THE NATIVE POLICY.

Kumara Times, Issue 1164, 22 June 1880, Page 2

THE NATIVE POLICY.

Speaking in the House of Repre* sentatives, on Tuesday evening last, on the Native Lands Sales Bill, the Hon* Mr Bryce thus referred to the boasted Native policy of the late Ministry :• — When the Atkinson Government? went out and the Grey Government came in, one object was that it should reform the practice of free trade in Native Lands, and he had no hesitation in saying that in this respect the Grey Government was an utter failure. Ift never attempted to deal with the matter until a few days before it went out of office. He despaired almost of making the House understand the terrible iniquities perpetrated by the recent Native lauds purchasers, but he would give them a few examples o£ __ these iniquitous transactions. The «fc' vance system had been the great ftfenchise in these transactions, and the particular mode of making these advances was something atrocious. He meant the system of giving orders on storekeepers. In Tauranga alone £II,OOO had passed through one Government agent's hands in the space, of 18 months. The process of: granting these orders was for the amount to be left blank in the vouchers;, the. agent was supplied with fimda by an imprest, and when he was called upon to ac«"

feounfc for these sums by the auditor, he filled these vouchers up to suit the occasion. A transaction took place some morths ago which induced him to send upjjwexamine the matter at Tauranga, result was something extraordinary.. The auditor reported that lie had found that monies charged had never been paid at all, and where they bad been paid the grossest irregularities Had taken place. In connection wilh these payments two items were specified—one for .£3O and the other £l5O, 'as much as .£77 of the latter being spirits and beer consumed at a Tangi over the land agent's brothea, the late Judge Young. Then again, it was Stated that the negotiations with the Natives "were conducted with the utmost irregularity. Ite had already Said they had been guilty of iniquities, but they had received no equivalent for their trouble, for when they came to settle the negotiations connected with these vouchers on which advances ■were made they would most undoubtedly be repudiated, and Government stands to loose a large amount of money* Again, this fund had never been closely scrutinised, and it wa3 most grossly abused. If a Maori wanted au order to pay his expeuses or to get rum it was charged to this fund. The rule was that any questionable payment was charged to this fund especially. He would now refer to the West Coast. He did not think the system of land Vouchers obtained there, but all other objectionuble features of the system ■were observed. The agent there would agree on a price for laud he had never seenj and which no white man could tell them anything about.. They had purchased land the surveyors now reported to be broken and worthless, and the agents had to rely upon the Native statement as to area. In one case the estimated area was 60,000 acres, but "when it came to be surveyed it was found to contain not more than 7000 aires. The result of this was that the money advanced was far more than the total value of the land. In arid about "Wanganui, further up the coast, a gentleman who had been treating with the Government got £IOOO fur his alleged interest in a block, and that gentleman was then appointed Land Purchase Agent, at £4OO a year, to complete the purchase of that block, which had not been done yet. More than that, this gentleman was a storekeeper, and the, advance made to the Maoris, was paid.through him, buggies, harness, and other articles which could be purchased from his store, having been supplied in lieu of the money. The payment of compensation for confiscated land lie next referred to. Payments to the ehiefs were made secretly, and they were ordered to sign fictitious names to hide the nature of the transaction. A sum of £IOOO, the Bxpenses of a great Maori meeting at Waitara, was provided for in a most extraordinary way. The Native agent at Wairaate got that amount by imprest, and to satisfy the auditors he gbt these Maoris, who did not possess an inch of land in the place, to sign receipts for the money. What he would contend was that the whole system was demoralising, and that they would hot reap the expected benefits from their efforts.