TRADE WITH THE ISLANDS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 276, 10 August 1918, Page 8

TRADE WITH THE ISLANDS

IMPORTANT TO DOMINION. . An officer Of one of the 'Departments at present being.administered by tho Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. G. W. Russell), who recently visited tho Tongah. Group, lias made a brief report, ou the trade of New Zealand with those islands; and yesterday the Minister communicated tho matter to the Press. Mr. Russell said that for sonic time past ho had been carefully studying the trade relations between- New Zealand and tho islands of .the Pacific. From president of Fiji, now an officer of the New Zealand Forces, he had learned something about the decay of the trade * between those islands and New Zealand. This officer regarded tho .development of this trade, both now and after tho war, as of the utmost importance to this conntry, for tho reneon that it would provide a market near at hand., Fiji, being accessible to tho'ports of the Dominion, ehould certainly receive large supplies of butter and cheese and other prcducte which were required by the largo nativo and Indian population there. Ho considered that the matter was of such importance that ii ehould bo carefully watched by tho Dominion Government, The other statement ran as follows:— Some interesting particulars have been received from an officer of the Government service who is at present engaged in work in the Tongan Group regarding facilities for trading with this Dominion. The official states that most of tho trade with tho Tongan Group is being diverted to Sydney and the United States, while before tho war Germany held a strong position as competitor for tho raw products of the Islands. He adds: "But for the wnr I am convinced they would have completely ousted the British competition, and America -jyould have taken second place. Englivnd, Australia, and New Zealand would have taken the crumbs only." He reports that there is a very pronounced feeling in the Tongan Group that for eome inexplicable reason New Zealand is deliberately neglectful of them. Tho resident British and tho natives desire (o trade with the-Dominion, but nothing is apparently done by Now Zealand to provide ):he requisite facilities. Only a moderate amount of tinned foods are imported from New Zealand, while Sydney houses, whoso travellers visii tho Islands regularly, are doing a roaring trade. In this connection it- is mentioned that one Sydney traveller in Nukualofa took orders totalling hundreds of pounds daily. The storekeepers are all prosperous, and many, are very wealths' men. A well-knowu shipping and trad' ins company, realising the vivlue of tho Island trade, is opening branches in nil tho Island groups, and is buying all the copra availablo for shipment to America. At tho timo tho official wrote an American four-masted schooner was loading nearly 1000 tons of copra for San Francisco. The price paid to the natives for tho copra in its green state is about .C 7 per ton, and when dry it reaches a valuo of .£lB 103. per ton fob. The Germans foresaw tho enormous valuo of tho Island trade, and took advantage of. it. With their accustomed thoroughness, they, were even exporting largo quantities of kava root to Germany, it having been found to contain valuable medicinal and tonic properties.