The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1914. AN INCORRECT STATEMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 28, 23 June 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1914. AN INCORRECT STATEMENT.

The Wellington morning papers ta'ca their polities very seriously, indeed vory wolent-ly at times, and are given to making statements which cannot always bear examination. They can see but one side of any political matter; indeed, tliey do not desire to see any other. Tl.ey sire "run" in the interests of their respective parties, and are out for scalps more than for the presentment of facts and frank and honest criticism. Hence it is not surprising to find in a recent number of the Wellington Times an article on the alleged wrong done to the Maoris in connection with the West Coast Settlement Reserves. In tho course of its remarks, it says:— ''What would be said of a law that compelled a European owner, after a lease had expired, to renew that lease for a period of ten years, whether he wished to do so or not? That is what was done last session to the native owners of 18,399 acres of valuable dairying lands on the West Coast of this island. In view of the profession that the Maoris were to he placed on an equal footing with the Europeans, and in the light of the admission in the Act that the Maoris wished to occupy and cultivate the land themselves, tho policy of tho Government was coercive, arbitrary and unjust to the natives, no matter how advantageous it was to the Europeans."

The Government, whatever its shortcomings in other respects, has clean hands over this business. In the first place, the extension of the leases was done not against the wishes of the native beneficiaries, but with their consent. The land would not have reverted to the Maoris at the termination of the leases, as our Wellington contemporary would have us believe. Like the rest of the West Coast Settlement lands, it was merely held in trust for the Maoris and their descendants, it never being contemplated that they ever would be given possession of the fee simple. The land would have been put up for lease again, and the Maori, chronically without funds as he is, would have had no chance with his pakeha competitor, for lie would have had to provide a sum up to £5 per acre to the outgoing tenant for improvements, as well as paying his rent in advance and obtaining the necessary stock. But at the end of the extended leases—in ten years* time—the Maori will he able to acquire the freehold, if he desires, and, moreover, will have beside him, as a result of special provision made in the amending Act of last year, money with which to pay for improvements. So that whatever advantage is conferred on the pakeha lessee by gaining another ten year* lease—at a rental, remember, base l on present values, not on the values of 1881 or 1892—the Maori comes out of the transaction very comfortably, ttefore, he never had a chance of financing; adequate provision is now made for him in this respect. Before, he never had a hope of gaining the freehold of the sections as they fell in; now he lias. Our Wellington contemporary therefore need not be afraid of the interests of the Maoris being prejudiced or injured; for they are in every way protected—indeed, promoted. As for the tenants, the men who have made the land as productive and valuable as it is, they arc receiving nothing more than they are paying for, and paying for adequately.

25 YEARS' TRADE. ' It is interesting to notice the growth of the Dominion's trade during the past 25 years as revealed by the Customs returns, and more particularly the growth in the trade in the various ports of New Zealand. During the period under review—lßSS to 1913 —the port that has made the greatest percentage increase is yew Plymouth, whose imports have grown no less than 1380 per cent. Wangauni is a creditable second with 881 per cent; "Gisborne being a good third with an increase import of 571 per cent. A further examination of the fig-urea shows that several of the smaller ports have increased their trade in far greater ratio than the four large ports, also that, except in the cases of Timaru and Invereargill, the South Island ports have not shown anything like the increase of the North. Three South Island ports, in fact, show decreases, while the increase even of Dunedin, is very small, for such a long period. The figures for the 25yoar period are as follow:

Great as lias been the growth in trade of the port of Xew Plymouth during the past 25 years, it will be very much greater. We have 110 doubt whatever that in the course of two or three years the trade of Moturoa will lie exceeded by no other port outside the four eentres. This seems rather a boastful statement, but it is a fact that our port is only just beginning 1 to move. Direct shipping is about to be established. Indeed, it has already been initiated. • There is no other deep-sea harbor on tlie whole of the coast, and there is no other part of New Zealand so densely settled as Taranaki, nor a province that has a ; better future. A deep-sea harbor it now 1 possesses; during the 25 years mention-. j

al port. The prospects of the port are particularly bright; it simply cannot help going ahead, and with considerable pace.

Increase per 1888. 11113. cent. Auckland 273,907. <181,583 258 Oisborno 9,581 «4,32l 571 New Plymouth 3,543 52,438 1380 Wanganui 8,703 85,396 881 312 Wellington .... 218,174 898,201 Napier • 44,112 1-20,833 174 "Nelson 43,862 38,082 15 Wcstport ...... 11,255 16,157 43 Greymouth 28,258 14,871 35,135 34 "Hokitika 9,999 33 Lyttelton 220,115 512,818 133 Timaru 15,614 59,174 279 *Oamaru 11,964 7,369 38 Dunedin 308,226 508,249 65 Invercargill ... 31,260 113,210 202 •Decrease.