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among the number of islands we have the Government must have some one as the great Ariki or the great Chief to read the laws carefully through and advise us about them. Unless the steamer sailed from here for New Zealand instead of from Earotonga you could not gain any time. But I can assure you that the Government will give full consideration to any suggestions that you make, and will advise you in reply. Now, is there anything else you wish to say ? Meringitangi : All that has been said is good. What that young fellow has said is right; we wish things to be straight, not crooked. We desire to have direct communication with New Zealand. Here are some little things I wish to speak about. About Colonel Gudgeon. I have heard that Colonel Gudgeon is Chief over the Cook Islands, and is here to teach and protect the Natives of the Cook Islands. On the flying of the British flag it was said that New Zealand laws would be brought to Mangaia. Hon. Mr. Mills : Who said that ? Meringitangi : It was said on the day of the annexation of the islands. Colonel Gudgeon : Who said it ? Meringitangi : Governor Eanfurly said at the time of the annexation that Mangaia and New Zealand would be as one with regard to laws. Colonel Gudgeon also came here and established a rule that the money from the Courts here should go to Earotonga. And since he has come here the money collected here is carried over to the Treasury in Earotonga. I have given the money before now to Colonel Gudgeon, but now I wish to retain it. Hon. Mr. Mills : Eeplying to what you say—first in regard to getting direct communication with New Zealand. We should be very pleased if it could be arranged, but the difficulty is that with so many islands we cannot possibly get a steamer to trade from each. You have to work them together. You have Earotonga here, Mangaia there, Mauke, Atiu, and Aitutaki away to the north, and all of them a good distance from each other; and if you work apart from one another you cannot do much good for yourselves. You should all work together, and be like the bundle of sticks in the old story —they could not be broken easily. There is not sufficient trade in any one island to require a steamer to run continually to New Zealand. Therefore you must work them as well as you can together. We have had to do the same thing in New Zealand ; the same laws and commercial rules apply to Auckland and Dunedin, and to the North Cape and Stewart Island. By working all together you may get a steamer to go round the islan3s once a fortnight or once a week. Last year we had 560,000 parcels of fruit coming to New Zealand, and out of that lot we only got 57,000 from all these islands. Under proper management we in New Zealand ought to be able to get all the fruit we require from the Cook Islands. Now, my counsel to you is to work together as much as you can. lam 3ure the Government will do all they possibly can to give you quicker and more ready communication with our colony. And now with regard to the money. Of course, if you keep here the money which ought to be sent to the one big chest or treasury you are breaking the law, because at the present time Earotonga is the island on which our accounts of revenue and expenditure are kept. In New Zealand we have the Town of Wellington as the capital, to which all the money is sent from one end of the colony to the other ;it all goes to Wellington. If we had Departments in different parts of the colony each keeping the money the accounts might not be kept properly, and confusion would ensue. So, as it is the law at present that you are to send your revenue to Earotonga, it must be done without any hesitation or delay; that is the proper thing for you to do, and Colonel Gudgeon must furnish you with a statement of accounts every year. Meringitangi here rose, and walking hurriedly up to the Minister, shook hands very warmly with him, saying, "That is good; I only wished things to be straight, not crooked," illustrating his point dramatically as he spoke by an alternate straightening and bending of his upraised arm. He then resumed his place at the opposite end of the table. Hon. Mr. Mills : I want you all clearly to understand that you have equally as much interest in the distribution of that revenue from Earotonga as if you lived there. I understand that what is done in Earotonga is just the same as is done in Wellington in New Zealand. After Parliament has allocated the money at its disposal, cheques are sent to different parts of the colony —say, to people in Dunedin or Auckland—to pay what is owing to them there. At the end of each year you at the different islands ought to be sufficiently interested to look through the statement of accounts for the year. Meringitangi : In the time of Mr. Moss those accounts were received and were also read, but during the time of Colonel Gudgeon we have not seen those accounts at all. Colonel Gudgeon: It is true they may not have seen them, but they have always been published. Hon. Mr. Mills : In reference to that, I will ask Colonel Gudgeon to send us copies of accounts, and when we get them we will send you the public statements of accounts, so that you can look them carefully through. Colonel Gudgeon, I may say, tells me that formerly they had a newspaper in Earotonga, in which these accounts were published, but since the newspaper has become defunct they are only gazetted. But I shall take care that you get the true accounts henceforth. Meringitangi : That is straight-talk. We like it. Hon. Mr. Mills : Has any one any more to say ? Tai: Yes, I have. Salutations. All that has been said is very good ; all that you have said is good. I now wish to speak of something that I know about Colonel Gudgeon to-day. I have two things to speak of. One trouble is about a law, the other is a land trouble. This is the nature of the law as I understand it. I wish to tell you to-day that it is not a good law. Here is our Judge, Meringitangi. It is not right. Hon. Mr. Mills (to interpreter): What law does he mean ? Tai : I mean the laws made by Judge Meringitangi. He is beating all the people. All the people are in subjection to him. This is how I see it. He is charging all the people under illegal