A.—3

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No. 93. Cook and other Islands Administration, Wellington, Sir,— 20th October, 1903. I have the honour to enclose the Ordinance to license and regulate the use of bicycles on the Island of Aitutaki, duly assented to fay His Excellency the Governor. I have, &c, The Resident Commissioner, Rarotonga. C. H. Mills. r

No. 2.

No. 94. Cook and other Islands Administration, Wellington, Sib,— 23rd October, 1903. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th August with reference to the Sale of Liquor Ordinance, passed by the Island Council of Rarotonga but not approved by the New Zealand Government, and submitting an alternative scheme for consideration. The question of the liquor traffic in the island has been partially discussed, and I think the result will be that a sum will be placed on the estimates for the erection of a suitable accommo-dation-house, which will probably be jslacod under the supervision of a Government officer. Nothing , has been definitely decided yet, but as the question is under consideration the proposal you have submitted will be carefully looked into, and I need not say anything further by way of reply at present. In your letter of the 13th November, 1902, forwarding the Sale of Liquor Ordinance, you say " At present we are acting under an old law by which every foreigner and Native is entitled to three bottles of spirits per week, provided," &c. I assume the law is the Liquor Law of 1890, which came into force in January, 1891, but it contained no provision as to the quantity that might be supplied, and I cannot find any law fixing the three-bottle limit. Will you please say when, and under what enactment, if any, the limitation came into force. I have, &c, The Resident Commissioner, Rarotonga. C. H. Mills.

No. 43.

No. 95. Sir, Rarotonga, 26tlTOctober, 1903. I have the honour to enclose you herewith a communication to the Hon. C. H. Mills which I shall be glad if you will forward, together with any comments you may feel it necessary to make. I have, &0., Lieut.-Colonel W. E. Gudgeon, C.M.G., Resident Commissioner. C. Kohn.

Enclosure. Sir,— Rarotonga, 26th October, 1903. In view of the recent discussion in the House upon the liquor question in the Cook Islands, I have the honour to address you on the subject. The site upon which my present residence stands, and for which I have a lease from Queen Makea for twenty-five (25) years, with eighteen (18) years unexpired, and the option of renewal for a further twenty-five (25) years, is, I believe, by far the best position in the island for a hotel, and in this opinion Colonel Gudgeon, in conversation with me, fully concurs. It is centrally situated in the middle of the business portion of the settlement, on the main road, with no obstruction between it and the sea, and is within two minutes' walk of the Government offices and the Union Steamship Company's wharf. Upon the Federal Council passing the local Ordinance on the liquor question (vide Parliamentary Paper A.-3, 1903, page 18) I had, pending that Ordinance being approved by the Governor in Council, submitted a proposal to the Resident Commissioner, of which he approved. Brief!} - , I had tentatively accepted an offer from Messrs. L. D. Nathan and Co., of Auckland, by which, in exchange for the ten-years concession contained in the Ordinance, they had agreed to erect the necessary buildings and furnish a hotel complete, with billiard-room and all the requirements up to date, submitting the plans for the approval of the Government, and when completed to place the establishment under the management of a manager to be approved of by the Resident Commissioner, and to carry out in their entirety the requirements of the Ordinance. Messrs. L. D. Nathan and Co.'s connections with the hotels in the Lake Districts of New Zealand and with Messrs. Huddart, Parker, and Co.'s line of steamships gives them an intimate knowledge of the requirements of the tourist traffic, and affords them facilities for advertising the suitability of this Group as a health resort. At present tourists are precluded from visiting Rarotonga for lack of accommodation ; but if their offer were accepted Messrs. Nathan would no doubt take full advantage of all the facilities at their disposal for inducing tourist traffic to Rarotonga, very much to the benefit of the island. This offer, which would have involved the expenditure of a considerable sum by Messrs. Nathan, would on the other hand have made it unnecessary for the Government of New Zealand to place an amount on the estimates for the purpose of purchasing a site, erecting the necessary buildings and furnishing them; and as the local Ordinance gives the Government practically full control of the traffic and protects the Natives very fully, I feel that T am justified in saying that it is the general wish of the inhabitants, botli European and Native, that the Ordinance may yet be approved by the Governor in Council, in which case Messrs. Nathan's offer, which has not been withdrawn but is still in the hands of the Resident Commissioner, will, I have no doubt, receive due consideration.