THE SIMPLE LIFE MATERIALISED.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12851, 9 July 1907, Page 8

THE SIMPLE LIFE MATERIALISED.

CHATHAM ISLANDS CONDITION'S

PERPETUAL YOUTH AND CIVIC

IRRESPONSIBILITY

An old resident of the Chatham Islands, in the person of -Mr ( . Wishart, who i* at present paying a holiday to Christchurch (his last sojourn here was seventeen years ago), con Jessed to a repicseiitative of this journal yesterday that uinong other novel experiences, he had had the pleasure of looking upon electric lights and electric trams lor the first time. He had become so acciistouud to the peace! ul uneventluiiiess ot his island home, however, that, alter a tew weeKs of contact Willi th© (,< ompurative) bustle and turmoil ol .Now lie Has quite.lookmg forward to returning to th© placid calm 01 his old li.iuins. '1 he pu-.ictit coiiciilion ol this Chathams, Mr Wishart said, was decidedly prosperous. Wool, lor which only -id per lb was previou.-ly obtained, was now averaging lLcl. ami that, to a community depending almost entirely upon the success ot the pastoral industry, meant a great deal, 'ihe returns tn/m live stock latterly had not been .-o good, owing to the dry spoil in Canterbury. Usually some Mi.OOO store cattle were sent over each year, hut last season. Tor the reason .stated, only 10,000 were shipped. "'lhe population," the speaker pursued, "is not so large as it was twenty years ago; noil's tliere quite as much 'labour employed. Some of the larger estates are being lumped together, and the natives are now refusing to part with the freehold. It must not be overlooked, however, that much of the land on the island is poor, and can only be made to pay in large blocks. There is a fringe ot bush land all round the island of firstclass quality, which will carry two or three sheep to the acre. Further inland, the chief characteristics are ferny downs with swampy gullies, und sometimes it would take fully ten acres ol such land to carry one sheep. The. big runs are nt the eastern end of the island, while at the opposite extremity settlement is spreading slowly but surely. Practically the whole of the land belongs to the natives. That of first-class quality is worth £5 an acre, and for pastoral purposes is as good as any in New Zealand. The second-class land varies in quality and price, and some of it is not worth a shilling an acre. The leases aro for 21 years, and come through tho Native Land Court. Vexatious delays occur in this process, however, and I myself have a lease that has been under way for three years, and is not settled yet. Ifi some places 5000 acres may be leased for £12 per annum, and in others 100 acres cannot be got for less than £20 rental. " In the winter timo we have a twomonthlv steamer service from New Zealand ; but from January to April the boat runs weekly. Tlio waters of the island are teeming with fish, and their suitability for trawling is to be tasted by the Nora Nivon. Labour is none too plentiful at present, station hand-.; Wing most in demand. The wages for theso average £1 a week and found for an eight hour day's work. Head ploughmen and shepherds get £1 os Men engaging from New Zealand come for n year, but usually remain with us for 6even or eight:—tho life seems- to suit them. "Potato-growing is a fairly large industry with us, but the crops't-ufferod disastrously last season from ravages *of tho Irish blight. It is difficult to understand how the disease was introduced. Upon its first appearance in Now Zealand several years ago, a penalty of £50 wns prescribed as a moans of preventing the importation of tubers into tho Chathams from Now Zealand, nnd some seasons ago a lot of sacks which looked as though they hud contained potatoes were not allowed to come any further than tho wharf. But in spito of all our precautions, the blight made its appearance, and caused great mischief. The Only way I can account for it is by tho theory that the dry spores were lifted into the air in New Zealand and carried across tho eea to us by northwest gales. Nearly every year, when bush ' burns'' are taking place in the North Island, the smoko reaches the Chathams, and thero appeals no reason why the germs of the potato blight should not bo conveyed in a similar manner. It is also a fact that while skylarks are the only birds we imported, yet wo havo sparrows, goldfinches, yellow hammers, blackbird-, thrushes and starlings, all from New

Zealand. Probably these have been blown off tho coast, ancl finally fetched up at tho Chathams, 500 miles away. "Yos, ours is a little country that Is free from rates and taxes. You see we have no representation in Parliament, and have no political luxuries to pay for. In spite of that we rub along very comfortably. Our affairs are managed by a Wharf Committee and a Stock Committee, which have recently been amalgamated. The former body looks after the collection of dues, and keeps the wharf in repair, while the Stock Committee regulate the shipment of stock and prevents the large sheep owners from monopolising the shipping space. The Island is divided into seven districts, each having representation in tho joint committee. There aro no metalled roads on the Chathams, and the only fenced thoroughfare is in the vicinity of W'aitangi, extending six miles in one direction and four in another. The people living along the rood keep it in as good repair as they can. We received a Government subsidy of £50 up till last year, and tho settlers themselves contributed voluntarily more than that amount, th© total sum being distributed according to the needs of the different localities. We hove an excellent school, with a roll number of CO and a good attendance of European and Maori children. The natives own sheep, grow potatoes for their own requirements, and seeing that the sea abounds with splendid blue cod, the lake with flounders and ©els. and.the beaches with pipis, they could scarcely starve, even if they tried to. Tiie natives, both Maoris and Morions, work on the stations or do fencing and bush-falling, but only work intermittently, ancl when they have earneci enough to keep them going, they take a sj>ell. The pure Maori nnd Moriori are disappearing fast as separate peoples; but there are numerous halfcastes, nearly all of whom have large families. The ancient Moriori race is represented by only two families, constituting a fusion of Moriori, Maori, •nd European blood.'' "Th© simple lif© agrees with us immensely over there.'' Mr Wishart continue.!, "and people old in ycar< but young in bodily vigour and spirit are to be met with on every haul. .Mr Eng-t, who was sent out as a missionary from Berlin more than fifty years ago, and is over ninety years of age, is still among our community, hale aud hearty. The last time I saw him he wns sawing logs at the domestic woodpilo. Mr Murphy, an old Army pensioner, is 8-J years of age. r__nd just before I left h© was out in his paddock digging potatoes with all the ardour and enthusiasm of a stripling. Mr Rayner, who is postmaster, clerk of tho Court. Collector of Custotys, Registrar of Births. Deaths and Marriages, etc., i.s 78 years old, and has been 40 years in the Chathams. A few weeks ago he took a riding tour round the Island—a distance of .-ixty miles. Tho climate is ;i particularly healthy one, and we live a great deal of our time outdoors. That is the cause of jt, I suppose. There is very

little eickness and absolutely no poverty. How could there be when Nature supplies fsod so auttnd-antiy ? Now that th© natives are living in a more sanitary state there is less consumption amoitgst them. We work neaMyall the year round. \\ c have a r-ice meeting" (quite a family picnic party attain during Christmas week, and 1 .tie matches vii New 1 ear's Day and -r-ui-pire- Day. Tliere are two hotels in W'aitangi, the Licensing Coiiimitt-.-e----consisting of Dr. Gioson, S.M., ancl two J.P.'s. But we have no local option poll, and none of the fierce excitements attendant upon a Parliamentary election. Mail clay is the occasion for a gathc ring of the clans at W aitangi. Many residents take the Chri-tcliurcli daily" and weekly papeis. _ For iiiv-im, when my bundle of dailies arrive- 1 look at the latest -one to see what lias happened, and then put it at the bottom of the bunch, reading downwards from the furthest back dr.te to t):e most recent is-ue. Our people nitnrally are great readers, and v.c have a very fine library of between 4000 nnd 5000 volumes. We have a pretty Anglican- Church (the only one), services being conducted by lay-readers, wi; 1 the except ion <;f one month in the year, when the IU-v. J. cio B. G.ihvey,' ot Belfast, comes over. Yes, it is a sim; b lif_.\ but it grows upon one. until one finds it almost impossmie to entertain th© idea oi settling down in a more closely populated country. New Zealand is all very well for a holiday, but "