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Mr. Hill supplemented his statement given in the morning. Messrs. Clinkard (Mayor of the Borough of Rotorua), Steele (Borough Councillor), McLean (Town Clerk), and Bunyard (Borough Engineer) also gave evidence. The Commission, on Tuesday, 29th June, at 10 a.m., met the residents of Whakarewarewa in the meeting-house in that village, when the same difficulty arose as in Ohinemutu, in that the Natives pleaded for time to digest the order of reference, and again the suggestion to form a committee to formulate their opinions and submit a written statement was agreed to; some evidence was, however, given as to sanitation and housing conditions, and the Commission accordingly inspected some of the houses where overcrowding was apparent. The written statement from the Ohinemutu residents was handed to the Commission at 8.30 p.m. at Ohinemutu, and the Whakarewarewa statement was forwarded later. The Commission adjourned to meet at Wellington on the 6th July and following days, when the whole of the evidence was carefully considered and our report formulated. Historical. The region round Lake Rotorua was settled by the descendants of the Polynesian voyagers, who came from the Tahiti area, or Hawaiki, about the year 1350 a.d. Their voyaging canoe was "Te Arawa," under the command of Tama-te-kapua, and with Ngatoroirangi as navigating officer. The canoe was beached at Maketu, in the Bay of Plenty. From Maketu the immigrants spread in various directions. The first settlers in the Rotorua district are said to be Jka, one of the crew of " Te Arawa," and his son Maru-punga-nui, who lived at Okapua. Ihenga,' a grandson of Tama-te-kapua, after sojourning in the Cape Colville district, returned to Maketu after the death of his grandfather. Ihenga went exploring, and came upon Lake Rotoiti. He returned to Maketu, organized a party, and came on past Rotoiti to Lake Rotorua. Here he built apa at Whakarongopatete. He subsequently came across the first settlers, now under the leadership of Tua-Rotorua, son of Maru-punga-nui, whose altar-place was at Utuhina, the stream that forms one of the boundaries of the present settlement of Ohinemutu. The first settlers were dispossessed of this country by Ihenga. Lake Rotorua is alluded to in song and story as Te Roto-kite-a-Ihenga (the lake discovered by Ihenga). From Ihenga's time to the present Ohinemutu has been in permanent occupation. The lake teemed with rich food-supplies. The inanga (Retropinna retropinna), kokopu (Galaxias brevipinnis), toitoi (Gobiomorphus gobioides), and Koura (Paranephrops Novae Zealandiae) were netted and trapped in large quantities in their due seasons. The fresh-water mussel, kakahi (Unio), was also dredged up in large quantities to add variety to the diet. The fertile island of Mokoia produced the kumara (Ipomoea batatas) in abundance. The boiling springs provided a unique labour-saving device in their cooking-operations, and the warm baths made cleanliness available to all. There was no spot in New Zealand where Nature was more bounteous of her gifts to a Stone-Age people than in the thermal district of Rotorua. The Village of Ohinemutu is occupied by the Ngati-Whakaue Tribe of the Arawa confederation. Whakarewarewa is occupied by the Tuhourangi Tribe of the same confederation. The main villages of Tuhourangi were at Wairoa, near Lake Tarawera, and on the island of Motu-tawa, in the Green Lake (Roto-kakahi). After the Tarawera eruption in 1886 the people of these villages came into Whakarewarewa, which then assumed a permanent character. In 1880 Judge Fenton, acting on behalf of the New Zealand Government, asked that a township be established at Rotorua, so that travellers visiting the hot springs and other wonders might be suitably housed and entertained. This was agreed to by the Maoris, and about 3,000 acres were given, surveyed, and divided into sections for the purpose. The Government undertook to be the agent of the Maoris in leasing and collecting the rents. The Maoris were so anxious to assist that they made free gifts of a large number of reserves, including the Pukeroa Reserve, the Sanatorium grounds, the Kuirau Reserve, the Arikikapakapa Reserve, and sites for public buildings for both races for ever. They

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