A.—l.

An irregular sort of Government by foreign consuls acting in the name of a Native King is unsatisfactory, tends to complication and misunderstanding, and at best cannot be permanent. The only means, therefore, of avoiding anarchy is by placing the administration of public affairs in the Islands in the hands of one civilized State —in a word, by annexation. 35. The question then arises, Which State shall annex ? And, whilst observing that the Natives themselves express a decided opinion in favour of the United Kingdom I submit that the interests of all nations would be best served by Samoa becoming a British possession under such guarantees as would be satisfactory to other Powers. 36. The inhabitants of Samoa, whether native or foreign, would thus be under the Government which possesses the greatest facilities for the promotion of trade, and one which has always shown itself anxious to grant equal rights to foreigners and native-born subjects. I may mention that in this colony (as was recently pointed out by the Premier in an able speech, of which I enclose an extract) there are settlements of Germans, Danes, and Norwegians, to whom every facility is offered for the acquisition of land, and who are in every respect regarded as British subjects; and in South Australia, where I last had the honour of being Her Majesty's Representative, not only were there thriving German settlements from which the colony derived much benefit, but Germans became members of Parliament, and a German gentleman was for some time during my Government the Minister of Education. 37. Whether Samoa and Tonga should become small colonies, mutually independent; whether they should become dependencies of New Zealand; whether they should form part of a large island colony with Fiji for its head; or whether the whole group thus formed should be placed under New Zealand, is a question which, looking to the future, I venture to submit as one deserving the most serious consideration of Her Majesty's Government. 38. At the same time, 1 do not lose sight of the fact that no step can be taken in the way of annexation without consulting the wishes of other Powers who possess important interests in the South Pacific. I have, &c, Wm. F. DEUMMOND JERVOIS. The Bight Hon. the Earl of Derby.

Enclosure 1. [See Appendix 3 to Hon. Premier's letter to Agent-General of 19th March, 1885.]

Enclosure 2. The King of Samoa to Sir W. F. D. Jeevois. Youe Excellency,— Muliunu, Samoa, 25th November, 1884. I write to inform your Excellency that it has been made known to me that the German man-of-war has secretly gone to New Zealand to send a telegram to Germany about the agreement which they made by force with our Government, and also to place obstacles with regard to our petition to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain. I therefore explain to your Excellency that what caused me to consent to this agreement was our fear that if I did not consent to it the German Government would quickly take our country by force. I have written a letter to the Queen of Great Britain explaining the reason why we made this agresment, and my letter will arrive in England about the 15th of December. For this reason I beg your Excellency will inform the Queen of Great. Britain by telegram of that letter, and also beg Her Majesty will take no notice of that agreement, because we consented to it through fear ; and that our belief is that if the British Government is established in our country, then that agreement will come to an end. I trust that your Excellency will grant my entreaty. May your Excellency receive blessings. I have, &c, Malietoa, His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand. King of Samoa,

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