9

A.—3

(b.) The names of the lessees and lessors. (c.) The rent payable quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly in English money. (d.) The boundaries of the land, and a plan of the land, shall be indorsed on the deed. (c.) No lease to be assigned except by consent of lessor and Board. 11. The lease shall in every instance be deemed to convey to the lessee, his heirs, administrators, and assigns, the right and title to occupy the said land during the period named in the lease, provided always that the remaining covenants of the lease are duly carried out. 12. Where the words " heirs, administrators, executors, or assigns " have been omitted from the lease, the lessor shall be deemed to have a right to object to any transfer of the lease, unless it be shown that the transferee is of good character and likely to make a good settler. 13. Where a lease shall have been executed and registered before the coming into operation of this Act, and no survey shall have been made of the land so leased, the lessee shall, with the least possible delay, cause a survey to be made of the land, and a plan thereof signed by the surveyor deposited in the Registry of Deeds. 14. When the said plan has been deposited as aforesaid, any matter requiring amendment in the lease may be amended by the Board after the lessee has given the fourteen days' notice required by this Act. 15. The Board may order the lease to be re-registered in its amended form. 16. And whereas it is questionable whether, under the land customs of Rarotonga, any man or woman has more than a life-interest in the land : Be it enacted that it shall not be lawful to pay more than one year's rent in advance, or to pay a lump sum of money for the lease, or to do any action that would defeat the rights of the lawful successors of the lessor. 17. And whereas it is not desirable that land should be leased to foreigners who are not of good character : the Board may, before confirming any lease, require the lessee to produce certificates of character from some well known and respectable colonist either of New Zealand or Australia. The Board may also accept approved certificates of character from other places, or reject them without giving reasons. 18. And whereas a large portion of the best land in the Island of Rarotonga is not in the beneficial occupation of any person, and such land does not in any way add to the wealth or revenue of the island: And whereas there are a large number of persons of the Maori race in this island who have no land-rights, and who will never become producers unless fixity of tenure is given to them : It shall therefore be the duty of the Board to consider the means whereby land on perpetual lease may be secured to all of the deserving members of the native-born Rarotongans. 19. No Maori or foreigner shall have power to close any watercourse, or old path; these are deemed to be the property of the people, and may be closed only on the written permission of the Board : Any infraction of this clause may be punished by a fine not exceeding five pounds, and all complaints under this section shall be heard by the High Court. 20. No land seaward of the road called the Purumu, and situated between the Avarua and the Avatiu Creeks, shall be leased to any one, whether Maori or European. 21. Any person failing to obey any order or direction contained in this Act other than in section nineteen shall be liable to a fine not exceeding three pounds. All fines and penalties under this Act shall be recoverable before the High Court. 22. The Board shall make such regulations for the administration of this Act as may be found to be necessary, and these regulations shall have the force of law. 23. The provisions of this Act may be adopted by any island of the Cook Group by petition to the Chief of the Federal Government, who shall gazette what clauses shall apply to each island. Passed. Te Ariki Tapu Rangi, Chairman of Cook Islands Parliament. Approved. Makea, Ariki, Chief of Federal Government. Approved. To come into operation on the 2nd day of August, 1899.— W. E. Gudgeon British Resident. The Residency, Ist August, 1899.

Statute of Mangaia, 1899. Whereas by Order in Council dated the 22nd day of April, 1899, Lieut.-Colonel W. E. Gudgeon, British Besident, was authorised to revise the laws of Mangaia and other Islands for the approval of the Federal Parliament: Be it enacted by the Federal Parliament of the Cook Islands, with the consent of the British Besident:— 1. The Short Title of this Act shall be " The Statute of Mangaia, 1899." 2. From and after the passing of this Act it shall not be lawful to prosecute any person for any one of the following acts :— (a.) Consulting a sorcerer; (b.) Being pregnant as an unmarried woman ; (c.) Card-playing; (d.) Placing one's arm round a woman, even though the offender have no torch in the other hand; (c.) Trading with an European without permission ; (/.) Tattooing or being tattooed ; (g.) Going from one village to another on the Sabbath; (h.) Taking an unmarried woman inland ; (i.) Crying over a dead woman, even though not related to her. 2—A. 3.