FIJI AS IT IS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6814, 19 September 1883, Page 6

FIJI AS IT IS.

[BY OtJB SPECIAL REPORTER,] For many years past I have watched with a cansiderable degree of interest the. progress which is being made by the Fiji Group, especially since that period when,, eight years ago, it became a Crown colony, aiid often bad I wished that an opportunity might occur which would permit of my pay' ing a visit to this portion of Her Majesty's dominion. Moreover, I had an impression that the commercial relationship at present existing between New Zealand—especially Auckland —and the group was capable of very material enlargement and improvement, and also that very much of the trade of the Islands which ought to be done by Auckland merchants was at present being diverted to Sydney or elsewhere.

Fiji has until very recently been analmost unknown country to ua in New Zealand, beyond the fact tliat there was a. group of islands bearing that name lying somewhere up in the tropical regions, said, to be intensely hot, subject to fevers and all sorts, of malarious diseases, growing nothing: but yams and coooanuts, a country not fit to bs inhabited by Europeans. Pew indeed were aware that there was lying within four days' sail of our shore a country capable of supplying many of our wants; a country only awaiting the introduction of English capital, with a certain amount of skilled labour, in order to open up vast fields for commercial enterprise and profit. Lately, however, a spirit of inquiry has got abroad with reference to the Fijis, arid, owing in a great measure to the enterprise shown by the Union Steamship Company, in inaugurating some eighteen mouths ago a monthly service between Auckland and; these islands, a much closer intercourse has been opened up, more accurate information concerning the group has been obtained, and there seems to be a disposition, now amongst our merchants to foster and improve opportunities of trading with the : Islands which have hitherto been neglected. It was in order-to remove a* far as possible inaccuracies in regard to the Islands and its trade, which the colonistß of New Zealand have been possessed of, also to gather some information in reference to the various industries of the colony, and then, if possible, to ascertain the opinions of the people of Fiji as regards the question of the federation of all the British dependencies in the South Pacific, that the proprietors of the New Zealand Herald despatched me fur a tour through the group. It was therefore with no small degree of ; pleasure and interest that I found myself on the evenirg of the 27th of June pacing the deck of the Union Steamship Company's good ship Penguin as she steamed down the Auckland harbour and rounded the North Head bound for Suva, Levuka,. and other parts of the group. I was now, all being well, in a few days to have an: opportunity of seeing with iny Own eyes, the place where tiie sugar-pane grew, how it was crushed and the sugar extracted, the beautiful cocoanut palm tree, the coffee plantations, the inland which had produced the finest cotton in the world, cotton which had been awarded the highest awards of merit at alf the exhibitions held during tho last ten or fifteen year.". Our passenger list comprised "all sorts and conditions of men." Some, resident planters who were returning to the Islands after a visit to the colonies on business or pleasure, a3 the case might be. Others were people representing business houses in New Zealaud, going down to spy out the land. Others, again, were ladies and gentlemen from different parts of New Zealand, who purposed taking the round trip on pleasure bent, whilst another section were going down with the intention of throwing in their lot with the people of Fiji, and seeking to secure a home and a fortune in this new country.

After a vexatious delay of nearly twentyfour hours spent in coaling at the Bay of Islands, we got fairly on our way at four a.m. on the 29th, and after au exceedingly pleasant, though uneventful, passage of four aud a half days we entered the Bay of Suva, and after a little time spent in undergoing a Government medical inspection we moored alongside the wharf at eloven a.m. on the 3rd of July.

I do not intend in this paper to give a very long description of the Islands themselves. It will be sufficient for our purpose, here to state that the group numbers some 255 islands, 80 of which are inhabited by natives and 10 or 12 of them by Europeans. The area of the entire group ib, in round numbers, some 7400 square, mjles, or 4,736,000 acres. Owing probably to the small scale of the maps on which Fiji is usually represented, most people are under very erroneous impressions as to the aggregate size of the group; but when it is borne in mind that there is there an area of land equal to one-sixth of the size of the North Island of New. Zealand, some idea, may be formed of tho extent of land available for cultivation. The idea must not be run away with either, that because the area of the group is split up into so many seemingly infinitesimal parts that the value of the group, is thereby diminished in proportion, for it must ever be borne in mind that all of the islands, no matter of how small dimensions they may be, are capable of producing some article of export. It is a noticeable fact, as we sail along, that all the little islands, no matter how small they may be, are covered with cocoanut palms, from which one of the most important articles of export, viz t cobra, is produced.

VITI LEVU. Viri Levu, the most extensive island of tho group, contains over 4000 square miles of country. The largest river in the group t viz., the Rewa, is also in thia island, and empties itself on the south-east coast. It is navigable for uroall sized steamers for a, distance of 25 mile 3 up. Here, on this River, it is that the principal sugar and other industries are beini* carried on at present. On this island also, some 12 miles to the westward of the mouth of the. Rewa river, ia Suva Bay, where the seat of Government ie at present situated. The Bay itself is large and commodious, easily entered, and well protected by Good anchorage for vessels of the largest deucription being, easily obtained in moderately deep water. The Nelson was lying in the harbeur as we went in. Further to the westward of Suva Bay the Navua River,, the second largest in the group, empties itself into the sea. On this river there are also many large plantations, and several mills are being, erected for the purpose of manufacturing sugar. From its size, the fertility of much of its soil, the fact that it has the largest rivers in the colony, Viti Levu is by far the most important island of the group, but whether these were the reasons which induced the authorities to remove the seat of Government from Levuka to Suva I am unablo to say. Suva itself as a town has sprung into existence during the last twelve or eighteen months, and contains now a white population of some 400 or 500. The town derives its importance entirely from the fact of ite being the seat of Government. There are shops and places of business here that for size and appearattpe would dp credit to any town in New Zealand, and almost anything required by an ordinary individual can here be purchased at reasonable prices. A newspaper, the Suva Times, is issued biweekly. Business appeared to be brisk, and building active. Carpenters are earning good wages, 16s to 18s a day, but board and lodgings at the hotels, which are the only places available, are proportionately high. Two large doublo-storied buildings, situated on i rising ground in the middle of the town, slightly back from the main street, are the Government offices, from which are issued those dreadful " ordinances" which are the terror of the white population of the Fijian group. To the eastward of the town, on a hill overlooking the bay, ia situated Government House, a building of plain exterior, but i>o doubt suitable to the requirements of. its official occupant. The streets of Suva are narrow—miserably narrow (33 feet), where, being a tropical climate, they should have been extra wide. How such a blunder as that could have been made I cannot imagine. Municipal matters are managed by a Warden and a certain number of councillors elected jy the citizens, who derive their revenue from a rate of Is in the JE, which they are empowered to levy; another 6d in the £ ia also levied to support the.school recently established in the town, and at which there are now some 80 children attending. The system of education adopted is not I exactly free, a nominal, charge, being made, but it is at the same time both secular and compulsory. A substantial wharf, built by the Government, is of sufficient length to enable vessels of considerable tonnage to lie alongside at any state of the .tide. VANUA LEVrj. Vanna Levu, the second largest island in the group, lies eome 40 to 50 milea to the

north-eart of Viti Leyu, and. Ie but Very ■little less in area than the latter island, con-, taining as ill doge some 2432 square iriilesoi territory. As most of this island is still in the handy, 6f the natives, and has riot received that, amount Of attention, from the., Europeans that others, of. the islands have,'it is not so well known as many other places in the group. We did not visit it during our trip, avid were only able to see it at a distance, as we lay at anchor at Vnna Point, at Taviuni. I was given to understand, however, that the land on this island is as. fertile as those parts the quality of which 1 was able to: judge from my own observation.

OVALAU. An island of considerable importance, not 3o much on account of its size,, as it is but 4.2 miles square, nor for its fertility, as it is mostly composed of rocky mountains, rising as high as 220.0 feet above the.sea, biife oa account of its central and' conse, quently. dlegible po.sitien for trading purposes. Being so well situated and possessing an excellent harbour at Levuka, boats both native, and European from all parts of the constantly coming and going, and shipping of the mosquito claee is for ever active, whilst larger vessels bring timber from Kew Zealand and San Francisco, returning with cargoes of cobra, collected from the various islands by the small boats. The scenery o f ..Oyalsu is very beautiful and varied, mountiins covered with wood to the very summit, rise in almost perpendicular cliffs from the sea, and are split up again by narrow gorges openipg out into Other valleys almost without number. Levuka, situated On the eastern side of the island, is a straggling town, composed ofOne street about a mile long facing the harbour, In this street are all the business people, shops, stores, banks, and Offices. These occupy nearly the \vhale of the available level land. 'The dwellinghouses are perched up on the rocky mountain sides immediately behind the town, and are approached by steep winding paths, or steps cut but of the rocks, compared to which "Jacob's Ladder " is as nothing. I was told that some of the fair inhabitants of these elevated spots never think of "going down town " lest they should not be able fco get back home again, and as elevators are not yet in the consequeuces might bej serious. The place, however, is said to be Very healthy, the most so of any in the group, being high and dry, at the same time.:open to the fresh air from the sea. At present the town is suffering aomewhat from the effects of the recent removal of the seat of Government to Suva, but there can be little doubt that it will soon recover its position again, and ever remain the chief commercial town in the gtoup, and what is how considered by some as almostthe deathblow to the place; will eventually prove to be, as it has been the case in Auckland, the very best thing that could have happened to it. There are at present some 500 or 600 Europeans living in Levuka, and about 2000 natives on the island. A good school, founded oa the same principles and sup? ported in a similar way to the one at Suva, is established in the town. The Church of England have a resident minister here (the Rev. Mr. Floyd), Whilst the Wesleyan, or the established Church of the colony, have as their representative the Rev. Mr, Webb. The Catholics also have a rhisaion on (the island.

MANGO. The next of the group that we visited is a small islaud, of about ten square miles in extent, situated away to the windward over 100 miles east from Ovalau. The sail is extremely fertile, nnd well cultivated. It belongs to the Mango Island Company, who are now preparing, by the expenditure of a large amount of capital, to: manufacture sugar on an extensive scale. A mill, capable of turn--1 ing out ten toss a day, is being erected, tramways are being laid down all over the island, wharfs built, whilst the plantations of cane, coffee, cotton, and cocoanuts by which the island is covered, all tend to add to the charm and beauty of the place. It Was this island that, produced the cotton that obtained the highest awards at the International Exhibitions of Paris and Philadelphia. After wandering about the island for a tew hours, admiring the beauty of the place, and inspecting all that was going on, we returned on board ship and immediately sailed for Taviuna, which was the last and only other island we called at. TAVIUNA. Taviuna is an island of considerable extent, having, an area of over 200 square miles. It is composed of a high range of mountains, rising to an elevation of 3000 feet, and is of a purely volcanic nature. Tho soil on the leeward side of the island, where most of the settlements are situated,, is very rich, and resembles that found round the craters about Auckland. Large areas ef land here aro de-' voted to the cultivation of the sugar cane, and several mills are now in operation.

THE CLIMATE OP FIJI. The climate of the Islands, situated as they are, between 17 and 20 degrees S latitude is decidedly tropical, but at the same time said to be exceedingly healthy. As far as the appearance of the grown-up residents on the group is concerned, this statement may be borne out by facts; but I must confess to a feeling of pity at seeing so many of the children looking sickly and delicate, thin and small in size.—such a contrast to the stout and robust appearance of most Of our New Zealand, youngsters, ! especially in the country districts. From | questions, however, put to those who have lived for many years in the group, the general health of the white residents is very good. People have told me that after a , year or two's residence in the Islands, and becoming acclimatised a little, they would as soon live in the Fijis as any other British colony. I must confess that, coming from New Zealand;, one finds the weather rather warm, even at this season of the y ear, and I could not help but think that warm as we found it during the time of our visit, it must be rather unpleasantly so during the summer months of January and February. The temperature of the group ranges 'from a maximum of 92 degrees to a minimum of 62,. or a mean of about 78 degrees. The rainfall in the islands is considerable during the year, ranging from CO to as high as 250 inches on some of the islands, but averaging about 120 inches throughout the group. One has ample evidence too in the mass of luxuriant growth to be seen everywhere that the country is subject to heavy and frequent falls of rain. The result is that the land being in many places of a very rich quality, and a hot sun succeeding thege falls of raiu, vegetationis very rapid, and the growth ofeverything. luxuriant. We had a specimen of a Fiji rain whilst we i lay at anchor off the island of TaviuOa where, for the space of over an hour, it came down aa it only ean do in a tropical climate. Care will, however, have to be taken lest by the constant catting down of timber which is going on, the rainfall be not considerably lessened, which would be Very disastrous in a country where a constant supply of rain is required not only for agricultural purposes, but also for the domestic requirements of the iohabitants, as on some of the smaller islands, where no streams, are found, the natives are entirely dependent upon the rain for water supply. The Government are, I understand, and very wisely too, taking measures to prevent the wholesale destruction of the timber at present growing on many of the more hilly islands. [To. be Continued.]