ENDOWMENT LANDS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 112, 9 June 1909, Page 3

ENDOWMENT LANDS

THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE IX TARANAKI. Mr, J. VY. Poynton, Public Trustee, visited Paten on Thursday last in order to confer with leaseholders of the Taranaki Scholarship Reserve Lands in regard to t)ie conditions under wJiiclj the hipds are neld. t \\x avert of something over 20,000 ?K*re.s is affected. The l&'id in question was originally set aside as a University reserve. When Victoria College was established in Wellington efforts were made to have tin* Taranaki lands devoted to its support. This proposal was naturally resisted, and it was ultimately agreed that since Taranaki had little hope of obtaining a university, in the meantime the income from its university reserve should he devoted to •providing scholarships which would enahk> local students to at/tend Victoria College. The occupiers of the land have a grievance in that there is hick of uniformity in the conditions under which these endowment lands are leased. Many of them contend that they are insull'ieiently protected in regard to compensation for improvements. Under some of the leases .02 per annum is the maxinfum compensation obtainable. A meeting was held on Thursday evening, whvi tjie leaseholders laid their case before the Public Trustee. We understano thai that official admitted the need of re form, and it is probable that reinedia legislation will be introduced shortly. Another matter brought under the notice of the Public Trustee had. reference to the West Coast Settlement Act. under which large tracts of Taranaki land vest-: ed in the Public Trustee are set apart for Maoris on condition that they work i the hind themselves. This the Maori | occupiers have in many cases failed to I do. It is alleged that they frequently i lease the grazing rights of their land I to Europeans, and even at times sell i grazing rights on the same tract of land to several different purchasers in one season. Quito a number ol wiiitv settlers have been victimised in this manner. It is stated that one settler, a recent arrival from the Old Country, lost £3OO over a single transaction by purchasing grazing rights wftieh had been previously sold \\y another. The settlers had no apparent legal remedy, for these transactions are quite irregular. The only right the Maoris possess in the land is the right to work it for their own behoof. They have no power to dispose of the right to work it, if thev desired to do so. Naturally the settlers feel sore, for they contend that the Maoris have only learned the true position after being victimised. I't is felt that the large tracts of land burdened bv these unsatisfactory conditions; should be thrown open to European occupation. Apart from the trickery thev have practised on settlers the Maoris seem to make no effective use of the land. It is felt that if it were thrown open to settlement the present unsatisfactory position would be terminated with benefit to oil concerned. The r, nlv Jo«ers bv the change would bo tho3i« Maori* who have profited in the past ■l»v crooked denlin- f r. These matters were eyn , fnn M d to tlit* Public. Trustee, and we understand that he has promised to give them his consideration.—Patea Press.