TO CURE DEPRESSION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 464, 10 July 1909, Page 3

TO CURE DEPRESSION.

SWELL THE EXPORTS.

BY USING NATIVE LANDS, SUGGESTIONS BY MR. E,

NEWMAN, M.P. •r> l_ — . r deputation , which waited ,uporif7. the Hon. *Hr Millar, Minister for Labour, Mr Edward Newman, M.P. for Manawatu, in the course of, his remarks, suggested that one solution of the unemployed question was to get as many as possible of the unemployed on to fhe land. ■ / Interviewed by. a representative oi the Dominion, Mr Newman more fully explained his views on this question, and also in a matter of paramount and, pressing, importance to the whole Dominion, namely, the profitable development of the surplus Native l|nds. “ I want,” said Mr Newman, “ the same facilities offered to the unemployed men who are willing to undertake the work as the Government have offered to public servants who have, been retrenched. I am glad to see that 1 the Hon. Mr Buddo has acted on this suggestion, according to press reports* ap’d I .trust he will be able to find suitable blocM of land for the scheme, and that it will prove to the advantage of workers out of employment and eventually to the State. The only thing I fear is that, on account of the Government’s determination not to give the right of purchase, men will not tackle the job with much heart. Men want the incentive of a bit of land they can call their own, to bring but their best efforts. Needless to say, I sympathise with this feeling.” MINISTRY' NOW ADMITS DEPRESSION.

“ Unemployment,” added Mr Newman, “has many causes—tightness in money, fall in value of produce, certain labour legislation that practically prevents the employment of casual labour, both in the country and in the town, and general want of confidence. The Government until lately did not admit the existence of depression but now the Hon. Mr Millar —and I feel sure this action has added to his reputation —has done so, In his speech he has placed the situation plainly before the country. He says,, in effect, we must either.curtail our expenditure, or borrow more millions, or increase taxation ; and he had the courage to reiterate what he has previously stated, that in his opinion we have about reached the limit of ,our power to borrow safely., Our debt in 1891 was about ',£38,000,006; now it approximates ,£61,000,000. Still the cry is for public wo.rks in the cities and from the country. Mr Millar mentioned that',£2oo,ooo was about to be spent on two public buildings one in Auckland; and one in Wellington. One cannot help thinking that, hbwever necessary these buildings are, that ,£200,000 would have been better spent on roads and bridges, and land settlements, thus increasing the number of producers in the Dominion largely, providing homes, and a permanent living for many men *who are now classed amongst the unemployed, BORROW, TAX, OR GO ; WITHOUT. ■ “ The position; then, according to the Hon. Mr Millar, is that we have two courses open. Reduction in expenditure on public works, or largely increased borrowing or more taxation. I think there is another road open to sound 'national prosperity. We must increase our exports without any delay that can be avoided. The exports of this country should exceed the imports by at least millions to make .the financial position sound. There is only one way to bring about the result indicated, viz., by immediate action in the direction of close settlement of our remaining Crown and Native lands, and by releasing the large sura of money that is now sunk in lands held by tenants under the Land for Settlements Act, in order that further estates suitable for close" occupation may be • acquired and resold to small farmers.

“ But the greatest difficulty to be overcome is in the direction of settlement by Europeans of the surplus Maori lands*. I desire to say here that I have for years lived ip a district where there are many Maoris, but I have never dealt in an acre of-Maori land in my life; and, further, I would not be a party to any injustice to the Maori race, for whom I have the greatest admiration. MAORIS SAEVATION : WORK, NOT RENT. “But I contend the present. Native policy is neither in the interest of the Maoris nor of the Dominion. It is not in the true interest of the Maoris to make them a rent-receiving class—to provide them with* a living without labour. I believe the salvation of the Maori race lies in their having tq work for their 1 living, as our Settlers do. The Maoris, as a people, have been treated by the .Governments of New Zealand with more than liberality. Under -the Treaty of Waitangi the title of all lands occupied by Maoris was recognised, but will any sane man contend that at that period the Maoris ‘ occupied ’ the vast blocks of land in the interior of the North Island, of which land we have declared they are owners ? It was not so. The Maoris chiefly occupied the frqntages to the rivers, ‘and to the sea coast in places, but the back country, except in some isolated instances, was to all intents and purposes no-man’s land. The time has mow come that these lands, after ample reserves have

been provided for the Maoris, must be settled, in small blocks, with careful restrictions as to area and safeguards against reaggregation—and on a tenure : that will give the occupants the right to purchase ill order to ensure early settlement.

SETTLEMENT TO PRECEDE INDIVIDUALISATION.

“ The Government, for the last seventeen or eighteen years, have been, slowly, and with marvellous deliberation, individualising the titles of the Natives. I contend that settlement of ' the surplus Native land must take place first, and individualisation of title can be made afterwards. Neither the land nor the Natives will run away. When Europeans block settlement, we take the estate under the Land for Settlement Act—after paying for it, as a rule, generously. Why should we not do the same with Maori lands ? I would not rob the Maoris of, one penny, but I believe that we must settle the country in order to save ourselves from a financial crisis, and it is quite clear that the present Native policy will never do it. The position of, the Dominion* with the produce of millions of acres now unproductive, added to its export trade, would be very much sounder than it is now. No injustice need be done to the Natives, and our lands .would be occupied by a community of industrious settlers, with holdings strictly limited in area, but sufficient for their reasonable wants; whilst the Maoris would have, in the hands of the Public Trustee, or otherwise invested large sums of money, the proceeds of the sale of their surplus lands, and would also have reserved to them sufficient land on which to earn their living as fellow settlers do. ‘ ‘ This matter, ’ ’ concluded Mr Newman, “presents many difficulties, and it would be necessary to borrow for the reading, etc., of this land, but a loan, earmarked for this purpose, would be a good investment for the Dominion. The question must be faced, and it is to be hoped that Parliament will approach this subject with a determination to settle it, and seek for a solution that will be just and beneficial to the Natives, and, at the same time, will provide for the speedy settlement -of their surplus lands, which now, to a large extent, form the waste lands of the Dominion, more especially in the North Island.”