&.— l<

16

making such a provision. We are, moreover, of opinion that some of the surplus Maori land should be sold, but the purposes of any such sale should be defined. The area of good land available for disposition in this manner, having regard to the present necessities of the Maori people, their prospects as settlers under a proper system, and the needs of their descendants, is not as great as is generally supposed. Of inferior land not suitable for close settlement, and fit only for forest reserves and such purposes, there is ample, but we doubt if there will be any keen demand for such land. Where we have recommended areas for sale we have done so at the request of the owners. We have stated their wishes as to leasing. Recommendations. We have the honour to submit for the consideration of Your Excellency the following recommendations. They fall under two heads— (a) General and (b) Specific. A. General. 1. That the purchase of Native lands by the Crown under the present system be discontinued. Pending dealings to be completed through the Maori Land Board of each district, after due inquiry as to the wishes of the non-sellers in the different blocks affected, and with due regard to the location and accessibility of the Crown interests, three-fourths of purchase-money to be paid to Public Trustee to hold in trust for the owners, to be invested for their benefit, or used for the improvement of their other lands. Balance to be paid to owners. 2. That alienation by direct negotiation between the owners and private individuals be prohibited. Pending dealings :—■ (a.) Sales : These having been permitted by Order in Council, time should be given for completion of signatures and compliance with formalities. (b.) Leases :— (i.) In order to meet the difficulties raised by the presence of minors in the title, and seeing that Parliament last year intended, as we think, to empower the trustees of minors to lease to the full extent allowed as in the case of adult interests, and it having been represented to us that the Maori owners are anxious and willing that the leases should be validated, and that large sums of money have been expended by lessees in improvements and in obtaining leases, such leases shall be validated as good up to twenty-one years, and for a further term of twenty-one years if the Board is satisfied as to the rental for the extended term and that such extension will not injure the' Maori infants. (The only power that the trustee of Maori infants had to grant leases was contained in section 5 of " The Maori Real Estate Management 'Act, 1888." Apparently some lawyers seem to have thought that section 16 of " The Maori Land Settlement Act, 1905," gave a power to the trustees to lease up to fifty years; but any person with even a limited knowledge of law reading this section would see that it does not purport to give any such power. Europeans, however, have obtained such leases. When European trustees exceed their powers, we are not aware that Parliament ever interferes to validate their transactions. We know of no case that has ever happened in New Zealand where a European trustee has exceeded his powers that an Act of Parliament has been passed to validate his action. The only case in which something like this