INTRICATE MAORI LAND LITIGATION PROBLEMS

Taupo Times, Volume VI, Issue 287, 8 August 1957, Page 4

INTRICATE MAORI LAND

LITIGATION PROBLEMS

"The validity of many of the titles of land in New Zealand sold before the setting up of the Maori Land Courts was very uncertain, and led to endless trouble and even war. Often land was sold by the Maoris who had no valid title to It, siieh as was the case at Waitara, when a dispute over the title of an area of land lead to the Waikato war." That was said by Mr J. TI. Robertson, • of Auckland, formerly of the Maori Affairs Department, in a recent address to the Waikato Ilistorical Society. The Maori Land Courts were established in. 1862. The Court had to determine ownership in accordance witli the ancient customs and usages of the Maori jieople. Custom was recognised and ercated by. tlie Court, and this represented a sense of justice on the part of the iudges in dealing with a people who were in process of transition from a state of tribal communism in which land was lield in common. ENDLESS LITIGATION The root of a Maori title used to be based on the dictum "Let those take who have the power, and let those keep who can." The title of land used to be held under several types of right, namely, by conquest, by gift, and by ahility to retairi possession against attack. Mr Robertson said occupation was not in itself a right, but occupation was an important factor in determining relative interests. There was endless litigation regarding the ownership of some uafive bloeks of land, witli initial hearings, rehearings, appeals, petiiions to Parliament, and a Koyal Comirtission. The speak-er quoted Ihe cass of tlie Te Akau hlock, Ilaglap, as an instance. It wuis lu'ochiimed under the New Zealand Settlement Act, and in 1874 the ownership was vested in 88 Maoris. It vvas leased to the New Zealand Loan and Mercarpile Ageiicy Company Ltd., for 30 years, and was partitioned in 1801. There was a rehearing in 1894, a petition to Parliament in 1902, and a Koyal Cominission was set up in 1904 to determine the ownership of the area. In 1906 tllere was another petition to Parliament asking that tlie matter be iv f'erred back to the Appellate Court. MANY DIFK ULTIES "Oue of the troubles experienced in determining the ownership of Maori land," said Mr Robertson, was due to the practice of the Maori Land Court to grant the title of an area of land to not .more than 10 owners. This was done regarding Maori secrions at Orakei, Auckland, and as there were many more claimaiits, great difficulty was experienced in sett l'ing all the claiihs entered. Illustrating the difficulties confronting the Maori Land Court judges, Mr Robertson quoted tlie case of the Omahu block. In tliis case, the presiding jvulge observed that few cases were as iutricate. Some of tlie old landmarks had been totally clianged, rivers had takou new courses.

Old eultivations had been swept away, names of hapus had ehanged, and had been used indiseriminately by oue or other of the parties. Individuals had taken different sides during the various tights that occurred. Facts had been suppressed and allegations unsupported or contradicted. All these difficulties had increased the Court's labour in disentangling the facts and arriving at a satisfactory conclusion. SHIFTTNG OCCUPATION The occupation had heen so shifting, tlie various hapus so mixed, the facilities so great for persons of rank to move from oue hapu to another, the contradiction of witnesses, not only of each other but of tliemselves in material points, had so increased the Court's difficulties that it was only to be regretted that some arrangement had not been agreed 011 between the parties. Mr Robertson. said that there were 4,000,000 acres of Maori land left in New Zealand, and of this area 2,500,000 acres were usable. Some 1,100,000 acres were leased to Europeans, and 473,000 acres were under the control of the Maori Affairs Department, \vhile 39,000 acres were held under native trusteeship. There were 498,000 acres of Maori land farmed by individual Maoris and major corporations, and 460,000 acres were lying idle. Tlie total land under cultivation in New Zealand amounted to 19,961,000 acres, and 23,394,000 acres were unimproved. The poulation of New Zealand in 1955 stood at 2,013,952 Europeans and 134,203 Maoris.