A.-3.

realise that the old order of things had changed, and that they could no longer be ejected from their lands and drummed round the island for merely opposing an Ariki. The Court could not fail to notice that on this occasion the people were afraid to claim their house-sites, which "were theirs under the old and equitable mission arrangements, and, feeling that there was something wrong, declined to award more than % life interest, and reserved the house-sites for future action. The people could not believe that it was possible for a Court to give them fair-play against an opposing Ariki. They had never experienced such a Court, and naturally did not believe that it existed. The reply of the chief of Ngati uritaua will show what the social condition of this island was under the mana Ariki. During the progress of a case I asked the chief why they had submitted to such injustice, and he replied, " What could we do? The mana Ariki and the mana ture (law) were in the same hands; we had no redress; all that we could do was to submit." Another man, explaining the same position, said, " They were all deacons of the church, and stood by one another." As to this last statement, the Court records show that there were certain men who became ministers of the new religion much as they would have become heathen tohungas for mere self-advancement, and that some joined for the sole purpose of being in a better position to seize their neighbours' land. Just such men were Tamarua, of Matavera, and Judge Tupe, whose ferocious administration of the law, after a missionary training, nearly depopulated the district of Ngatangiia. Under the position 1 have stated, it will be seen that annexation has been a real blessing to nine-tenths of the people of itarotonga, inasmuch as it lias given them a feeling of security and peace that they had certainly not felt for the last seventy years. The position of the people of Mauke is certainly superior to that of the liarotongaus socially, but I shall not readily forget the speech of the Ariki Tararo in the Court at Mauke. I had noticed the very large amount of waste land, and commented very strongly on the fact. Tararo replied " These people knew what they were doing; had they planted their lands with cocoa-nuts they would have lost them. Some pretext would have been found in order to dispossess them. The only safety was poverty." It has often been said, and with truth, that annexation by a civilised power is no gain to a savage people. This, cannot, however, be said of Karotonga, for the people have gained that which is the breath of life to any village community—namely, a fair division of the land among the various families, and absolute security of tenure; they have, moreover, by virtue of these two facts obtained immunity from that curse of the Pacific, mana Ariki. No longer is it possible to deprive a family of its land, and turn the members thereof out on to the road, simply because some one or more of them had resented some high-handed action or failed to comply with an unjust demand. I d<> not accuse all Arikis. The late Pa Maretu was a very fine man, whose rule was perfect; and the same may, perhaps, be said for others. Makea is naturally a good and honourable woman, but she has been edticated in an atmosphere of the worst possible tradition of the powers and rights of Arikis, and she really does not understand that people outside the Ariki class may have rights. Most certainly she lias never attempted to undo or ameliorate the evils done by her predecessors. The satisfaction felt by the people generally under European rule will not be shared by a few Arikis and their friends, who for generations have lived on the labour of the people, and have treated them most cruelly. Such men cannot be expected to appreciate a rule that sternly informs an Ariki that when before the Court he-is only the equal of the meanest of his followers. I anticipate that quite a large amount of ill-directed sympathy will be expended on these dethroned despots; but such sympathy will be shown by those Europeans who know nothing of the history of the islands during the past eighty years; the Natives of the island and those foreigners who have lived among them will not share their views. On the death of the present Arikis, no successors should be allowed until the candidates understand and sign a paper to the effect that they understand that the old powers of the Ariki have gone for ever, except where conserved and recognised by law—namely, as hereditary members of the Federal or Island Councils. Nothing worse can happen to the people than that the old mana Ariki should be allowed to continue, and this remark applies with special force to the Arikis' Courts. In Mangaia the people are hardly more civilised than the Rarotouga men of twenty years ago, and on that island the chiefs and Arikis will oppose any surveys or definition of titles to land. In their case the matter is not urgent, for their own land laws and customs are admirable when compared with those of Rarotonga. The island is, moreover, a poor one, and Ido not intend to push them into survey and Land Court expenses, except in such cases where disputes may arise among owners. The Economic Administratton of the Land. In the volcanic islands of the tropics a man requires but little land to support a family, for the natural fertility of the soil, stimulated by heat and moisture, is very great. A quarter of an acre of swamp planted with taro will well-nigh produce the food required, and a few acres of orange-trees and bananas will provide produce for export sufficient to purchase the simple clothing suitable to the climate. I am, of course, referring to the small landholder ; the big men have land to spare, and if they would but use it even in the crudest manner, by giving the people a, fixed share of the produce, they might be wealthy men. This they will not do, and therefore the only opening to such men has been by way of lease to Europeans, whose practical nature will force the land to produce to the utmost limit of its capacity, and at the same time improve the ■morale of the people by providing work for those who wanted it. The Mission and others who undoubtedly have the interests of the Native inhabitants at heart, and whose opinions are therefore entitled to consideration, are much exercised in their minds over the fact that a small percentage of the land of this island has been leased to Europeans. The

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