A.—3

■ I have worked for seven years to build up a Parliament and a Government which should have the Maori people taught and trained so that they might become fit leaders, teachers, and missionaries for other islands, and their name become great in all the islands of the sea. The foundation for such a government must be the prompt administration of justice to all men. Your Judges understand Maori troubles, but are quite unable to deal with those of the Europeans, which grow in number and importance every year. I offered to do that work, to relieve them, until you could afford to pay a Judge for yourselves. Your not agreeing with the Bill will save me much labour and care. On that ground lam content, but grieved that you should pull down the house which you and I have worked together so long to build. You ask for more time, but you know well that neither you nor your Arikis will be able to judge better for yourselves one year hence than you can now. Therefore I accept your decision as final. There is no occasion to talk more, and no use now in your Arikis meeting, as you propose, in Earotonga. It will be for the Government of Her Majesty Queen Victoria to say what is to be done for securing the proper administration of justice to the Europeans as well as Maoris in the Cook Islands. Your friend, Fbedekick J. Moss, Earotonga, 2nd September, 1897. British Eesident.

No. 3. Mr. F. J. Moss to His Excellency the Goveenob. (No. 19/97.) My Loed, — British Residency, Earotonga, 17th September, 1897. I have just received the following letter :— " Earotonga, 17th September, 1897. "Sib, —I have the honour to enclose to you a petition signed by myself and others, and addressed to His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand. I have to request that you will forward the same to His Excellency in your official capacity as British Eesident at the earliest opportunity. A copy of the petition will be forwarded to His Excellency by me on the first outoing mail. —I have, &c, "C. Kohn, " Managing Agent, Cook Islands Trading Company (Limited). " F. J. Moss, Esq., British Eesident." The deliberate insult intended by the concluding paragraph of the above letter will be more apparent when I inform your Excellency that Mr. Kohn has, in season and out of season, on board of every steamer, to every Ariki or other person who would listen to him, delighted in speaking of me in the most insulting terms personally, and of my office in every way calculated to lower its prestige with the natives. I have held no personal communication with him for a considerable time, but accounts of nis conduct reach me from every side, with warnings against him. He and his housekeeper, Tauepa Tauepo—the clever Maori woman to whom I referred in a former despatch by this mail—are the worst of the intriguers with whom I have to count. His animus is due entirely to my having refused to aid in a scheme for a banking monopoly, of which full accounts were sent by me to His Excellency Lord Glasgow, and my action approved. In other matters of less importance I have had also to cross this man, and his virulence has known no bounds. Of the other signatories, let me get rid once for all. Mr. Taylor is extremely bitter because I had to refuse aid in his obtaining a divorce from his Maori wife when the law was clearly against him. Mr. Piltz I had to aid in getting fined—in one case £s—for breaking the liquor law, by getting out permits in the names of persons for whom it was not designed; and, in another case, a further fine of £22 10s., being the full amount authorised by the law for selling liquor to a man who was not only under prohibition, and who had not and could not have a permit, but who was on the verge of delirium tremens at the time. The man, I should add, was a European. Of the two doctors Craig, I hardly know how to speak. They have not been six months here, and have nothing to do with the Government, nor the Government with them. On the 29th March last Dr. George Craig entered into a deliberate agreement with the Hospital Board for one year. For no conceivable reason except that the Government had no funds to increase his pay, and thus make good the falling-off in the private practice which he at first had, Dr. George Craig (and his brother) have developed a hatred of the British Eesident amounting almost to monomania, and have attacked and insulted him on every pretext and at every turn. These are the people now joined with Mr. Kohn in the petition thus intentionally sent direct to your Excellency as well as through me. I have taken it upon myself not to send the petition by this mail, but to retain it for your Excellency's direction. The continued and personal annoyance which these people have sought to put upon me is bad enough. Their continual and persistent efforts to make mischief with the natives and to obstruct the Government in order to harass the British Eesident are worse. I pray that your Excellency will therefore protect me in my office by compelling these people to send through the proper channel if they wish to lay complaints against me or the Government before you. I have, &c, Feedeeick J. Moss, His Excellency Earl Eanfurly, Governor of New Zealand, &c. British Eesident.

8