London, Jan. '18, The Colonial Office, in an an oritative statement to-day, deal: with the position of the native com lands, following upon recent dis covery of gold in Kenys explained that, in Bast, Africa, minerals are the property, hot of the tenants of the laud, when ther European or native, but of the Crown.
Large areas, totalling nearly 31,- 000,000 acres, have from time to time been set' aside for the native population, but the creation of such native reserves has ini no way i fringed' on the Crown's ownership of the minerals ju, or under, the Lands Trust Board, the Governor could exclude from the native: re-|¥i serve land required for such purposes as railways, aerodromes, townships, waterworks ind for the development of mineral resources of the colony. Where any such exclusion was made, the equivalent area of land was to be added to the reserve.
Meanwhile, the Land Commission appointed 10 consider the needs, both present and future, of the native population in Kenya in reard to the land, to report on the the desirability afd practicability of setting aside further lands for native occupation, has been at work in Kenya since August last, "The discovery of gold of the yareatest importance to. Kenya 'a whole," "he suid. "The local Government has given the most. careful consideration as to the Policy to be followed in the developing of the potential goldfild. On technical aspects, they have speared the advice of, Sir Albert world-wide experience, "and, on, the very eminent geologist
framing the necessary érdianoe to deal with the immediate si "ion, they have taken the opinion the Central Native Lands Trust Board, the Chief Native Commi sioner' and the Land Commission. Moreover, the "Governor has aken the wise step of explaining the position to the natives them-salves in their tz'al gathering. very care Iaca"seen taken suaréri0€ only the interests. viduals in the immediate pres-ut, but also the ultimate intervst' of the tribes as a whole in the ature.
"The surface actually required or reef mining' in Kenya is a mater of acres only and the. total amount of land likely to be ex-Auded from the reserves ly very small. Moreover, the delusion is only for the duration the lease, ho matter of im-! wnedinte lar gpatnce to ensure hat any individual native whose yelding covers the ground required
solve compensation for the dising jons, shall returbance and an_altern piece ground on which he may live trid work, ju close proximity to his narker. The Governor does not contemplate any difficulty. in proding. the individual dispossessed atives with land, Compdnsation vill also be paid to the local naive funds.
"phe function of the Land Comnniasion is to report on the adquency. of the reserves. and. they' Zi) take all factors into account, the requirements of pos: ible, mining development.~The Government of Kenya have upproacheo Mieult problem in, a practi sympathetic way. They are dealing Mectively with immediate ccessity of re-settling on whose land gold sung, and, when the Land Ca Tission reports, the Government T'Kenya and the Government at} ome will be able to deal compresively with. the wider question the ultimate adequacy of the eserves—Wireless Through Reu-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.