7

G.—2a

Settlements on Eotoiti. — Mourea. This settlement is pleasantly situated at the point where the Mourea River, connecting Rotorua with Rotoiti, joins the latter lake. There are well-grown blue gums and willow* trees about the place, and not a few fruit trees. The Natives number about fifty, and report themselves all well. Their cultivations are good, and food abundant. They grow maize, and use watercress as an article of food, to which they attribute their immunity from scrofula and scrofulous sores so common elsewhere. The only putrid food they indulge in is the rotten potato (kotero), to a limited extent. The cleanliness and general sanitary condition of this settlement is unusually good. They belong to the Ngatipikiao and sub-tribe Ngatititakinga. Taheke. The natives here number about eighty, and belong to the Ngatipikiao. I found a large gathering of Maoris here attending a Land Court. A few belonging to the place were suffering from simple ailments, but there was no serious disease amongst them. Food is at present abundant, and similar in character to that of the other lake tribes already described. The wharepuni is found in every settlement on Rotoiti. Being curious to know something of these hotbeds of disease, I entered one at seven o'clock a.m., before the occupants had turned out. I have no wish to repeat the experiment. This was quite a small family affair, fifteen feet long by ten wide. It contained twenty individuals, of both sexes and all ages, who had spent the night (say, ten hours) in it. The cubic air-space per head was about such as would be afforded by a comfortable full-sized coffin. How they can exist under such conditions is one of the mysteries of Maori nature. Fortunately for them, these sleeping places are built of pervious material, through which the outer air must filter, and all the more rapidly, from the fact of the great difference of temperature between the external and internal air. Tapuaehura. A small settlement near the saw mill on Rotoiti. Contains about thirty Natives all told, belonging to the Ngatirongomai tribe. They live in weatherboard whares and have some good bush cultivations. They were all in good health. Otaramarae. This small settlement on Rotoiti is charmingly situated. The Natives number about twenty, all told, are all well, and belong to the Ngatipikiao. They have abundance of food. Buato. Another small settlement on the same lake has about thirty inhabitants. They are suffering from Native itch (ake-ake). They live on the products of the lake, potatoes, pork, and pigeons. They belong to the Ngatitarawhai tribe. Tapuaeharuru. Another small settlement of Rotoiti numbers forty-five all told. They live much as their neighbours do, are all in fair health, and belong to the Ngatitamateatutahi tribe. Waiiti, On the same lake, has only twelve Natives, all well. They belong to the Ngatitarawhi. Pukearuhe. On Rotoiti also, has thirty-five Natives all told. They made no complaints of sickness or scarcity of food. They belong to the Ngatikawhiti. Tahehe School-house. This is the school for the whole Rotoiti district. It has been built 16 years, and is out of repair ; the piles are rotting, there is no special provision for ventilation, and in weather, when doors and windows must be closed, the ventilation must be very inefficient. There are no latrines and no lavatory. The accommodation for the master (Major Wood), is essentially bad and unwholesome. The average attendance is 35, two children only absent from ill health. The air space would be sufficient for the present attendance with proper ventilation (174 cubic feet per head). lam glad of this opportunity of expressing a most unqualified condemnation of this school-building from a sanitary standpoint. The district deserved better treatment at the hands of the Educational Department. Te Wairoa, and neighbourhood. On Lake Tikitopu, two and a-half miles from Wairoa. There is a small settlement of Ngatitu Natives, about twenty in number. They migrate between this place and one known as Kaitiriria, on Lake Rotokakahi. They are at present in good health, but lam informed that last winter they were so short of food that they had to subsist on fern-root and berries. Just now food is plentiful with them. The important settlement of Te Wairoa has long had the reputation of being the most unhealthy in the district. The Natives who belong to the Tuhourangi tribe number 120, all told, and have more than the average amount of Maori intelligence. They earn a large amount of money from tourists passing through to Rotomahana, and spend it recklessly. lam informed that this last season they have earned £1800. They are in a position to supply themselves with every necessary of life, yet, until very recently, the rule with them has been either a feast or a famine. The money they should have spent in proper clothing and food has been spent in drink, and I fear their intercouse with Europeans passing through has been anything but advantageous to their morality or physical well-being. lam happy to report that a «reat change for the better has taken place. In their own opinion, as well as in that of the Europeans who live amongst them, they are now in a better state of health than they have been for years past. Five months ago I found upwards of twenty cases of serious illness there. Yesterday, when I visited the settlement, one case only was brought to me for treatment, and that of the most trivial character. There