The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1885. NATIVE LAND LEASES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2077, 25 August 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1885. NATIVE LAND LEASES.

The quantity of Native land'that has been leased to Europeans of late years, lias, no doubt, beeii commented upon from time to time, but the absence of tiausactions of this kind has, in all probability, always been- attributed to disinclination on the part of the owners to do anything that would ternponttliy alienate their property. The subject cropped up in the Legislative Council when the Stamp Bill was under discussion, when the Hon, Mil Taiaroa made the following remarks: " When a block is leased for a rental of £2OO a year, the European leasing the land, or the Native owners, would have to pay 10. per cent, on the capitalized value of the rent; they would have to pay 10 per cent, on L 2,200. This provision weighs heavily on the Native owners, and also on such Europeans as desire to lease their lands. The Council may possibly say that this duty has to be paid by the Europeans leasing such land. I should like to explain to the Council that it is my belief that the Natives eventually have to pay that duty of L'22o. A European, having arranged to lease certain lands at a rental, say, of 2s 6d per acre, would, when he found that he had to pay down all this amount of duty in advance, naturally go to the Natives and endeavour to get them to lower the rent to, Is 6d per acre, or something, of that sort. Another objection I have to this system is that by it only Europeans with capital, who are in a position to pay down all the duty at oncp, can have any dealings with Native land. Other Europeans, who have not the funds, are not in a position to pay down that duty, and these provisions have the elect of preventing poor men from taking up these leases, and leave it in the hands of those who are well-to-do, and have plenty of funds, I should be very glad if the Government would consent to an amendment by which this duty should be paid annually, instead of in advance 'on the capitalized value of the lease." This, be it understood, is not only a duty which it is proposed to impose, but it is one which has been in existence for some time past, The only ((Iteration that it is now proposed to make is calculated to prevent evasion. There are many reasons why this duty should be reduced. The duty is paid by the lessee in the first place, but lie undoubtedly takes good care that the rent is fixed so low that the amount is fully recouped to him before the expiration of the term. Ten per cent on the capitalised value of the rent, and to be paid in advance, uo matter for what terra the land has been taken, looks more like a penalty than a duty imposed for revenue - purposes only, and in that light it is viewed by the Maories, It is a hindrance 'o settlement, for thousands of acres are allowed to remain idle because the owner refuses tho low rent that is offered him j while the intending settler finds that euoh a heavy initiatory payment would make a eerious hole in his pocket, and perhaps prevent him from putting on the desired quantity of stock. The Government therefore loses in ordinary revenue what it greedily tries to grind out of the Maori or tew settler, It is unjust to the Maori to prevent liirn Irom reaping any benefit from his land, even though he has a title as good as a Crown grant to a European, and the more so. because Europeans are not required to pay such a duty if they let their own lands, One of the chief aims and objects of the duty is probably to induce Maories tosell, forinability tolet on lease must naturally induce the owner to turn over in his nn'nd the other means which are open to him for dealing with his property. If so, that is tho greatest injustice of all. The Bill has hot yet passed, and it is to be hoped that that part ot the schedule'' dealing with duties on Native land) : will be carefully considered. At' present, leasts of Nativo land to Europeans are few and far between, and very little revenue is therefore derived from that source. If all Native land? were thrown open for .settlement, the amount lost would, we feel assured, o more than recouped by the customs revenue, and in an indirect way by a large increase in our exports.