21

A.—4

traveller Clemens Denhardt acquired from the Sultan from twenty to twenty-five German square miles of land in 1885, and this was the nucleus of the present protectorate, which includes the Sultan's entire possessions. The New Guinea Company.— The memorandum shows how this company was instrumental in implanting German influence in New Guinea, the German portion of which is known as Kaiser-"Wilhelms-Land, while the adjacent archipelago is named after the Imperial Chancellor. The boundaries of the German possessions were the subject of negotiations with the British Government, and the memoranduum emphasizes the fact that further acquisitions made without the permission of the German authorities are not valid. The carrying-away of natives for work in plantations is prohibited, except in the case of those islands of the New Britain group in which the practice has been observed in the past; and here it can only be done subject to control.

No. 14. The Agent-General to tho Premier. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 19th December, 1885. Adverting to my letter of the 12th instant (No. 1,539) I forward to you herewith a translation of the memorandum recently issued respecting the German settlements at the Cameroons, South Africa, and New Guinea. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. F. D. Bell.

l No. 13.

Enclosure. Memorandum on the German Protectorates. The fundamental intention of the German colonial policy —that the protection and control of the Government should follow in the wake of German commercial enterprize beyond the seas, and should be exercised as sufficient need arises—is modified by and proportioned to the previous internal conditions of the protectorates. As regards those Gorman protectorates which are of the largest extent—namely, the acquisitions of the New Guinea Company and those of the East African Association—the Imperial Government has up to the present time been able to refrain from any direct interference with their internal relations. Here the colonizing bodies appear to have from the first undertaken the organization oi political and administrative protective measures according to the requirements of the time, and, although under Imperial control, to have carried them out according to their own judgment. Of this control the authorities intend to make a sparing and cautious use. With respect to the protectorate in South-west Africa, the circumstances have not hitherto been of such a nature as to call for direct official interference. The action of the Imperial Commissioner will consequently for the present be restricted to the maintenance of friendly relations with those chieftains who may have accepted German protection, and to seeing that no obstruction may be caused to the promoters of German undertakings for the utilization of concessions granted to them, or to the working of any territories acquired by them. There remains now for consideration only the Cameroons and Togoland territory, where, as the efforts of the Imperial Chancellor to induce the commercial houses to come to a friendly understanding with the local administration have been hitherto unavailing, the direct interference ol Imperial officials in internal relations is necessary. But even here the creation of a bureaucratic rule is to be carefully avoided. The Governor has, as will be shown further on, been careful in all matters of administration to avail himself of the advice of the commercial community of the Cameroons, and edicts issued in connection with the Cameroons and Togoland are, so far as time and distance will allow, submitted to the West African Syndicate in Hamburg for approval. I. — The Cameroons and Togoland. In the memorandum to chapter 2, section 4, of the Foreign Office statement for 1885-86, given as a preamble to the regulations issued for the instruction of those administering the government oi the Cameroons, Togoland, and Angra Pequena, it was stated that a Governor and two Imperial Commissioners had been sent out there. Their instructions and powers were there shown, and the regulations issued by the Imperial Governor of the Cameroons, Baron von Soden, were referred to. In order to give a more exact knowledge of the regulations, these are shown more fully as follows. The Governor is, above all, to see that the regulations are generally known, and that the European population may be allowed as far as possible to participate in the government. 1. The Board of Council established by the Governor, under order of the 10th July, 1885, consists of three members of the colonial community, selected yearly by the Governor ; but this number may be increased in time. Membership is obligatory, and the Governor, who acts as President, chooses some person to act as Eecorder. In special cases, where the affairs of the aborigines are concerned, the Governor can summon one or several chieftains to assist in the deliberations. The Governor will, previous to the issue of any order, so far as the administration of the colony is concerned, ask for the opinion of the Board of Council. In case of unanimous objection to the order, the matter must, on the motion of a member, be referred to the Imperial Chancellor for decision. The objection, however, is not to interfere with the order being carried into effect in the meantime. 2. The "Court of Equity" instituted by the order of the 20th July, 1885, consists of the Governor, or his deputy, as Chairman, together with a Eegistrar and two European Assessors chosen by the Governor. Their appointment is for the following year. In administration of justice, in the first ease the local usages and customs are to be considered, and in the second the civil laws valid in Germany. The language to be used is the German, but a translation is to be supplied to a