5

A.—3

The following is a schedule of the moneys actually expended on public or remunerative worke during the year ending the 31st March, 1907 : — llarotonga — £ ». d. Mountain water-supply ... ... ... • ■ ••• 499 12 11 Compensation for land taken —Sections 10, 2, and 3... ... 754 0 0 Avana Bridge, Ngatangiia ... ... ••• ••• 387 14 l> Avatiu Bridge ... ... .. ... ••■ ■•■ 3 *2 17 " Creek retuining-walls, Avuruu ... ... ... ••• 176 11 1 Iron reinforcements for Avarua concrete bridge ... .. I" 18 0 Fencing Government lands ... ... ••■ ••• 25 19 4 Furniture, Government buildings .. ••• ■■• 869 Additions to printing-office ... ••• ••• ••• * 11 Material and labour, three wooden bridges ... ... ... 84 0 0 Carting and labour, metalling roads ... ... ••• 54 0 0 Mungaiu—Roofing Courthouse, 4c. ... ... ••• ••• 20 8 0 Miiuke—Blasting reef-passage ■ ■■ •■■ ■•■ ■•• ° Takutea —Planting island with cocoa-palms ... ... ... 109 17 6 Aitutaki— Arutanga bathing and water tanks ... ■•• ■ •• 40 0 0 Repairs and additions to quarters ... ••• • •• 19 * Concrete flooring to stone jetty ... ... ••• 131 10 0 Vaipae tank . ... •• ••• •■• ••■ 80 16 9 Total 2,791 18 1 Of the above expenditure, £84 14s. 9d. is derived from rates. Public Health. The health of the people during the past year has been normal, as will be seen by reference to the following return from the leading islands of the Group, the births exceeding the deaths by a small percentage. Vital Statistics for 1906. |s)ui(l Births. Deaths. MnrriaKes. Mangaia •■■ jl 51 Aiteitaki ... ... ••■ ••■ ■ ■ 39 M 18 Mauke U '! j I'almerstoii ... •■• ••■ •■• ••■ 8 ' Manihiki ... ■•■ ••■ •■• 14 , ' '] Rakahanga ... ... ••• } 2 19 Penrhyn ... ... ••• ••• ••■ U 9 X Total 262 236 64 1 regret that 1 am unable to give complete returns for the whole Group, but they have been delayed by reason of the want of communication with all the Northern Islands during the hurricane reason The remaining returns will, however, be forwarded immediately after receipt. The return of births deaths, and marriages is instructive by reason of its showing the potency of an admixture ol European blood. The population of Palmerston is as nearly as possible one hundred men, women, and children—and they are all descendants of the European sailor William Masters Had the birth-rate of Mangaia—the healthiest of the islands—been in the same ratio, 120 births would have been recorded instead of 61. I'nder the same circumstances. Rarotonga would havr had 170: and the deaths at Mangaia and Rarotonga respectively would have been 4.) The excessive death-rate of these islands is due for the most part u> the existence of a rascally lot of tohungas, who are encouraged and su Pl x)rted by the chiefs. One of these men by a most barbarous and unneoessarj surgical operation, killed the finest you.,- el net on this island; and any one with Maori experience would know thai the man would not have dared to perform this operation unless lie had been supported by Tavita's Ariki relatives. The young man was murdered bvhis own people while Dr. Gatley was in actual attendance on him. , ' Very efficienl gupervision is now exercised over the lepers of the Northern Islands by the Resident U'ents Williams and NagU : bul here also it is done in spite of the opposition of the people. They must have known that loane, the Native missionary at, Tukao, had for years been a leper but they reported Mr Williams both to me and to Mr. Hutchin when that officer placed loane and his family in isolation At Aitutaki Mr. Cameron has placed a man and woman on an .sland in the lasoon in order to isolate them from the people of the island. This is, of course, a wise precaution only it may be found that these people are not lepers, but merely sufferers from some little known skin-disease: but the isolation does not hurt them, and it saves the people -encrally from possible contagion. Survey and Land Titles Court. During the year ending the 31st March, 1907, the survey of Rarotonga has been nearly finished, ami the small remaining seotion of Mntavern is now in hand, so that by the month of June