MAORI LANDS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8341, 30 January 1913, Page 4

MAORI LANDS

POSITION IN HAAVKE’S BAY. DEPUTATION TO NATIVE Alßn in'lLil. Press Association. iL.vdii.auo, January 29. A doputauuu ox jixaoris, iieadeU by Taranaki to la, waited upon tue Hon. V, . xi. i-u-rnea, ixauvo -dimstor, Miiuy. Tilt) spokesman said tnac. olio natives were as potter's clay in the minister's hands, and, it was lor him to say now incur lands snouid be dealt witn. Ho pointed out tnat the Owliaoko and olnei* blocks were in tho Hands of tao Govemiiittiit lor sale or lease, and tuo natives could not deal witn tho lauds in any way, yet they were rated lor them. Ho desired the Government to tuno the waste land of tho Maoris, purenaso it, and hold tho money on trust lor improvements on otuer native lands and lor the benefit of the natices, but not to pay it over to them.

Mr A. L. D. Fraser gave an interesting historical sketch of what had occurred with regard to this block of HHJ.ddt) acres, it had been confiscated from the Alaoris in tho sixties, but it was subsequently fouud that loyal natives had had their land filched from them. A commission was set up to find out the loyal natives’ position, and the result was that largo areas, ranging from 30,000 acres to 5000 and tidUJ acres, were set aside. Tho loyal natives were huddled into the block, and the result was chaos. There was no native title to the land, and it was not possible to partition it, as tho natives had no occupation right, nor had. they any ancestral right. To illustrate the importance of dealing with those lands, fio pointed out that tho main arterial road to Gisborne and tho Hast Coast railway want right through the block. The best method -would be to turn it all into one block, inquire who the Owners wero, and if they wanted to sell, and if so, acquire the land and hold the money for the natives. Mr Berries, replying, said no Native Minister could do much without help from tho Maoris. Ho proposed to alter tho law with regard to native matters, and any alteration proposed he would submit to prominent natives before placing it before Parliament. No law would be satisfactory without their assistance to put it through the House. Tho question of titles was one Of their greatest difficulties. He thought the lending of money could be arranged if the titles -were fixed up. He hoped to provide a cheap way for each Maori to got the title to his land. He was very gratified to find in the Bay of Plenty a general desire for subdivision and tho acquisition of titles. He would see that courts and surveyors wore provided to partition the land. He thought the Land Act provided machinery for dealing with the request of Taranaki to Ua regarding the purchase of native lands and the holding of money for the natives. If application was made to the Minister of Lands, the lands could be disposed of as suggested. It was the desire of the Government to bring the two races together. They would endeavour to have the same law for the pakeha as for the Maori. Former Governments had tried to separate the natives. It was now possible for a native to divest himself of native difficulties and become a European. Land vested in the Land Beard could now be taken back and revested in the natives. Harm had been done by locking up the lands in the boards. Now there was power for tho natives to get their land and deal with it themselves. When they wanted anything done, if they let him know in Wellington he would do what he could for them.