SAMOA NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 22, 26 January 1935, Page 15

SAMOA NEWS.

1935 BEGINS WELL.

RISE IN COPRA PRICES. TREATMENT OF A TOURIST. (From Our Own Correspondent.) APIA, January IT. We have buried the Old Year, and nobody could say that 1934 lias been a good year for the residents, European and native, of the mandated territory. Still, the cud was better than the beginning. Apia shopkeepers report that Christmas business was considerably better than for the last few years, and especially on Christmas Eve the stores were crowded.

The New Year began very auspiciously with a rapid rise of the world market price of one staple commodity, copra. Within a few weeks this very welcome increase in the London quotations amounted to more than 50 per cent. A substantial increase of the local rate is expected in the near future. The welcome news has reached us, furthermore, that the large stocks of Samoan cocoa beans in London warehouses have been completely cleared at, i'"der the circumstances, fair prices. Parcels have realised as high as £41. These facts, coupled with the higher banana quotas for 1935, grantrl by the New Zealand Government, and the regular calls of the Union Steam Ship boats on their way back from Vancouver to take banana shipments for the Auckland market every month, makes the economic outlook for Western Samoa in 1935 decidedly more hopeful and promising. The citizens' committee is working hard to ensure the success of the arrangements for the Duke of Gloucester's visit, and with the co-operation of the Administration and general public an enjoyable time may be safely predicted for His Royal Highness and his party, as well as for the complement of H.M.A.S. Australia.

The visit 011 circuit of liis Honor Chief Judge .T. H. Luxford is expected by the Maui Pomare, which is to arrive on February 7. The calendar of criminal cases waiting trial is not very heavy, the most serious charge being one of rape of a young Sanioan girl, in which not less than seven young Samoans are to be prosecuted. Police and Tourist Traffic. For several years the Administration has tried to attract tourist traffic to Western Samoa and to encourage tourist steamers to make Apia a regular port of call, well realising that this policy should reasonably result in an increase of revenue for public and Government. The Police Department, however, seems not to be in agreement with this policy. This, at least, must be presumed from the treatment given a recent prominent visitor to Samoa. A foreigner of distinction, with ample means at his disposal and with excellent credentials, he had intended to travel in the islands for several months, after two and a half years of globe-trotting in other parts of the world. He was subjected to a lengthy interrogation and examination by the Chief of Police, he was asked to obtain special permits to travel to the neighbouring island of Savaii, and was actually placed under some sort of police surveillance during his stay and on harmless excursions. When he was visiting at a plantation, the planter was rung up by the police and asked whether the visitor concerned was staying at his house. These proceedings resulted, of course, in the annoyance of the visitor and his speedy departure from shores made inhospitable by police and red tape. It seems a strange way to advertise Samoa to the outside world, as the traveller in question can hardly be expected to keep his experiences in Samoa a secret. Bananas and Cocoa Beans. The Waikawa leaves Apia to-day with the first shipment of bananas for the Auckland market. The quantity offering for shipment was somewhat smaller than usual, as growers have not adapted, themselves to the new arrangements providing for two banana shipments a month. However, a full shipment was at last procured. Special care has been exercised by the inspectors to ship only ; fruit of excellent quality. The voyage direct to Auckland takes only six days, compared with 11 days on the Maui Pomare. . The Waikawa takes a shipment of about 800 bags of Sanioan cocoa beans for the New Zealand and Australian markets. A very good crop of cocoa beans has been picked during the last few months, though at _ present the incessant rains cause quite a lot of damage on the plantations, and a large proportion of cocoa pods turn black. The season's crop is, however, nearly finished. The utilisation of the bananas unsuitable for export shipments is a difficult problem. So far, the bananas have simply gone to waste, rotted on the plantations, or at the best been used as pigs' feed. An enterprising planter has of late started to make these bananas after ripening into "banana figs," & delicious confectionery. For this, however, there seems to be only a very limited demand in Samoa or New Zealand, and the English market is supplied verv cheaply by tropical countries situated more advantageously than faraway Samoa. Alcohol From Bananas. At present the possibility of making power alcohol or drinking spirit from bananas is being investigated. This manufacture is extensively undertaken in South and Central American bananagrowing districts, especially in those remote from the main avenues of traffic. The manufacturing process is stated to be comparatively simple, and the initial cost of a distillery is within reasonable limits. In a prohibition country like the mandated territory, for reasons of economy and also on account of the monopoly the Administration exercises in the banana export industry. In a Government plant for the manufacturing of spirit from bananas, the cocoa juice obtained on European cocoa plantations during the fermentation of the cocoa, could also be utilised, thus procuring additional revenue to the cocoa planters, who are at the present time struggling hard for existence owing to the low prices.