THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1878.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2942, 20 July 1878, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1878.

Theee was one question touched upon by the Hon. the Attorney-General when addressing his constituents lately which, \ though professedly a part of the general policy of the Government in the future, we cannot but regard as likely (o be more particularly felt in regard to exceptionally situated districts like our own, and we refer to it because it concerns our interests in a direction to which public attention has been directed for years, namely, the construction of a railway connecting Thames with Waikato. After noticing questions which have occupied the attention of Parliament in, the past, Mr Stout said: -" I now come to deal with the future, and to set forth to you in some respects tho policy of the Government on the various questions of the day. In doing so, I may say that, so far as public works are concerned, a very important proposition was made by Mr Macandrew in the House, and I hope yet to see it affirmed : at any rate in a modified form. That was r instead of having our railways made simply along the coast and through settled districts, our railway system should be so framed as to continue into the interior, and open up vast blocks of Crown lands yet unsold, so that, instead of private parties getting the benefit of the increased value of land by the making of tho railways, the Crown should reap some advantage from these works by having its ground increased in value."— (Applause.) I believe that if that principie were adopted throughout the Colony the result would be that the increased value obtained by the Crown for' its lands would make the railways, ; and we would not need any further im- j provements at all. However,'when one makes a proposal of such a general nature in the Assembly he is always met by the cry of " districts," and the question is asked, ' Where will our railways be if we agree to this proposal?' and it is almost impossible to get - any such proposition carried through the House." Nowv it appears to us rather late in the day to propound a theory for framing a railway system ouly " to continue into the interior, and open up vast blocks of Crown lands yet unsold" so far as the North Island is concerned. Mr Stout, at his meeting exhibited a map of the North Island to show " that almost three-fourths of the land in the North Island yet belongs to Native owners." These lands ennot be deemed to be' Crown lands, t'erefore the scheme of making railways to open up Crown lands seems to suggest that the. system of making railways for that purpose " cannot be applied to the North Island. The inference is plain : That if the Government proposal is approved, we cannot possibly expect the Government to carry out the Thames Valley Railway, or to give any substantial encouragement to the inhabitants to do so, as the land through which the line is proposed to be made is chiefly alienated from the Crown by direct purchase from the Native owners, or still remains the property of the Natives themselves, with but small chance of the Government acquiring the. same if the progress of the Native Lands Court now sitting may be accepted as an indication of their success in land purchases. We are impelled to these remarks because Mir Stout, in speaking of the past, said that "it is of vast importance that any Native Land Bill passed shall provide for the acquisition of Native lands only in limited areas and by small settlers. If the Land Bill introduced by the late Government had been passed, the Native Lands would have been practically excluded from settlement and given over to a few land owners. That Bill was the first thing which led to the downfall of the Atkinson' Government." The Native Land Bill of the late Government was principally defective in the facilities that it afforded to private parties for acquiring land direct from the Natives, and even competing with .and outbidding the Government. Yet now we are told that any Native Land Bill passed should provide *" for J the acquisition of Native Lands only in limited areas and by small settlers." What guarantee can the Government offer in any Native Land Bil that land shall be acquired from the Natives by small settlers and in limited areas? We fear Mr Stout's experience of Native land purchases is as limited as his knowledge of the North Island. He cannot know much of the difficulties which small capitalists have to contend with in dealing with, the Natives—not so much in the actual negotiations with the Natives themselves as the competition of large capitalists. Under the late administration direct purchase was at one time prohibited, at another permitted, and even when actually prescribed, direct dealings were connived aY If tho system ofdirect purchase is proposed to be legalised in the new Native Lands Act, we should like to be informed of the provisions intended to be introduced to limit the acquisition of Native lands in small areas md by small settlers. Again, is it not fair to assume that, if tho Government cease to become purchasers, and allow indiscriminate trade in land, they will be inclined to exclude districts mv which such takes place from participating in that general railway scheme which is to open up " vast blocks of Crown lands yet'unsbld?" We cannot but think so, because in districts like these there will not be the inducement to make railways to increase the value of the land and allow

the Crown the advantage from the works, as indicated in the extract from Mr Stout's speech quoted above. The Attor-ney-General admits that " when one makes a proposal of such a general nature in the Assembly he is always met by a cry of " districts." We can imagine that if the Government should attempt to carry out what he has indicated there will be a great outcry, uot only from this district, but from many others in the North Island, whose interests are likely to be sacrificed to those of the Middle Island, where railway lines have opened from port to port along the coast, whereas old settled districts here are languishing for want of decent roads, and have to put up with the crumbs while large landed estates in the South have been enhanced a hundred fold by the expenditure of the whole loaves of the loans.: The session of Parliament will soon' open, and these projected measures of the Government will come on for consideration. The fact that the Thames Valley Eailway Bill has been settled by the people's representatives offers but a small guarantee that it will be carried. Sir George Grey has made lavish promises of what he will do. It will not be out of place to remind him of his promises to his constituents, and a little wholesome advice both now and,during the session may have a good effect", if the district is to have the benefit of communication with the.,back country and adjacent districts. The utmost care and vigilance will have to be exercised to prevent the claims of this district being shelved, and although the Attorney ■ General's utterances regarding the proposed railway scheme may be more those of the representative of Dunedin than a Minister of the Crpwn, they are sufficiently significant to induce an extra watchfulness on the part of the local bodies and inhabitants of this district, lest their interests be sacrificed to the exigencies of party conflicts.