ANOTHER VIEW OF THE ISLANDERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 76, 1 April 1899, Page 1 (Supplement)

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE ISLANDERS.

; (To the Editor.) Sir,—i was very muclr pained ana surprised to read in last night's issue the •.,-wtlcie on Pitcairn, which to say the least ;« Very misleading. I had the privilege in "Wy and August, 1892, to. stay. fourteen ■;; fl4ys on that delightful .island, and a< few femarlcs may help to dispel the wrong 'impression conveyed by your article. ' -The island, though but .a dot on the " "oatf Pacific, being but two and one- ■. garter, miles long by. one: an.d a-half *% is an interesting spot; and. its his- ; t(»y reads like a romance. Beautiful troWeal trees, the tall graceful codoanut

palm, the wide-spreading banyan, the 1 pandanus palm, and others cover its surface from end to end. Refreshing breezes, cooled and moistened by passing over thousands of miles of ocean, constantly fan the surface of this lovely isle ; It can be truthfully said of this island that •Every prospect pleases.' The people who inhabit this little Eden are half-castes, their dark features and black hair plainly betraying their Tahitian blood, though some of them have quite light complexion and blue eyes.. At present there are about 140 of the inhabitants. The kindness and hospitality of this interesting people haye1 been remarked by all who have ever called at the island. The islanders are quite dependent on their own resources, and cultivate the ground and grow all kinds of tropical fruits. They have a school on the island taught by teachers from America, and the highest branches of learning are taught, icluding La tin. and Greek. There is not a person on the island that drinks intoxicating liquors, smokes, chews, or swears. There was a murder there last year, but what community of 100 people would you find where that was the only crime in 90 years? Far from deteriorating, the people are improving in knowledge all the time, and a better and finer-looking race of people could not be found anywhere. The person who wrote your account must have either never been there or some religious fanatic grieved that the people as a whole had left the Church of England in ISS6, and joined the Seventh Day Adventists.—l am, etc., ARNOLD HARE.