A Petition for a Protectorate.

($T TxiiEOBAFH. | {Our (Jfton Correspondent*.) Auckland, This Dat. kA petition for the establishment of a British Protectorate has been forwarded by the rnlers of the Islands of Burotu and liimttara. The petitioners say,— '• We, Teuruarii. King of Hurutu, and Te Maere, Queen of Bimatara, and our nobles, ask lot the Prime Minister to place onr islandis and our ship? nndor tho Protectorate of tbe British flag. We have heard you have takon Baratonga and neighbouring islands under your protection, but we remain without anyone to protect us. When we received news that Karotonga and neighbouring islands wore placed under your protection , wo wept aloud, becaaso we wero foraakou by yon. We were afraid ]?st we should be adopted by another parent. The strange parent wo mean is the French. They did not feed us with tbe milk of the Gospel, bulj y»u did. 0 Great Britain j you fed us with that mi!k which has given life to uk. This is our hist word to you— we do not v;i»h for French annexation or protection, iipr -it all, but we wish you to bo our parent, '> Giotit Britain" Kuttftu and Rimatara are important islands, lyine between Rarntonca and Tahiti, whio^jOn account of thor proximity to the latt« J)l»<:o, havo rntere d to a largo extont iuto trading roKtioao with the colonists of Frunob, Uceania. '