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An Epitome of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs and Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand

Reports relative to the Working of the Native Land Court Acts

Reports relative to the Working of the Native Land Court Acts.

(No. 1.)
The Hon. Colonel Haultain to the Hon. D. McLean.

Sir,—

Wellington, 18th July, 1871.

With reference to your letter (A.-No. 92) of the 13th February, 1871, requesting me to procure information with regard to the working of the Native Lands Acts, and to furnish an impartial report embracing facts respecting the operation of the Acts, including the surveys and other expenses page 42incidental thereto, the alienation of land by the Native owners, and the expenses to which the Natives are subjected in establishing their title, I have the honour to inform you that I have minutely discussed these matters with such of the principal chiefs as I could meet at Auckland and Napier, and have communicated by letter with others who were thought most competent to express the intelligent opinion of their people. I have also conferred with a number of official personages, and with some of those Europeans who, from their calling and experience, or from their well-known sympathy towards the Native race, are qualified and entitled to express opinions in all matters connected with them. Through the courtesy of Mr. Fenton, the Chief Judge of the Native Land Court, I have had access to all the records of that office, and have received the readiest assistance from him in prosecuting my inquiries. I have procured from him various returns necessary to show the working and effects of the Acts, and I have consulted various other official documents (including Sir William Martin's and Dr. Shortland's recent memoranda) bearing upon the subject. The principal portion of these materials are attached as an appendix to this report, and extracts from Parliamentary Papers already published are included for convenience of reference; and I now proceed to summarize the information I have collected, and to offer suggestions for the remedy of those defects that are most apparent and pressing.

As comparisons will be made between the past and present systems of acquiring their surplus lands from the Natives, it is necessary that I should briefly refer to the circumstances which led to the abandonment of the old policy, under which the Government alone could lawfully deal with the Natives for the acquisition and occupation of such lands as they wished to alienate, and to the adoption—experimentally in 1862, and practically in 1865—of those laws which made provision for individualizing and fixing the titles of Native lands, waived the Crown's right of pre-emption, and empowered the owners "to dispose of their estate or interest to any persons whomsoever."

The old land-purchase system had, up to a certain period, worked well; and, although there had been at various times and on various grounds objections raised and threats made by turbulent and dissatisfied Natives with respect to some of the sales that had taken place, yet, except in one unfortunate instance—the blame of which, if any, could not be attached to the department—no serious troubles had ensued, the differences were ultimately arranged, and the engagements were respected, and nearly six million acres of land in the North Island were purchased at an average cost of not more than 1s. an acre. But the King movement amongst the Natives and the formation of the land league imposed serious hindrances to further acquisition of land; and amongst the friendly tribes there was a desire for a change of system, an impression that higher prices would be obtained from private persons, and an expectation amongst the commoners of those tribes that the individualization of title would remedy a grievance which they had keenly felt, though they had quietly submitted to it—namely, the appropriation by the chiefs of the greater part of the proceeds of the sales of their common property. With the colonists there was an impatience to see the country more freely opened to private enterprise —with some there was a recollection of the advantages that had been gained when the Crown's right of pre-emption had been waived by Governor Fitzroy; and with others a wish to free the Natives from all special restrictions, and a benevolent desire to break down those communistic customs which obstructed civilization and prevented their social improvement. Then there was the Waitara war. And there had been exhibited, in some parts of the North Island, a settled determination to deal directly with the Natives for the lease of their lands, which was not only illegal, but prevented the purchase of lands that were required for colonization; and no Government had been able to enforce obedience to the law, and it was well that such an anomaly should be wiped out. These causes and influences prevailed, the Crown surrendered its interest in the landed estate of the North Island, and the new system was fairly started in 1865. Since that time and up to the end of last year the Judges of the Native Land Court have heard 3,489 applications for investigation of' title in the North Island, and have ordered certificates or Crown grants in 2,619 cases for an area of more than 2,400,000 acres.

What has been the effect of the operation of this new system? And have both Europeans and Natives realized the benefits that were expected to flow from it?

There have been, as in previous years, cases where the decisions of the Court have been disputed, and threats of violence and resistance to occupation have been uttered, but no serious troubles have hitherto ensued; and the dissatisfied are aware that turbulence on their part will not disturb the titles given by the Court. The general principle of a Court for the judicial investigation and determination of titles is almost universally accepted as satisfactory; but there have been serious defects in the Acts, which prevented the Natives from reaping all the advantages they expected, have opened the door to fraud and chicanery, and have caused much dissatisfaction amongst the sufferers. These defects have been largely modified by subsequent legislation, but they urgently require still further amendment.

There is scarcely a Native that I have examined who has expressed a desire to see the Court abolished or materially altered in its constitution. It is not to the giving of titles they object, but to the manner in which the Crown grants are prepared, which enables a few of those interested to defraud the others. The impartiality and ability of the Judges have been unquestioned. Out of the 2,619 titles that have been ordered by the Court, the instances in which their decisions have been seriously disputed are, so far as I have been able to ascertain, quite exceptional. It is to be expected that there will be some passing dissatisfaction in the minds of the losing parties, and an inclination to resist the law amongst those who have not been trained to its unquestioned acceptance; but up to the 30th December, 1870, there had been but thirty-five applications for rehearing, six only of which had been granted, and, of these six, in only two cases have the previous judgments been reversed.

Going over the statements of the Native chiefs (the majority of whom, I must remark, are chiefly from the northern parts of the Island), I find the following opinions on the subject of the Court: Tamati Waka Nene "likes the Native Land Court very well." Hemi Tautari says, "The Native Land Court has worked satisfactorily in the Bay of Islands up to the present time. I see no faults in the system. The only advantage of the old plan was that the Government bought all the bad land, page 43which private individuals will not do." Henry Mohi Tawhai writes, "The Native Land Court—it is good exceedingly; through this we are admitted into the chief works of the Government." Eru Nehuru "approves of the Native Land Court, because it individualizes titles, and then no one can deprive the owner of his land." Wiremu Poinare says, "The Maoris who understand English customs approve of the Native Land Court." Te Wheoro wishes for a system of arbitration, instead of the Court; but he was then smarting at the loss of the Aroha case, which had just been decided against him. Paul Tuhaere "prefers the Court as it is." Wiremu Patene says, "The Native Land Court is generally approved of by the Maoris. It is a good thing." W. Hikairo "makes no objection to the Court, but proposes an elaborate plan with regard to applications for investigation of claims, and for settling disputes out of Court." Major Kemp says, "There is much trouble and confusion about the Land Court….. We do not condemn the old Court; but we are anxious to have some alterations." Harawira Tatere says, "The Natives were better off under the old system of purchase by the Government." Henry Tomoana raises no objection to the Court, but points out the evils of the present system of Crown grants. The letter of Karaitiana (printed in the Appendix of 1869, A.? No. 22) expresses great dissatisfaction with the action of the Court, because it enabled one or more grantees to alienate their interest to the detriment of others, or to sell their lands in opposition to the wish of the tribe; but he does not advocate the abolition of the Court. And the same complaints are made by many other Napier Natives, who have been, more or less, sufferers primarily by the dishonesty of their own people.

The chief grievances complained of are—First. That the limitation of ten names to a Crown grant, and the giving grantees equal interests, have put it in their power to dispose of the property, or parts of it, without reference to other persons who were also more or less interested, which power has, in many instances, been exercised to the great detriment of those parties. Second. That under the present system the expenses of survey are enormous, and that the frequent sacrifice of property has been the consequence. There are other minor defects which I will presently notice. The weight of the first grievance has been felt most heavily in the Province of Napier, where much of the land is very valuable, where the Natives have acquired expensive habits and crave the means of indulging them, and where the settlers have been ready to purchase all that the Natives would alienate. The second grievance has been found to press chiefly in the northern part of the Island.

The Act of 1867 was intended to remedy the first, but it has not practically been effective. Strange to say, the Napier Natives, notwithstanding their experience, have not taken full advantage of the safeguards provided for them, and have registered their names in the Court as interested claimants, according to clause 17 of that Act, in only twelve blocks of some 42,000 acres. I attribute this chiefly to the ignorance of the mass of the Natives most concerned. They know nothing of the law, for they have never been instructed, and no translations of the Acts, or full information of their details, have ever been circulated amongst them. Even Henry Tomoana states he did not know till three years after the passing of the Act of 1867 that such a provision was in existence, and now he conceives its only object is to make the lands so treated inalienable except by lease. So that when they now wish to sell their lands they will not register any names besides those of the grantees (in some instances only one name has been put in a grant), and, when the Judge asks in the Court whether other parties are interested, there is no response. All concerned are anxious to facilitate the sale, and they will say nothing except to deceive the Judge. The framers of the Act of 1865 no doubt believed that the Natives would not fail to act honestly by each other; but the results of experience, and the statements of most of the Natives whom I have questioned on the point, prove that none can be trusted to do justice to his neighbour; and that, where the law puts the property of others in his power, the Native is not to be depended upon, for he will not hesitate to take dishonest advantage of it. Numerous instances are given from different districts, in which the grantees of property in which many are interested have appropriated to themselves the whole or the greater part of the purchase-money or rents, or have mortgaged the lands so deeply that, when sold, there was no residue to be divided amongst the outsiders. The Heretaunga Block is a notorious case in point. It was sold for £16,000 or £17,000, and Henry Tomoana himself, who was one of the grantees, confesses that the whole money (except what went to Arihi) was only sufficient to defray expenses and to pay the debts of the grantees to shopkeepers and others, and that not a penny in cash was received by them, or by the hapus who were also interested. And even the grantees themselves did not derive equal advantages. Henry's debts, by his own account, were £4,000; but old Waka Kawatini (if he is to be believed) owed only £200, and, with his people, claims more than one-half of the block, and declared that he got no cash payment at all. The ease with which grantees can mortgage or transfer the land has induced merchants, storekeepers, and others to give them large credit; and it is currently reported that unscrupulous and dishonest persons have encouraged their extravagance and vices to get them into their debt, have charged exorbitant prices for the goods they have supplied, and have taken advantage of their ignorance or intemperance to secure mortgages over the lands or portions of them: which was but a sure preliminary to transfer on their own terms. Henry Tomoana puts it forcibly: "The tradesman comes down on our heads like the monkey of a pile-driver, which crushes us by its weight and force." What money or credit the chiefs could get was too often spent in riot and debauchery, and the consequence had been that some of the principal men had been impoverished, the tribes having been defrauded, and the land has gone without a fair equivalent. As Tareha mournfully said, "Rum, rum, has dispossessed us." The Natives are greatly dissatisfied, and blame not in any way their own imprudence and dishonesty, but the operation of the law and the cupidity of the pakeha. There is, however, no doubt that this part of the law requires prompt and speedy amendment.

When it was known in Napier that I was inquiring into the working of the Native Lands Acts, I was invited by various persons to listen to statements that would have inculpated others, but, as I could not have given the accused the opportunity of vindicating themselves, I have avoided recording anything of this nature that was not necessary to demonstrate the defects of the law. It is not denied that inequitable transactions have taken place, and a commission of inquiry would be desired by those who have clean hands, and would like to be cleared from the imputations that have been cast on pur-page 44chasers in general; but it is to be considered whether any public or general advantage would be gained by such inquiry. The evil has partially cured itself; it is now difficult to induce some Napier Natives to put their names or marks to a piece of paper. They have suffered from their imprudence, and will not be so easily imposed upon again.

The Native Lands Frauds Prevention Act of last year is now in operation, and is stated to be working effectively; and, although its action is not retrospective, the Supreme Court can take cognizance of cases of actual fraud, either at the instance of Government officials or of the individuals aggrieved.

The reports of these transactions, and of the poverty and humiliation of great chiefs, such as Tareha and Hapuka, cannot but have been circulated through the country, and they have no doubt been triumphantly made use of by the King party to prove to the loyal tribes how little they can depend upon the justice and friendship of the Europeans. Even amongst the friendly tribes the alarm has been given, and, as Major Kemp reports, they have had a large meeting of chiefs from different parts of the country at Parenga, where they spent five days in discussing the subject, and are about to send a deputation to the General Assembly.

Efforts are being made also by those who have felt the evil to prevent the further sales of the lands, by reserving them wherever they can, and by nominating as grantees only those who are known to be opposed to permanent alienation. There has also been discontent at Napier, because the Act of 1869 does not give them full redress in the case of shares or interests in lands which have been sold by different grantees before the Act came into operation, and provide that these several interests should not be deemed equal.

It is difficult to interfere with past transactions without doing in justice to the European purchaser, whose dealings may have been in good faith, on the assumption that the law fixed the equality of the interests; but it seems to me, from Henry Tomoana's statement on this subject, that he does not understand that the restriction only applies where actual sale has taken place, and that the Act does allow retrospective action in cases of lease and mortgage; and this is another instance showing the necessity for instructing the Natives themselves more minutely as to the various provisions that have been enacted for the protection of their rights. The Act of 1869 has, I believe, the power of removing a great portion of the hardships of which he complains. To remedy these defects, the proposition of the Chief Judge, as stated in his opinion given in Court on the 7th April, 1868, to issue no grant "that will not, on the face of it, disclose the names of all the persons who are shown to the Court by evidence to be the owners thereof" (the limit being ten names, and the land being subdivided until it is brought under this condition), and, as suggested by Sir William Martin, the prohibition of mortgage or sale of undivided shares, will meet the principal difficulties of the case. Several of the chiefs recommend it, and, although it may be attended with some inconveniences, these are nothing as compared with the evils that exist and require prompt removal.

In the case of blocks of land to which the owners may wish to fix their title, without going immediately to the expense of subdivision, certificates as now provided by section 43 of the Act of 1865 can be issued, and no such certificates should be alienable in any way whatever, except by sale to the Government or Superintendents of provinces. And the lands held under such certificates should not be subject to local rates or any other taxation. This plan, although it may temporarily affect the transfer of interests, will help to restore the confidence of the Natives who are dissatisfied with the previous action of the law, and will diminish the desire which now prevails amongst those who have experienced past evils, to make absolutely inalienable larger tracts of land than they can ever advantageously make use of. The great difficulty of subdivision is the expense of survey, but where the Natives wish to sell, and the Europeans are ready to purchase, the necessary funds will be forthcoming.

Surveys.

The other grievance which has been seriously felt, and has caused a great deal of embarrassment and discontent, arises from the practice of employing private licensed surveyors to make the necessary surveys of the land before it can be passed through the Court. In the Province of Napier, where purchasers are numerous, the Native has had no difficulty in procuring funds to pay for survey of lands that he did not intend to sell; or the intending purchaser, in case of those that he wished to acquire, has found the money, and has seen that the whole work was properly and economically performed. But, in the Province of Auckland, where there is no demand for much of the land that has received a Crown title, and where the Natives are poor, this system works very badly, and has been the means of much trouble both to the Natives and surveyors. The uncertainty of speedy payment causes the surveyors to demand excessive prices for their work. In some instances they have been kept out of their moneys for years, and have been nearly ruined by the delay, or have been obliged to sell their claims to money-lenders at an enormous discount. On the other hand, the Natives have been put to the expense of having their lands surveyed twice or three times over, either from work having been insufficiently done, and the survey having to be again made before the claim could be entertained by the Court, or from opposing claimants each employing their own surveyor for the same or part of the same block of land, because they would not trust their opponent's agent to lay down the boundaries that they insisted on. And the surveyors are so numerous and anxious for employment that they will undertake any work, believing that payment will be made sooner or later, as their claim remains a lien on the land. It is the interest of the licensed interpreter or Native agent, who receives from the surveyor 10 per cent on his receipts, to encourage and urge the Natives to put their lands through the Court. The latter are told or believe that the money need not be paid till the land has been sold, and in certain instances have made that stipulation, with a determination not to sell, and then defraud the surveyor. A loose agreement is drawn up and the work is done, but the land does not sell, or is not passed through the Court: the surveyor, impatient for his money, having perhaps no other means of livelihood, urges his demand, and the Native will either mortgage or sell his land at any sacrifice to avoid further annoyance, or will give a promissory-note; which not being paid, he is brought into the Supreme Court and judgment given against him. If he holds lands under Crown grant, or has other property, it is seized and probably sold far below its value. A maximum charge having been made, and the expenses page 45of the Supreme Court being very heavy, when the Native does at last pay he finds the amount two or three times as much as a European would have been charged for the same work. If he would have applied to the Native Land Court the bill would have been taxed and a reasonable sum adjudged withput the heavy fees of the other Court. But he does not know the law, and the surveyor prefers the Supreme Court, if he can get there.

The letter of Messrs. Turner and Jordan, and other documents which I give in the appendix, will show the existence of all these evils; but I specially quote the case of Ngakapa Whanaunga as being one of great hardship, and the price for which his land was sold at auction was so absurdly low that, if possible, some steps should be taken to cancel the sale. Ngakapa had his lands suryeyed, expecting that an arrangement with a European would enable him to pay for the work; but this arrangement was not carried out, and he gave a promissory-note which he could not meet. He was sued in the Supreme Court for £560, and expenses of different kinds subsequently swelled the debt to over £1,000. He raised £400 on mortgage, and gave security for the remainder on an allotment in the Town of Shortland, on which were erected the Bank of Australasia, the old Union Bank, and other buildings, for which he was receiving a rental of £87 3s. per annum, and on mortgage of which he had been offered a loan of £400, and these were shortly after sold by auction, under writ from the Court, for £35! And he had to dispose of a cutter and other property to meet the balance still due. No wonder the Natives are dissatisfied with English law.

The necessity for the attendance of surveyors in Court to prove surveys is also a grievance to both parties, and cause much unnecessary expense. In one case a Native, named Aherata Mihinui, had to pay £10 for a survey of eleven acres, and £1 1s. a day for eighteen days to the surveyor for attendance at Court, which, with £4 4s. for Court fees, made up a sum of £43 for procuring a title for eleven acres. In December, 1870, several surveyors were detained at Tauranga for nearly a fortnight, living at inns and incurring heavy expense, because the Court would not take their evidence out of turn, though the whole of it might have been given in the course of an afternoon.

I believe that the great expense of surveys, and the consequent evils, may be satisfactorily and entirely avoided if the Government will take the work into their own hands and abolish the present system of private surveying. There is already an organized department, with an efficient staff, capable of undertaking and properly conducting the whole business, with such additional surveyors as the amount of work may require from time to time; and the extra expenses, if not fully met by the payments from the Natives, would be a charge against the provinces, which ought not to object to pay for the extension of a department which has, within the last five years, cost little over £10,000, and has put into their possession maps of survey for more than two and a half million acres of land, the cost of which has been paid for entirely by the Natives, and the value of which is estimated by Mr. Heale at nearly £100,000. In 1865, when the Native Lands Act first came into operation, the Government could not have carried on any systematic survey, as the Natives would not have permitted a chain or other instrument on their lands, but this difficulty now hardly exists, and the work will be better and more regularly performed by a Government department; and by insisting on survey in every instance before cases can be brought into Court, the Government will have in their own hands a means of regulating its business, should motives of policy ever require their interference.

Translation of Acts.

I will now detail some minor objections that have been made to other parts of the system, and would first refer to the necessity of instructing the Natives more fully in the various laws that have been made for guarding their rights and interests, and for protecting them from imposition and injustice. For this purpose a mere translation of the Acts in their technical phraseology would be of little assistance; but a summary digest, such as that in respect to criminal law by Sir W. Martin, should be prepared, and, with the Acts, be largely circulated among them. And not only should these enactments be explained to them, but they should be clearly informed of the corollaries that will certainly follow the Crown titles for their lands, such as road rates, land taxes, liabilities for fencing, &c., matters of which at the present time they have little or no conception, for it has not been the special duty or the interest of any one to enlighten them, but which will surely come upon them some day; and, as they seldom have funds, they will be compelled to sacrifice some of their lands to meet these demands; and, if they are not forewarned and prepared for this, there will arise dissatisfaction and bitterness against the Government and Legislature, whom they will accuse of having cruelly deceived them.

Dr. Shortland and others have recommended that each Judge should have a district assigned to him, within which his work should be confined; and amongst the chief reasons in favour of such a plan it has been urged that the Judges would thereby acquire valuable political influence among the Natives of the district, and more knowledge in land matters than any of themselves; and also that they would know the character of the people better, and whether their statements could be relied on. But I think that the objections to this plan have greater weight. If the Judge is to possess political influence, he would be bound to exercise it in the direction approved by the Government of the day, who only can determine what is required for the preservation of peace and for the civilization and well-being of the Maoris, and thus he would become a Government agent, which is not the position a Judge should occupy. His functions should be simply judicial, for he must be guided in his judgments only by strict evidence; and if he does not keep aloof from the Natives who have claims before the Court it will be almost impossible for him to preserve his character for impartiality. The Maoris are a peculiarly suspicious race, and it is difficult to prevent them from discussing their claims if they have access to the Judge. The Ngatihaua objected to Mr. Fenton's sitting on the Aroha case because he had resided so much amongst them and knew them so well; and one of the principal chiefs of the Ngatimaru complained that he had seen him talking to Te Raihi, a chief of the opposite party, whilst the case was going on, and, though told that he was not sitting on the case, the other replied that that was no matter, that he was the chief of the Court, and should not listen to statements made privately. The Arawas also objected to Mr. Smith's sitting in a Court held in their country, as they said he knew too much page 46about the people; and Hemi Tautari, though content with his own Judge, says that "many Natives would prefer a stranger to investigate their claims." So that, on the whole, I believe the present system had better be maintained.

Assessors.

There is an opinion amongst many of the Natives that I have questioned that the Assessors are not of much use in Court; that they are too much in awe of the Judge, and do not exercise any influence on the judgments; that they "sit like dummies," or are like the pictures in a photographer's window, only there "to be looked at." Another, who had recently lost his claim, says, "They are so partial, and are deceivers." One of the grounds on which application was made for rehearing of the Waihi case was that the Assessor had fraternized with the other side, and the Native counsel, to whom the matter was referred, recommended a rehearing, because, amongst other things, "the Native Assessor was too intimate" with one of the parties. But scarcely one of the objectors would like to see the Assessors excluded; on the contrary, I gather that there is a craving desire amongst the Natives of intelligence for more general employment in the administration of those laws that apply to themselves, though they feel that their ignorance unfits them to be associated with European officials. Can no steps be taken to train the rising generation so that they may take part in their own government? Instead of diminishing the numbers or duties of the Assessors, I think that it would be an advantage if, in important and difficult cases, such as the Aroha or Manawatu, their numbers were increased to five or more, and the unanimous assent of Judges and Assessors should still be required. Juries can be dispensed with altogether; there has been but one instance in which a jury has been demanded, and then it did not give any satisfaction to either party.

Interpreters.

Complaints are made of the conduct of some of the licensed interpreters, and of the expense they entail, particularly in contested cases. They are said to have deceived their employers; to have procured signatures to deeds in an improper manner; to have urged the survey of lands, and the bringing-forward of unfounded claims for their own advantage; to have prompted witnesses to state falsehoods; to have interfered in opposition to the wishes of the owners, and prevented lands from being reserved, &c. But the services of agents speaking both languages cannot be dispensed with. There are men amongst them of high character and repute, and, if more were licensed, the Natives would fall into the hands of some of the inferior class, and fare worse. But the Judges should have power to cancel, or at least summarily to suspend, the licenses of those found to have been concerned in improper transactions. Their charges are sometimes very high. In the rehearing of the Aroha case, Te Wheoro states that the Ngatihaua expenses amounted to £575, of which upwards of £300 was claimed by the interpreter. But the Court can tax their bills if the Natives only knew that they had such protection.

English Counsel.

The Natives are almost universally opposed to the employment of English counsel in contested cases. They say that these know nothing of the Maori law and custom, and only protract the sittings and increase the expenses of the Court. If one side employs them, the other must do the same; but they would like to see them altogether excluded from practising in the Court.

Fees and Expenses.

The Natives, of course, wish to avoid paying the fees of the Court; but these do not add much to the expense of a suit, unless the case is a very protracted one. The total, amount charged as Court fees for the 3,607 cases that have been heard amounts to £6,085 10s. 8d., of which £3,517 2s. was in arrears on the 30th December, 1870. But the expenses outside the fees of the Court are often very heavy. In the Aroha rehearing, the expenses on the Ngatihaua—the losing side—were, as already stated, £575, and those of the Ngatimaru could scarcely have been less. In the case of the Owharoa Block at Ohinemuri, of 155 acres, the agent's charges against the Ngatikoe were £70 7s, chiefly for payment of witnesses; but I was informed by the agent that he had little hopes of getting the money, for as that party had lost the suit there was no land to give as security.

Applications for Hearing.

It has been objected that the power granted to any one Native of demanding a hearing of his claim to be interested in land has given rise to the following abuses: First, that unfounded claims have been put forward; and, second, that applications have been made by single individuals, and the case called on for hearing without the assent, or even the knowledge, of other persons or of hapus most concerned. It is important that every Native should have the privilege of individualizing his title to land, if he wishes it, and can do so without detriment to others; but to prevent these complaints application might be transmitted through the Magistrates of districts; and the Gazettes containing the notices, should be largely and promptly circulated. And if survey has to be made before a hearing, it is but in very rare instances that these objections can occur, as few persons will go to the expense of survey unless they consider their claim to be good, and surveyors cannot go on to the land without being seen.

That the Judges are very careful to reject doubtful claims is proved by the fact of their having dismissed 1,288 cases during the period that the Acts have been in operation. The Government should also have power to direct the Courts to suspend the hearing or decision of any particular cases. At present, if it is desirable to interfere, they must proclaim the Acts as suspended in a whole district, which is a clumsy and inconvenient arrangement.

Reserves.

The 20th clause of the Act of 1867 provides that "it shall be the duty of the Court in every case whatever, in which certificate of title is ordered, to inquire and take evidence as to the propriety of placing restrictions on the alienability of the land."

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The letter of Mr. Fenton of the 3rd October, 1870, shows how difficult it is for the Court to ascertain what "it is the interest or the wish of the parties concerned to keep concealed." The Natives themselves cannot be depended on. Sometimes, as in the case of Henry Tomoana and others, they wish to put large tracts of land for ever out of the reach of Europeans which are not necessary for their own wants. On the other hand, Mr. Mackay, in a letter to the Auckland Evening News of April, 1871, states that "Te Hira was so embittered against the Court and Government, on account of the reservation of the Waihi Block that had been granted to him, that he stopped the Tauranga mail in consequence."

There has been no fear hitherto of the Natives as a body denuding themselves of too much land. There are still 11,000,000 or 12,000,000 acres in the North Island in the hands of the Natives, and 600,000 acres have already been made inalienable by the Native Land Court, and a great deal of this reserve is of superior quality. The Maoris have always been loth to part with their fertile land, and it is chiefly by confiscation that we have obtained any large tracts of really good land.

Judge Maning states in his report of 24th June, 1877, that "the average value of alienable land may be 5s an acre, but that what the Natives have made inalienable is worth at least five times as much." He adds that "at Hokianga not twenty acres of first-rate land has been sold, and that consequently, in that large and fertile district, there is not one settler engaged in farming, or who has land capable of being cultivated properly." Even in the Napier District, where so much land has been sold, at least 500,000 acres are still in the hands of the Natives. But, as before stated, there are cases, and not only in Napier, but in other places, where Native chiefs have been almost pauperized, having in their improvidence and extravagance made away with the greater part of their landed interests. And it is necessary that the spread of such an evil should be checked, but this is more the duty and within the sphere of the Commissioner or Trustee of Native Reserves than of the Judges of the Court.

It is impossible to obtain from the Natives any definite opinion as to the minimum quantity of land that should be reserved for each individual, and it must depend much on its quality and locality. But it would be no bad rule to lay down that each Maori chief should have amply sufficient to maintain himself like an English gentleman, supposing him to put forth the necessary industry and energy for its cultivation.

Whether it would be to the advantage of the whole body of Natives that they should have so much land reserved for their use as will eventually enable them to live in competence and ease, without exertion or stimulus to healthy industry; whether it is for their interests that the reserves should be scattered over the country, so that they might dwell amongst the colonists; or whether, as has been advocated by many of those most interested in their welfare, they should be located by themselves in separate blocks or districts, and isolated as much as possible from contact with Europeans, are questions on which the most opposite views are held by those who are considered qualified to form opinions. But I am not invited to discuss them, though I would express my belief that the last plan would be most fatal to the race.

I would, however, draw attention to the assent generally expressed by the Natives whose opinions I have recorded, that it would be desirable to reserve a portion of the proceeds of all sales of lands for the benefit of the sellers and of their children. Dr. Shortland recommends that one-half the purchase-money should be so set apart. Sir George Grey proposed to give annuities to Native chiefs as part payment of their lands; and reserved payments have been provided for in many instances. Whatever money now comes into the hands of the Natives is almost invariably squandered and wasted (or worse), with little permanent or substantial advantage to the people. The extracts I have given in the appendix show that this has been the case from the earliest days of the colony, and I believe it remains the same to the present time—their money is generally spent before they receive it. If we are to save the Maori of the next generation, he must be educated, and enabled to take his place as a citizen of the colony. And are not the means of commencing this now within reach? Reserves may be made both in money and in land for the special purpose of education, and the subject is engaging the earnest attention of some of the people themselves. Many of the natives of India go to England to be educated, and return to their own country to be physicians, ministers of religion, and advocates; and it is now the policy of their Government to employ all that are qualified in the public departments. The Japanese and Chinese are seeking knowledge and education amongst the whites. The North American Indian and the Australian may be incapable of melioration; but are not the Maoris as intelligent and as capable of high education as any nation in the world?

Expense of the Courts.

The total expenses of the Native Land Court since the passing of the Act of 1865 up to the end of the last financial year were £29,225 9s. 9d., and the receipts for the same period were £17,625 3s., being an excess of expenditure over receipts of £11,600 4s. 8d., from which, however, may be deducted the sum of £3,517, the amount of fees of Court as yet unpaid by the Natives, but which remain a lien on the land; so that the cost to the colony for the five years may be reckoned as little more than £8,000, and for this sum 2,600,000 acres of Native land have been invested with a Crown title and opened for sale to the settlers. The annual excess of expenditure has been reduced from £3,142 in 1865-66 to £293 in 1869-70; and, as sales of land have lately increased, it may be expected that the balance will be on the other side for the current year. I have not included the expense of the Survey Department, £10,497 for the five years, because I have already shown that the provinces have acquired, by means of this department, maps of much greater value at the expense of the Natives.

Land Sales.

The sales of land by the Natives within these five years have not been so extensive as, during corresponding periods under the old system. The settlers purchase only the better quality of soil, and will have nothing to do with a great deal of an inferior description, which the Government were compelled to take over when they acquired large tracts of country. The money paid to the Natives for this smaller quantity has, however, been in excess of what they have been accustomed to receive. page 48By the Registrars of Deeds returns it appears that for 470,000 acres they have realized £162,844, an average of 6s. 6d. per acre; but a great deal of this money must have gone towards the expense of surveying the other 2,000,000 acres which have been passed through the Court.

In Hawke's Bay about 220,000 acres were sold for £87,012—about 8s. an acre; in Wellington, 21,356 acres, £9,976—about 9s. 4d. an acre; and in Auckland, 228,559 acres, £65,856—about 5s. 9d. an acre. The number of acres sold in Hawke's Bay is only an estimate based on the sales of the last fifteen months, as the registration returns from this province do not give the acreage of land sold prior to the 30th September, 1869, and none of these figures are offered as strictly accurate, for the returns are complicated by occasional variety of transactions for the same piece of land, and it is impossible to unravel them, but they are sufficiently correct for a general summary.

In the Province of Hawke's Bay I assume that there is not much Native land of good quality that is now for sale at anything like a reasonable price; but the Government have recently purchased 250,000 acres of land at the Seventy-Mile Bush for about £18,000—1s. 5d. an acre, and there have been, out of this, considerable reserves set apart for the sellers, which will be very valuable when the railway passes through the block. But in Auckland the market is glutted with Native land, and if the restrictions placed by the King over those districts where the aukati is enforced were removed there would be soon large quantities of very valuable land passed through the Court and open for sale. Of course all the country lands of this province have been depreciated in value by the action of the Court. Even so long ago as 1867, Mr. Fenton, in his letter of the 11th July to the Native Minister, writes: "Two years ago no one would have foreseen the price to which land has fallen in the Province of Auckland. Thus, Waata Kukutai's tribe have in vain been offering 40,000 acres, in one block, of the finest land in the Waikato, at 5s. per acre cash, or 6s. 6d. deferred payments extending over five years. A block in the North, called Waitaroto, cost 9d. an acre for survey, 1d. an acre for other expenses, and was offered for sale at 1s. per acre;" and prices have diminished since then, and yet only 230,000 acres out of 1,300,000 for which certificates have been ordered have been sold by the Natives. Very recently a block of 7,000 acres at the Bay of Islands, near Kirikiri, belonging to Mangonui, was sold for £300—about 8d. an acre; and large blocks, of several thousand acres, in Waikato and Kaipara have been parted with at prices varying from 1s. 6d. to 5s. per acre. 108,279 acres have been leased in the Province of Wellington for £4,465, and 434,167 acres for £8,970 per annum in the Province of Auckland. It is impossible to ascertain what rents are paid to the Natives in Hawke's Bay, as much of the land returned as leased has since been sold, and some of the lands still rented under former agreements have not been passed through the Court. £26,000 besides "accounts current" have been raised on mortgage, chiefly in Hawke's Bay and Auckland. I append lists of lands now in the hands of different land agents, with the prices that are asked, but, as a rule, these rates would be considerably reduced if a purchaser commenced negotiations.

In conclusion, I hope that it will be borne in mind that I do not submit this as a complete report of the various subjects on which I have touched. My inquiries have been made chiefly in the North, and I have not been able to visit several important districts, and it would have taken months to have gathered from all sources the facts and opinions that would have fully demonstrated the operation of the Acts, and their effect upon the Native mind, in all parts of the Island; but this incompleteness is not of so much importance, as the reports of the Judges, of the Commissioner of Native Reserves, and of those appointed under the Native Lauds Frauds Prevention Act, the memoranda of Sir William Martin and Dr. Shortland, the opinions of the Native representatives, and of the deputations from several tribes who will be present during the session, will supplement the information that I have furnished if it is the intention of the Government to remit the subject for the consideration of the Legislature.

I have, &c.,

T. M. Haultain.

The Hon. the Native Minister.