The Invercargill Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1864.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 35, 27 January 1864, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1864.

This annexation of Stewart's Island to this Province was hailed with great satisfaction, and' much good was anticipated as lilcely to result from tlihi action of tlie G-enerul Assembly. Geographically connected -. with us, it seemed absurd that, as far as Provincial authority Avas concerned, we had no more business with it 'than with Canterbury or Nelson. Knowing sufficient of it to appreciate the advantage likely to accrue i'rom its possession, we were anxious that the annexation should be made as soon, as possible. The Act annexing Stewart' a Lshmd was passed by the Greneral Assembly on the ord ult. Nearly two months have passed, and yet we are as far o'\' _ possession as evei\ How is this ? At whose door does the blame of sloth and diiatoriness in taking that which wo wanted, and wjiich has been given fco us, lie ? 'With the Provincial or . General Grovcmmenfc authorities ? The pui^chase from the -Natives must be eii'ected by some officer specially appointed by the Governor — one thoroughly acquainted not only with the language and customs of tlie Maori, but also with all the intricacies of land purchasing from the Natives — one who can devote the whole of his time and attention to the work while he has it iv hand. We believe that the Chief Surveyor, Mr Heale, was instructed to take the initiatory steps towards effect ing this puivh ise. Admirably fitted as Mr Heale is for suc h a work by his acquaintance with the language, habits, and ideas of the Maovies, his general ability iind sittgnla-r energy of .purpose; lie has already too much on his hands ; the consulting counsel of every department under Government, it is -really wonderful how he manages to get through his work as he does. AVhat he could do we believe he has done. The work is smoothed, all is in train for the' operator as soon as ho appears ; all the natives interested in the matter — all having claims to any .part of the island have -been communicated with, and are anxiously looking forward to a final settlemeut. Now, then, is the time to strike, while the iron is hot. The natives have been told again and again by Mr. Heale that the next steamer from the North will -bring down the Commissioner, — agaiu and again have they been disappointed. Shortly they will naturally cease to believe what is told them, and imagine the Government is only trifling with -them. It is this temporising which caused much ot" the dissatisfaction in the North island, and which has begun to sow the seeds of it here._ This neglect on the part of the General Government, is only another instance of the careless way in which Southern interests and affairs a-re treated. Surely the Executive might have spared sufficient time, — might have taken sufficient trouble, — to have appointed a competent Commissioner. The difficulty to be contended with in eiKecting the purchase of Stewart's Island — one which requires such intimate knowledge of Maori customs and habits — is not an tinwillin guess on the part of the native proprietors to sell ; but to ascertain the real owners, — to make sure that the individual who oilers with such complacency to part with not only his own interest, but the interests of all others concerned in the matter, has any right to do ho. It not unfrequently has occurred that a Maori of high caste — a Chief- — has sold a piece of land to" an individual, obtained signatures to the deed of sale of others who. are supposed to be interested — has, in fact, taken all the steps requisite to-' give a colour of integrity to the transaction — and yet, when the matter is inquired into, or when by the death of the vendor, other claims, hitherto unheard of, spring into existence — it is found that the purchaser has no title to that for which he. has paid; that the whole transaction is a fraud ;' that all- that the Chief lias sold is his inaua, or sovereignly, not the land. In the early days in the Northern Island, cases of this sort frequently occurred, not only with private individuals but the Government; thus Pukelvohe, purchased by. the Government from a. Chief, and resold to private individuals,, was afterwards- claimed by the original Maori owners, who proved that they had never received a shilling for it, and that the Chief had merely sold his sovereignty, or inaua', over it. Tho Grovcrnmeufc, at a cost of £10,000, had to re-purchase it, and hand it over to the Maori owners, who declined parting with it. This sovereignty of the Chiefs seems to bo the 'power of vetoing, any sale of land on the part of the real owner. Thus it requires to be purchased also, although it confers no real title to the land. Indeed the Chief, after ' having obtained the money for such a^ale, im*ariably turns round on the unlucky purchaser,-, and backs the real owner when he appears, who has to be paid over again. This is an acknowledged principle in all land pui'chaseß from the natives. !Xor.

does the presence of the . real owners,, at tlie Bargain .'entered into vriili tlie Chief, .afford security, though no objection or protest be made by them at the time ; silence, in this instance, docs not give 'consent.. It is contrary to their custom to spoak in tlie presence of tha Chief; to protest against his actions is out of the question ; and this is of the less consequence to them, as they know that they will get their money under any circumstances. Even where a Chief sells more than his maua, , and divides the money amongst the real landowners of his tx-ibe ; should he through inadvertence, or having a dislike to, intentionally . omit paying one or more, those claims ■will have to be settled afterwards by the purchaser. Taraia, the most powerful Chief on the Thames River, does not, we believe, own one acre of land in. that district?; yet no Maori could sell without his permission, which of course can only be obtained by the jMircliase of his mana. The purchase of Stewart's Island is therefore not so trilling a matter as at first sight would appear. To purchase it directly from Topi, would be merely to pay twice for the same thing. Every claimant must be fcrretted out, treated with. 'individually, apart iVom h is Chief, and his claim traced back to i ts source, lie must prove not merely how he came into possession himself,'but how his ancestors did. After all thi.j trouble, when each has been paid separately, and the Chief's mana purchased, the chances arc that at some distant date, some one will- turn up with a claim. Tho way in which some of these claims are obtained is curious, and tends to a further mystification of the subject — greater diiliculty in investigating them. Thus, in the North, lately, a Maori laid claim to some twenty miles of a" road on the following .grounds i-r-^an ancestor of his, a man of note, was killed in a skirmish with a neighboring tribe. ' To have buried the- body would have endangered its capture by the enemy ; a hammock was consequently made, and the body carried oft ; the weather became very warm, the body decomposed, and dripped, and wherever a. spot fell the ground became immediately tapued to the dead Chief's family, and gavcthem a right to the land — liem-o the claim, but in consequence of the exact spot being at this date uudefinablo ; the claim ia for 'two miles in width along the whole line of road. A\ r e;unccrcly trust the Superintendent will-cause tho attention of the General Government to be turned to the subject, and urge them into immediate action.