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also made provision for educational endowments for both races, the accumulated funds from which now amount to about £10,000. These negotiations were confirmed by Parliament in the Thermal Springs Districts Act, 1881, and the amending Act of 1883. From the evidence given by Mita Taupopoki, Henare Mete Amohau, and others, the early European administration of the Town of Rotorua does not seem to have affected the Maori villages to any appreciable extent. The Natives were complimented on the picturesque appearance of their thatched houses and advised not to depart from them. Sanitation does not seem to have been regarded as a problem worthy of attention in those days. In 1900 the Maori Councils Act was passed, and the villages at Ohinemutu and Whakarewarewa came under the jurisdiction of the Arawa Maori Council. The Council gazetted by-laws dealing with health and sanitation. These were administered by Komiti Maraes, or Village Committees, which represented the Council. An attempt was made to improve the housing conditions. The rush houses, poorly ventilated and with earthen floors, were condemned as unhealthy. Picturesqueness ceased to be the only standard by which dwellings were judged. The Village Committees had full power to enforce their model by-laws, but before they could accomplish much a change of authority occurred. The change was due to the Tourist Department assuming control in Rotorua. The Maoris of Ohinemutu and Whakarewarewa were induced to withdraw from the Arawa Maori Council and come under the direct control of the Tourist Department. The Maoris, hoping to obtain better financial assistance in the improvement of the general conditions and sanitation of their villages, consented. The Villages of Ohinemutu, Whakarewarewa, and Tarawera were withdrawn from the operation of the by-laws of the Arawa Maori Council. Under the Tourist Department the Maori Council system of governing by Village Committees was adhered to, and even the by-laws of the Maori Council were adopted. A caretaker was appointed for each village, to assist the Village Committee in carrying out the by-laws. In addition, roads were made, and electric light and water were laid on from the town supply. The regular removal of rubbish was instituted. For Ohinemutu the pan system, with regular removal, took the place of earth-closets with burial. At Whakarewarewa the pan system was not instituted owing to the impossibility of access for removal. A proper sewerage system offered such difficulties from the nature of the ground that the solution of the problem was postponed from time to time and nothing was done. Tn 1922 the Rotorua Borough Council Act was passed, and in 1923 the Rotorua Borough Council took over the administration of the two villages. The maintenance of the existing roads has been well kept up. As regards sanitation . no alteration has been made, nor have any improvements taken place. At Ohinemutu the low-lying nature of the ground has prevented a sewerage system being linked up with the town system. At Whakarewarewa the difficulties of providing a pan system or a comprehensive sewerage system have not been surmounted. As regards health regulations, the Borough Council attempted to work on the original Maori Council by-laws, but, as they had not been regularly adopted, the Council is now considering the drafting of its own by-laws to meet the present need of the two villages. The Village Committees, with a caretaker for each village, have been maintained as formerly. Descriptive. The villages of Ohinemutu and Whakarewarewa lie to the north and south respectively of the Town of Rotorua, and are included in the borough area. The Maori population at the latest census is given as—Ohinemutu 146, and Whakarewarewa 201 ; in Ohinemutu there are also many Europeans, whereas in Whakarewarewa all are Maoris with the exception of two or three Indians. The roads throughout both villages are narrow, some being mere foot-tracks, and many of the sections are small and inconvenient in shape. This in villages of this type is not such a serious matter if suitable buildings properly located had been built, but unfortunately many of the buildings are totally unsuitable and accentuate the impression of overcrowding.

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