FIJI NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14004, 9 March 1909, Page 7

FIJI NEWS.

• ' * ■ : /■ '' - [FROM our own correspondent.] A; t , • Suva, February 23. The past three or four months have been r.-mU the most trying we have had for years past. When is not raining, the sun comes out .with an intensity that puts Bourke and Broken Hill in the shade, although our highest temperatures rarely exceed 94dec;. ■ or 96deg. At times the glas6 has been rather low, 29.75 being the reading on a ■ high-set barometer ; but the frequent thunderstorms seem to put thing's right. ■' ]p| The prospects for sheen-raising here are such that Mr. J. Tyler, of Wai-ni-Voce, . Tavua, brought down from Sydney, by the \ Suva recently, 593 sheep, without losing • one on the voyage. Mr. Tyler is a lucky man, as in a previous shipment of 600 only one animal died. The latest lot include vl; Hampshire rams from Gibson's famous Tae- ' ■ manian flocks, purebred ewes, purebred Komney Marsh ewes and rams, and a lot of crossbreds, to be used with the Lincoln, f rams, for the local market. The main ■ ' object is to find out which .of the , three breeds proves most suitable for this coun- ; ■. ' try, and for fattening purposes. Fine reports come in from Tavua of the condition y ; of the stock there. • The Suva Rifle Club has just closed an- " other very satisfactory year, all things considered. The members have fired in 12 . competitions, keeping their end up well, and some of the younger members bid failto become capital shots. The club/H membership now numbers 48. The country ■ clubs' " shoots" indicate a keenness find enthusiasm that is most praiseworthy. The .'. v ; new long lange at Waimanu, just outside v . Suva, where the May meeting (Fiji's Bis- " ,Ti ley) is held, is described as being one of the ' finest south of the line. '* A.Maxim gun •'<% and signalling squad lias now been started at the Suva Drill Hall by Sergeant-Major : Crompton. . . The C.S.R. Co. are seeking further areas .-J for the cultivation of cane, and current • ; talk has it that £25,000 was refused for a cattle station on the Ra coast, which the company wished to acquire. j ' The value of molasses is at last being recognised. Last year the great part of this by-product from the Lautoka Sugar Mill was allowed to run waste into the sea. To stop this the C.S.R. Co. are now , S/?J having a. steamer built in England, with tanks for carrying the sweet and sticky , stuff, and the product will be loaded into , i the vessel from tanks near the wharf, where it will be pumped from the mill. The tank now being built {steel on concrete) will hold 1000 tons 'of molasses. . A 60,000 gallon tank is already erected at the mill. . Our Masonic friends at Lautoka have been granted a charter for a lodge there. A good deal of interest is ; being, evinced in the matter, and a lodge-room has already " been : secured. , ": This month, by way ;of a change, pro- 1 £ mises to be unusually wet, the record , for the past four months - already . being . beaten. To-day,, at nine a.m., the total fall for February stood at 7.924 in, and since then we have had some heavy show- "> ; v ers, and have every prospect of more. The overland mail has been delayed by flooded rivers, and the Rewa River has been in flood for three days past. ;■ At Nadurulou-, lou, the rise was 21ft, at Nausori (the site ' x of the C.S.R. mill) 15ft, while at Bau- ~ - 1 ? 1

levu, further up stream, the rise was 28ft. And _ yet with all this, . news from the Ba province. and Windward ;' districts comes *} to the effect that rain is badly ! wanted.' It will go to show the s extremely small " limits to which the ' abundant rainfall is confined. * - , On Monday morning, Bth:inst., Mr. Alport Barker, the popular editor and proprietor of the Western Pacific Herald, ' was married to Miss Evelyn May Turner, '7 eldest daughter of Mr. J. B. Turner, late member of the Legislative Council, and _ : / one ,of ; our wealthiest property-owners. The - ceremony took place 1 at the ' R.C. Cathedral, • the Rev. Father ■ Nicholas officiating. The bride, who Was ; charmingly -'? attired, was given away by her. father, herssister; Missr r ;Miss Jessie Turner,'"-being the bridesmaid. ■ Mr. T. W.i Cutbush acted as ' best man: • . 1 1 Messrs. Powell Bros., of Lami plantation, ■ just across . the harbour from Suva,/have achieved a success in distilling oil • from ' M the lemon grass growing wild in many parts of Fiji. • The product has been pronounced good by Australian; purchasers, and >, the ; price is good also. Another valuable, product, bay oil,, has also been successfully exported by the Messrs. ; Powell, this .be- , ing derived from the pimento tree. Very satisfactory reports .come \to hand V of ; the progress of the sisal hemp tplanted at the Lautoka experimental farm. ' ' ■ ' Our Education Commission,' about which many people have written .to the papers as to its constitution, has;; held its first 7! meeting. * After a little formal work the : ; : Bishop of Polynesia,' the Very Rev. Father Nicholas, and the Rev, A. J. Small were - appointed a committee to draw up a list of subjects on which witnesses are to be questioned at further sittings of . the Commission.".;. Ir'l 1 , r • We are all agreeably surprised at the success of Fiji's little show at the Franco-Bri- .• tish Exhibition, in London. Here is our honour list —Grand prize, 1; diplomas of honour, 6; ; gold medals, 3; silver medals, ~ ||lS 18; bronze medals, 6; honourable mention, ■ 7: total, 41. The exhibits, ' which com- Y&jji prize all our industries and products; go . ■:[ to form a permanent exhibit at the Em- • . perial Institute, and 1500 copies of Ihe little handbook on Fiji were distributed. - Our cotton took the highest award, grand - prize, and the ramie fibre is described as : being very highly approved, the "get-up" receiving! special commendation. - A silver medal : was awarded • Mr. Treaty's yaqon*. Our show of copper ore attracted considerable attention, but probable speculators wanted more information as to the 1 origin, ; ; ' cost of working, nature of ' country, § «tc.v-v-^S^s -i . .. -tf 1 .'V -"• ■• ■ 1 ■ :v;.r^s-iV'-v.vS'a