A.—6

36

Parliament from Aitutaki were in Earotonga at the time (about July, 1892), and agreed with what was done. Also, that Kaena was the only Mangaian, and that he had been living for ten or twelve years in Earotonga. Tepou says :" My reason for saying he should be married again was that one was as bad as the other. Both were always going wrong and always quarrelling. At last the wife ran away altogether. Then I agreed, and Kaena was married to another by the Native teacher. This was about June last." Tepou further says that it must not be forgotten " when men and women live together without being married, our law, made by the first missionaries and still in use, fines them often and heavily. By being married they save this fine. That is the reason why many are so anxious to be remarried." 5. Lastly, as to the two foreigners referred to in paragraph No. 1. Tepou replies : " One was a Eussian. He and his wife came together to me. They were at first married by mistake. The Eussian did not, at the time they were married, know what he was doing. They had never lived together, and never met without quarrelling and trouble. This had lasted about five years, and I thought it time it should be ended." The other foreigner, Tepou says, was the Chinaman. " His wife had run away with another man—a German—to Mauke. The German was very fond of her, and had married her at Mauke. So I agreed that the Chinaman should be married again, and he was accordingly married by the Native teacher in Earotonga." Tepou further holds that all these cases have been settled in accordance with the customs of the island for the last fifty or sixty years. In conclusion, permit me to point out that under the new divorce law passed by the Earotonga Council on the 23rd August last, divorce can in future only be granted by the three Judges sitting formally together at stated periods and keeping a record of the proceedings. To their judgment the Ariki of the district must consent, and the remarriage can only take place on presentation of a certificate that divorce has been granted. The cases of which you complain were all prior to the passing of this law, which, I may also add, will apply only to people belonging to Earotonga or married in Earotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia, and the other islands will each continue to be ruled by its own law and customs till the Council of such island sees fit to make any new provision similar to that made in Earotonga. I have not made any inquiry into the complaint of divorces of the same kind granted by the District Judge of Ngatangiia, &c, as it would have delayed my reply to your letter. If, however, you desire that inquiry should be made, I should be obliged by your letting me have more specified information upon which the inquiry could be based. I have, &c, Feedeeick J. Moss. The Eev. W. N. Lawrence, Eesident Missionary, L.M.S., Earotonga.

Enclosure No. 3. Eeveeend Sic, — British Eesidency, Earotonga, 3rd February, 1393. Eeferring to your letter of the 30th January, in which, among other matters, you call my attention to the conduct of the Native authorities concerning the liquor law of the Island of Earotonga, I have the honour to inform you that I have made as full inquiry as the limited time at my command, on the eve of the departure of the New Zealand monthly mail, would permit, and acquaint you with the result. With reference to the fee, 20c. (or in English coin 7d.) charged by the Native authorities for each permit given to a Native, as the authority for the Licensing Officer to issue to him any spirituous or fermented liquor, I have only for the present been able to make inquiry in Earotonga. Tepou-o-te-Eangi tells me that he has been in the habit of issuing such permits at the request of and acting for Queen Makea, so far as the Arutanga district is concerned. I will quote his own words : " I have charged a fee of 20 cents for issuing permits. That is quite true. It has been our custom since the missionaries established law among us to charge fees for the work done by the Judge or police, and to take any fines levied upon people brought up for breaking the law. It is the only pay ever given to the police, the Judge, or anyone else. But it is not true to say that I have always charged 20 cents. 1 have given many permits, most of them without any fee at all. I charge it mostly when they come too often, so that they may not come again too quickly. Ido not give these permits as a Judge, but acting for Makea, Ariki, who asked me to take in hand the work of looking after these permits for her." 2. You complain that since this system of charging for permits began, the liquor consumed by the Natives of this island has been steadily increasing. To this Tepou replies :"It is about a year since the charge was begun. That was in Natangiia. I cannot say whether the Natives use more liquor or not, but this I can say, that formerly under the old law there was great drunkenness among all the Natives ; but now under the new law no Native has been brought before me by the police for being drunk with imported spirits for the whole two years; unless he has drank the spirits on board some vessel in the harbour. Then they have taken too much—but not on shore. Very few have got drunk even on board ship. As to the bush beer made secretly by the Natives, that is a different thing. It is on that the Natives sometimes get drunk, but they are brought up and fined for that whenever they can be caught. The new law is good, very good. Under the old law the people were quarrelling and fighting constantly in their own houses; and there were many places where they could buy liquor whenever they liked, and drink it on the place where they bought That is ended now, and quarrelling is much more seldom known." Having so far quoted Tepou-o-te-Eangi, as the Native authority in Earotonga to whom your letter refers, permit me now to reply for myself to the following statement in your letter : (3.) "If the permit system is not put on a more satisfactory footing the last state of Earotonga will be worse than the first." (4.) "That the Earotonga authorities, by seeking in this way to make money out of the system, money of which no account is rendered, and which does not go to the revenue of the island (as far as I