COOK ISLANDS

Feilding Star, Volume 8, Issue 2450, 20 June 1931, Page 8

COOK ISLANDS

PAST YEAR’S ACTIVITIES TRADE POSITION BAD SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRESS (I’ei Press Association.) Wellington, Juno ip. The trading- activities and administrative work of the ook Islands for the year ended March 31 were outlined in a review b> the Xlmister for the Cook islands, Sir Apirana Ngtata. He said the year had been a bad one from tlie point of view of exports, although progress had been mad 0 in the work of the social services. The most gratifying feature of the report is the natural increase in the native population, which ha-' boon steadily improving for years past, but which during the year under review reached the very high rate of 14.73 per 1000—almost double the increase pc thousand in Nov Zealand over the same period. Fcr some years it has been the policy oi tlie Government to pay special attention to the health of the na-

tives. Medical and nursing cate, 'supervision of sanitation and othe measures, have resulted in practice freedom from epidemics, and in th maintenance cf a highly satisfactory fctaudird of health.