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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1299, 22 March 1883, Page 2

i The business transacted at the extraordinary j 1 meeting, held on Tuesday last, of the New ; • Zealand Native Land Settlement Company , ’ waa of great magnitude. It manifestly leads •up to what will eventually involve a new ' departure in dealing with lands, the pro- « I petty of the aboriginal natives of the • Colony. The late scheme, or rather the ; : many schemes that have from time to time been propounded, have in the construction :of their framework been gigantic. The superstructure, however, has never had the • solid basis to rest upon, that is now contem- ! plated by the resolutions passed at the large ' meeting of shareholders, held on last ’ Tuesday, Were the success of the new Company to depend solely upon its proposed Directorate a glance at the list of names published elsewhere should on that point remove all doubt. A glance at those names sufiiceth to show that there is arrayed a j phalanx of power combining financial, intellectual, and political force (representing in the case of legislative influence, all shades , of opinion) such as can rarely be got to asso- 1 ciate for one common object. The extension of the Company's operations is the natural ■ outcome of this amalgamation of different interests. The time too is ripe for the business 1 the Company is taking up being carried out upon a large scale. The Waikato difficulty and the Kawhia harrier having been removed, a vast territory is thrown open for selection where tens of thousands of people could establish homes. There . the operations of the Company may be carried on with “room and breathing space.” The field is open to them ; there are no conflicting European interests to contend against, and with due regard to the wants of the Natives and proper management,the Company should be able to override all obstacles, . and*become a useful element in promoting the settlement and progress of the North Island, besides having financial attractions for its shareholders. What everything hinges upon is the successful negotia- : tion for the land with the Natives. Every • one knows the stupendous difficulties to be . met in dealing with Natives for land binder [ the existing cumbrous laws. But the Legislature had a special object in view, in , placing the safe-guard it has in the way of ! Native land transactions. The proposal agreed to at the late meeting for the Comi pany to have a private bill brought forward next session, to, practically, remove r the difficulties in the present system, is a subject of too much importance to be dealt with hurriedly in the present issue. On another occasion we will acquaint our readers with what in our opinion will be the full force , and effect of such a change, and whether in the face of the arguments to be cited, the Parliament of New Zealand should pass such a law.