72

a:—3

No. 158. s _ Wellington, 27th March, 1905. I have the honour to submit you a draft of regulations under "The Licensing Acts Amendment Act, 1904," applicable to Niue, which, without being unnecessarily drastic will 1 think enable the Niue Administration to preserve complete control over liquor imported into that island. You will observe that I have limited the quantity ot spirits that may be obtained by any one individual to two bottles in one week. .„..,, -,- • +„ ■ My previous experience convinces me that this quantity is sufficient tor ordinary requirements. I assume that it will be necessary to collate these regulations with those to be framed by the Resident Commissioner for the Cook Islands. Any alteration in them should, however, be avoided if possible. l have &c * C. F. Maxwell, Resident Commissioner, Niue. The Hon. C. H. Mills, Minister administering the Cook and other Islands, Wellington.

No. 159. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 29th March, 1905. I hay,- the honour to inform you that the actual damage done by the hurricane of the 14th January last is confined to the three islands of Aitutaki, Manuae, and Mangaia. A lie former island the damage done is extensive, as the chief food-supply is derived from the breadfruit hees, and many of these have been uprooted. Perhaps one-third of the oranges have been Wown off the trees, and the cocoanuts have suffered to this extent that we must expect all of 150 tons of copra for the season. The people will not, however, be very short of food, L they w 11 take advantage of the Maiden Island labour to send away about fifty of their young a 7 llfarmle the soil being a light coral sand, at least a thousand full-grown cocoa-palms hive betn LeUed'wlth he ground? ifd the young plantations damaged. In ordinary years this LlaJEduces iielrly 80 tons of copra, but 20 tons will be the utmost that can be expected for the it received the full force of the hurricane, has not been seriously damaged except "n g tlie matte/of banana-trees, and that many of the cocoa-palms have been stripped of their nuts As I have before reported, the food-supply of the people will not suffer greatly,^ as Ihev live chiefly on taro. Probably the copra-crop for the season will not be more than 50 tons. ln °tr^ ca clnSoS^p^sr of Aitutaki I gather that arrangements have i 11 with a focal firm to supply rice and biscuit to the Araura School until the Native foodbeen made local firm to ™PP 3 themselves during this time of scarcity. I r/LtdirS^peop 1 ;: oHaLvera have asked me to take a supply of food free to Aitutaki, and I have promised to do so. E. Gudgeon, Resident Commissioner. The Hon. C. H. Mills, Minister administering the Islands, Wellington.

See No. 147.

No. 160. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 30th March, 1905. ■*- i , rf *. rz _,_+_* -" K£3ft £J£=S£ ■»-" *-— to r, " J i "* ie " ce: m " r h "° to """ „„vLTw£™ ?~d »d «h,t we need not expect th.t ri.i.ore from A„*,l„, No. Ze.l.nd, „ Americ. .ill be «o„te,vt to U v .___* dma.U. lalio „ will „„, fk. more than At present « e.nnot k. » "'» inbX hours. Hence it .ppe.r, to me th.t the .ucoe. W. E. Gudgeon, Resident Commissioner. The Hon. C. H. Mills, Minister administering the Islands, Wellington.

No. 161. Rarotonga, 30th March, 1905. Sir,— . • , i Q++ov \r n 99 N Z I have the honour to report that some of the In continuation of my letter No. 22 J l come before No - 148 ' lands in dispute between Karika and ored the j r right, subject only to the Land Titles Court, and the occupants ot lan ___(___ and repair 0 f the Ariki's house, ancient obligation f n ZmZ intense satisfaction \o the whole island, and the resihas'rXr bti tlSte \tave to hear more than a hundred cases within the next two