A TRIP TO THE SOUTH SEAS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 253, 23 October 1907, Page 6

A TRIP TO THE SOUTH SEAS.

(By Rev. F. STUBBS.) 'All rights reserved. THE NEW FIJI. VIII. The voyage from Apia to Suva was most delightful and interesting—a good ship, perfect weather, smooth seas, and every day some pleasant excitement. On the first day out from Apia wo stopped in the roadstead off Mulifanua in order to load copra, and it was most amusing to watch the black boys at work in the lighters. They were full of fun, and vied with each other in feats of agility and strength. On one occasion a bag of copra dropped into the sea, but before it could sink, a black boy dived after and under it, and in a few second's had it on board again, whilst in another thirty seconds he had dried himself, and dexterously changed his scanty clothing in view of all the ship. But it was on the evening of this day that we saw our most interesting sight. As we passed the Volcano at Savai we saw in the fading light a veritable river of glowing, molten lavta, miles long, and of great breadth, break out from the side of the mountain and flow down to the sea. It was a awful, unique sight, and we were most fortunate in witnessing it. Only a lew weeks before I had walked over this very ground in security; now it was traversed by a river of death. At length we reached Levuka, until 1882 the capital of Fiji, and seat of Government. It is picturesquely situated at the foot of steep and rugged hiils. The town beach is a mile long, and beyond this is a fine road leading past the eemetory, where I visited the graves of a number of the early missionaries and traders. The entrance to the harbour is extremely narrow, and the ship required careful handling. Safely ensconced within the reef we found a German man-of-war and scores of cutters and fishing boats. Here, as in Nukualofa and Apia, a large proportion of the trade is in the hands of the Germans. SUVA. And now after four days' steaming, we arrive at Suva, the capital of the Fijian group, the great distributing centre, and most important- town in the South Pacinc. It is? a beautiful little town, more beautiful than Apia and in other respects more desirable as a- place of residence. As we enter the coral-fringed harbour we see on our left a long range

of mountains, their summits jagged and pinnacled in a most extraordinary manner. In front are hills also, but gently sloping, amidst which nestle the houses •of the. citizens, and at the foot of which is the business portion of the town. This latter is on the beach, a fine parade two and a hnif miles long, named-after the late Queen Victoria. On the one side are the shGps and hotels, on the other the sea, v long row of rain trees—a species of acacia, umbrella shaped, whose spreading branches afford a welcome protection from the sun, and underneath which comfortable seats have been considerately placed by the Town Board. To sit on one of these seats and watch the passer;-by is most interesting, and not infrequently amusing. What an admixture of races presents itself to the eye every moment! Young Fijians, barelegged and bareheaded, pass with free, graceful but not very rapid stride; their singlefs and sulus showing off their powerful muscles; their good-humoured, smiling faces crowned by big heads of frizzy hair standing upright from the head C or S inches; big Samoans, tall and handsome, who do Suva's washing; wildeyed, tattooed Solomon Islanders; Government officials in spotless wtiite; policemen wearing blue tunics and white, vandycked sulus-; a gang of prisoners passing to some road or other public work; above all, Indian coolies, the men small, thin, with ugly swathed legs, and bright, cunning eyes; the women still smaller; their garments pillars of blazing colour, their ankles, arms, necks, fore° heads, ears, nostrils, loaded with gold and silver jewellery. It is a strange sight, this commingling of alien races in a small island town!

Of Government House, with its charming grounds, the public library, the boi tanical gardens, etc.* considerations of space will not permit of any further mention, but in the interests of residents and visitors alike I must refer for a moment to a less agreeable topic. Suva is beautiful but insanitary. From what I have seen and heard, and smelt, the backyards of the hotels and boarding houses are by no means kept as they should be. and this applies to some private housos too. I am told thai there is a sanitary inspector, but possibly in Suva, as in some New Zealand towns, he does not regard it as any part of his Cuty ;»j see that u.e back premis • are kept sweet. At all eypDts every visitor and resident with whom 1 navd spoken on the matter acknowledges they are not so. I don't suppose Suva is yet prepared to face the expense o" a complete drainage system, but a little ordinary rare on the part of the inhabitants might make things much better than they are, and I think the authorities ought to insiSl on this.

RESOURCES OF FIJI. But now, leaving this important but unsavoury topic, I will say a few words 1 about the country and its resources. The colony of Fiji is composed of some 200 islands, 80 of which are inhabited Most of these possess good soil and a good climate. The total area is 4,9p0,020 acres, of which only 500,000 acres are occupied by Europeans. Some 79,000 acres are under cultivation by Europeans and Indians. The amount cultivated by nativee is not known, but it may be computed at about 25,000 acres. The total population of Fiji is about 125,000, of whom some 86,000 are natives; 30,000 Indians; 3000 Europeans; and 2200 Polynesians. One-half of the islands has a wet climate,l the other half is fairly dry. The two largfi islands, Vltl Levu andVanua Levu, contain most of the available land their united area amounting to 6544 square miles. The aggregate area of the group is greater than that of the whole of the British West Indies. Viti Levu alone is as large as Jamaica. The more important islands are hilly and mountainous. The.hilly country is composed for the most part of old volcanic lava; the lower lands are lightly timbered, with deep soil, and easily worked. Until recently the native lands, which comprised nine-tenths of the whole, were locked up, but two years ago an ordinance was passed enabling the natives to sell, and these land* are now being rapidly opened up. The principal crops are sugar, copra, ami bananas, but rice, tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, etc., are also grown. SUGAR-GROWING. Forty-one thousand acres are taken up by sugar. Three sugar companies l operate in the islands—the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, which supplies New Zealand; tho Vancouver Sugar Company,' which ships its produce to Canada; and ( the Penang Sugar Company, a small company which sells its sugar to the I C.S.R. The Colonial and Vancouver Companies plant as well as manufacture, and also buy largely from other planters. The first-named company, which is Aus-tralian-owned, and possesses a refinery in Auckland, has properties in Fiji to the value of over £ 1,500,000. To give some idea of the magnitude of its business, at the end of 1906 there were 169 miles of tramline in operation; 54 miles in course of construction; 74 miles of portable line; 19 locomotives; and 3500 trucks; 26,000 acres were in cultivation, in addition to 11,500 held by planters growing for the company. The company also possesses tugs, steam launches, lighters and punts, and employs 7000 persons. The production of sugar, amounts to from fifty to sixty thousand

tons per annum, or an average of upwards of 1000 tons per week. I inspected the whole process of growth and manufacture, from the ploughing of the soil to the bagging of the sugar, and flatter myself that I now know something about it. For €he information of agriculturists I may yny that the price of land suitabla for sugar-growing is from £3 to £20 per acre. First-class cleared land may be leased at £1 per acre; uncleared land from 5/ to 10/. The total expense for gi owing the plant crop may be put down at'£B or £9 per acre, and the return from £16 to £20, so that there is every reason for the grower to expect a fair remuneration for his investment. Labour, as will be seen by my next article, is cheap, and the crop practically certain. Should any reader think of entering this industry, I would advise him to work a; least 12 months for some other planter in order to gain knowledge and experience- (and this applies to other industries also), and to have' a fair amount of capital at his command, say a minimum of £1000. In the case of bonafide growers, the sugar companies will give substantial assistance, helping to finance them during the early years, and taking all their sugar. The "life of a planter who knows his business, and has a fair amount of capital, is a very happy one. Mr. Morrison, the chief engineer, kindly showed mc over th« great mill at Nausori. Here I saw 12,000 gallons of liquid sugar pouring through the mill every hour, or 600 tons per week 4.t Lautoka, which I also visited, the output is still greater. The whole process froni cane to bag takes 0 or 7 hours. Although there is such a large amount of complicated machinery, I am told there arc lew accidents, and the flesh of the Indian labourers heals rapidly. As illustrating this, Mr. Morrison told mc that on one occasion a coolie was badly hurt, and, believing him to be killed, Mr. Morrison ordered him to be taken on a etretcher to the dead-house. Next day he met him walking up the street! It is difficult, even with a mill* full of machinery, to kill an Indian who does not want to die! BANANAS, &c. Banana growing is an important industry in Fiji, and suits small capitalists. Ihe fruit goes to New Zealand or Sydney, and has recently been fetching excellent prices. The Gros Michael is the most popular variet3'. It bears in about eighteen months, and yields an average of about two hundred bunches per acre, worth about £15. This industry, however, should always be combined with some other, as the crop" is liable to be affected by hurricanes, and prices fluctuate considerably. Small growers may

sell to local agents, and so save the worry of exporting, tea planting is carried on to a considerable" extent in Vanua Levu; I-have also seen excellent cocoa and. ginger. Oranges and pineapples I have not seen, as they are out of season; but both grow luxuriantly. The Government is offering assistance to cotton growers, and I am told there are excellent prospects for this crop, for which there is a great demand. I heard to-day of a return of £21 per acre. The soil and climate are also admirably adapted for rubber. Just now the Government are anxious to encourage sheep farming in the colony. They are, therefore, securing about 200,000 acres in the dry zone for this purpose, and 43,000 acres are already taken up. Cattle do well; some lands carry over a bullock to.the acre. A fat cow or ox may be had for £7. Copra, the second principal export, is produced to the value of £44,000. The total volume of trade last year amounted to £1,212,905, the imports being £609,496, and the exports £603,410, and out of the total trade done New Zealand and Australia are credited with £ 1,054,234.

To sum up, I am satisfied that there are excellent prospects in this country for capitalists and agriculturists; at the same time there are climatic and social drawbacks to be considered, and anyone doing well in New Zealand would be foolish; unless needing a warmer climate, to make any change.