe business people it means £ s.. d.; the native owners being quite a secondary consideration to tbe w.-lfurn of the/ business of those townships. Some Government servants even throw the

weight of tbeir influence towards pre venting a Court fitting in (heir district being moved. If the Native Minister is approached be smiles blandly and says : "Tuihoa; we will give tbe matter serious consideration.” But the matter ends there. Approach tbe Premier and the reply is that the mitter is hit in his department and will be referred to the Native Minister, who again " winks the other eye.” To sum tbe matter up : If a native has land he wants dealt with for anything but sale to the Government he has to go to such expense by leaving the district that tbo chances are bo will not go. If he had a Court handy to his abode be would probably have had a nice little farm of bis own, well fenced, well stocked and well cultivated, and be an acquisition to tbe district, whereas now he is in a state of uncertainty, and is drifting iin MaoriPakehaism—a condition deplorable in the extreme. Is it better that one or two men, paid by the Government, should come to a hundred or two cases in Kawhia, or that a hundred or two men and women should be dragged to a strange place, where no one but themselves pay the expenses ? It seems iniquitous that a self-respecting Government, professing to conserve tbe < a ter e sts of the Maori, should permit such a state of affairs. The Hon. W. W. M'Uarule, M.L.C., in the discussion on the " Maori Lands Settlement Act Amendment Act "spoke we" and truly on this matter, as a perusal of tbe speech in another column will show. It is not sio much to enable the Maotis to sell ithat a sitting of the Lind Court must be hold in Kawhia as to let them kne w what land they can claim individually and thus enable them to go ahead. It ii one of tbe greatest mistakes to say that natives are lazy, as those who have their lands individualised give this the lie direct. Let tbe Government make it easy for them to inf Vidualise, and they will soon make as good use of their opportunities as tbe Pakehas, and in many cases much better. It is to be hoped that a strong effort w be made by not only the Kawhia natives but by all the settlers and buuness men of the place to compel the Government to do justice to Kawhia and its people for once and have land purchase, land courts and land dealings of all sorts on the spot. Let those in power be not influenced by lawers, agents, Government tools or anyone else interested in the retention of this crying evil, but do what is right and just, and they and the country at large will be greatly benefited.