A LONELY SPOT

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 152, 29 June 1914, Page 9

A LONELY SPOT

CONDITIONS ON NIUE POPULATION PROBLEM INDUSTRY IN DIFFICULTIES. (BT TELEGRAPH.) (PROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.) j AUCKLAND, 28th June. Eight or ten times a year a vessel calls at the lonely island of Niue, which, j covered with vegetation from coral reef to summit, and peopled by a happy race i ( of Samoan Maori stock, lies 600 miles west of tho Cook Islands, and 230 east of Tonga. The ketch Kereru, from Auckland, visits Niue half a dozen times a year, and occasionally a trading vessel, far out of the usual track, drops a tentative anchor into the beautifui Alofi Bay, but qmte frequently Niue does not hear from the outside world for months at a time. Last year, for instance, for five months Niue knew nothing of what was happening in tho world, or whether it was still a portion of the British Empire. There are nearly five thousand people in Niue, and the plants, which flourish so amazingly among the dead coral — there is scarcely a square yard of soil clear of coral in all Niue'& hundred square miles — produce bananas which, for size and quality, cannot bo beaten by any islan^ in the Pacific. But the infrequent shipping service means that this fruit is useless for purposes of export. That was one of the island's grievances placed before the Hon. Dr. Pomave, Minister in Charge of the Islands Department, when he arrived at Niue in the 'New Zealand Government steamer Tutanekai on 14th June, on a two days' visit, and the Minister could only point out in reply that the trade of the island was small, and that the impossibility of obtaining coal threw a big difficulty in tho way of regular visits to tha island by steamers. WORK OF ADMINISTRATION. The work of the Administration in Niue appeared to have been in a very satisfactory condition, and the community declared itself to be an entirely happy and contested one. The natives coming forward > with innumerable presents for the visitors proved themselves to bo a most generous people, and their expressions of loyalty to the British Administration and to the British Crown left no doubt of their sincerity. The public works of the Island seemed to have been undertaken wisely and efficiently. The various public buildings were neat structures, designed with a view to usefulness and economy. Mm-h work had been done in the construction of roads, and one highway, just completed, gave easy access to the interior and eastern side of the Island. The rough, jagged surface of the dead coral makes transportation practically impossible without the construction of good roads. ' The ground is so porous that the people have to depend upon the frequent showers for their water, and in the old days, when the showers failed them, they either went to the green coconuts or to the deeper of, the caves, which abound everywhere, in which they found supplies of brackish water. The Administration ha 6 simplified the water problem considerably by building large concrete tanks for holding rainwater at most of the many villages. MANUFACTURE OF NIUE HATS. A Niuean industry, which has experienced many nps and downs, is that of hat-making. The Islanders plait the pandanus leal very skilfully, and there is always a market for the liate which they make. The work is done by the women in their own homes, and the ; r hats are sold to the traders at so much per dozen, but in recent years, owing to the markets being flooded by a cheap machine-made Java hat — which for appearance and durability cannot be compared with the Niuean article — the export fell off considerably. Tho following figures show the position :— Number Exported. Year Dozen 1910 5716 1911 ... ... , 4782 1912 : 1416 ihe figures for 1913 are not available, but it is understood that they show that the trade is making a satisfactory recovery. The trader receives about' 10s per dozen for his hats and the native about 9s per dozen. The natives show a strong disinclination to plait hats for the prices now offered, and in, spite of the present indications that trade is brightening again there is little doubt that, unless the Niuean hats are protected in the New Zealand markets from the competition of shoddy machine-made articles, the industry will perish and plaiting become a lost art in Niue. An attempt was made to produce Panama hats in Niue. A trader imported Panama straw and put it into the hands of the more skilful natives, but they who could make very fine hats from pandanus leaf could do nothing with a material to which they were not accustomed, and the experiment, although it looked as if it would be certain of success, "was a failure. HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE. Excellent work of a. far-reaching character is now being done on the island by Dr. Dawson, the resident medical otficer, who has also a good record of service among the Cook Islands natives. A comparison between the censuses of1906 and ,1911 show that the population of Niue is about stationary, and the doctor is attacking tho influences which, bring about this undesirable condition of affairs. 11l a comparison between the stationary or decreasing populations of the Cook Islands and of Niue, one finds the same causes operating — heavy infant mortality counteracting a high birthrate, European clothing and unventilated European houses propagating tuberculosis among the adult population, and the irregular habits of the people assisting to spread venereal disease, the general effect of which is very bad. There is less tuberculosis in Niue than .in Rarotonga, probably because the people have not adopted the English dress and the English, house to the same extent, and there is less syphilis, hut yaws, the disease peculiar to tho Pacific islands, is distressingly common. The people on the whole aro cleanly, but piobably owing to the difficulty of obtaining sufficient fresh water to wash in a great proportion of the population is affected by loathsome skin diseases and by a revolting complaint wliich attacks the eyes. "If I had proper facilities," said the doctor to a prassman, "I could, I believe, rid this isolated community of venereal disease in a year or two. I would simply take the sufferers one by one, or company by company, and place them apart in a compound oi something of tho sort, and make injections of salvarsan, which has the same effect on 1 yaw» as on syphilis. This is such un isolated community that, by watching each individual caso in this way. one could do much to completely eradicate this class of disease. To lake the action I suggest, however, one would have I to possess sufficient authority to enable him to forcibly detain a. native if necessary, and compel him to undergo medical treatment." ADVICE BY THE MINISTER, lii tho course of an address to the. priucifaJ native*,, tfee Sea. Uxj Poinajst

referred to a few matters affecting the future administration of the island. "I want to see all the land individualised and clothed with a title," said the Minister, "and when that individualisation takes place I want you to see that every man in Niue has a piece of land for his own." Speaking of the laws and the administration of justice, Dr. Pomare said that he thought the best thing to do would be to make the Resident Commissioner the Magistrate for the island, and abandon the present system of employing native Magistrates. On the death of Togiia, the present "king," it was intended to appoint the Resident Commissioner President of the Island Council. "At the present time," the Minister proceeded, "New Zealand contribute* £1400 to £1500 per annum out of its public revenue towards public works on this island, and I want the people to consider whether it would not be a good thing if each village became responsible for the upkeep of the roads in its vicinity, and have the work done by the villagers. This would release money that is now being spent on the roads, *nd it would become available for expenditure on school buildings, a hospital, and other needed works."