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village, with complaints upon an assumed injustice connected with their water-supply. It was in vain that I assured them of my unofficial capacity ; they were determined to have their say, and, according to their threat, to " telegraph to Victoria " unless they could obtain redress. I referred them to Colonel Warren, R.A., the chief commissioner of their dis trict, who had already been sufficiently perplexed with their case. It appeared that a stream flowing from jfhe mountains had nearly two centuries ago been diverted into an artificial channel by the inhabitants of Kolossi and others for the purpose of irrigating the various lands in succession, according to the gradations of their levels. This water had become a right, and the value of all lands thus irrigated had been appraised in proportion. According to their story, some years ago a Greek who commanded capital purchased an estate at Kolossi, and having made a journey to Constantinople, where he remained for some years, he took the opportunity of bribing some high officials to obtain for him an trade from the Sultan, giving him the entire right to the water-supply, which had for so great a length of time been the acknowledged property of the neighbouring landholders. This trade was issued upon the plea that all natural waters {i.e. streams) belong to the Sultan. A wide field for litigation was thus opened, and the Greek, having more than the usual allowance of " the wisdom of the serpent, " lost no time in investing large sums in the corruption of all those who would be summoned as local witnesses whenever the case should be brought before the ordinary tribunals. Th e result was that after great expense in the costs of litigation, an appeal to the superior court during the British administration had

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