SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS

Gisborne Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5538, 21 July 1920, Page 6

SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS

DOMINION’S TRADE IN FIJI, ■ TONGA, SAMOA AND COOK ' ISLANDS.

AUSTRALIAN AND AMERICAN TRADERS HAVE ALREADY STRONG FOOTING.

SAMOA MUST STILL HAVE IMPORTED LABOR.

WELLINGTON, July 20.

The report of the commission comprising Mr George Elliott (chairman) and Messrs. William R. Pearson ana Thomas Wilson, appointed hy tile Government to inquire into the conditions of trade between New Zealand and Fiji, Tonga, Western Samoa and the Cook Islands and the best means of promoting and encouraging increase therein, was presented in the House to-day.

Dealing first with Fiji, it was pointed out that practically the whole of the exports comprise sugar, copra i and green fruits of a total value for J 1919 of £1,173.545. whereof New Zealand took £882,574. New Zealand takes three-quarters of Fiji’s sugar export and one-third of her bananas. New Zealand is vitally interested in the Fiji sugar industry. The Colo- > nial Sugar Company is able to buy raw sugar cheaply there and New Zealand imposes no duty, consequ-; ently the people in New Zealand are able to purchase sugar cheaper than the people of any other country in ! the world. The evidence disclosed the position of sugar-cane growing as unsatisfactory, as much land, owned by the Sugar Company and leased bv the planters, had been given up, while other land, especially on the Rewa river, had been withdrawn from sugar-cane cultivation. The reasons given are:—(l) ■ shortage of labor ; (2) smallness of prices obtainable for cane; (3 the unsatisfactory working conditions of the Indian contract labor system which was - abolished in 1916. Arrangements are now being made to induce free Indian labor to come to the. colony. About sixty thousand Indians are now in Fiji, many owning land and being prosperous. Fiji could, however, gradually give lucrative employment to many times this number. Eight tons of cane are required to make one ton of sugar and the price of cane-producing is eleven per cent, of sugar or fifteen shillings per ton, with a rise of fifteen pence for each point below. It was freely stated that if the price were fixed at twenty shillings per ton with a rise and fall of Is 3d above or below eleven per cent., many planters would again grow cane and the output of raw sugar would increase con- ' siderably. The cost of the raw ma- ; terial would thus he about £9 per ton of sugar. The committee thinks, however, that if the price wore advanced to 17s 6cl per ton for eleven ’ per cent, cane with a rise and fall of Is 3d large areas would be brought back into sugar-cane cultivation. It is important for consumers in New Zealand that the output of, Fiji sugar-cane should be increased. In 1916 Fiji exported 120,000 tons of raw sugar; last year the quantity) had fallen to 64,347t0n5, and the es-1 timate for this year was 60,000 tons, j

MORE ENCOURAGEMENT I SHOULD BE GIVEN PLANTERS, j

New Zealand depends on Fiji for sugar and Fiji depends on the cane, cultivation for her existence. There*! fere both countries are seriously af- j footed by anything that militates j against the maintenance and expan-j sion of the sugar industry. Planters: are dissatisfied with the conditions ! under which they work, the price of cane being fixed by the company for ’ only one year, apparently as the’ company lias only a yearly contract ] with the New Zealand Government. | The planters therefore cannot know; what they are likely to receive for! the cane they intend to grow on the ! land in prejiaration and are dishenrt- j cned. Arrangements should be made with the planters for periods of at least three years. Copra valued at £469,893 was exported in 1918— nearly all to America. It is suggest cd that Fiji should put a higher export duty on this article sent- outside the Empire if it is to he preserved for British industry. Fiji’s total ■ trade last year was valued at £2,- j 931,376. the imports being £1,060',314 and the exports £1,871,062. New! Zealand sold to Fiji in that year • goods valued at £151,662-ancl bought from Fiji goods valued at £882,-574 (most of the latter was raw sugar). I bus New Zealand last vear purchas-; ed nearly half of Fiji’s exports, but supplied only about one-seventh of Fiji’s imports. ■'* Australia, on the other hand, sold to Fiji goods valued at £530,974 (one-half her total imports) and bought from Fiji goods worth only £110,444 (about oneseventeenth of the total exports). The reasons for this state, of affairs arc that Australian merchants eater for tropical reqirements and push trade more vigorously than New Zealanders and according to the evidence are satisfied with smaller profits. Australia sends to Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa six commercial travellers to every one from New Zealand. In the, matter of cotton goods New Zealand’s share of the Fijian business should he at least enual to Australia’s., Freights from Britain to New Zealand are no greater than to Sydney and harbor charges in New Zealand are less. The distance from Auckland to Fiji is shorter bv onethird and the freight slightly cheaper. CHANCE OF RTOGER TRADE WITH TONGA. i

Regarding Tonga the commission considers that direct shipning facilities would materially benefit both inward and outward trade. In 1912 ISew Zealand .supplied goods valued at £82,826, or more tiiaii half the kingdom’s requirements. Last year the position was: Australia £77,739, .New Zealand £68.526. America £12,991, England £10,635. Fiji £6,044. The Americans advertise goods freely 111 Tonga, Australia following the example. Aew Zealand advertisements are few and far between, and unless At'w Zealand merchants he up and doing the Demin ion’s trade will falT still further back: The stoppage of the fortnightly ‘ £ horse-slioe” shipping service( Auckland to the Islands to Sydney and Sydney to the Islands to Auckland) sounded the death-knell °f the Tongan fruit trade. The islanders want this service, reinstated now the war is over and are confident that if this is done the fruit trade will soon he restored. The commission points out. however, that this service would not materially hen-, efit Non- Zealand business. At present New Zealand has a direct service to Tonga while Australian goods are transhipped at Suva. Consequently freights from Australia are higher than from New Zealand. Tongan officials claim that the opening of a branch of one of the New Zealand banks would benefit trade and that the alteration, of the Awanui wireless station so as to work direct with Nukualofa instead of via Fiji would also assist in stimulating business. More satisfactory tariff arrangements with the Tongan Government for goods wholly or partially manufactured in New Zealand might help to develop the fruit trade. Though the natives’ individual wants are small the trade volume is not inconsiderable and is well worth cultivating; Cotton goods are needed and ornaments are popular. There is a growing demand for Hour, sugar, biscuits,‘tinned and salted meats and fish, also for* frozen meat from Nt;w , Zealand. The Dominion practically holds the moiionoV of 4-uned nieat trade, though some lias been imported. from other countries 'when there has been ,a shortage in • New Zealand. There is no- reason why

trade in the following Now Zealandmade goods should not he increased : plain and fancy soaps, stationery, (loots, shoes, wrapping paper, cement, timber, paints, confectionery, leather goods and knitting wool. Australia has a larger share of the soft goods trade, but New Zealand merchants, with the advantage of a direct shipping service, should he able to recapture the''business. PROSPECTS IN SAMOA.

As to Samoa the commission deals with the labor question and the improvement of shipping arrangements. The greatest care should be exercised in the selection of medical officers inso far as concerns the preservation of young life, for, according to the rise or fall of the. native population trade will he affected. On September 30, 1918, the population of Western Samoa was 38,302, having grown by 5487 in sixteen years. The influenza epidemic at the end of 1918 carried off 8000. With doctors conversant with tropical diseases the native population should he able to show an increase in future years. In addition to the Samoans there were 1166 indentured laborers and 1660 whites and half-castes. Touching on lands held by the D.H. and P.G.. the commission discounts the suggestion that they. should be subdivided for disposal to returned soldiers. The cost of the land would be heavy and without provision for imported labor soldiers would inevitably face loss and disappointment. With equal expenditure a soldier would with less exertion have a much better chance of making ends meet in New Zealand where the climatic and other conditions are infinitely better. Plantations can be more cheaply managed in large areas and, though it be less trouble to sell them as soon as possible to the highest bidder, the commission suggest the advisableness of the New Zealand Government bolding and developing them for a few years. The commission emphasises the importance of teaching agricultural subjects in State schools and recommends the formation of a tropical section of; the New Zealand Administration. Agricultural experts in Samoa should see to the strict enforcement of the regulation in regard to keeping all plantations clean and free from weeds. It "s essential that the time in Samoa should ho made to coincide with that, of New Zealand. The figures of imports into Samoa show New Zealand lagging generally a long way behind Australia and the United States. Witnesses stated with the exception of two houses New Zealand firms did not seem to desire Samoan trade. The Australians gave a larger range of selection and prices were easier and firms more anxious fof business. The commission adds: There was a time when the Island trade was risky, but almost without exception every Samoan trader now is in a sound financial position. The direction of a cold storage plant would assist trade in beef and mutton from New Zealand. N.Z. MERCHANTS MUST HUSTLE.

One witness emphasised the necessity of New Zealand merchants paying more attention to the manner of making out invoices and giving better consideration to the kind of merchandise required. If this is not done the trade will remain with Australia and America. An opportunity was presented of capturing the biggest share of a very profitable trade, but, so far. nothing has been done. Merchants must he i oused to a sense of opportunities they are allowing to pass. The commission’s comment on this statement is a strong accusation of the lack of business method on the part of New Zealand merchants. Cotton goods, ready-made white suits and hardware of ail kinds are among the goods readily marketable. The labor problem, however, overshadows tlie whole question of Samoan trade 'and development. The repatriation of “contract” labor has led to. a decreased production in rubber, cocoa and coconut plantations. Samoan labor would be better than Chinese if the Samoan would work, but he will not as an employee. The commission finds the reports concerning intercourse between Chinese and Samoan women much exaggerated. Regulations might be made stricter and repatriation of Chinese enforced at the end of three years. This would obviate any possibility of the deterioration of the native race through the Chinese mixing with them. Tljd commission says—“ With judicious selection of imported labor, strict regulations regarding' matters sexual, with improved living accommodation and increased payments to meet the higher cost of living, with the opportunity afforded for wives to accompany their husbands, we think imported labor would' he in the best interests of the natives themselves. When, if ever, Samoa has increased her native population, when the Samoans learn the science of agriculture and acquire the habit oi work, then the importation of labor may happily l>e dispensed with. l lie Commission finds that the failure or the shipping service has driven the copra trade into American hands and trade generally is detrimentally affected. The remedy'is that the Government should arrange for a direct service to Samoa or itself purchase suitable ships for the trade. LIOUOR SHOULD BE BANNED IN COOK GROUP. The Cook Islands commission makes recommendations similar to those for Samoa in the matter of the need for a better shipping service to the Cook Group, the enforcement ol regulations regarding keeping plantations clean, teaching agricultural subjects in schools and the establishment of a tropical branch of the Agricultural Department. JAere, again New Zealand traders are exhorted to study the requirements of the group and do all possible to leplace American trade in piece goods, drapery, drugs and hardware by goods of Now Zealand manufacture The sale of intoxicating 1 inner should he prohibited on Nieue Island and a better schooner service is urgently required for Nieue. The expOi lOf copra should be made ft State monopoly and an increased duty put on copra shipped to foreign -countries'*. The sale of liquor should be stopped and Nieueans prohibited from engag-. ing in contract labor on other islands.—Press Assn. I