Notes of Meetings Between His Excellency the Governor (Lord Ranfurly), The Rt. Hon. R. J. Seddon, Premier and Native Minister, and the Hon. James Carroll, Member of the Executive Council Representing the Native Race, and the Native Chiefs and People at Each Place, Assembled in Respect of the Proposed Native Land Legislation and Native Affairs Generally, During 1898 and 1899.

Boards composed of Europeans and Natives

Boards composed of Europeans and Natives.

As a means of dealing with that land, we proposed that there should be Boards, and that these Boards should be composed of representatives of the Europeans and representatives of the native race. Some Native urged that the Boards should be composed wholly of Natives. Now, experience has taught us that until they understand better our system, the doings of any such Board would probably result in the land being swallowed up by the costs of the lawyers. As we have teachers in our schools for our children, so we believe that it would be well at the commencement to have the Boards composed of both Europeans and Natives, to enable titles to be given which would not be the cause of endless litigation. Let us submit a scheme which Parliament would approve of. I am prepared to agree to a proposal that Native owning the land should alone send their chiefs to sit with Europeans?the Board to deal with the Native land. If after a time we find such a system working well, we could further extend it in the direction you wish. I speak to you as a father would speak to his children. As the Minister to the Native race, I have taken a solemn obligation that I would perform my duties fairly and impartially towards them. One of the difficulties that we have to meet with now is the providing for those Natives in the Waikato, and in other parts of the colony, who, either from confiscation or the wasting or the selling of their lands, are now landless. I wish the chiefs in the various parts of the colony who have still a large amount of land to gather together and discuss the question of dealing with the papatupu and other Native-owned land. I would like to see them set apart some of this for the landless Natives, and ask the Government, with the chiefs, to allocate that land, so that all of those without means of support? especially those in the Waikato—might be provided for.