MAORI DEBTS

Te Puke Times, Volume II, Issue II, 19 September 1913, Page 3

MAORI DEBTS

Maori debts arc at all times a soutcj of trouble to tradespeople, and the Maori is not slow to take advantage of the protection which the law provides. His land being sacred from the gent 1 1 practice known as "sellinghim up," the Napier Chamber of Commerce is moving in direction of getting legislation put through with the object of making rents coming to Maoris attachable. A letter dealing with this subject was received from the secretary of the Napier Chamber of Commerce at the mooting of the Hamilton Chamber of Commeres recently (says the Waikato Times). The writer mentioued that he had forwarded a copy of tlm communication to the Minister of Justice, and asked the local Chamber to also approach the Minister. The letter was as follows: "Sir,--I am instructed by my Chamber to point out to you the inequity of thT present law dealing with debts of Maom, and to suggest that where they are land-owners and have rents coming to them the said rents should be attachable, as they would be if coming to Europeans. In a rev cent case in Hawkc's Bay a Maori had a judgment summons hsued against him and immediately filed. He owns two areas of Ja"d and has considerable rent earning to him regularly, and h« will thus shortly be living in affluence, while his creditors remain unpaid. This has been discovered by the Maoris to be an easy method of esnping liab lity, and since the meeting of the Chamber six days ago, two Maoris have followed the same course. It has been suggested that the remedy of tradespeople is not to allow credit to Mao;i«, but in a district lika this su*h a suggestion is obviously not pracable. maiy of the Maoris are of go r\ standing, and their credit is as g:»vl as thit of European", and it woul 1 be an innil* 10 ilv.-ir whi'l-s iv.c 3to nr'uv :mchpjop!? c.wlit. The muter is a very serious on-} to tradespeople- in thii district, and also iifocts the greater pirt of the Mo"t!' Islan I, a-ul mv committee b?;c thnt, :i;*'cr dueonsi kr.\l\on y-rt will ('e'id • to legi?hlion tode.l with it,"