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£3,250. I consider them myself to be in a very important and valuable position as settlement extends. There are numerous fine villa sites upon them, giving fine views along the south coast. 7. The next purchase was also a valuable one to the Government. It consisted of a large block of land on the Vei Mauri and other rivers about thirty miles west of Port Moresby in the subdistrict of Dora. The Doran tribe have been nearly exterminated by their neighbours, and were willing to sell with the understanding that the Government should grant them such a measure of protection as was possible. The presence of Mr. C. H. Page's timber-getting party on the Vei Mauri Eiver has been, and will continue to be, a sufficient safeguard against hostilities while timber is being obtained. Should the party abandon the spot, however, it will be desirable for many reasons that a Government station be placed in the district, which is very fertile and well watered, and in a very accessible position south of the foot-hills of Mount Owen Stanley. The surrounding tribes are on friendly terms with foreigners. The area is difficult to compute, but may be about forty square miles. This land-purchase was the last made during the late Special Commissioner's term and during last year. 8. In January two more small plots of uncultivated land were bought at Port Moresby— namely, about half an acre to the south of and adjoining the bungalow site, and a piece of about the same size for a boatman's cottage site. This last was a continuation of the beach lands. The price paid was £4 2s. lOd. for these plots. 9. No further purchases of land were made until after your Excellency's arrival here in June last. Acting upon your memorandum of instructions with regard to the acquisition of lands in conjunction with the surveys at Port Moresby, which it was most important to have effected, Mr. Eobert Hunter, as an agent for the Government, accompanied by the Government interpreter and the present chief of the local village, Ah-00-doo, made purchases from time to time, as other duties permitted, to the extent of about 222 acres. All the cultivated grounds that interrupted the road reserves have been bought at a full price, but the natives have had it explained to them that in future, when the Government make roads for their benefit as well as for the foreigners' convenience, they ought to grant land free for that and other public purposes. Mr.. Hunter began purchasing on the Bth July, and ceased by my direction on the Bth October, having secured all the lands required within the surveyed portion of the settlement, newly entitled " Granville." The recent acquisitions may therefore be summarised as follow: — Purchased Lands. Acres. Government domain, and bungalow site, &c, of 9 acres... ... 52 Granville Bast, township ... ... ... ... ... 95 Ila Beach, suburban lands ... ... ... ... ... 22 Granville West, township ... ... ... ... ... 50 Badili lands ... ... ... ... ... ... 333 552 Unpurchased Lands. Paga Hill Eeserve... ... ... ... ... ... 50 Goldie Law Eeserve ... ... ... ... ... 236f Cemetery (assumed for public purposes, within Native Eeserve) ... Government Station (late Mr. A. Goldie's holding) ... ... 2| Total acreage ... ... ... ... 844 The purchased lands have cost £339 19s. Id., from the first transaction in 1885 to date, at Port Moresby, and inclusive of the block at Badili. The country lands in Dora and Suau cost £7 os. lOd. With reference to the unpurchased portions, Goldie Law and Paga Hill, the natives themselves ridiculed the idea of the Britain's buying " rocks and stones," as they said. The elevations are very rugged and somewhat steep, and are not cultivated by the natives. They are in fact practically useless to the latter, and it seemed unnecessary (at any rate at present) to buy them. Your Excellency was an interested eye-witness of the purchase of a portion of garden ground, and is fully aware of the exceptionally troublesome and tedious nature of acquiring land by the present method. The lands purchased at Port Moresby, already stated at 552 acres, involved twenty-seven different transactions on as many different days, and compelled negotiation with and payment of 1,258 different vendors, or rather more than half an acre from each native. It seems evident, therefore, that any such process as has been adopted during this season would be too expensive and cumbrous to continue, and it is most desirable that another .and more convenient mode of adjusting the relative positions of foreigners and aborigines in respect of land may be settled shortly.

No. 4. Memoeandum by Assistant Deputy-Commissioneb on the First Purchase of Government Lands in British New Guinea. Government Bungalow, Granville, British New Guinea, Bth September, 1885. Mb. Geoege Huntek, Government Assistant, with the co-operation of the London Missionary Society's teacher, Euatoka, whose services were kindly allowed by the Eev. Messrs. Lawes and Chalmers, negotiated for the purchase of certain instalments of land in the proposed Government and commercial divisions of the settlement with twenty-eight Motu and Koitapu natives.

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