Page 3 Advertisements Column 5

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 158, 16 June 1884, Page 3

TO THE ELE Ft ■ -OF EAST COA T. G;. .; i.v-jcx, intake !li:a p. l> t.'- : ■■ ■ upon the N...,Ll 1n:,,. q'.e s*.vn. ;tio,i that above a 1! others no clieet hln • ■ -rate, and it .1,-,I be whole of I: ■:■ 1, l«; n , < TJ .. , ;j .. 1 '■ ■i on arc owai>. •■» : , •ion over.... lanue. , . t question, M . Locke, o:.c <I .. c : .■ . contestin'- : . honor of rep:. I■,| . i„ )■ , inent, expressed l,i:.i If , ls follows to :l-., e.ectors of Gisborne, on the 20th Mar, iu t. ■ passed (vide P. B. Herald, 27th May,) , “ Locke wished to explain in reference I o . Mr. Sheehan's remarks. The pre-emptive right question was down in his notes but it had escaped him. He did not consider the Preemptiye Right should be resumed over any lands which had not been dealt with or on which money had been paid. It was another question as to whether it should be applied to the King country for a few years, as none of the lands had been with there.” (The italics are mine.) ‘ l , e llic ,nß i>y hundreds of thousands of acieo of hind belonging to Natives alo: ; ihe Wairoa, Gisborne, and the Nuhaka district there are about three hundred thousand acres of Native land which have sot been dealt with and Ul’OS WHICH MONET HAS NOT BEEN PAID, t’IICSO lands arc to be adjudicated upon at the first anting of the Native Land Court at the Wanoa, lo.oga Bay, and other places in this district, and I ask the electors of the East Coast, how can they support either the policy of pre-emption enunciated by the Government or the policy advocated by its “ nominal supporter,” Mr. Samuel Locke? nonunal ..' l ? e lle r d fu the Government has intimated that no further borrowing will be resorted to except for the purpose of completing pub. he works now in course of construction. 11, M® o . 1 ’ 1 . 13 themselves, while owning valuable lands might under such a scheme be absolutely unable to procure the bare necessaries of life. Such a scheme would sap the foundation of the prosperity of the East H y . 1 °"' U ,- V !?' vs upou tlle adminiswSi ‘ lO Na!lve Lands are already well known to you. I ara altogether opposed to the Government proposal; to Mr. L°eke a proposal; and to schemes for assist. r Vj inG3,o . l ’ aia snto ,!1 e hands of laige Land Companies or monopolists. 1 revision should be made for the natives by aliocauu for them resolves ample for their maintenance. A.s to the residue of the fleh'lv Ia , nds ° f ‘he. Colony, every possible y eh°u>4 be given for placing those lands fairly m the market, and in o’oeks of moderate areas. The law for in° Wnci lVl<JU FI 8 ®' 1 ? 1 ’ , o£ Relive interests iLb t, l ° £ ? n< ■ shou!d bG amemied, f person . B r lea - ,iins ° r bj J in 3 individual shares from Maori owners should be able ‘° speedily and at small cost, to ascertain definitely the actual interest they held in a olcoa. Until increased facilities are given to win‘L b!2 Ci , d MC!! l’ ieis of Maori lands Wll have no heart to turn their attention to making improvements, or the employment of Knowing therefore the views I advocate, upon this impoifant subject, I confidontlj; rely upon the electors of the East Coast in the interest of al! cf us who have made our homes hero to give me their support in the present co itc :t.

I am, Gon liemen, Your obedient servant, M. J. Gannon. TO THE ELECTORS OF THE EAST COAST. LECTORS, —My opponents in the present contest have thought proper to put words into my mouth which I have not spoken, and have placed interpretations upon my utterances which are as false as they are manifestly unfair towards me. Mr. Gannon has told you that I would stand with Mr. Bryce for the resumption of a pre-emptive right on those unalienated blocks of land in Poverty Bay which have not been dealt with. Nothing can be further from the truth. Mr. Gannon knows well, when speaking of pre-emptive rights over Native lands, that I referred to the King Country, and the King Country is not Poverty Bay, nor anywhere near it. If Mr. Bryce proposes that the Government shall establish its right to dispose of any portion of the native lands on the East Cjast districts no one will offer stronger opposition to such a scheme than myself; and I hope to give such reasons, and I trust[shall bo able to bring such force to bear, as will prevent Mr. Bryce or any one else, whether in power or out of power, from alienating to the Government of the day and locking up the unsold lands in this part of the country. I am, as I have at all times stated, a stauch advocate for free trade in Native lands, after titles have been perfected, and nothing left for the lawyers to dispute. My earliest efforts, should I find myself a member of the House of Representatives, will be to work heart and soul with those who are willing to initiate a Bill which shall for once and for ever, when it has become law, place the Native lands on such a basis that there shall be no after disputes. Mr. Rees has said that I am going entirely for the present Ministry, and that I should be pledged to support them. This is not the case. I go to Parliament with one object in view, and that is to serve the interests of the district. This, however, I feel will not be accomplished by propounding visionary schemes which may in the distant future meet their fulfillment.

I go for the present time—for what is practicable, and which, if persistently urged, may be obtained. Y r ou want roads through the district, in order that, when the country is opened up, the lands may be acccssable for improvement and cultivation. You want, more than all, clear and indisputable titles You want the lands portioned out, so that those who desire and arc in a position to occupy them may have no hindrance thrown in their way. Yoivwant a sufficient endowment, in land or in money, by which a harbor may be constructed. You want the educational reserves in your districts to be utilised for your own purposes, and not to bo seized and held in Auckland. You want to have your own registration officers, so that there shall be no going to Napier, or anywhere else out of your own district, in order to have your titles legally certified. These are the great needs I should strive for with all the power and influence which could be brought to bear. The all absorbing question of Fcderisation and Nationalization of the land are for the future, and both will have to be brought to pass by greater minds and by more experienced statesmen than we at present possess, and when education is universal and all men, springing from the rising genoration, are capable of intelligently considering the possible surroundings of such vital subjects invalving so many opposing interests. Electors, I am and shall continue to the end to remain, Your faithful servant, 190 SAMUEL LOCKE.