FIJI NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 15, 19 January 1931, Page 3

FIJI NEWS.

! RELIGIOUS BICKERINGS.

NEW PUNDIT IN COURT.

FALSE REPORT OF CYCLONE

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

SUVA, January" 12

The unusual spectaelft of some 250 Indians assembled round and in the Police Court room caused tsonie comment to-day. Cases of alleged assault were being heard. The first case took up the whole day, and at the end the fines of 10/ against two defendants did not in any sense illustrate the importance of the occasion.

For some time there have been bickerings between the two sections of the Hindus, the Sanatan Dharm and. the Arya Samajj or modern party. The latter until recently had been making couverts, as the old party lacked a leader, and there was no one strong enough to combat the sophistries of the modernists. But over three months ago a clever preacher and debater, Pundit Ramchander, arrived at Lautoka from India to lead the cohorts of true Hinduism. By the steamer on Thursday last another debater and preacher, Murari Lai, arrived, and on Saturday he received a welcome in the Town Hall exceeding anything seen in Suva before. Now the old party are full of confidence, and conflict must ensue. The cases in Court are the outcome of this religious feeling. The next cases to be heard include the Pundit Ramchander, who is one of six who are to be asked to keep the peace.

People who are watching the movements of the Indians can see that trouble is brewing, serious trouble. In the meantime, the Government sit with folded arms, waiting. The white residents feel that the position is unsatisfactory.

'Ware Sharks. It is unusual for blue pointer sharks to be found in Fiji waters, but within the past holiday season a few have been caught jit the holiday island of Nukulau, where residents from Suva, swim in the open, diving from the wharf into deep blue water. During a fortnight some 15 sharks were caught by Mr. W. .Nicholson and others, and on one occasion a huge blue pointer, estimated at 1-lift, after drawing a boat for a long distance and then back to the point of commence, ment, savagely attacked the boat as lie was about to be harpooned, and chewed the bow before he escaped in the scuffle. The swimmers are swimming again a few minutes after the sharks are caught, in spite of warnings, and it is feared that a serious accident will be necessary before the foolhardiness will stop. Niagara and a Cyclone. In a cabled message from Auckland to the Australian papers, on the arrival of B.M.S. Niagara at Auckland it -was reported that the liner has sustained damage from a "terriic cyclone." It added that the same storm had done i great deal of damage to Fiji, and had wrecked the Levuka wharf. This is quite untrue. The storm which hit the Niagara did not touch Fiji, and the Levuka wharf was damaged a month earlier by a storm. Such rumours cause a great deal of needless alarm among relatives of people living in these islands. Customs Duties. If the revenue from the Customs affords a complete index to the prosperity of a country, then Fiji has been having a dull time for the past twelve months. The revenue from Customs duties for that period was £288,762, as against the estimate of £317,000. The port and Customs service tax yielded only £27,004, as against the estimate of £32,600.

Late Mohammed AH. As soon as the news of the death of Mohammed Ali, the Moslem leader, while at the Round Table Conference in London, was received here, the Fiji Moslem League dispatched the following cablegram: "Please cqnvey to the Begum Mohammed and Maulana Shankat Singh Fiji Moslems' heartfelt condolences on untimely death. He gave his life in his country's cause, and India and the Moslem world have lost an outspoken and fearless statesman, whom it will be difficult to replace. May the Almighty grant eternal rest to the soul of the deceased, and sufficient strength, to the Begum and relatives to bear the loss."

Obituary. On Saturday last, at the home of Mr. W. Smith, on the Waidina River, Mr. James Cocks passed away at the age of 77 years. He was the son of the late Captain Cocks, harbourmaster at Soma, Soma, and after rising to the rank of assistant Native Commissioner, retired from the Civil Service and went into planting. He lost one son at the. war, and another, sole survivor, lives in Melbourne. He was reputed to be the first white man born in Fiji, and he was known as the finest linguist in the Fijian language.