FINAL REPORT OF THE WEST COAST COMMISSION.

Patea Mail, 14 August 1880, Page 2

FINAL REPORT OF THE WEST COAST COMMISSION.

We have obtained a copy of the third and final report of the West Coast Commission. It is to be hoped this is really the last of the series. This third report is not so lengthy as the other two. It contains two maps, one showing the Waimate Plains, or that small portion remaining for European settlement after allowing for the large reserves to natives ; the other showing the whole region of coast within the boundary of confiscation. This second map is the best that has been produced, giving a bird’s-eye view of the divisions, which are colored to show (1) native reserves, (2) awards to be Crown-granted, (3) land acquired by Government for sale, (4) lands returned to native titles, (5) reserves proposed by the Commission, (6) lands disposed of by the Crown, (7) roads, &c. After some sentimental exclamations about Te Whiti, his infatuated and so on, the Commissioners express prise at their own moderation ,c having recommended that the whole land “ must be given back.” They say they have not done this because it would be “an error so dangerous to peace.” They go on to say what they consider to be “ justice to the natives.” These arc their RE COMMEND A 7 TONS. That an Act be passed, with the following objects (for which they advise power being taken “ in wide terms : ”). Allocate Court awards and Government awards. Declare various classes of reserves ; survey extension boundaries and hapu subdivisions of reserves. Issue Crown grants in trust for the tribes, and also to small hapus and individuals. Subdivide reserves to individuals. Give title when the chiefs and people arc ready for it. Make a formal abandonment of the land returned by Sir George Grey conditional, on the maintenance of tho peace. Make regulations with the assent of chiefs and people for leasing their reserves. Settle special claims and grievances, and constitute the land from Stonoy river to Waitotara a special land district. Determine .how and when land shall be disposed of. Temporarily put the Land Board under the orders of the Governor to make such regulations for village and small farm settlements, especially in back country forests, as well as to attract a population, and insure the rapid population of tho country. Incorporate powers of Public Works Act, Telegraph Act, and Harbour Act, for making the roads and railway through any reserve, for Cape Egrnont lighthouse and for other works Declaring obstruction to Act an offence punishable with imprisonment. Take such new executive powers that may be wanted in any emergency to ensure obedience to orders of Government to repress all outrage and keep the peace. They also advise a wide proclamation among natives of any action which may be taken on this report.

ARRANGEMENT with TE WHITE

They recommend, above all things, “ that Te Whiti should not be left in his present isolation, and that a serious and persistent effort should yet be made to influence him. This West Coast question will never be settled, unless indeed wc do it by resort to force, except by some arrangement with him. To fill our gaols with prisoners, not for crimes, but for a political offence, in which there is no sign of criminal intent, is not only a most harassing and perplexing process, but the worst of it is that it does not advance the one thing that is really wanted, peace upon the Coast. It seems to us that the time has come when, if our suggestions are accepted by your Excellency, definite intimation can and should be given to To Whiti of the manner in which it is proposed to deal with the disturbed districts, and he should be invited to concur in that sharing of them with your Excellency which he appeared prepared to acquiesce in at the date of his interview with Mr Mackay ; but he should be made to understand that in any case the Government is going to take its share. In what manner he should be approached seems to us a matter for the consideration of your Accellency’s advisers ; we only to suggest that no time should be in doing it.”

THE CONFISCATION. On the question of confiscated lands the Commissioners say ;—“ The common sense view was put very plainly by Mr Sheehan last year. ‘I do not admit for a moment,’ he said, ‘that unless you take possession of land so acquired the Maoris can take it back. There are people who tell us that because we did not take possession of the land the confiscation is bad. Nothing of the kind. The proclamation was quite sufficient to take the land.’ We soon saw that any useful result to our inquiry was hopeless if we once let it drift into any unpractical channels ; we therefore refused to hear counsel who wished to question the validity of the confiscation, and we told tho natives at the very outset that we were not there to discuss such questions with them, but to learn how the Government might ‘ make good ’ (we again borrow Mr Sheehan’s words) ‘ the faith of the country by giving them whatever successive Governments had promised.’ We have always thought it was most necessary for them to realise that the native policy ought in all essentials ever to be the same, whatever party or Ministry may happen to be in power, and we never lost an oportunity of pressing this upon them as their best Safeguard no less than ours. The question really is, whether, by redeeming the promises which were made to the full extent, justice will now he done. We do not hesitate to say to your Excellency that it will.”

VALUE OF It E SERVES. The Commissioners say they requested the Civil Commissioner, the Commissioner of .Crown Lands, the Chief Surveyor, and the Land Officer at Patea, to take consultation on a careful estimate of the value of each reserve. The results arc these: Reserves, 263,000 acres .11261,055 Compensation awards allocated £45,/00 Compensation and Government awards not yet allocated, 50,000 acres £40,000 Blocks returned to natives : Stonoy River block £35,500 Opunaki block £70,000 Reserves acquired by cession or takoha £3,700 Reserves promised ; Hone Piama’s, Oeo £9,000 For his tribe £9,000 Manaia’s reserve on the Plain £12,000 Wahnate Plains : Seaward cultivations, and continuous reserve £115,000 To be added if Parihaka reserves be granted £37,000 Estimated total value of reserves £638,535 EXTENT OF THE RESERVES. “ Considering that the Natives for whom this large extent of valuable land was to have been set aside never numbered more than 3000, and arc now said by the Civil Commission to be less, it certainly cannot be said that if the promises of the Crown since 1865 had been fulfilled, the most ample provision would not have been made for the tribes—not that such provision will' be insufficient now, if Par liament enables the promises to be at last redeemed. What the Native Minister said in his place last year is quite true, that these reserves would, in fact, have made the Taranaki tribes the most wealthy in the Colony. In proposing therefore to reserve 25,000 acres out of 146,000 (which is the total area enclosed by the Waingongoro and Oco rivers, and out of which wo estimated pn our first report that 120,000 are available), Sir George Grey’s Government were not making an excessive reservation for the Natives of the plains,” MR. SHEEHANS PLAN. “ The oidy difference between what Mr Sheehan proposed and we recommended is, that his offer was to give up the back country as well, from Waingongoro to Whamoko and up to the mountain, whereas our inland lines limit the reserve to 25,000 acres, leaving a large and fertile country at the back for settlement. The only difference, indeed, between what we recomended and what Sir George Grey’s Government would have done, is that whereas they give To Whiti the whole block down to the sea, wc advised that tho*'portion between the new road and the coast, now found to amount to about 15,000 acres, should, with the exception of native cultivations, burial places, and fishing places, be retained by the Crown for settlement.” WAIM ATE RESERVES. The Commissioners add 20,000 acres to the estimate in their first|frcport. The \ total area of the Plains division is 146,000 hj acres, and deducting the unavailable land (16,000), there remain 130,000 acres. From this the Commissioners take 3,000

for Manaia’s and Hone Piama’s reserves, 800 for cultivations on the Plains, and 25,000 for continuous reserve, there remain 101,700 acres. The Commissioners next say that 20,000 acres of first-class open land will remain for settlement on the Plains, and nearly 82,000 of first-class forest land, making nearly 102,000 acres for settlement. There are also 16,000 acres of bush inside Ihe six mile radius to the top of the Mountain. It is not seriously proposed to reckon this land to the Mountain top, we hope.

PATEA DISTRICT. Taking the land from Stratford to AVaitotara, the Commissioners say all the good land along this coast has been occupied. The rest is forest land, requiring roads to open it to settlement. There is a 1113'sterious reference to the 11 Worgan papers,” containing some things which, “for the credit of the country, must be sifted and cleared up in connection with that person’s official acts during the time when (to tho misfortune of everyone) he was allowed to represent the Government in this district.” The report adds that “it is money that is in question, not land.” There are “no more reserves to make in the Patea district, nor awards to allocate, nor promises to redeem,” unless Mr Richmond’s old promise may rightly, under ad the circumstances, be revived for the purpose of showing some consideration to the chief Taurau. VALUE OF THE LAND. The acres available for sale, are : OPEN. FOREST. Parihaka block 15,000 6,000 Oco block 4,500 16,000 Waimate division 20,000 82,000 Totals 89,500 104,000 These 143,000 are reducible by awards to be given, leaving a not balance of 130,000 from tho Waingongora to Parihaka ; and 30,000 acres are open country, all fit for settlement. Mr Humphries had valued the land between Stoney river and the Waingongora at £675,000. Out of this must come the reserves ; the Parihaka and AVaimate, valued at £183,500, and the blocks returned to MatukateaandNgamahanga at£105,500 and making £289,000 for reserves to be given to natives. This leaves only £386,000 as the probable sum to be received from settling the land between Stoney river and Waingongoro. In other words, these Commissioners give to natives nearly onehalf the total value of the confiscated land between those rivers. Going northward to AYaitara, the land remaining to the Government will realise possibly £233,000 more ; making the total possible income from land fit for settlement about£6l9,ooo. Then the Commissioners coolly say this land has already cost more to the colony than that sum !

LEASING NATIVE RESERVES. The report says the native reserves need “ managing ;” that they have never been managed at all hitherto, whereas most people thought there, were too many managers. The Native Reserves Committee sends in a 3'early report, but “ there is never anything in it.” The Commissioners also say that “ the vast estate which will be secured to the West Coast natives”—it is a vast estate, wc agree—- “ must henceforth be looked after in quite another way.” They don’t say what that way is, but they add Wc are inclined to think that leases only should be given, and that the natives should not be allowed to sell ; but at any rate, whatever regulations are made they should ensure residence and occupation by as many lessees as possible, as well as rigidly require the fencing and cultivation of the land, so as to prevent large areas being taken up on speculation. The great point will be to invite the tribes themselves to help in making regulations to suit both races, to interest them in the progress of settlement, and to let them feel that if they are large proprietors it will be best for them, not less than us, to change the country from a wilderness to cultivated fields. But it will not be enough to make regulations for the reserves. In our opinion power should be taken to deal with the whole of the Crown lands between Stoney river and Waingongoro in the way best fitted to prevent troubles, and to ensure the settlement of people on the land. The colony cannot afford, after so many blunders and such a waste of treasure, to run the risk of what the Taranaki Land Board may do.” PAKEHA MAORIS. The report says “ It was not only the opposition of natives we had to meet. Strenuous efforts had long been used to make the natives believe the Commission was illegal and could be successfully contested in our courts. There was money to

be got by instilling this delusion into the native mind ; money to be got by litigation, and money to be got by jobbing meanwhile in Maori land. Nor was there wanting harpies that had infested the coast for years ; rogues, whose trade was to poison the Native people against the Government and baffle every endeavour after peace.” THE TRUE SOLUTION. The conclusion of the Commissioners is summed up in the following sentences ; The question of Parihaka is still the pivot on which the settlement of the difficulty turns, and it is not less hopeless now than ever to suppose that any settlement will be made with To Whiti. The problem is not altered from what it was last March. Lastly, there is the weighty consideration that the true solution of the trouble on the coast is, after all, occupation and settlement; and that as on the Plains, so even more certainly at the very doors of Parihaka, the settlomentof English homesteads and thcfencing and cultivation of tho land will be the surest guarantee of peace.