H.—l4a

10

to come through. He went hack from Te Araroa. east coast, and hire we are left alone to lace another slaughter by our old enemy the lever or by something worse than that." There is no doubt in my mind but that the lever was caused by bad drinking-water, and there is no doubt also but that the cause has not been removed, and that the epidemic will break out again shortly and lake off another twenty or thirty of them, and the others will look on in the same hopeless way. and wonder why. The same kind of thing is happening periodically in every kainga in the district. The high death-rate amongst infants and. children might also be obviated io a large extent by teaching the Maori mothers low to properly care for their children. Given the same conditions, the death-rate amongst European children would be just as high. It has been stated that, if the Maoris learned to work, their general health and condition of living would improve. All Maoris work, some continually and others intermittently, and I have noticed lately that the death-rate amongst the continuous workers is just as high as amongst others. It would therefore appear, unless the ordinary rules of sanitation and health are observed, and the conditions of living improved, a Maori who works continuously has no better chance of living than one who does not. But, why continue ? All that, 1 have said now has been said over and over again by others, and I am beginning to think that the position is almost hopeless —that the race is dying, and that all that can be done now is to make things as easy as possible for them by seeing that they should not, suffer from actual hardship and starvation. They should not, be allowed to waste all their substance, and there is grave danger of this at the present time owing to the safeguards against the complete alienation of their lands having been to a. large extent removed. There seems to be a growing inclination amongst them to sell till they can —five for the present, and let the future look after itself. One of the sub-enumerators of the Whakatane County notifies mc thai there were twenty or thirty Natives at Waimana. followers of Rua, who would not give their names, and consequently he could not make any record of them. The other sub-enumerator of that county reports that Rua's influence is still strong amongst a certain section of the Ureweras, but not altogether for good. They have gone in a great deal for felling the bush, grassing, and cropping, but he thinks that Rua will benefit mostly by this. In other respects the sub-enumerator speaks hopefully of the Ureweras. He states that they seem to be on the increase, and are healthier than they were on his last visit. James W. Browne, Enumerator. The Under-Secretary, Native Department, Wellington.

I. WAIAPU. COOK. WAIKOHU. AND WAIROA. Sir,— Gisborne, 29th April. 1911. I have the honour to forward my summary of the Maori census taken in the Counties of Wairoa, Waikohu, and Cook, together with a report from each sub-enumerator. You will notice the health in general is good, and that sanitary arrangements have improved. I regret to say that the old complaints re asthma and pulmonary diseases still cling to them, whilst enteric lever was prevalent this season. Typhoid fever broke out amongst them in different parts of this district; at Jerusaleum it originated ai a, house through need of sanitary precaution, and I regret to say that several deaths have resulted through its ravages. It is of no use medical gentlemen or experts making Hying visits to the districts, end telling the Natives what should be done: what is wanted is a proper notification stating clearly irhnl should be done, and then some responsible person appointed to see that the instructions are strictly carried out. The Natives appear to drink all sorts of water, whilst the spouting and tanks are never cleaned out. and. of course, no lime or charcoal is ever put into the tanks to purify them. On the east coast farming is carried on. and the movement Nourishes. The Tokoinaru Freezingworks has been of benefit to those in that part. I visited the Waiapu Diocesan Conference on the 19th and 21st of March last, where there was a. very large gathering of Natives, and found everything in the way of sanitation in good order. A large baker's oven of modern type was erected, the bricks being made at the Maori plant, and some seventy loaves were baked daily I'm the use of the assembled Natives. 'In several of the backblocks the sub-enumerators-had difficulty in getting information on account of the superstition which still lingers in some of the minds of the Maori of to-day. There was a suspicion that the collecting of the census meant to them more taxation, or something else more dreadful ; however, after some reluctancy, the sub-enumerators managed to elicit, the desired information. The census itself reveals the fact that there is a good percentage of young people, and that the Natives are fairly prosperous. Several half-castes preferred to be enrolled in the European census to that of the Maori one. Upon reference to the tabulated return of the 1906 census you will see that there is an increase in the Wairoa County of some 395 persons. At that period Cook included Waikohu. These two counties are now severed, and combined show an increase of 177 persons. I am pleased to say that crime is not prevalent. lie tohungas: Some of the sub-enumerators have expressed their opinion in a, very candid manner regarding these gentlemen, and I have no hesitation in saying thai, by allowing these people to carry on. a. large amount of harm is done. You will observe that three of the sub-enumerators make a, suggestion that if prior notification was given that the census was to take place, with explanatory memoranda in Maori, the Natives would better understand the reason, end the information would be given and collected more freely. This, I may say, appeals to mc to be a good and reasonable suggestion.