TRUST LANDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 October 1940, Page 6

TRUST LANDS

FOR MAORI EDUCATION CHURCH BILL NOT ALLOWED TO PROCEED. MR F. C. DANIELL’S SURVEY OF POSITION. Under the report of a committee of the Legislative Council, a Bill promoted by the Church of England authorities to vary the conditions in which certain Maori trust lands, at Papawai and Kaikokirikiri (Akura), are held for educational purposes in the Wairarapa has been “killed.” The committee found that the preamble of the Bill had not been proved and that the Bill should not be allowed to proceed. The preamble reads: — And whereas with the object of making the best practicable use of the income of the Board in furthering the education contemplated in the said Crown Grants, it is expedient to extend the powers of the Board and to vary inc Trusts upon which the properties vested in the Board are held so as to authorise the awarding and payment of scholarships tenable at certain schools to be selected by the Board. Various considerations relating to the trusts in Question are dealt with at some length in a letter addressed by Mr F. C. Daniell, of Masterton, in August last, to the chairman of the Masterton Trust Lands Trust (Mr H. P. Hugo). In his letter, Mr Daniell asked for an opportunity to attend a meeting of the Trust Lands Trust and to explain and discuss the position which had arisen with respect to the Anglican Maori trusts. He asked also, subject to the permission of Archdeacon E. J. Rich, that the latter should attend the meeting. The Trust Lands Trust decided that the matter was one in which it could not take any part and declined to hear Mr Daniell as he had proposed. VIEWS OF ARCHDEACON RICH. Archdeacon Rich, io whom Mr Daniell sent a copy of his letter, replied as follows: —"I am quite satisfied that the scholarship proposals are working out splendidly, and are going to mean a lot to the Maori girls and boys of the Wairarapa. The proposals enable the vital part of the Trust to be fulfilled; they have the approval of some of the wisest leaders among the Maoris, and from talks I have had with the Principals of both Te Ante and Hukarere I am satisfied that a wise solution has been reached. I see no purpose in waiting on the Trust Lands Trust. The matter is quite outside their province. Those of us who care for the real wellbeing of the Maoris will rejoice that girls and boys are to receive education at schools which have proved themselves. Let us then'do all we can to foster the scheme and back up the Trustees in the great work they are doing.” MR DANIELL’S LETTER. Following is Mr Daniell’s letter to the chairman of the Trust Lands Trust:— Dear Sir, —Herewith I beg to apply for permission to attend a meeting of the Masterton Trust Lands Trust, to explain and discuss the position which has arisen with respect to what are known as the Anglican Maori Trusts, and also, subject to his permission, to ask if the Rev E. J. Rich may attend, as I am sending to him a copy of this letter.

The following summary of the information that I have been able to gather will serve to explain my reason for this request: On Juno 14, 1853, Crown grants were issued in respect to a property of 395 acres at Papawai, and to another called Kaikokirikiri (which I will in future call Akura), this latter having an area of 190 acres, since reduced by reading, railway, etc., to 177 acres, and at the present time occupied by five lessees. Part of this land lies in the borough, and it is subdivided by the Akura and Ngaumutawa roads. This land was given by the Maoris on the advice of Sir George Grey and at the request of Bishop Selwyn, who promised to erect a college, the detailed arrangements being made by Mr Donald McLean.

FOR MAORI EDUCATION

The grants stated: “Whereas a college is about to be established in the Wairarapa—for the education of children of oui’ subjects of all races —and whereas it would promote the objects of the said Institution to set apart a certain piece of land—for the use and toward the maintenance and support of the same —we do hereby grant unto George Augustus. Lord Bishop of New Zealand—to hold in trust toward the support and maintenance of the said college so long as religious education, industrial training and instruction in the English language shall be given to the youth educated therein and maintained thereat —”

Similar grants made at Porirua relating to 500 acres (since reduced to 375 acres by the erection of 2YA station) and of 561 acres at Otaki, under dates from December 28, 1850 to July, 1853, and all of these were transferred by Bishop Selwyn in 1858 to the Diocesan Synod (though he did not leave the colony till nearly ten years later) and their subsequent history is bound up with that of the Wairarapa Trusts. It seems clear that when making these promises in respect to the erection of colleges, the Bishop relied on funds being forthcoming in England and he was bitterly disappointed when they were not available. Sir Robert Stout stated in 1903 that the “education ordinance of 1847 provided that the Government assist schools by public funds, but the superintendence and management of such schools were placed under (1) the Bishop of New Zealand; (2) the Bishop or other, the head of the Roman Catholic Church; (3 the Superintendent of the Wesleyan Mission; (4) the head or minister of any other religious body engaged in the education of youth in the colony of New Zealand. It was provided that in every school to be established supported by public funds “religious education, industrial training and instruction in the English language shall form the necessary part of the system to be pursued therein”; “it will be observed that the trust in the grant is identical language with the words in the ordinance, showing that the grant was to the same class of school that was supported by public funds.” The expectation was that a residential college for boys would be erected at Papawai and for girls at Akura. A school was erected at Otaki and was only closed in December, 1939, but no school was erected at Porirua, Papawai or Akura, and the comment of Justice Williams in 1903 may be quoted: “A church obtains a gift of la nd . from a semi-savage tribe on understanding that the church within a reasonable time out of other funds establish a college on or near the land for the education of the youth of the tribe. Fifty years pass, and the church has not established the college. A plain man would say that in such circumstances the church should hand back the land to the tribes and the Crown represents the tribe for all legal purposes, and stands in its place.”

Dispersal of native population, lack of funds, and the introduction of State education in the sixties, combined to hamper the operations of the trusts and meanwhile funds accumulated.

In 1897 the Trustees applied to the Supreme Court for directions as to the administration of the charity, and the Solicitor-General claimed that the endowment had reverted to the Crown, and after a scheme had been adopted with some modifications to which the Trustees assented, he appealed and was awarded judgment; the case was carried to the Privy Council by Bishop Wallis and this finding reversed. The Privy Council judgment was the subject of an emphatic protest in April, 1903, by the New Zealand Court of Appeal in which a review was given by Sir Robert Stout, Mr Justice Williams and Mr Justice Edwards, who claimed that the Privy Council was wrong in its facts.

In 1905 the grants were the subject of a Parliamentary Commission, dealing with Porirua, Otaki and Waikato grants and was enlarged to inquire into the Masterton and Motueka grants, but not into the Papawai grant. Wairarapa Natives were not represented. Porirua Natives objected very strongly to the church’s scheme of using their gift to support a school in the Wairarapa. Part of the report of the Commission says “are unanimously of opinion that the trust has not been carried out” (at Porirua) and also “the trustees in 1898 moved the Supreme Court with a view to obtaining its sanction to a scheme foi- the application of their funds, to provide exhibitions for children in such Church of England schools as the trustees might select. This scheme was rejected.”

In addition to the foregoing, action has been taken by the Natives to have the land handed back to them, but the Court decided that the land had in the first place been given to the Crown, and if the grants were revoked, the Crown would administer them.

Hikurangi College was purchased with accumulated funds and functioned from 1908 until 'burnt down on March 4. 1932, the number of scholars varying from 12 to 42. there being 24 when it was burnt down.

Otaki school was erected in 1909 and closed down at the end of 1939, the number of scholars varying from 80 in 1911 to 16 at the time it was closed. In September, 1937, the Trustees held meetings at Papawai and Te Ore Ore. seeking approval of a scheme to amalgamate the Wairarapa and West Coast (Porirua and Otaki) Trusts, but in each case, according to newspaper i eports, approval was not forthcoming. In spite of this, such amalgamation was approved by the Synod of 1938. It was stated that the value of the Wairarapa Trusts was £28,000 and of the West Coast Trusts £32,000, these

funds being'insufficient to equip and maintain separate colleges. Protest was made from this district, with a suggestion that a hostel be established and advantage taken of the secondary school facilities offered by the State; this led to a conference in Masterton on November 11, 1938, but no decisions were made. Later, the scheme for amalgamation was not proceeded with, but a system of scholarships was proposed; assurance was given to the Minister that such a scheme met with the approval of Wairarapa Natives, and he agreed to validating legislation. A Bill is now before the House and has passed the first reading seeking power to sell, mortgage or exchange the lands under authority from the General Synod, or to lease for building purposes, the revenue to be applied in scholarships at the discretion of the board. The sum of £16,340 “accumulated funds” shall be transferred to a special reserve fund, to be utilised by the board at its discretion. The Bill does not say so, but the scholarships advertised were tenable at Te Aute College and at Hukarere College for girls; it is stated that there are already some 259 scholarships open to Natives, and difficulty has been found in filling them. There are at least three petitions against the Bill, and as the scholarship proposals have previously been rejected by the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court was prepared to revoke the grants, it would seem that some other proposal would receive consideration. The objections to the Bill may be stated as follows: — (1) The original grants were made on the strength of promises that were not redeemed, for reasons beyond the control of Bishop Selwyn. (2) Grants made under terms exactly similar to those for which State aid was granted, are now to be converted to church endowments. (3) They are to be expended outside the districts specifically mentioned in the grants as places where colleges were to be established. (4 Scholarships are to be tenable only at denominational schools. (5) In place of the college attended by “the children of all races” mentioned in the grant, Maori pupils are to be segregated to denominational schools attended only by Maoris. This may be compared with up to date State colleges, providing co-edu-cation for boys and girls, equipped for academic teaching, industrial training and home science, at a cost beyond the means of other authorities and staffed with highly qualified men and women. The suggestion made from this district in respect to hostel has also been made on the West Coast and is likely to be strongly advocated; further suggestions giving better local co-operation will also probably be made, retaining the essential features for which the grants were made. My own suggestion for this district is that a fresh Trust Board should be constituted, and that this Trust should consist of your own Trust Board, to which would be added representatives of the Anglican Church and of the Maori people. Assuming that the hostel proposal is adopted, the advantages, or some of them, might be stated as follows: (6) Your Trust Board already has the necessary office, staff and machinery and much local knowledge. (7) The economy of using State Colleges for purposes of tuition is obvious. (8) Such association would fulfil the purpose of the grant, for administration would be by a body not directly concerned with the running of the college. (9) Part of the property being within the borough, oversight and future planning would be simplified. IL is recognised that your Board could not be committed to any special course of action, but discussion should prove helpful and may point to a solution of what has in the past proved a very difficult problem, hence this request.