MANDATED NEW GUINEA.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18129, 19 July 1924, Page 13

MANDATED NEW GUINEA.

REPORT ON ADMINISTRATION. (bt oabus— pbbss association—cojtright.) (australian and h.x. cablz. association.; MELBOURNE, July 18. The report to the League of Nations on the administration of the, mandated territory of New Guinea, tabled in the House of Representatives, states that the total value of imports during the year was £516,455, an increase of £37,744 over the previous year. The value of exports was £630,892. The revenue from taxation amounted to £152,380, compared with £135,785 the previous year. The number of natives recruited during the year was 13,379, an increase of 2208. Eabaul district was divided into subdistricts, each containing up to 3000 inhabitants. These were periodically medically examined. There had been a striking improvement in general health. Three Bchools were established by the Administration. The difficulty was to find a common language. At the Kokoro School there were 11 pupils from different districts, whose tribal languages were totally distinct from one another. There was nothing to indicate that slavery, in the generally accepted meaning of the term, existed anywhere in the territory. There was no known manufacture of intoxicants by natives.