A.—4.

Cook Islands Parliament. —Statement of Expenditure for Year ending 30th June, 1897— contd.

Makea Daniela, Paymaster. I have examined the above accounts, and compared them with the vouchers, and hereby certify that they are correct.—J. Scard, Auditor. Barotonga, 2nd July, 1897.

Enclosure No. 7. Petition fob the Obsebvance of the Peopee Sunday in the Cook Islands. To the Chairman and members of the Cook Islands Parliament, now assembled. We the undersigned petitioners, for and on behalf of ourselves, and at the request of many of the residents of the Cook Islands, do beg humbly to put before your honourable Parliament the following PS 1 We would respectfully request that your Parliament now assembled would deliberate and adjust with all due care the day for the observance of Sunday in the Cook Islands. We would respectfully bring to your notice that at the present time the day appointed as Sunday is an error. As the Cook Islands are in west longitude, the present Sunday as observed m these islands is, in truth, Saturday, consequently the present Monday should, in truth, be Sunday ._ It might be well to point out that during the earlier years of the introduction of Christianity in the Pacific Tahiti, Samoa, and other islands had fallen into the same error as the Cook Islands, but as the course of civilisation advanced it became necessary that the correct day should be kept, and the day was changed accordingly. . . It may also have been observed that all of Her Majesty's ships visiting these islands keep the Cook Islands Monday as the correct Sunday, as is obligatory in west longitude. This custom leaves the Cook Islands the only Christian country in the world (with minor exceptions) m which the observance of Sunday in kept on Saturday. And your petitioners would now humbly pray that your honourable Parliament will, during this session give due consideration to this grave question, and enact that the correct day should be observed as Sunday in the Cook Islands, so that we are not isolated in this observance from the rest of the civilised world. And your petitioners will ever pray, &c. J Father Bernardme, S.S.C.S. J. Banks. Frank Murray Gelling. Emil Piltz. G. Montiero. Eobert F. Norman. J. Engelke. Steve Savage Saville. A.H.Brown. Peyrous. William James Brewer. F. Goodwin. C Kohn. Thomas Harries. H. C. Eover. Eobert Thomas Jessop. John Warren Wilson. Charles Augustus Avenell. W. Fitzgerald. J. Scard. Van Estall. A. yon Hoff. G. Broun. William Taylor. C. Benny. William Dodge.

4—A. 4.

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Vote. Service. Ixpem rnexpem 13 14 15 16 17 Passages of members .. Expenses of Parliament Maintenance of children at Tereora School Subsidies in aid of Arikis' Courts and police Printing-paper and material for printing laws Care of insane... Hospital Eent to 1st October, 1896, and other liabilities School-fittings, &c.— Liability, 1895-96 ... £162 0 0 For new school ... 60 0 0 £ s. 13 10 20 0 125 0 129 0 20 0 d. 0 0 0 0 0 £ s. 13 10 20 0 121 5 129 0 18 13 d. 0 0 0 0 4 £ s. 3 15 d. 0 1 6 8 18 19 20 50 0 190 0 25 0 0 0 0 15 15 180 0 15 6 0 0 3 34 5 10 0 9 13 0 0 9 220 0 0 Less transfer to Vote No. 11 54 14 3 Subsidies, Britannia Wharf and sheds Post Office : Eent due three years Victoria Eoad to Old Eoad, Ngatipa Unauthorised (Act 4, 1892)— Voted £120 0 0 Less transfer to Vote No. 11 4 5 5 167 5 50 0 27 0 40 0 9 0 0 0 167 5 50 0 27 0 36 6 9 0 0 4 21 22 23 24 3 13 8 115 14 7 106 3 1 9 11 6 1,862 12 0 208 11 9