A.—3.

The Court consisted of Commander Macalister, assisted by Lieutenant Seymour, with Mr; Hart as Clerk. Commander Macalister's Commission as Deputy Commissioner was read and interpreted by Mr. Wilson, trader, who was sworn as interpreter. Case 1. Mahutu Papu (known as " Bob "), till lately Judge of Tautua, had been deposed by Tautaitini, Judge of Omoka. Bob requests his case to be investigated, and to be restored. Two men, Panauru and Solomona, deposed to having seen him drunk on three occasions. The Tautua people requested Tautaitini's assistance to depose him. This was done in the beginning of 1900, and the Tautua people elected two men in his place, Paetou and Papara. This did not please a section of the Omoka people. The Court decided that Bob should be deposed, and, on taking a show of hands, found the majority of the Tautua people, and of Omoka residents owning land in Tautua, were in favour of Papara and Paetou, who were therefore appointed. A written appointment was given them, and also Bob's two Union Jacks. Case 2. It appears this one case of leprosy not in the leper island. Tautaitini had ordered him to be sent there; but persons who said they owned the leper island objected, because they wished to repossess the island, which had been set apart for lepers about twelve years ago. The Court decided that for the present the island must remain a leper island; but the matter will be referred to the High Commissioner for consideration, and the leper must be sent there at once. Case 3 : Macdonald v. Maki. Macdonald stated his case as in the letter to British Consul at Tahiti. Maki states that Macdonald provoked him. Evidence from Mr. Wilson and Mitchell showed that both parties were equally to blame in the dispute. Macdonald's wife, who took her husband's part, and being better up in the language, replied with interest, so they were fined 10 dollars, as was also Maki. It was, however, elicited from the Au that Macdonald was fined for threatening with a gun. This was not proved, but it was proved that Maki threatened to drown Macdonald, and was intoxicated at the time. The Court decided that in the dispute both the parties were to blame, but fined Maki 15 dollars for threatening Macdonald and for being drunk. Fine paid, 15 dollars. Case 4: Bonar v. Joseph. Joseph went to Bonar, who is a storekeeper, and asked the price of zinc roofing. Bonar says he told him 14 cents per pound. Joseph asked how much that was per sheet. Mr. Bonar says he proceeded to calculate the price, but, being disturbed, made a mistake and told Joseph the price of a 161b. sheet was 80 cents and lb. sheet 70 cents. Joseph purchased 135 of the former and 150 of the latter on the spot, and paid 207 dollars, which was 6 dollars short of the amount. There were apparently no witnesses to the transaction, but Bonar admits he quoted the price at 80 and 70 cents. Joseph removed his purchase at once, upon which Bonar discovered his mistake, wrote to Joseph informing him and warning him not to dispose of the roofing. Joseph replied by bringing the remaining 5 dollars. The Court decided that the matter should stand as it is, for the following reasons: Bonar when asked the prices per sheet said 80 and 70 cents, showing that though he may have calculated wrongly the price for a big sheet, as he says, by multiplying 14 by 8 instead of 18 (the weight of a big sheet), he certainly could not have done so as regards ithe small sheets, as 14 multiplied by 11 \ (the weight of a small sheet) has no resemblance to 70 cents. Moreover, he did not notice that the prices he mentioned were absurdly small for the articles. Further, he did not notice his mistake till he looked up the invoices, all of which shows carelessness and ignorance, and throws doubt on his statement that he quoted prices at 14 cents per pound. The Court therefore considered that.Mr. Bonar must stand the consequences. Case 5: Dexter and Winchester v. Simo, Vavae, Pa, Shilling, Tefau, Temerai, and Mafui. The Au of Tautua incurred a debt to Dexter and Winchester for purchase of a schooner. To pay off this debt they entered into several agreements as to fishing-rights with Dexter and Winchester. The last written agreement, produced in Court, gave to Dexter and Winchester all rights for pearl-shell fishing in the Tautua part of the lagoon, Dexter and Winchester supplying them with one diving-machine, the agreement extending twelve months from the 22nd December, 1900. In January, 1901, Dexter and Winchester found that five other machines were at work, and wrote to the Au of Omoka and others they discovered warning them off. The Au of Omoka forbade the men, who were all living in Omoka, to fish in the Tautua half of the lagoon, and the Au of Tautua attempted to prevent them. The accused all acknowledged having fished. With the exception of Simo, they claimed proprietorship of certain patches of the Tautua lagoon, they being originally Tautua men. Simo was prevailed upon by the others to send one boat, as they considered they had a right to fish there. They said that they were unaware of the agreement, but they knew of the debt, and some of them had had shares in the schooner, but had withdrawn, and when they received the letters of warning had carefully refrained from opening them, having been warned by the Au, thus thinking they could plead ignorance. At least one had been warned personally by Dexter. The Court therefore considered that all those men had fished knowingly in defiance of the agreement, and therefore they should pay to Dexter and Winchester the price of the estimated amount of shell they had got, less the expenses of obtaining it. The amount of shell obtained, estimated from data given by Dexter and Winchester and also the men, was 28,000 lb. The same way the estimated expense of obtaining it was 4,313 dollars, leaving 9,817 dollars which belonged half to Dexter and Winchester and half to the Au of Tautua, as each had agreed to work boat against boat. The Court therefore ordered each of the seven men to pay 656 dollars to Dexter and Winchester and the same amount to the Au of Tautua—to the former forthwith, as he was sailing, to the latter by the 15th September, 1901. The money was forthcoming.

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