AN ISLAND DEPENDENCY

New Zealand Herald, 29 June 1914, Page 9

AN ISLAND DEPENDENCY

Pl CONDITIONS IN NIUE. § TOBI£M 4 of population. fi- >' INDUSTRY IN DIFFICULTIES.

host or ten times a year, a vessel calls at the lonely island of Nine, which, covered with vegetation from coral reef to summit, and peopled by a happy race of Samoan-M&ori stock, lies 600 miles northwest of the Cook Islands, and 230 east pi Tonga. The ketch Kerern, from Auckland, visits Nine half a dozen times a year, and occasionally a trading vessel, izr oat of the usual track, drops a tenStive anchor into the beautiful Alofi Bay, but quite frequently Niuo dees not hear from the outside world for months at a time. Last year, for instance, for five months. Niue knew nothing of what was happening in the world, or whether it Wfie stili a portion of the British Empire. There 'are nearly five thousand people on Nine, and the plants which flourish so amazingly among tie dead coral—there is scarcely a square yard of soil clear of coral in all Nine's hundred square miles -—produce bananas, which for size and quality cannot be beaten by any island in the Paciiio. Bui the infrequent shipping service means that this fruit is useless for purposes of export. That was one of the island grievances placed before the Hon. Dr. Pomare, Minister in Charge of the Mauds Department, when he arrived at Niuo in the New Zealand Government steamer Tutanekai on June 14, on 3 two days visit» and tho Minister could oa'y point out, in reply, that tho trade of the island was small, and that the impossibility of obtaining cool throw a big difficulty in the way of regular visits to tho island by steamers. Work of Administration.

The worK of Administration in Nine appeared to havo been in even' way satisfactory, and the community declared itself to be an entirely happy and contented one. The natives, coming forward with innumerable presents for the visitors, proved themselves to bo a most generous people; and their expressions of loyalty to tha Administration and to the British .Crown left no doubt of their sincerity. The public works of the island seemed to have been undertaken wisely and efficiently. The various public buildings frere neat structures, designed with a view to usefulness and economy. Much work had been done in tho construction of roads, and one highway just completed gave easy access to the interior and eastern side of the island. The rough, jagged surface of tho dead coral makes transportation practically impossible .without the construction of good roads. The ground is so porous that the people have to depend upon the frequent showers for their water; and in the old days, when tho showers failed them, they either went to the green cocoanute or to the deeper of the caves which abound everywhere and in which they found supplies 'of brackish water. Tho" Administration has simplified the water problem considerably by building largo concrete tanks for holding rainwater at most of tho many villages Manufacture of Nine Eats.

|fe A Ninean industry which haa esperi||S enced many upu and downs is that of hat- |||: snaking. The islanders plait the pendanus |lp. loaf wry skilfully and there is always ip' a market for the hats which they make. 11l The work is done by the women in their fe* own homes', and the hat? are sold to the o'i trader? at so much per dozen, bat in |! recent years, owing to the markets being :V; flooded by a cheap, machine-made Java p| hat, which for appearance and durability II cannot' be compared with the Ninean ffi article, the export fell off considerably. pE-; The following figures show the position: |||'. —1910, 571m0z exported; 1911, 4782d0z W exported; 1912. 1416d0z exported. The figures for 1913 axe not available, mi but it is understood that they show that Ills* the trade is making a satisfactory recovery, Wis. Tia trader receives about 10s per dozen Si?; for his Cits, and the native' about 9s lift per dozen. The natives ehow'a strong PH? disinclination to plait hats for the prices now offered, and, in spite of the present piK indications that it is brightening again, WSt there ia little doubt that unless the WC Siuean bats are protected in the New Zealand markets from the competition _o{ fe" efaoddy, mocbine-mado articles, tho ins 4 dostiy will perish, and plaiting bccomo pi}- & lost ait in Nine. pi? M attempt was made to produce P.-jma hats in Niue. A trader imported fefi J Panama straw, and put it into the hands If;:; of the more skilful natives. But they, lift who could make very fine hats from : pijsdajus leaf, could do nothing with a material to which they were not fetcastomed, and the experiment, although IgjgHit looked as if it' would bo certain cf IiKCEH, was a failure. ' . MMs The Health of the People'. fej. ; Mi Excellent work of' a far-reaching character is now being done on this island tj§§ fcv Dr. Dawson, the resident medical c&ccr, who has also a good record of livrP service arm-mg the Cook . Islands natives, v.- A comparison between th« censuses of 1306 and 1911 shows that the population of Niue is about stationary, and the pV -1 doctor is attacking the influences which |t|f» bring about this undesirable condition of sflaill. In a comparison between the f-iJUi stationary or decreasing populations of tie Cook Islands and of Niue, one finds &;tie game causes operating —heavy infant li&sf mortality counteracting a high birthjr';" sate, Buxoiiean clothing and nnventilated European nouses propagating tuberculosis te? ; Soon? tht adult population, <and the lit" irregular habits of the people assisting to H'J: spread venereal disease, the general effect of which is very bad. There is less '■$£ tuberculosis in Niue than in Rarotongfl^-

££■ -probably because the people have not Hist adopted the English dress and the EngsC- lifih bouse to the same extent—and there Svi.,.is less syphilis; but yaws, the diseaso §|: peculiar to the Pacific islands. is djs|y| tsasingly common. R?f "If J had proper facilities," said the !§§?'' doctor to a pressman, " I could, I bqlieve, rid fh'« isolated community of venereal disease in a year or two. I would simply §£?; take the cofferers, one by one, or company by company, and place them apart fee in a compound, or something of the sort, cud make injections of salvarsan, which foi has the same effect on yaws as on $?•§ syphilis. This is such an isolated com py'- munity that, by watching each individual 0} case, in this way one could do much SfS'ito completely eradicate this clans of dis' J'S ease. To take the action I suggest, .bow--s§ilf ever, one would have to possess sufficient authority to enable him to forcibly de- ® feia a native if necessary and compel , %®}&n to undergo medical treatment. Ifc Advice by the Minister. sr. '

, In the course of an address to the S principal natives, the Hon. Dr. Pomare P? referred to a few matters affecting the fc V future Administration of the island. " 1 'want to see all the land individualised and clothed with a title," paid the MmSfej* aster, " and when that individualisatjon ffp: takes place I want' to see that every roan !gj||ia- Niue has a piece of land of his own." pr-Speaking of the laws and-the adminis--0;-' traiion of justice, Dr. Pomaro B*ud that fesr ihe thought the best thing to do would Mir be to make the Resident Commissioner fe' the magistrate for the island, and abandon fertile present system of employing native gig Magistrates. On the death _of Togiia,0£l& present " king," it was intended to it appoint tho Resident Commissioner presi- ||| dent of the Island Council. Spa" At the present time," tho Minister proceeded, ''New Zealand contributes K»1400 to £1500 per annum out of its : public ftisnue towards public works on this • island, and I want the people to ,/ coaader whether it would not; be a good : • rfiing'if. each village became ~ responsible for the upkeep of tho roads' in its ||f*ii3nity ' and have the work done by the SlitSllgttf. ; This , would release money that pl^s'ww.' being spent on the roads, and it ■!&§<. weald'! become > available : for expenditure '%- r on school f buildings, a hospital, and other jpj seeded vwkfc"