"Sly-grog Selling.

"Hiraka said he did not wish the Premier to depart with the idea that they wanted a hotel established in the district in order that they might get drink. Is was for quite a different reason. They could not shut their eyes to the fact that grog was imported clandestinely into the district, and they wished to impress the Government with the fact. It was not desirable that evil should exist in any district, but perhaps the lesser evil in this particular case was that it should be under control.

"The Premier said he was very glad to hear this expression of opinion. Probably if the policeman were sent up he might be able to stop these evil doings. At any rate, one of these sly-grog sellers was now in gaol, where he could neither sell nor drink grog. (Laughter.) His ears were open, and he had heard that the Natives themselves were worse than the Europeans in this evil practice. He hoped that was untrue. He was a good judge of character, and from the levity displayed when he referred to the liquor question, he came to the conclusion that there were some of these practisers of evil deeds present. (More laughter.) As the Natives wanted a policeman, it would be rather peculiar if his first duty were to lock some of them up. He hoped they would cast their bottles and cases of whiskey into the river.

"The meeting then closed.

"We met at Moawhango the Judge of the Native Land Court sitting there (Mr. Butler), and Mr. A. L. D. Fraser, Native Agent. The Court has been sitting there since the middle of January, and has still some six weeks' work ahead of it. The Natives of the district appear to be well off in live-stock, and to be amply dowered with land. They own about a hundred thousand sheep and some four thousand horses. In fact, horses are so plentiful throughout this part that large numbers of them are running quite wild, and last year drafts of them were taken to some of the European settlements and sold at prices ranging from 5s. upwards. Two evils affect these Natives, and both of them were referred to by Hiraka te Rango in his reply to the Premier's address. One is the Native love for waipiro, and the other is the contaminating influence of the low-caste Europeans who infest all these Native districts right through to Pipiriki. As to the first evil, we were assured that nearly every second Native is concerned, either directly or indirectly, in dispensing waipiro. The liquor is brought up from European settlements, and, after being adulterated with methylated spirit, is retailed to customers of both races."

The special reporter observes: "We left Moawhango at 10.20 a.m. yesterday, and arrived at Karioi (29 miles) at 3 in the afternoon. Mr. McDonald (manager for Mr. Studholme) hospitably entertained the whole party. We set out this morning for Pipiriki (33 miles), and to-morrow go on to Taumarunui, through the Waimarino country, the river route having been abandoned. It was represented to the Premier that it would take five days to pole up the river to Taumarunui. So far, Captain Edwin has been singularly kind to us. We have every promise of lovely weather to-day. Karioi is worth some notice, but I must leave it to my next."