A.—4b.

Mr. Slipper.'] It was asked of you whether there is a High Court case about this land with the hedge on it, either here or at Mulinu'u ? —There is no order. Only an order of banishment ?—Yes. You said that it is the custom of the Natives to banish any Natives when they make trouble in the village ?—Yes, on the authority of the chiefs. In any case where there is a banishment is there a Fono beforehand ? —There would be a meeting of the chiefs and orators. And does the man who is being banished get a chance to say anything ? —He would be brought before the chiefs and orators and given a chance to state his side. You talk about being banished if you make trouble : do you know of any one ever being banished without making trouble—l mean, fa a-Samoa ? —I know of no banishment without a proper inquiry. Were there many or only a few banishments fa'a-Samoa ? —There were not many banishments by chiefs. Have you ever heard of forty-six in one day ?—No. The Chairman : Is it your case, Mr. Meredith, that the order was made in respect to this land and the order was disobeyed 1 Mr. Meredith: I have not got the full particulars, but they will be put in. There was some dispute about the land. An order to remove the hedge was made, which order he refused to obey, and there was an inquiry before the Administrator. The Chairman : How far is it from Vaimoso to Apia ? Mr. Meredith : About two miles. Judge MacCormick: This man does not know whether he got his title back or not. He only knows in a roundabout way that his banishment is at an end. Mr. Meredith : The position is that the Administrator has no power to give back the title. The right belongs to the family, and the title can be given back by the family only if it chooses to do so. Judge MacCormick : This title was taken away by the Administrator by a process of law. As far as the Administrator is concerned, what he can take away he can give back. Mr. Meredith : No, sir, because in the meantime the title may have been given to some one else. Mr. Baxter : I presume the family would have to regrant it. Judge MacCormick: The order taking away the title, Mr. Baxter, has to be for a specified period. That Ordinance clearly prescribes that the time must be in the order. Mr. Baxter : I have not gone into the question. Judge MacCormick: lam not addressing you alone ; lam addressing the counsel for the Administration as well. Mr. Meredith : It may be a specified time, but it would act more as a suspension. I do not know whether any Act has been issued during the period of the present Administrator or not. Judge MacCormick : This was done by the present Administrator ? Mr. Meredith : We will see if the order can be found. The Administration no doubt has a duplicate of the order. Judge MacCormick : As at present advised, I disagree with the idea that the title should be reconferred by the family. It was taken away by the Administrator. Mr. Meredith : In some cases the title was bestowed by the family on some one else in the meantime. Judge MacCormick : That is a matter between the deprived person and his family. If the family have chosen to bestow it upon some one else he must tackle his family. Mr. Baxter : That is an order where there is no time specified, so my friend Mr. Meredith advises me. The Chairman : Was there a fixed time in this order ? Mr. Meredith: No. The Chairman: It does not appear to follow the statute at all. In common law that would be read as a banishment for life. Apart from the question raised by my colleague, it looks as if that order did not really follows the statute-book at all.

Friday, 30th September, 1927. Tamasese further examined. Mr. Baxter.] Have you any complaints to tell their Honours. —Yes. What are they ? —I am not satisfied with taking away the titles of high chiefs. Have you heard of the " fine mats " customs I—Yes.1 —Yes. What do you wish to say about that ? —The " fine mat " ceremony was stopped by the Government and the Faipules. In what way ? —By the rule of the Governor and the Faipules. Why do you object to the Government having stopped the presentation of these "fine mats ? —I object to it because it is not necessary. It is a custom of the Samoans from olden times. And you object because it was not necessary to stop it ? —Yes, because it is not necessary. The Samoans. pay a medical tax : what do you wish to say about that ? —ln my opinion, that is not necessary, because many of the people have their money wasted on the tax. They do not get the benefit of their money. In what way do they not get the benefit of their money ?—Because the people in those districts where the hospitals are situated —Apia, Tuasivi, and Aleipata—have the benefit of the £1 tax which

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