THE HOROWHENUA LAKE.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 24 November 1917, Page 4

THE HOROWHENUA LAKE.

AND THE NATIVE FISHING RIGHTS. The Acclimatisation Society recently wrote to the Department of Lands andi Survey upon the subject of the fishing rights over the (Horowhenua Lake. The following reply has nowbeen received from Mr. F. T. O'Neill, Under-Secretary to the Department:— Referring to your letter of the 11th ultimo, to the Hon. the 'Minister of Internal Affairs, which has been referred to me, 'regarding the rights of Europeans to fish for acclimatised' fish in Horowhenua Lake. I have the honour to inform you thai': an opinion has already, in January 1914, been obtained from the Crown Law Office on this subject, and I append a copy of same for your information.

"Thg Horowhenua. Lake Act 1905 is not an Act conferring any rights on Natives; its purpose is to take away all rights previously held by the Native owners, except those expressly reserved. Prior to the passing of the Act the Lake, being a comparatively small one, probably belonged to the owners of the adjoining land ad medium filum l , but ; in 1905 some of thaws owners were Europeans and no Native owner of any adjoining land could point';- to any defined portion of the lake as owned or lawfully occupied by him. All that is preserved to the Native owners by the Act is that they shall .at all times have the free unrestricted use of the lake and of iiheir fish, ing rights over it. Natives never had the right to fish for trout without a license except on land in their lawful Occupation, by virtue of Section 90 of the Fisheries Act, 1908, a section which applies to> Natives and Europeans alike. Therefore as the Horowhenua Lake Act only preserves 6ucli rights as they had, and grants no new rights, and as no Native is in lawful occupation of any part of the bed of ihe lake now, no (Native can now fish for trout in the lake without a If'-c----ense without committing an offence against Varfi IT of the 'Fisheries Act, 1908.

"Moreover the Act made the lake a public recreation ground, and available as a place of Tesort for all His Majesty's subjects. 'I see no reason why the provisions of the Fisheries Act shouldl not apply to this lake as well as to oil lakes which are not "private waters". The fishing rights preserved to the Native owners over the 'Lake are- rights to fish for eels, flounders, mullet, and all other freshwater fish e xce salmon and trout. The fishing for trout there by Europeans will not interfere with, that right, and is therefore, in my opinion, governed by the Fisheries Act 1908, and not prohibited even impliedly by the Horowhenua Lake Act."