A.—4

is taken in in secret, the poor native who sells it to them has to take what they give him, without asking any questions as to the price or weight, for fear of being fined. Then, again, there has been one case brought to light and proven in which a native stole a bag of coffee; but, as it was sold to them, no notice has been taken of the affair, and no punishment been meted out to the criminal. Again, in cases of fining, all fines have to be paid in cash, and in many cases the poor creatures have not got the cash to pay, and after the police have sold their goods and their body-clothes, and the lot not realising enough to pay the fine in full, they have begged enough cash from the whites to make up the balance, and in some cases enough clothes to re-cover them again in decency, and the whites, out of pity, have given what they required; and in some cases the whites have given them enough cash to pay the entire fine, on the understanding that they would repay the amount when the raui was taken off the coffee. Now, it is the evident intention of these maladministrators that there will be no coffee, when they give the people permission to sell their coffee (which is really their own), to pay those debts. Business has been at a standstill for several weeks. The people have plenty of coffee to pay their debts, and are willing and anxious to do so, as those debts were given to them out of pity, as the ruthless Government had no pity for them. But the said Government will not allow them to either sell or pay their debts, as they want the produce to go through their own hands. Some of them boldly admit that they are only seeking their own gain. When their evil doings were exposed they only shuffled the affair over (they are past-masters at that sort of thing), and those people who make the laws only for their own profit—that they may have a chance of breaking them themselves—go about triumphant, secure from punishment—in their power. No wonder the poor Mangaians prefer living anywhere else than in their own island, where they can scarcely call their soul their own. And who are they tyrannized over by ? A few unprincipled, avaricious, unscrupulous fellows who happen to be in power over them. What a dreadful and un-British affair this power of raui is in an island of this sort, and how unfit those people have shown themselves to be intrusted with such power. It is a constant temptation for them, as they see a secure means of making money for themselves at the expense of the people who are under them and have no power to protect themselves, When the British Eesident was here some years ago he distinctly told those same people (who had been at the same tricks at that time) that if he ever knew them try the same again he would make them pay for it, but they do not scare worth a cent on that lot. Mr. Ward wrote a letter to the king, as head of the Au, asking why a raui being on that it was not posted up in some public place, so as to let people know what was doing, and not go on making laws in the dark for their own ends ; but, although he called five times (to my knowledge), he could obtain no answer from the king. We are, &c, J. Cbaig. Chas. J. Waed.

[We have applied for information to the British Eesident, who informs us that no complaint of any kind or from any quarter had reached him. As to the stolen coffee, he had been informed that the thief had not been discovered when the " John Williams " left Mangaia. If his information on that point be incorrect, he would be obliged to any one giving him the actual facts of the case.—• Ed. T.T.]

Eeport No. 1, on the Genebal Chaeges. Sib,— Mangaia, 13th August, 1897. In accordance with instructions received from you, I arrived here on the 7th instant, and at once presented your letters to Eev. J. Cullen, and John, Ariki On the 9th instant John, Ariki, by my advice, addressed to Messrs. Craig and Ward a letter, copy of which is enclosed. On the 11th instant inquiry was held. The record of evidence is also enclosed. After going carefully into the circumstances, I have to report that the tea-shop referred to is a species of co-operative store, owned by a company of sixty-eight members or shareholders, of whom three (Ngatama, Kakerua, and Davie) are members of the Mangaia Government. The two last (Kakerua and Davie) are also Judges. Ngatama, who acts as manager, defines the company and its object in his evidence. The company buys coffee in spite of the raui, and has been fined $10, and has paid the fine for so doing. It has also branches at Ivirua and Tamarua. I cannot find out exactly how much coffee the tea-shop has purchased, but estimate it at less than one ton. The business done appears to be in the sale of bread, tea, matches, soap, and fish-hooks. Only small articles of this description are dealt in by the shop company. The price paid by the company for coffee is 15 cents per pound, which (as the manager reports the coffee purchased to be not nearly dry) seems to me a fair price. But I must point out that little cash is paid, trade of the nature before referred to being the usual mode of payment. No evidence was produced either that the teashop proprietors " tyrannized over people " or that they have " forbidden any one under a penalty from selling any coffee at any store." The raui, I find, has been illegally imposed on the people. In the law of Mangaia (No. 2, 1891) for electing the Au, section 7 provides for raui being put on produce by the Au. Section 6 provides for the annual election of such Au. No Au has ever been elected, nor is there any properly constituted Au, so far as I can ascertain. The raui was not imposed by any Au (legally constituted or otherwise), but apparently by a hole-and-corner meeting of a few people in each district, and the rest of the people, whether consenting

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