Final Report.

I am directed to report that the Native Affairs Committee held its final meeting this morning.

During the session the main Committee held fifty-one meetings, and the sub-committee, appointed to consider and report on petitions from former years, two meetings.

Including nineteen petitions undealt-with last session, the Committee had before it 137 petitions; of these, 106 were considered and reported on, the remaining thirty-one, as per schedule attached, are held over for consideration next session.

The following Bills were referred to and duly reported on by the Committee: viz., the Maori Land Councils Bill, the Maori Land Settlement Bill, the Native Townships Local Government Bill, the Taumutu Native Commonage Bill, and the Maori Land Claims Adjustment and Laws Amendment Bill.

Before concluding its business the Committee placed on record its regret at the absence from the last few meetings of the Chairman, Mr. Houston, through illness, and the following resolution was unanimously agreed to: "That the Committee wishes to express its highest appreciation of the manner in which Mr. Houston has conducted the business during the session, and regrets that the very hard work entailed has had so ill an effect on his health. The members of the Committee hope that Mr. Houston may soon recover from his indisposition, and be long spared to take part in the deliberations over which he has so long presided."