The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1920. A MYSTERIOUS LAND POLICY.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3461, 15 April 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1920. A MYSTERIOUS LAND POLICY.

With which is incorporated “The Taihape Post and Waimarino News.”

._——--—-0--—-’-1 It is doubtful whether at this time any more serious indictment of the} Government land policy is possible than that contained in_ a leading article in the “New Zealand Herald” of last Satuz-da37’s issue. That journal states that “not since 1911 has a full and intelligent return of the native land in New Zealand been made in Parliamentary records.” Our contemporary" wants to know why‘ perpetual mystery about land settlement and alienation is kept up by systematic secrecy instead of givingi a plain statement year by year. It states that the student of Native at‘-I fairs is forced to content himself with statistics that are nearly ten years‘ old, -and get whatever information‘ from them he can We think’ that the “New Zealaud Herald” could not have addressed much ‘more pertinent interrogatories to the Government, or drawn attention‘ to a more serious delinquency The Native ‘Land Policy of the past decade is known only to the Government and guessed at by the people Several years ago, even’ in the first year the present Government came into power. there was much pointed criticism concerning Native lands. Thoughtless people agitate for‘ all Native lands being taken from their original owners for just what they like to give for them, whether the Maoris desire to sell or not. What La humane people would na?‘tural‘l‘y do ;is, first to recognise that the Natives iwere the owners of all the land, that lthey lived solely by and upon the l land, and that without land they must lstarve, or become a charge upon the [general taxpayer Unfortunately, there gare many amongst us who would grab the last acre the Maori possesses and ‘leave him landless to shift for llimself Heredity in the Maori is not what it is in white people; throughout the period of Maori liistory that is fairly reliably known the Mam-is have lnot been an industrially enslaved peoiple, compelled to labour from eight to ' sixteen hours a day for a mere living. ‘Their systems of government have not ‘set up courts, -boards and committees Ito fix wages, to make sure that they !did not receive a penny more‘ than was sufficient to live upoll—-u living wage~—as the white people usurping their lands have done. Consequently, rpast New Zealand Governments made some provision for the Natives’ hereditary mode of life by making it illegal for them to sell the whole of their land; it was enacted that each living native should retain jsuificient land for his own necessities. How that law is Fbeing observed by the present Government nobody knows, for since it took ofilce, the “New Zeailand Herald’? says no full an'd.intelli--gible return of Natiive land has been ?made in Parliamentary records. In ‘this connection it seems that Parliaiment has been content to allow this matter of land policy to remain enshrouded in mystery, but from rough calculation it is estimated that in the life of the present -Government 2,043,283 acres have been alienated, of which the Crown has taken close upon one million acres, leaving some five million acres for _ the 50,000 Maoris to live upon. This would 'give.to every Maori 100 acres of land,

but, unforunately for the Natives, this land left to them includes’ all mountain tops and all other impossible and inaccessible country, and w_e question whether, when the Government does furnish a full 'report. of its Native land dealings, the law, providing that every Maori shall have enough to live upon, has been observed. -Our Auckland contemporary has shown that our Native land administration‘ is a disgrace to us, but it has failed to comment upon the drag which legally and properly owned Native lands have been permitted to become upon the white settler generally. In the fir-st place the Natives should be relieved of all responsibility with respect to mountain tops and all other lands utterly valueless from\a production point of view, then, what good land is left the Maoris should be compelled to work it, or lease to those who would work it, so that "it could be compelled to bear its fair ‘share of taxation for reading and other improvement. It has been a scandal that British pioneers and settlers should have been compelled to bear; ‘the whole burden of taxation which ‘benefitted Native and Government’ ‘lands equally with those of the men 'ta.xed. It is pointed out that settle‘ment of Native land in the Raglan county has, in only eight years, raised ‘the rates from £lB to over £3OOO, and our contemporary waxes warm in its advocacy for still more and more alienation. It is stated that there is vfar too much land still in native ownership, and it urges Parliament to get to work, reserve what land ;:fOl' the Nl3.ol'lg they can usefully oceupy, mi facilitate the sale of the remainder. We are inclined to think the value of ‘the Native estate is being lax'gely_ over-estimated by our contemporary; ‘indeed information is so meagre that‘ '.searching for an approximate under[standing is Veritably a groping in ‘the dark. In 1911 the Natives possessed roughly 7,000,000 acres, of this area only_four millions were put to productive use. Since then over two million acres have been alienated, and from what those men best versed in Native land matters state, it is doubtful indeed_ whether there_ is enough farmable, or "cultivable ivlaori ‘land left to give each Native ten acres, and we think this a ‘very ‘fair estimate. We do not mean to suggest that a. deliberate attempt is being made to filch Maori land by the present occupiers, but our contemp-orary’s attitude might be made to bear that construction. When a full and intelligible report of the Native estate is pre‘sented we venture to say that when lands are deducted that are utterly; useless to the Maoris for cultivation,‘ there will not be left an acre more‘ than our Auckland contemporary says they are entitled to. It would be a lasting disgrace to British colonisation to leave a generous, brave people landless, paupers, a burden upon the general taxpayer. We join in the appeal to Government for full knowledge of the situation, because there ‘is already a fear that sufficient land is not being reserved upon which the Native population can live. On the other hand there should be instituted a fearless and business-like administration of Native affairs. Their land should be secured to the Natives, but none of it should. be perlnitt"ed ‘to be‘come a burden to be carried on the shoulders of neighbouring settlers. There is so little land -of productive value left to the Natives that it is ‘suicidal to them and to the country to go on allowing it to remain uncultivated, for it is ridiculous to set aside land for the upkeep of Natives if nothingis earned from it. Whatever area the Natives will not cultivate should at once he settled with small farmers,‘ and every acre of it should be forced to contribute taxa‘tion on the same basis as Eurol_)eal:owned land. We need 0111)’ I'€f€l' ‘again to the experience of the Rag‘lan County, where in eight Years the rates rose from £lB to over £3OOO owing to the settlement of Native lands. While only £lB was collect.able the huge valuable Maori estate was paying nothing,‘ therefore it will be seen the present Native land administration is not only keeping land out of production, but it is also put‘ting at millstone around the necks of white settlers. It is impossible to estimate the advantage to the Rangitikei County «a businesslike dealing in Native land would result in: it would be something very considerable, for native lands hereabout, although under some degree of use, are already a bar to production and progress. If native owners are to be lim‘ited to about ten acres per head of population, that area must be made to ‘produce its utmost or it will prove that the “New Zealand Herald." is ‘hopelessly astray in its estimate of ‘what land is necessary to prevent the original lords of the soil from being paupers upon the race who have insinuated themselves into the Ownership and possession of their estate. Wejoin in urging upon the Government the desirableness of publishing

's' full and ,inte_lligi'ble report‘ upon‘ the

Native land question.