The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, TUESDAY, OCT. 23, 1888.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2541, 23 October 1888, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE,

TUESDAY, OCT. 23, 1888.

Jiqual ami .-xa.-t justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

Mr W. L. Reics, who is iiitiinatftly associated with the affairs of tin; East Coast Land Settlement Company, whose head-quarters are at GisUorne, accompanied l>y Wi Pere, a wellknown halfcaste from the same part of the country, is at present on a mission, the ostensible object of which is t.o promote the emigration of a large number of crofters from the Scotch coasts to settle on lands held by the company. Since his arrival in Great Britain, -Mr Roes has apparently launched out in a great scheme of very wide pretensions, the leading features of which are the creation of a company with a capital of half-a-niillion to establish a system of co-operative colonisation on the East Coast of this Island. The details of this scheme that have reached the'colony have excited a considerable amount of interest as well as astonishment and doubt. Mr ttei's is well known to possess a remarkable amount of assurance, and it is not surprising to learn from his own reports that he has been pushing himself and his proposals into prominent notice, and has obtained a personal interview with Her Majesty's Ministers, members of the aristocracy, and many distinguished men. I he question of dealing with the alarmingly congested state of the population in the Mother Country has been agitating the minds of statesmen and thoughtful politicians very seriously of late years. The remedy strongly advocated in several quarters is that of State-aided colonisation and the easy location of the human surplusage upon lands in the colonies under couditions that will afford the people a fair chance of supporting themselves in some measure of comfort with constant occupation. The plan proposed by Mr Roes embodies theso expectations, and so far as the lands on the East Coast of the North Island arc concerned they are eminently adapted lor the purposes aimed at and are capable of sustaining a very great population of agriculturists and oilier classes of settlers. Had Mr Rees confined himself to furthering such objects connected solely with the settlement by crofters or people; from any o'.her portions of Britain's population on the lands of the company he represents and in whose interests he is engaged, the public would have watched his progress with lively satisfaction, and the success of his labours on behalf of the East Coast Land Settlement Company would be a benefit to the colony at large. It appears, however, that Mr Rees has not been content to confine himself to the original purpose of his mission to England, and in striking out into his present scheme of gigantic proportions, in which lie seeks to win the assistance of the Imperial Government and Parliament, he has, it is feared, gone beyond his depth. Be that as it may he now speaks as though he represented the colony of New Zealand in place of a private company of land speculators, and, according to the reports in the Press, he and Wi Pere, who also poses as the mouthpiece of the. Maori people, have been making some rash and extraordinary statements. The latter, who by the way cannot be considered a chief, jis the people at HoiPe are being led to imagine he is, has declared he can guarantee that the country from the East Coast to Taranaki will be available for settlement should tiio company the two are busily engaged iu forming be successfully floated. This was added to by the equally remarkable statement made by Mr Rees that he had received assurances from native chiefs In the King Country that they would! throw open from six to seven million acres in that district for similar purposes. None of these statements will bear scrutiny. Wi Pere j is in no position to ofl'er any guar.-1 antee such ae lie referred to. TJie'l

hind hu alludod to is lie'd by a vurivty of clainmnts who firo separate l>y :i diversity of tribal interests which could not he assimilated for a single concrete purpose. It is quite, impossible that a mn.ii like Wi Pen; could oxurcisu sufficient influence over the native: owners to obtain definite control over the wide territory he named. Moreover, the country alluded to lies in a great part in that central division of tin: North Island which embraces the great zone of volcanic activity, and, therefore, is arid, barren and utterly unlit for profitable settlement by any yeomanry. The King Country has a total area of one million six hundred thousand acres, not six or seven millions as stated by Mr Rees. Of the former amount, probably not a quarter of a million is suitable for small settlement. It is not possible for the chiefs of the tribes in that part of the island to have given any pledges in respect of the land. They have no power to dispose of the land, which is held under communistic rights according to ancient Maori custom. Besides, the whole of the King Country is now, and has been for some time, before the Native Land Court, and is being rapidly divided under tribal ownership and individualised. The JNTew Zealand Government, as far as we know, seem to be giving Messrs Rees and Wi Pere tacit encouragement in their negociations in England ; but if such incorrect statements are to be made in the name of the colony, it is the duty of the Government to step in and check them before evil results accrue. It would be most disastrous to the credit of the colony and very injurious to the cause of settlement if the confidence and good faith of the Honse Governnient and people .should bo unduly influenced and led astray by such exaggerations on the part of Messrs Rees and Wi Pere, who should adhere solely to the business of the company they represent, or are supposed to represent. Mr Rees is not the originator of the principle of colonisation on the lines he advocates. The minds of many foremost men have been running in that channel for some years past, and we now see them near the solution of the problem. It is fully recognised as a paramount duty of our governments, Imperial and colonial, to ace in prosecuting a joint policy, one to free the country of the pressure of over-population and gain " elbow room " for itself, the other to increase the population of industrious workers as the necessary material for building up the future of the colony. Colonisation on the method Mr Rees seeks to undertake, and which is strongly urged by many prominent public men, should not be left entirely to be developed by private speculative enterprise, ft can and should be as successfully and efficiently undertaken by the State, who, on its part, should rather give land away for bmiafide settlement by small farmers, and not sell it at a high figure, however easy the terms, as is intended by Mr Rees, to ensure a profit to his The State should invite and encourage a steady influx of population to go on its Crown Lands, treating it as so much living capital to reproduce material wealth. What private enterprise proposes to do in the work of settlement can never be so adequately performed by it as by the Government of the country, who have in their possession the national railways for manipulation cheaply in the interest of settlement.