A.—3.

5. The Resident Commissioner may confirm the lease of that portion of the said land now occupied by the Rarotonga Lawn Tennis and Bowling Club, and the Resident Commissioner may on the expiration of the said lease allow the said portion of the said land to be occupied or used for recreation purposes by any person or club, upon such terms and conditions as may be deemed expedient. 6. All buildings to be erected on the said land shall be subject to the approval of the Government Surveyor, or such other officer as shall be nominated for that purpose by the Resident Commissioner. 7. The Resident Commissioner may use any portion of the said land for drainage purposes. 8. All rents and profits of the said land, after payment thereout of all proper costs and charges, shall be paid into the Treasury of the Cook Islands. As witness the hand of His Excellency the Governor, this nineteenth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and six. C. H. Mills.

No. 219. S IH) Rarotonga, Cook Islands, Ist June, 1906. I have the honour to report that the " Tavinui " has arrived here two days after her time from Tahiti, with the result" that we have 800 tons of fruit piled up in the sheds, most of which will be overripe when it reaches New Zealand. This delay, which must inevitably cause further delay in Auckland by arriving late on Saturday, has as usual been caused by the shipment of French fruit at Huahine and Raiatea. I am informed that there is no less than 450 tons of French fruit on board, and it is very questionable whether the company will be able to take our 800 tons, except by overloading, as was the case last trip. I would point out that had the Auckland shipping authorities done their duty the company would long ago have put on a larger steamer, but they are not likely to do this so long as they are allowed to carry deck-loads that are absolutely dangerous. The present position here is absurd and anomalous. We are supposed to be a part of New Zealand, but are absolutely at the mercy of a French colony—that is, if there is any room for our fruit after the Frenchmen have been served the company will take it. The French tariff prohibits anything grown in the Cook Islands being exported to Tahiti, while French fruit is received in New Zealand on equal terms with that grown in the Cook Islands. As for the Union Company, they carry goods to Tahiti, five hundred miles distant from Rarotonga, for £1 15s. a ton, and charge us £2. Ido not know whether that company receives any subsidy from New Zealand, but if it does the subsidy is absolutely in aid of Tahiti. Under" the above circumstances, there is no cause for surprise in the fact that one of the European planters on this island sent 450 cases of oranges, carefully selected and packed, to New Zealand last year, and received only £1 for his risk, work, and fruit. I have &c, W. E. Gudgeon, Resident Commissioner. The Hon. C. H. Mills, Minister administering the Islands, Wellington.

No. 220. g IE Cook and other Islands Administration, Wellington, 9th June, 1906. I have to inform you that an Order in Council has now been passed defining the powers and duties of the Resident"Commissioner of the Cook and other Islands, and some printed copies are forwarded herewith. I also enclose a copy of the Solicitor-General's memo, relative to the draft Order in Council submitted by you. I have, &c^ The Resident Commissioner, Rarotonga, "■■ Mills.

Enclosure. Defining Powers and Duties of Resident Commissionek, Cook Islands. Plunket, Governor. Order in Council. At the Government House, at Wellington, this first day of June, 1906. Present: His Excellency the Governor in Council. Whereas by subsection one of section five of "The Cook and other Islands Government Act 1901 " it is enacted that the Resident Commissioner appointed under the said Act shall have such powers and duties as may from time to time be determined by the Governor by Order in Council:

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