Under the Māori Councils Act, Māori settlements were empowered to elect a marae committee (Komiti Marae) – the individual members of which were awarded statutory powers to control the liquor trade, regulate traffic and impose sanitation measures. Komiti Marae appointed ‘native constables’, or ‘komiti marae constables’, as they were also known, to assist with community control and the enforcement of Māori Council by-laws. The government provided virtually no funding for these councils and all improvements were paid for by Māori.[i]