The Daily News MONDAY, JANUARY 28. THE NATIVE LANDS COMMISSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81917, 28 January 1907, Page 2

The Daily News MONDAY, JANUARY 28. THE NATIVE LANDS COMMISSION.

Settlement in the Xorth Island has been tampered by the Maori. This is not the fault of tiie Maori, it ha.been the i'auL of successive U 'verninciits who have been tinkering rime out of mind witii native land legislation until the whole of the law dealing Willi one of the most iinporuuil lunUers within the scope of p.dil c-, is like a piece of patehwork and \enraged patchwork at that. ft may bo teat the piecemeal method of dealing with the great native land question, which involves within its scope many millions of acres of first class, secondclass,, and indifferent land, sne.essive Covermnent have been actuated bv a desire to do the best they could'for our' llrown! brbther. The pi.eeine.il system has had tiie effeet of icary "doing for" our brown brother. Legislation has been framed in a sp'ri. of cruel kindness. The native laids of the North island—there is II tie native country in the South —is u t laud for some natives. That is ,o say, iher are a few very large ho'ders, a lai/;e number of ""landless',' natives, and a considerable section of flic native people who hold land under tiie communal system.

Communism, Leoorctieally speakirg. is good. I'raclically, especially in vela: lion' to Maoris, it is bad, simp'y lie ' cause the interests of individuals is not chlarlly defined anil members of the Maori communes are content, be cause there is no incentive to individual oll'ort to make a- bare existence out of the smallest possible section of the communal holding and allow the rest to lie idle. What.land-idleness means is known to every settler. Idle land means noxious weeds, "weeds" of horses, ''weeds" of cattle, ''weds" of sheep, dangerous dogs, feeble conniunication, bad roads and idleness of the holders. Idleness is the curse of every community. Idleness will wipe out a race quicker than "sweating."

Much is hoped from the Native Lands Commission just, sot up, not because their own nr the general knowledge the Commission are likely to add to concerning native areas, but because their known ability anil knowledge, of existing conditions will enable tlrem, as the Premier lias pointed out. to suggest a way out of the maze. The i apparent design in setting up the Commission from its present knowledge and the knowledge it hopes to gain, will actually frame legislation which has only to bo passed by Parliament to make it at once effective. The Commission has an immense task be fore it, even if it had nothing more to accomplish than to deline every individual Maori's- right in any piece of land. it has been a matter of great dillicnlty iu the past to elfect honest transfers of Maori lands, and in many eases —there are some vi'.ry rich examples in Taranaki—it has been a matter of extreme ease for settlers to get transfers from the natives.

There is no doubt that if many alleged areas of native land that has fallen info the hand of the pakohas were examined it would be found that in law the pakohas had no claim to the feesimple at any rate. If is impossible where the Maoris do not use Iheir lands for the speen'ative and progics sivc pakcha to avoid dealing in it. reaping something from the barter or natural productiveness of native areas. As everybody know-, while it is a sin to disinherit a Maori bv a

"slim'' irick, it is also a. sin thai there should be any great Maori landowners who have ovorlordship in relation to half a countryside. Maori landlordism is unsatisfactory, and it is not kind to the Maori landlord or the country at large. The disposition by lease from Maori owners to pakcha tenants mentioned as being within the scope of file Commission's legislative suggestion will be a catastrophe and little improvement upon the prevailing system which tacitlv permits disposition by lease, laziness bv owners and hoary practice bv tenant.

The Coveniment's r.und Hid. in deal nig with 'the limitation of areas lied by white (people 1 , proposes to make it impossible for one man to hold any great area. He nni,t absolutely sell'. There is no question of leasing.' lie must relimpiisi! all right and tide lo laud above a capital value of chO.OIK) williin ten year.-. As (lie Native Land Commission is (o male suggestions tiiaf 1.i,. country expects will be noted on. teis limitation of area, wodihod 1,1 swt unlive fuel clrciinislaiiees .might lie legitiinatclv advised as liemg fair iu principle, if the Land Hill's proposal is lair to the big pakcha I ler. 'there is no ipiestion about ihe Mirness lo (he native holders in limiting the area of (ho land thev should hoal. beeaus.J as long as (,iey hold land that is not being used or is boiiileased to pakohas at ridiculous lonlals." ho long will the native continue to "die oul," (here being no iieeessil.v for the rich to do anything and no incentive to coiinniin.il Maoris to work land in which Itheir interests are known neither to (he members of the com . inline, the Native Laud Court, nor the Covcrimienl.

Tni'. Maoris, fin- the n iOsL ~,,,.(. {|| . ( isolated. ( Tiiey arc not largclv ;„■ •piainled Midi Hi,, methods of'the ~, I«'liii because they ,]., „ot come i,,,, 'l'l'i'f't contact in the coin's., of (heii small agricultural undertakings II is the largeness of their hol<li,i-s tlia'i 'solans 1 Ih-iii. their inability |, v ~,.„,. son of this isolation to (alio advantage of up to date methods a,,,! tireir natural antipathy to do more workin,, is ahsolnl.-lv necessary to '-keep Hi'' wolf from the door" (hat. hampers If the huge tracts of native innd. other than those absolutely necessary to allor/l Maoris proper sustenance ' and competence supposing Ihev were inteligently worked, were alienated from the owners, and. as is snooted, cut "p. 'the "land hunger'' might, lie appeased. Any for our Maori l,roli,er who mi-lit under a in'H system have part of his land nViiatc.l is misplaced. By the evi,,"l>t'l of a prosperous pakcha community around him he and his rac ~" l |l<l I'i'come h.-all hie*,, happier and more weailnv individually lhal he now is. lie would he v,,v,M from sMIi hecause 11,,. smaller size of his hold-' nigs would make idleness impossible. The incentive to sharp practice under Maori landlordism would vanish and tli" benefit to population, to wealth, and to progress would be incalculable.

Tli/ enlightened Maori sees in (lie pro po'iil to ~„( 11,,. v,,,! area, „f native land in (lie market. „othin<; but -rood H lias bee,, 111,, dream of Hi,. Xative MiniMcr long enough. I,„| (]„, Vat ire Mmislrv. able enough ;,, his hiudly. poetical way. has never had (he V i"i»r t<> ivu'll,y and truly tackle th'is important question. True, it wis Inwlio during last session uvomiscd the people Unit (here would be n. new Native Land Act almost as snrm as there, would be u. irew Land Act. Tint in the, meantime it has been decided to go fully into (lie wind,, rjiioslinn liy Hi,' appointment of a Commission Unit necessarily must meet with lire approval of anyone, who has the pro gru.-s of 'tilis country at heart. Then, is at this moment no great deterrent to an adequate expansion of our trade comnreree and sellleincm as the locked up native land. Nothing 'I bat is more unsatisfactory than the hnjL'e Maori landowners and "land le-s'' Maoris, who have been able in the pa,t to alienate (he whole of their holdings can he cited. The hi»h price of fiiriniii!; lands, the lack of lands for settlement, the lack of roads in nianv parts of the North l-lanil. nui.t eventually cense to he probleiiK if Hi,sett lenient of native hind is looked | upon as u prime nci-e.-xil v. That anv mailable purl „f ~,ir spiendid counIry should hj,. lying idle when it would exude riches if tapped, is a ivproac'i, to a, eonnti-v thai must he progressive I if it will hi' great. In Ih,. hands of (he Koyal Native Laud I'oinniission the Maori is quite safe. His interest's in short are safer should Ihe pro. posal outlined he given ..licet to than they could possibly he were the Maoris forbidden absolutely to alienate an acre. Under any such pro hibilion'; the Maori wrluhl soon liecome as extinct as the nioa, [