H.—3l

62

putrid meat, maize, and potatoes. When ill they are dosed with patent medicines or Native quack mixtures. " Monarch of Pain " is a favourite remedy here. Some of the children of the Ruatoki Native School have lately been taken to Ruatahuna, there to be put under the hands of a tohunga, not to cure them, for they are not ill, but to prevent them being ill. I regret being unable to draw up a table of vital statistics, showing population of district, and proportion of births and deaths, &c, to such population. I have tried to induce the Council to compile a tribal rojl, but so far have failed to do so. The number of births registered in the Matatua District from the Ist January, 1904, to the 7th March, 1905, was sixty-nine. The number of deaths amongst the Natives registered during the sameperiod was fifty-five. Several returns, however, are not yet in, hence these figures are not conclusive. So far the registration of these births and deaths has been optional. It should be made compulsory, with fines for non-registration within legal time. But little good will be effected in this district until I am enabled to travel over the whole district several times in each year, to inspect villages, to explain registration, sanitation, wishes of Government, &c, to the people. The members of Council do not do these things well, nor are they to be depended on in other ways. Those members who frequently absent themselves should be dismissed. Finally, we must have a Chairman who will co-operate with me and not spend his time in indolence and attempts to kawe mana. So far as I can ascertain, there appears to be but little drinking done in Native kaingas. A few fines are received from this source. The district constable at Whakatane supports this statement. Tohungas : Regarding these gentry, I have already informed you that after a great deal of discussion, the Council resolved to charge each person £10 who administered wai rakau to Natives, but that, owing to the action, principally, of our unhappy Chairman, the whole resolution was abandoned, and things stand as they were in ante-bellum days. However, as I have just received orders to attend the Rotorua Conference, I propose to discuss these and other matters more fully with you when we meet there. Elsdon Best, Sanitary Inspector.

TE WAIKATO SANATORIUM. Sir, — Department of Public Health, Cambridge. I have the honour to submit my annual report for the period from the Ist April, 1904, to the 31st March, 1905. The past year has been one, of considerable progress in matters pertaining to this institution. Five new shelters, each containing four beds, an open-air dining-room with kitchen, bath-room, and nurses' dining-room attached, and necessary outbuildings, have been established. The new colony is situated some 300 yards from the main administrative block. This colony has been reserved for male patients who are either entirely without means or who are able only to contribute a small sum weekly towards their maintenance. The separate kitchen, dining-room, &c, were rendered necessary because it was impossible, owing to an intervening gully, to obtain a nearer site for the shelters. This colony is lighted by electricity, and has a constant-pressure water-supply laid on. The sewage is treated on the septictank system, the effluent being used for surface-irrigation. The accommodation for female patients has been increased by four beds in one large shelter, and an improvement is in progress in connection with the verandah, which is being increased to 16 ft. in depth and provided with canvas blinds and other much-needed protection against the weather. In the Southern, or, as it is now named, the Ward colony, water has been laid on to the diningshelter, and sink and a new water-carriage drainage system with separate septic tank installed. The number of septic tanks in use (four), while apparently excessive, is unavoidable, from the hilly nature of the ground. Five new bedrooms in a detached block have been built for the accommodation of the outdoor staff, their existing quarters having been previously greatly overcrowded. Each dining-shelter has now been furnished with a closed sheet-iron slow-combustion stove of a Canadian pattern, burning wood ; these stoves are much appreciated by patients during the cold and wet weather. A cottage of five rooms has been built near the entrance gates for the use of the nurses, and an asphalt tennis-court provided for their recreation. As regards the farm, the chief work has been the planting of an orchard of various fruit-trees, covering an area of about 3 acres ; some vines have also been planted. The potato-crop was a partial failure owing to the blight, notwithstanding that spraying was carried out. Some new paths have been made, and both these and some of the old ones have been tarred and sanded ; the access to the new colony is still, however, capable of much improvement. The water-supply has fortunately been ample during the summer, but as a precaution against a shortage, the dam has been raised about 2 ft.