A.—3

54

Proclamation. Whereas on the 4th day of April, 1891, Proclamation was made by the Right Honourable the Earl of Onslow, Governor of New Zealand, that he had received the commands of Her Majesty the Queen to inform the Arikis and people of these islands that it had not been deemed necessary to incorporate them into Her Majesty's Dominions, or to transfer the jurisdiction of the inhabitants generally from their native rulers to the British Crown, but that for the present at least British authority would retain the form of a Protectorate : And whereas the Arikis and people were further informed in the said Proclamation that the undersigned, Frederick Joseph Moss, had been appointed by command of Her Majesty to be British Resident in the said islands, that no new laws would be recognised unless countersigned by him, and that he was to give advice and assistance at all times to the Arikis and people : And whereas these islands were at that time without union, public revenue, regular Legislature, public administration, or public records, and the administration of justice was of the rudest and most unsatisfactory kind: And whereas, for the better government of the islands, the Resident, as soon as possible after assuming office, counselled a Federation of the Cook Islands, with a Legislature and Government, which came into operation on the sth day of June, 1891, whereby many evils were amended, but the administration of justice has continued in a state so unsatisfactory that it became incumbent on the Resident urgently to advise measures for its improvement, of which advice the disregard has led to the present complications: And whereas, having due regard to the ignorance in such matters of the Arikis and people, it was specially provided in the Constitution of the Federation that all laws should be made by the British Resident and the Parliament, and be so expressed, and not valid till approved by the said Resident: And whereas the Arikis have in many eases persisted in nominating at their own pleasure the members of the Federal Parliament instead of having them elected in accordance with the provisions of the Federation, and the people, holding their lands at will from the said Arikis, have been compelled to acquiesce : And whereas the said Arikis and the Parliament have moreover sought to appoint to positions of trust and power persons in whom th 3 Resident had no confidence, and have thereby attempted to control the administration of the laws and the finance, and to evade the conditions on which the privileges of a more effective self-government were accorded to these islands, and the Resident has refused his assent to such appointments : And whereas on the 26th August the estimates of expenditure for the year ending 30th Jane, 1898, were passed by the Parliament, and members have since returned to their homes in the various islands until only two were left to attend the last meeting of the Parliament, held on the 27th September, when it was finally resolved that the Appropriation Act embodying the said estimates should not pass (vide extracts from minutes attached): And whereas the Chief of the Federal Government, Makea Ariki, was advised by me personally and in writing on the 24th instant to call together the Government of the Cook Islands in order to consider the position, and devise means for resuming payments of public money which have ceased since the 30th June, and the advice so given has not been accepted : And whereas it has become necessary that action should not be longer delayed: Be it known that I, Frederick Joseph Moss, British Resident, and the representative of British authority in the Protectorate of the Cook Islands, have taken temporarily upon myself the responsibility of administering the expenditure in accordance with the said estimates hereto attached, and with the Act of 1892 providing for unauthorised expenditure in certain cases. And I enjoin upon the Paymaster, Auditor, and bankers to take due heed of this Proclamation, and to make no payments save and except on vouchers duly certified by me or by some person appointee! by me by public notification to act in my behalf. And I further declare that this Proclamation shall remain in force until the pleasure of Her Majesty the Queen may be made known. Dated at the |Residency, Rarotonga, this 29th day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven. Frederick J. Moss.

(12.) Education in the Gook Islands. Memo, for His Honour Sir James Prendergast. British Residency, Rarotonga, 27th December, 1897. To the 30th July, 1895, education was entirely in the hands of the London Missionary Society. On that day the Roman Catholic Mission opened a day-school in Avarua, witfh an attendance of seventy-eight children. In August, 1895, a Schools Act was passed by the Parliament to insure that in all schools established in the Cook Islands provision should be made for the proper teaching of English. This law the Roman Catholic Mission met by providing Irish ladies (Sisters of Saint Joseph), as well as a French lady who had just arrived, for their school in Avarua. In the previous January (1895) the London Missionary Society opened a boarding- and training-school for all the Cook Islands. In 1893 the Federal Parliament had undertaken that, if the Society (then the only one in the Gook Islands) undertook such a school for the boarding and training of children who might become future teachers, and who should be taught in English, they would contribute yearly towards the maintenance of such children an annual subsidy of £2 10s. for each child—not to exceed £125 a year in all. Towards the opening of this school the Parliament also contributed £45 to put the road in order, and £30 towards what was regarded by the Society as a necessary great feast to celebrate the opening in proper native style. This school is known as the " Tereora School," and is situate about a mile and a half from Avarua on the road to the Settlement of Arorangi. Up to the 30th June, 1895, the sum of £53 3s. was paid towards the maintenance of the children. Since then the full yearly vote of £125 has been required. On the 15th November, 1895, an Act was passed by the Rarotonga Council to create free public schools under control of the Rarotonga local Government. For their maintenance a tax of 2s. a year was to be paid by every adult person in Rarotonga, and all heads of households were to pay 2s. a year for each child over five years old —not to pay for more than three children in any one family. In addition to this, provision had been made by the Parliament of the Federation for a supply of desks and school fittings, which were to be sent to any district paying the current expenses of a school so long as that school was in existence. For school-buildings the local Government made application to the London Missionary Society, which controlled the substantial and large school-buildings built by the natives for schools many years ago. Under these provisions free, day-schools were opened on the 3rd January, 1896 —one at the Settlement of Avarua, and another at the Settlement, of Arorangi. For the Avarua School a teacher was found in a lady connected with the London Missionary Society. For the Arorangi School a gentleman connected with the Adventist Mission, which had been recently established, was available. The salaries of the head-teachers were only £60 a year, with a further allowance of £30 to provide assistant teachers when the numbers warranted their employment. These schools were entirely secular, and the agreements made with the teachers by the Government were with them individually, and without regard to the particular mission to which each might belong, For the third settlement (Ngatangiia) no teacher could be obtained until a Mr. Wilkie, coming from Auckland, was arranged with. Mr. Wilkie was without training or experience as a teacher, but was allowed to spend a couple of months in assisting at Tereora School, in the hope of his being thereby fitted to take temporary charge of Ngatangiia School. Mr. Wilkie did not remain long. He resigned at the end of 1896, and the school was again closed till Mr. Henry Ellis undertook the charge till a trained teacher could be obtained. In the Island of Rarotonga there are therefore now—(1) A boarding- and training-school (Tereora School) in connection with the London Missionary Society, and entirely under its control, but subsidised by the Federal Government with £2 10s. a year towards the maintenance of each child, not to exceed £125 a year in all; (2) a school in