9

H.—26b

oases of enteric fever in a settlement in the Waitemata County, which are obviously due, it is stated, to the insanitary state of the place. Again, the standard of living has been, on the whole, greatly raised, and approximates to the measure found among Europeans. The kainga, or settlement, associated with a cluster of ill-smelling raupo whares and promiscuous living, is disappearing, and the wooden house, in its own enclosure, or, at any rate, the slab hut, with individual domestic life, is taking its place. So, too, the Native is.now better clothed than formerly, and, for the most part, has a wholesome vocation. And these changes, which, curiously enough, are not so discernible among Natives living close to Auckland as among those more remote, have undoubtedly promoted health and wellbeing of the Maori. Accordingly it is reported that the health of the Natives throughout the several counties is good. In this connection, however, I ought to add that several sub-enumerators urge the expediency of the Government providing medical aid to the Native upon some definite system. But the improvement in the material condition of the Native does not stop here. " The old order changeth, yielding place to new." To increased wellbeing are added the amenities of life; and the practical and artistic sides of home-life are sometimes found represented by the sewing-machine and the piano. In the County of Whangarei a Maori mat is, I am informed, something of a curiosity, but starched and ironed, linen is common enough. The haka is a thing of the past, revived only on special occasions ; but the quadrille and the waltz have numerous votaries. With conditions so uniformly favourable to a continuance of the race the cause of the decreasing numbers of the Maori must be sought, it would seem, in some racial incapacity which it would be out of place, and scarcely profitable, to here speculate upon. The means of intellectual improvement are not neglected by the Natives. Their children are sent, where practicable, to the State schools, and become, it is said, apt and progressive scholars. An instance of the desire of the Natives for the education of their children has just come under my observation —an instance of an isolated Native community freely and unanimously giving a site for a school in its midst. On the other hand, although churches are to be seen, there is no systematic effort by any denomination, as far as I can learn, to inculcate religious truth in the Maori. A promising field is practically left vacant for the Mormons, who are propagating their principles with quiet assiduity and considerable success. The area of land cultivated bears a very small ratio to the population, and of this by far the greater part is individual cultivation. The Maori is inclined to follow pastoral rather than agricultural pursuits. This is to be explained, lam told, by the fact that the soil north of Auckland is more adapted for grazing than for cropping ; but also, I suspect, by the fact that the former lends itself more to the indolent life which the Maori is inclined to lead. On the other hand, the staple industries of the north absorb a large proportion of the Natives. Many are kauri-gum diggers, and many are employed in the kauri timber trade. Upon the whole it may be said that the Natives in Waitemata and Eodney are more indigent and less advanced than those further north. The numbers who have established claims for oldage pensions in the several counties, are : For Hobson, 16; for Whangarei, 10 (but of these 2 have since died); for Otamatea, nil; for Eodney, 8 ; and for Waitemata, 14. I will add that the Native population of the several counties are, on the whole, peaceful and law-abiding. I have, &c, The Under-Secretary, Department of Justice, T. Hutchison, S.M. Wellington.

3. WAIKATO, EAGLAN, KAWHIA, THAMES, ETC. Sir,— Eotorua, 18th May, 1901. I have the honour to forward herewith the Enumerator's summary showing total results in the Counties of Eden, Manukau, Waikato, Eaglan, Kawhia, Waipa, Piako, Ohinemuri, Thames, Coromandel, and Waiheke Islands, amounting to a population of 7,731. The instructions to the Chief-Enumerator were dated in November, but only reached me on 11th January; consequently I had great difficulty in procuring suitable persons to act as subenumerators, and in several instances those selected have not proved as capable as I at first anticipated. This, combined with my having to carry out elections of Councillors in three separate districts, under " The Maori Councils Act, 1900," and lately urgent work at Eotorua in connection with the Eoyal visit, has left me far too little time to do fulljnstice to the important census work ; and I regret having to confess that, after all the trouble and expense, the returns are only approximately correct, and of little real value for basing comparative statements as to the decline or otherwise of the Maori people. The Natives have always more or less evinced repugnance to census-taking, and this attitude is much more pronounced among the adherents of the so-called Maori King ; hence the very greatest difficulty was experienced in obtaining information. In my humble opinion the time has now arrived when any Native who endeavours to mislead or withhold information from the Enumerator should be punished in exactly the same manner as a European would be. I received an intimation from one of Mahuta's Ministers that I should have applied to him for permission, and then all information would have been given, but I did not consider it in accord with the fitness of things to do so —and indeed the less recognition given to this " mana Maori " business the better for all concerned, for the movement has only kept the Natives in a state of turmoil and unrest, with the result that there is no individualism among them, and they compare very unfavourably with Natives in other districts as regards cultivation, live-stock, and comfortable dwellings. The Piako County is an apt illustration of this baneful influence. Another difficulty, peculiar to the Counties of Thames, Coromandel, Piako, Ohinemuri and Manukau lies in the fact that these districts contain a large floating population of gum-diggers, who are without permanent settlements, and great efforts had to be made to prevent double counting. 2—H. 26b.