CORRESPONDENCE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1077, 23 May 1882, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

[IPe do not hold ourselvet responsible for opinions expressed by our correspondents.] TO THR EDITOR. Sib, —Our worthy Trust Commissioner has a rather difficult part to play here, and—lL hear he occasionally takes all haA* ®*back by his very hard and fast internet ation of the Native Land Frauds Prevention Act. I have only a Maori copy of that Act, but if I can translate a little bit, it is styled an “ Act to block the road to selling fraudulently the lands of the Maori ” A friend of mine, the other dav, told nW he went with two formidable statutory declarations under some Aet for abolishing extra (or ultra, I don’t know which) judicial oaths ; and it appears that in the Maori copy of the declaration, although the consideration money (some £2O or £3O) was duly set forth, it was blank in the English version thereof, and was, in consequence, returned to the pakeha purchaser, who went on his way —not rejoicing—to find another interpreter, the native vendor, and aJ.P., inorder to put the money matter right. On seeing that the application list of the New Zealand Native Land Settlement Company (Limited) for unallotted shares closed on Saturday last, 1 was inclined to invest therein ; but fortunately, or unfortunately, for tne, as the case may be, I picked up my Maori copy of the Native Lands Frauds Prevention Act, 1881, and 1 paused on reading the following section (please excuse errors in translation) ;

—“6. It is for the Commissioner to ascertain by all means in his power all matters as to the disposition of any land, so that he may thoroughly understand whether it has been sold •< rightly, and in accordance with the provisions of the previous section (it may mean in contravention of the previous section—my Maori is gradually getting defective), and that he must enquire whether the vendors knew what they were doing; and whether they received payment in full.” Now fancy my aboriginal brother in brown, or his gushing sister, signing a conveyance without knowing whether he or she were paid in full, or were tarnation sure where the balance would come from. While I was pondering over this, up catne a Maori with two P.N.’s issued by a local firm, and said the Commissioner would have no picture-books. On mature reflection 1 then declined to invest in “ unallotted shares,” because if a P.N., payable on a fixed day, was not deemed a legal tender, how could the company’s scrip, which, although limited in one respect, were not brought up to any one particular time in the other —be a proper payment. If you will answer the following question, you will much oblige, and perhaps enable me to join the N.Z.N.L.S. Co. (Limited). If a native sells his land to the Company for the nominal sum of four shillings per acre for which he receives sixpence cash, and three shillings and sixpence scrip (they call it picture book) payable in the great hereafter (provided the Company does not burst up), can the Commissioner pass such a deed, or can the native make a statutory declaration to the effect that he > has received the consideration money therein expressed ?—I am &c , Outrides,