A.—3.

facts of the case as far as my knowledge is concerned." To that part o£ ray letter I only received the answer, " They were accepted as correct then, and no one has ventured to deny them since." I have asked Makea Ariki, and she totally denies the knowledge of the nineteen houses where liquor-was sold. We have a right, then, to ask for the names of the people who kept the houses, and the firms that supplied them with liquor, seeing that Mr. Mosa definitely states that he knew of nineteen houses which sold liquor when he came here in 1890. At the meeting of the chiefs, convened on the 22nd of November, at which Mr. Moss and Mr. Chalmers were present, after considerable discussion, the following law was agreed to by all the chiefs : " No person, be he native or foreigner, shall sell spirituous liquors to any native. Any person so doing from this day shall be fined |100. The native who buys such liquor will also be fined $5 cash." As to the making and drinking of orange beers and other beers of that kind, the old law is still in force. At this meeting Makea said (as per letter No. 9of Mr. Moss to the Governor of New Zealand, dated the 22nd November, 1890) : " The wrong was in the imported spirits, and not in the homemade beer." The one also was a thing in which her people spent their money and were rained, the other they made at little cost to themselves. She named several who had recently died from drinking imported spirits, and urged that something should be done quickly. Here, she said, is the pit for the land, the grave for it, the one grave, and that is the foreign spirits. It is the pit which causes all the sorrow to the mothers and children, the foreign spirits. The church members that fall do not fall by the orange beer, but by the imported spirits. This is the case. Pa, Tinomana, and Ngamaru spoke in a similar strain." The meeting closed with a denunciation of all drink by the native teacher at Ngatangiia (Maretu). I got back to Barotonga from my visitation of the out-stations of the group towards the end of December, 1890, and found that there was already a determination to alter this excellent law manifesting itself. It was said, why should the natives not have the liquor if they wanted it ? Were they not grown up men and women who knew their own minds, and could judge for themselves? but now they were treated as children. Had they not the law in their own hands? If white men were allowed to have liquor, why should not the natives have liquor also ? Thus in this way attention was called to the inferiority of the native to the white, the pride of the natives was touched, and opposition on the part of a number of natives to the present law was aroused. The end of it was that Pa, the chieftainess at Ngatangiia, called another meeting to discuss the liquor question. The meeting was held at Ngatangiia on the 10th January, 1891. Mr. Moss, Mr. Chalmers, and myself, were present at the meeting ; also a Mr. Gelling, on behalf of the Europeans, and who had been elected by them a member of the Council. The feeling of the meeting seemed to be, after great discussion, in favour of the equal treatment of natives and Europeans. I strongly urged them to keep up their old prohibition law. Makea Ariki, and Tepou ote Eangi, the Chief Judge of Avarua, were also of that opinion, but afterwards gave in to the majority, and agree to the law proposed by Mr. Moss for their consideration. Mr. Chalmers was also of opinion that the system should be tried. The law which was then passed has now been in force for nearly seven years, and is as follows : — Liquor Law, passed on the 10th January, 1891 : 1. A Licensing Officer shall be appointed by the Council; and, in case of vacancy when the Council is not in session, a temporary appointment shall be made by the Arikis. 2. The duty of the Licensing Officer shall be to take charge of all intoxicating liquors within tr. c Protectorate on the coming into operation of this law, and of any intoxicating liquor that may hereafter be imported. 3. The Licensing Officer shall provide a suitable store and office at Avatiu or Avarua for the storage of intoxicating liquor in his charge. 4. The Licensing Officer shall issue such liquor only in accordance with the provisions of this law. 5. All owners of liquor will, on or before the 10th of January, 1891, make a return to the Licensing Officer of the quantities in their possession, and he will thereupon take charge thereof. 6. Where the said liquors are held in reasonable quantities at the houses of the owners for their own use, the Licensing Officer will, at his discretion, allow them to remain there, In all other cases, he will require that they be placed in the bond or store appointed for the purpose. 7. The Licensing Officer will keep the said liquors carefully in store at the risk of the owners thereof. 8. The said owners shall have access to the store to inspect their property on any week-day, between the hours of 10 and 3, Saturdays excepted, when the hours shall be from 10 to 2. 9. No intoxicating liquor shall hereafter be sold and delivered by any one except to persons to whom a permit to purchase or receive the same shall have been granted by the Licensing Officer; and the Licensing Officer, on delivery of any liquor so authorised, shall retain the permit and file it as a record. In the case of natives, the permit shall only be issued on the written authority of the ruling Ariki of the district, but the foreigner shall go only to the Licensing Officer. 10. If the Licensing Officer should have reason to believe that permits are being improperly obtained, to defeat the purposes of the law, he may decline to issue the same till satisfied to the contrary. 11. On all intoxicating liquors within the Protectorate, whether for the owner's use or for sale, the following charges shall be made by the Relieving Officer on the permit being issued by him : Spirits of all kinds, $1-50 per gallon; wines, $l'3o per gallon; beer, 15 cents, per gallon. Six reputed quart bottles and twelve reputed pint bottles shall be reckoned as one gallon. 12. Any person infringing any of the provisions of this law shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $150. 13. Any person found guilty of drunkenness shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $5. 14. All fines or fees levied under this law shall be public revenue, and held at the disposal of the General Council, subject to approval of the Council of the Arikis. 15. A return of all cases adjudicated upon under this law before the British Resident.shall have formally entered upon his duties in Barotonga shall be compiled monthly, and sent by the Judge for the information or His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand. 16. The friends of any person habitually getting drunk, er to whom intoxicating liquor is known to be injurious, or, failing such friends, the Licensing Officer or a policeman, may apply to the Court of the district for an order prohibiting the sale or gift of liquor to such person. Such order, if granted, shall be forthwith published ; and any person disobeying it shall be punished as provided for those guilty of contempt of Court. IV. The Licensing Officer may, on information duly received, enter upon any premises and take possession of any intoxicating liquor thereon which he has reason to believe is in possession [of liquor] contrary to the provision of this law. He shall then prosecute the person in whose possession it has been found, and upon such person shall rest the onus of proving that he is in lawful possession of the same. 18. All laws at present relating to the sale of or dealing with imported liquors are hereby repealed, so far as such sale or dealing is concerned, on the coming into operation of this law. Those relating to orange beer or other fermented liquors illegally manufactured within the Protectorate will continue in full force and effect. 19. This law will come into operation on the 10th of January, 1891. Letter No. 12.—" The experiment of thus regulating the liquor traffic, though novel, will, I hope, prove successful. It has, at all events, brought the traffic under control, and information as to the extent and character of the consumption will now be available." Very soon after the passing of the law, Pa, chief of Ngatangiia wished to have a bond at Ngatangiia. Mr. Moss very properly says :" I wrote to Pa that the law can now only be altered by the Council." On the 22nd of April, 1891, Mr. Moss made a Proclamation to the foreign residents of the Cook Islands of his assumption of office a,s British Resident. In that Proclamation he says :" I thank you for the cheerful and ready obedience paid to the liquor law of the 24th December, 1890. His Excellency the Governor and the people of New Zealand are watching with interest the operation of this law, which, I am glad to find, has so far answered the most sanguine hopes of success. It is well that all should clearly understand that no modification of this law in the direction of licensed houses for the sale of liquor to be drunk upon the premises will under any circumstances be permitted."

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