A.—3.

No. 216. Sib, — Cook Islands Administration, Rarotonga, 24th May, 1906. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 163, of the 12th instant, No. 211, with reference to the proposed new tourist route from Norfolk Island via Niue to Rarotonga and New Zealand. This line may not directly benefit this Group, but we shall gain by the more frequent communication with New Zealand. It may be also that shipments of fruit may be made by this line, unless it should be found that Fiji and Tonga avail themselves of the same chance. If such should prove to be the case it is probable that the shippers would not care to compete against either Fiji or Tonga. I have, &c, W. E. Gudgeon, Resident Commissioner. The Hon. C. H. Mills, Minister administering the Islands, Wellington.

No. 217. Sir, — Cook Islands Administration, Rarotonga, 27th May, 1906. With reference to the very important question of boat-passages through the reefs at No. 154. Mangaia, Atiu, and Mauke, I have the honour to report that with our present appliances there does not appear to be any prospect of success. The difficulty would seem to be that with ordinary drills it is not possible to make the holes deep enough to blast out a passage that shall have a minimum of 10 ft. of water, and less than this is not safe. At Mauke we have expended some £70 in work and material without any result. The bottom of the channel is so broken and jagged that a retreating wave would certainly break a hole in the boat by bumping on the rocks. Mr. Connal will shortly visit Mauke, and make a report on the work for your information ; but I think it will be useless to expend money until we have better boring apparatus. I have, &c, W. E. Gudgeon. The Hon. C. H. Mills, Minister administering the Islands, Wellington.

No. 218. Sir, — Cook and other Islands Administration, Wellington, 29th May, 1906. lam in receipt of your letter No. 53, of the 25th April. I now beg to forward a copy of the regulations prescribing the method of dealing with land taken for township purposes under " The Cook and other Islands Government Act Amendment Act, 1904," which have been signed by His Excellency the Governor. Please have these regulations published in the Cook Islands Gazette. I have, &c, The Resident Commissioner, Rarotonga. ' C. H. Mills.

Enclosure. Regulations dealing with Land taken for Township Purposes in the Cook and other Islands. Plunket, Governor. Whereas by Notice in the Cook Islands Gazette of the twenty-fourth day of November, one thousand nine hundred and five, page two hundred and sixty-eight, the land taken therein described, being Section 10, Tutakimoa, Settlement and District of Avarua, Island of Rarotonga, was faken under "The Cook and other Islands Government Act Amendment Act, 1904," for the purposes of a township, to wit, the Township of Avarua: Now, therefore, I, William Lee, Baron Plunket, the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, in exercise and pursuance of the powers an-d authorities in me vested by the said Act, and of every other power and authority in anywise enabling me in this behalf, do hereby make the following regulations for dealing with the said land: — 1. The management of the said land shall be vested'in the Resident Commissioner. 2. The Resident Commissioner shall cause to be prepared a plan of subdivision into allotments of the said land, and such plan of subdivision, signed by the Resident Commissioner, shall be deposited in the office of the Cook and other Islands Land Titles Court. 3. The Resident Commissioner may erect on any of the said allotments residential houses required for public officers. 4. The Resident Commissioner, on behalf of the Crown, may grant leases of any allotments not required under Regulation 3 to any private person for residential purposes only for any term not exceeding twenty-one years, at such rent and subject to such terms and conditions as may be deemed expedient. Not more than one allotment shall be leased to the same person. The lease may contain provision for renewal, 'valuation of improvements, and payment of valuation by incoming tenant, similar to those in " The West Coast Settlement Reserves Act, 1892," and in no case shall the Crown be liable to pay for improvements.

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