9

A.—3

the unfortunate loss of the " Jubilee," which, at the time of her loss had on board a great quantity of material for the proposed buildings, practically put an end to all regular work in connection with them. However, the main building, with the exception of facings, windows, &c, is about three-parts finished, and so far is a credit to the foreman before mentioned. The only outbuildings Hearing completion are the, morgue and the laundry. The foundations of the operating-theatre, the kitchen, and bathrooms, however, are down, and await the time when suitable, material is available. At present everything is at a complete standstill, as there is an absolute lack of every description of building-material except roofing-iron. It is therefore, difficult at this dale to say when the buildings will be, ready for their legitimate purpose, as there is yet a great deal of work to be done and a large sum of money to be spent on them. To date the expenditure on this account has been over £2,400, which does not include cost of material now on order. Despite the fact that donations amounting to £2,000 are available for this work, the great, cost of the scheme will mean a very heavy drain on an already restricted i even lie. The, scheme, it is feared, is rathei too elaborate for a small Administration to be responsible for, more especially when urgent calls for good roads, education, regular communication with New Zealand, infant welfare, and other needs are heard on every hand. The present and future funds of this Administration will have to be most carefully guarded and conserved to enable the hospital scheme to be well founded and efficiently carried on. The most cordial thanks of one and all on this island are due to the. Red Cross Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand Government for the, very handsome donations made by each towards the cost of this important and necessary work. It goes without saying that in the absence of such liberality the local Administration would not have! been able to venture upon even a limited hospital scheme for very many years to come. Public Works. In addition to the, work on the hospital buildings the work of re-forming and widening roads was continued. The following roads were attended to, and are now in good order: Mana corner to Lakepa (six miles) ; Mutalau to liku (seven miles) ; Tuapa to Hikutavake (two miles) '", and a short piece at Fatiau. The road from Alofi to Mana corner will receive, attention during the coming year, while, a beginning will be, made, with the new road from Amanau to Tamakautoga. Owing to (he loss of the " Jubilee " it was impossible to commence these works earlier, as the Administration is very short of the necessary materials and tools. When the, coming year's programme of roadwork is complete an endeavour will be made 1 to obtain a good maintenance gang to keep the whole, of the roads in thorough order. Without work of this description the cost of repairing roads will always be recurring and heavy. Once a road is in good order little effort on the part of a good maintenance gang will be needed to keep it so. In the very near future the expenditure in connection with public works will be very greatly increased, for, apart from the large amount of money that has yet to be tised to complete the hospital scheme, there are at least four residences for white officers to be, built very shortly. Then there will be a substantial outlay to face when the, proposed installation of the wireless scheme is set in motion. Furthermore, the inauguration of the proposed copra-purchase scheme will naturally tend to drain the financial resources of the Administration to a very low ebb. Then, it will not be long before a large sum of money will be required for extensive additions and alterations to the present jetty. Population. During the year 1920 seventy-five Native men and fourteen women left Niue, while forty-five men and twelve, women came in. Included in the number of emigrants is a labour gang of fifty men and three, women that was sent to Western Samoa at the request of the Administrator of that territory. But, as these will return to Niue this month, a temporary loss of Native, population to the extent of thirty-two will then resolve itself into a gain of twenty-five. In addition to these movements five Europeans left the island and twenty-one. arrived. The following table shows the position as regards births, deaths, and marriages for the year 1920, as well as for the six years immediately preceding it :— Year. Births. Deaths. Marriages. 1914-15 .. .. .. .. 93 73 70 1915-16 .. .. .. .. .. 94 100 'II 1916-17 .. .. .. .. ..82 128 63 1917 (nine months only) .. .. .. .. 100 137 37 1918 .. .. .. .. .. ..95 178 43 1919 .. .. .. ' .. .. .. 110 126 71 1920 .. .. .. .. .. ..92 104 45 Again there is a loss as between births and deaths, although smaller than for the preceding year. The matter of a small birth-rate is a serious one on this island, when 1 population, sparse, is ever dwindling. Until these people are broughtfto a sense of their responsibility in this matter little improvement under this heading will be attained. pH An urgent necessity here, is a system of baby bonuses —a system which could be easily arid effectively carried out under the direction of the medical department. There is a decrease in the number of marriages as compared with the year 1919, but this is partly accounted for by the fact that forty-five of the members of the labour gang now in Samoa are single men of marriageable age.

2—A. 3.