A JUST AND PROGRESSIVE VIEW.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10032, 30 April 1910, Page 4

A JUST AND PROGRESSIVE VIEW.

There are very few persona who have | given any attention to the land question, who will not agree with Mr Masaey, when he remarked in his speech at Hokilika that whit the country wanted waa a forward and progressive land policy, giving security of tenure and facilities to intending settlers. The Leader of the Opposition went on to say that he was in favour of assisting and encouraging the natives to occupy all the land which they required, and if they then persisted in keeping their lands unoccupied, while they were improving in value by public works expenditure and by the industry of European settlers, it should only be on the same terms and conditions as i applied to Europeans. The time had come to do away with special Maori representation; in fact, the natives and Europeans should be as nearly as possible in the same position before the law. The Government has singularly failed to grapple with the Native land question in an adequate manner. Of late years it hae been doing something to remove what amounted to a disgraceful state of affairs, but its policy and energy even now are by no means up to the mark. The Natives should be dealt with much more firmly; they have been coddled up quite long enough. It is somewhat curious that the Government do not seem to care how much they add to the unearned increment of Native lands by the expenditure of the people's money. It would be interesting to know exactly what the Premier considers should be done with the unearned increment thus created,£and steadily increasing. At present the unearned increment is going into the pockets of the Natives, but, surely, a leasehold Government cannot approve of the continued existence of such a state of affairs.