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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 211, 16 August 1884, Page 2

The furtherance of the Hatbor and Railway Bills and the obtaining of a Resident Judge of the Native Land’s Court are, as have been pointed out time after time, matters of most vital importance to the present welfare and future prosperity not alone of our own immediate district but of the whole of the East Coast of the North Island. From the tone of the speeches delivered on Thursday, and the conduct of the people assembled it is quite evident that every resident in the district is fully alive to the importance of getting the resolutions proposed carried out. As his Worship the Mayor remarked they are great undertakings, but that should not debar the people from going into them with all their might and main, for they may rest assured that success can only be gained by one and all making the most strenuous exertions. It will not do in a matter of this sort to leave all the work for a few willing ones, but every settler and other individual in the electorate must take upon himself the onus of assisting to push the proposed works to a successful issue. The resolution proposed by Mr. W. K. Chambers, viz., —“That it is absolutely necessary for the con-

venience and welfare of this community that suitable harbor accommodation should be provided, and the country, by the construction of a railway, opened up for settlement; and that in view of the large estate held by the Crown in this district which would be greatly benefitted by the construction of these works, the cost and burden of such construction should be borne by it. And this meeting, drawing attention to the neglect which this district has suffered at the hands of every Government of New Zealand would urge upon the present Government and Parliament the advisability and justice of passing an Act to accomplish the above purposes,” must commend itself. There can be but one opinion as to the advisability and desirability of providing harbor accommodation, for have we not every day proofs of the necessity for such an undertaking being gone on with in the fact of steamers having to continually pass the port, or only landing passengers and carrying on their cargo. Quite recently goods have been carried from the South on to Auckland, back to Napier, and from there back again to Auckland before an opportunity to land them presented itself. The inconvenience and annoyance of such a proceeding, which under present circumstances cannot be avoided, should be a strong argument in favour of the work of a harbor being pushed on. Then again, as Mr. Rees pointed out, the cost of lightering and tendering, which is at present paid by the consumer of the goods like all other taxation, would be sufficient to provide interest on the capital required for the work, while the throwing open of the vast blocks of Crown lands, and the increased value they would acquire through the construction of the proposed works, would provide an ample sinking fund with which to pay off the principal. But the mere fact of passing a resolution will do but little good. The people themselves must, as Mr. Townley put it, stir up the Government to a sense of the wrongs the district has suffered in the past, and impress upon them the great benefits that will accrue to the district generally, and indirectly to the colony as a whole, from the opening up of communication with the interior, and thereby giving facilities for the maintenance of an increased population. The resolution of Mr. James Mackay “That as the opening and settlement of the Native land on the East Coast is a question of vital importance to the people of this district, and as the Natives are unanimously desirous of passing their lands through the Native Lands Court, and throwing them open to competition, it is the opinion of this meeting that the Government and Parliament should be respectfully requested to take such steps as will ensure the immediate holding and continuous sitting of Native Lands Courts at different centres throughout the East Coast district. In fact, from the large number of claims which have been lodged with the Registrar at Gisborne, that it is highly desirable that a Judge of the Native Lands Court should be stationed permanently in the East Coast district, and hold periodical sittings at the most convenient places within it," was supported by figures which speak far more plainly than words can. The mere fact of such a number of cases as remain to be heard at Wai-o-matatini, about 1,450 in all, and the manner in which the hearing of the claims has been shelved from time to time until it is now over five years since a Native Land Court was held in that quarter, ought to induce any Government to grant a resident judge to get through the work. Were there any expense entailed on the country by their doing so they might have some excuse for their laxity, but such is not the case. The fees charged in the Native Lands Court far more than cover all the costs to the country and add largely to the revenue. Putting the cost to the Government of a Judge and the necessary officials at say Z’z.ooo per annum, it may be asked what have we to show for the expenditure. In the first place in two years has been paid in stamp duties alone on Native land transactions in this district even with such meagre facilities as we have for doing business, for it must be borne in mind that until the Native blocks have passed through the Court and the rightful claimants certified to by the Judge, they cannot be dealt with at all. What then must be our position with a grand total of 2,910 claims waiting to be adjudicated upon ; 2,910 blocks of land on which no rent can be paid until the rightful owner is ascertained ; 2,910 blocks of land which cannot be utilized for purposes of settlement until passed by the Court; 2,910 sections of land which cannot be made reproductive until the Government grant our request and give us the resident Judge we ask fof. Is anything further requisite to prove our right to what we ask for ? To grant our request is but to give us the liberty of handing over thousands upon thousands of pounds to the public treasury for the privilege of having certain titles cleared up, and the land put in such a position that it can be made workable and a population be settled theron in peace and comfort. The two resolutions are summed up in the third one proposed by' Mr. Rees—“ That the Chairman of the Borough and County Councils be requested to forward to the House of Assembly a petition embodying these resolutions, and praying that both Parliament and Government will enquire into the facts alleged in the same, and will take such steps as they may deem necessary to redress the wrongs which this district has suffered, and to satisfy the j ust wishes and requests of both races upon the East Coast, and that the following gentlemen be appointed a committee for the purpose of carrying out this resolution :—Mr. Rees, Mr. Townley, Mr. Mackay, the Chairman of the County Council, and the Mayor.” We shall refer to the subjects treated of more fully in a future issue. In the meantime we desire to impress upon every man, woman, and child in the district the importance of these matters to each one personally, and to the district collectively.