LAND CONFISCATION

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 518, 22 November 1928, Page 7

LAND CONFISCATION

CLAIMS OF MAORIS METHODISTS URGE JUSTICE The attitude of the Methodist Church toward the report of the recent Royal Commission on confiscated Maori lands was commented upon by the Rev. A. J. Seamer, general superintendent of home missions, in his report to the district synod of the Methodist Church yesterday. Mr: Seamer said the report upheld the opinions expressed by the Methodist Maori missionaries all through the intervening years, and it was hoped the Government would immediately take steps to carry out both the letter and spirit of the report, and see that tho compensation awarded was wisely used m the development of the social and industrial life of the survivors of the tribes concerned. The Government should provide land forthwith for Maoris who were landless through excessive confiscation. Healthful houses should also be provided. This should take precedence of any money payments whatever. It would be unfortunate if any monetary compensation should prove a curse—as certain others had done—rather than a blessing to the tribes concerned. No country, however, could prosper unless its Government was prepared to inquire into and adjust the legitimate grievances of its citizens.