Native Land Commission.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 13 October 1891, Page 3

Native Land Commission.

OBRAT OAMBLERS. Mr Robert Ward has undoubtedly a thorough knowledge of the Natives. He informed the Royal Commissioners the Maoris are born gamblers. He believed they liked to take the risks whether they win or lose. They are very greedy and each one hopes to secure as much out of the scramble as he can, and they think in many cases it is better to do that in the Court than elsewhere. The Commissioners said that a good deal had been heard about a practice of Maoris having no tangible claim to land making up a case, and they desired to hear what Mr Ward knew about it. His reply was, that we have always such cases. You have to sift the wheat from the chaff. The difficulty is to do that, because they tell such lies. He assorts they do this with wonderful cleverness, and they often do that before the Court which they would not dream of doing amongst themselves, because they all know the history of these things so well. IjAND PBOI'KBTV OK TBIHK. Mr Ward, speaking about Native rights, said that the land is the property of the tribe or hapu, which is the section of a tribe ; and as the tribe consists of all adult parsons, none but adult persons shonld own the land. A boy became of age as boon as he can bear arms, and a giii when she can bear children. He assert 3 that there is no inheriting because there is no individual ownership of the laud. Supposing a woman marries away from her tribe and remains away, she abandons her rights there. Supposing a man remains away, and his children also for two generations, he ceases to be a member of the tribe ; but they may receive him back. No man could hold possession of land without his tribe.