A. —4b.

And, similarly, were there Natives from different parts of Upolu there ? —I understand that there were. You were there, Mr. Williams ? —Yes, I was there. And you suggest that no message had been sent to them specially to come in ? —I do not know ; at any rate, not by me. Do you know whether any other member of the committee had sent them messages ? —Not so far as I know. Was the question of Natives coming to that meeting discussed between you and any of the others ? —I understand that the Natives had suggested coming along to the meeting. Was there any discussion on the point of Natives coming to the meeting between you and any other members of the committee ?—Yes. Which members of the committee discussed it with you ? —There was no committee formed then. That is correct. Was there a discussion between you and Mr. Nelson on the point ? —Yes. And was it not arranged that notices should be sent to the Natives of this meeting ? —Not so far as I know. Was it not arranged that notices should be sent to the Natives of this meeting ? —No. Did Mr. Nelson tell you that he would arrange to have notices sent to the Natives ? —No. Did you discuss it with Faumuina ? —I do not remember discussing it. Nor with Lago Lago ? —No, I do not remember doing so. Did you have a discussion with Faumuina or with Lago Lago or any other Natives before the first meeting ? —Natives had asked me (I forget who) if they would be permitted to come to the meeting. And what did you tell them ?—I told them that it was a public meeting and that I thought that they had the right to attend. When did they ask you this ? —Before the meeting. When ? —After it was advertised. Those would be Apia Natives ? —Yes. Did you suggest that they should send messages to their countrymen in Savai'i, and other parts of Upolu ? —No. You can give no explanation for their being there ? —No. In your opinion, is it a wise proceeding to cause unrest amongst the Natives ? —No. You do not think that it is wise ? —No. That being so, care should be taken to avoid it as far as possible I—Yes.1 —Yes. You remember the letter that was read to the meeting by Mr. McCarthy (page 20), leading, " The effect of bringing the Natives into the European political arena is unwise and likely to cause trouble. It is a simple matter to upset a Native race which is composed of many factions like the Samoan race, and I ask Europeans not to do it." You agree that this statement is correct —that it is unwise to bring Natives into the political arena ? —I do not think so, from the fact that we have asked for Natives to be put on the Legislative Council. Mr. Nelson had been absent from Samoa, had he not, prior to these meetings being called ? — Yes. When would you say that this unrest had commenced in Samoa ? —I should say that there was a certain amount of unrest about three years ago. When, in your opinion, did it attain serious proportions ? —There was growing unrest after the public meeting, and from then on. Do I understand that there was no serious unrest before that ? —There was dissatisfaction. But not serious unrest ? —Oh, no, not serious unrest. While Mr. Nelson was away, did you communicate with him ? —I did write to him, yes. In reference to matters in Samoa ? —I did tell him what was happening. Did you have a conference with Mr. Nelson when he arrived ? —Yes ; I met him the day he arrived. Did you speak to him about these matters ? —Which matters do you mean ? The matters which were spoken of at the meeting ? —No, we did not discuss anything. The only thing that Mr. Nelson announced was that he had had an interview with the Minister of External Affairs and that the Minister intended to come here in October. And to whom else did he announce it ?—To a number of others. There was a reception to Mr. Nelson and he announced it there. How long had Mr. Nelson been away from Samoa ? —About six months. Did you supply the information on which he went to see the Minister ? —No. I do not think that he went to see the Minister on information which I supplied. Do you know where he got it from ? —lt was things that were happening before he left. Did you make no requests to him to see the Minister ? —No. As a matter of fact, 1 did not know he was going to Wellington. After the first meeting, a meeting of the committee was called to make these reports ?—Yes. And amongst that committee were Mr. Cobcroft and Mr. Meyer ? —Yes. The meeting of that committee was held in Mr. Nelson's office, was it not ? —I think so. Mr. Cobcroft and Mr. Meyer subsequently withdrew from the committee, did they not ?—After the second meeting. Now, at that meeting in Mr. Nelson's office did not Mr. Cobcroft and Mr. Meyer state that they were not prepared to support the committee in interfering in Native affairs ?—I do not remember their saying so at the time.

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