THE NEW HEBRIDES

Grey River Argus, Volume 57, Issue 10520, 23 January 1903, Page 3

THE NEW HEBRIDES

+ (PKR PRESS A8SOOIAriO».) (bi electeio telegraph -copyiuoth.) Sydney, Jan 21. Pator, who is visiting Sydney, speaks kopefully of the mission work in the N»w Hebrides. He says that since the appointment of the Anglo-French i commission much of the fricti«u that formerly existed has been swept? away and the dispute is now settled. Tht authority comnaands* respect and spreads conßdence. The change means a large commercial gain to th w islaads.Jtraders, and settlers. However, ■we strongly favor British annexation, Mtdkopa that ifc may still be brought

«bout. He considers that now settlers have good prospeots for the fu'ure, and with pa 'ience should do w. 11. The great evil was the trading in firearms, which was carried to a lamentable degre* auaongst ih>» natives. Just before he left, the captain o a French schooner, while landing >he body of «n islander who died aboard, was ehot dead and two of the crew badly wtunded. Some parts «f the Islands were suffering s*ver«ly from drought. A settler at Epia gives an account of kidnapping three of his native boys byaa armed party of Frenchmen. The boys had torun away from theFreneh settlers owing t«» ill -us ge. He a leges that th© French allowed a c .nipany t© sell natives for a term uf yeais, and gives instances where they weiv whipped and treated like slaves. Ho appeals to the authorities through the press to set tiio enslaved boy 3at liberty.