NAURU ISLAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLI, Issue 9393, 15 December 1920, Page 3

NAURU ISLAND.

AN OUTLINE OF ITS HISTORY. VALUE OF PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS For innumerable ages past the habitation of countless sea birds, the Island of Nauru has suddenly become a place of* international importance, writes the Federal representative ot ' the "Sydney Morning Herald." Discussion has raged round it in the councils of the nations, and it has been i added to the many other valuable assets of the British Empire. How valuable an asset it is may be gauged from the words of Colonel. Leslie Wilson, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minis- ■ try of Shipping, who, as the Minister in charge of the Nauru Island Agreement Bill, said recently in the Rouse of Commons:—:"There never was a more sound investment for the Empire, not only from the financial point oi view, but also from the point of view of securing for all time an all-impor-tant raw material for the rejuvenation 'of our land, the demand for which is made now to a very large extent, and a demand which must inevitably increase, as the years go by." , In 1919 it was apparent that there was going to be a general shortage of' wheat throughout the world, and the tendency to exhaustion of the new soils of the world meant a largely increased demand for' phosphates. Germany had maintained, her agricultural production with the . aid of large quantities of_ phosphate manures. In fact, in 1913, she used no fewer than 3,500,000 tons, including basic slag. In 1913 the United Kingdom used 743,000 tons of phosphates, and it was suggested that if a policy of increasing the area of arable land was to be pursued, that amount would have to be nearly doubled. Canada and South Africa have also increased * their demands. The production of superphosphates has been greatly facilitated by numerous acid plants erected in the United Kingdom and the Dominions for munition purposes.

. Situation of Nauru. Details of the history of Nauru are not generally familiar. It was also known at one time as Pleasant Island, and is situated to the west of the Ellice and Gilbert Islands, south of the Marshall Islands, and to the north-east of the Solomon Islands. It is within a degree south of the Equator, and is about eight miles square. The island may be described as an uplifted coral atoll, the highest point of which is about 100 feet above sea level. Dejecta of the innumerable birds who nave made it their resting-place for ages has permeated the coral rock to a considerable depth—something over 40 feet. The island was discovered by Captain Hunter in 1798, and was annexed by Germany in 1888. At", the outbreak of war.it was administered as part of the Marshall Islands, and on September 9, 1914, the island was unconditionally 'surrendered to H.M.A.S. Melbourne. ' Later—on September 17 —it was included in the capitulation at Ilabaul. At the request of the* Government of Australia, *the administration was then undertaken by the High Commissioner for the Pacilic. _ There are some ,1700 indigenous : natives of the island, and they are said to be an extremely handsome, intelligent, and Christianised race. They have, since the capitulation, expressed their keen desire to remain under British rule, being aware probably of the advantages which accrue from British rule, from their neighbours in the Ellice Islands. During the war they petitioned the King to be allowed to.remain under,his rule. ; During the discussions at Paris preliminary to the Peace Conference, iv became clear that the mandate^ for Nauru would come to the British Empire,' and the question of the future administration of the island became a subject of conversation between the Dominion representatives who were interested. Nauru is practically a rock of solid, phosphates, and the Dominions Royal Commission report of 1917, poited out how dependent the Empire was on .foreign, sources for supplies of phosphates. The rock phosphate found in Nauru is not generally applied in its crude state. It is 'converted into superphosphate by means of sulphuric acid. As illustrating the demand for the product it may be mentioned that the average net imports into the United Kingdom from 1909 to 1913 were 487,000 tons, and the exports of superphosphates during the same period were 121,000 tons, the chief customers being Australia and New Zealand. These phosphates came from Florida and North Africa, and; were froJli lower [grade ores.than are found at Nauru.

.Phosphates Discovered. The existence of phosphates at Nauru was not discovered by Mr A. F. Ellis, of the Pacific Islands Company, until 1900, only 20 years ago, and the first estimate of the quantity visible was put ,down at some 42,000,000 tons. In 1913 a German mining engineer, Karl Elschner, made a report, in which he said that the. phosphate area was over 1800 hectares, and the average contents at least 12 tons per square metre. It that estimate be accepted it means that there is a minimum 0T216,000,000 tons of phosphates. There are, however, everi more optimistic figures. The Interstate Commission's report of 1918 referred to a German estimate of 300,000,000 tons. A report rendered to the New Zealand Parliament indicated that the amount visible at the present time is at least 80,000,000 to 100,000,000 tons, and, this may be taken as a fairly reliable estimate. A concession to work the phosphates at Nauru was granted by the German Government in 1905, and it was to con-' tinue for 94 years from April 1, 190b. It was given'to the German company then mining the phosphate, known as Jaluit Gesellschaft, and it gave the exclusive right,of exploiting the guano phosphate deposits in' the Marshall Islands Protectorate. This concession, with the consent of the German Government, was transferred to the Pacific Phosphate Company, the successors of the Pacific Islands Company, by agreement dated January 22, 1906. This company also owned the mining right* in Ocean Island, which has an area of only about two square miles and a population of some 600 natives. O^an Island has since been brought withm/ the scop^ of the Nauru Island agree- ' ment. The phosphates in this island "xtenci to an even greater depth than in Nauru, 57ft being known. The same German engineer, Karl Elschner, estimated th» amount of phosphates visible in Ocean Island at about 15,000.000 tc-r"i. An asre^ment was concluded with the Pacific Islands Oompanv for the raining rights of Ocean Island for 999 years from May 3, 1900. After the formation of the Pacific Phosphate Company this agreement was altered to a license, which was issued to the new company in 1902, to run for 99 years from January 1. 1901. so <■<■ to coincide^ with the period of the Nauru concession. It was de-

cided by" the British Government arid by the Dominion Governments con- ! cerned to buy the, company out, and ; Article 7 of the agreement shows that i "any right, title, or interests which! the Pacific Phosphate Company or any i person may, have in the said deposits, 1 land, buildings, plant, and equipment" shall be converted into a claim for compensation at a fair valuation. The sum of . £3,500,000 •■ was finally agreed upon as a fair valuation, and for this sum the three Governments acquired the full benefit of both concessions7and ! of all leases and other rights, and also the offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide, buildings and piers in the islands, and an extensive system of tramways, machinery, power, electric light installations,- boats, gear, etc. i

The Original Company. v The original Pacific Phosphate Company was registered on April 18, 1902, with a capital of £250,000, /of which £200,000 was allotted to the Pacific Islands Company, which was the forerunner of the Pacific Phosphate Company. The capital was increased to £500,000 in 1909, to £875,000 in 1910, to ££975,000 in 1912, and 1914 the authorised capital was increased to £1,200,000. The last' amount consisted of ordinary full-paid-up shares, with the exception of £375,000 £1 shares/ of which only 10s had been paid, and 225,000 preference share's, ■which had. not been called up. There were some holdings by Germans, but these were sold by the Public Trustee in 1917. Before the war, with a nominal capital of £1,200,000, the company paid anything between 25 and 50 per cent! During the war, owing to reduced shipments,.it did not pay dividends-as large. The German shares, which were bought by British subjects, in 1917, ; fetched £574,818, and at that time the company was paying about 7 per cent, i No actual valuation, it.is stated, was! made when the purchase, price of; £3,500,000' was,decided upon, as 'the., 1 principal factor in the case,- namely, i the future price of phosphates, which : constitute the bulk of the company's assets, was necessarily conjectural. '• The Nauru--'-Island agreement was ' signed on July 2. 1919, by the Prime 1 Ministers of the three* Governments' concerned. The agreement is not one ' which, in the opinion of the British • Government, requires to- be submitted : to the Council of the League of f - Nations, because it is held under reso- ' lution of the Supreme Council.