AN ARRIVAL FROM FIJI.

Otago Witness, Issue 1652, 21 July 1883, Page 19

AN ARRIVAL FROM FIJI.

Auckland. July 18. | The Penguin arrived from Fiji last night, and half an hour after she was moored to the wharf there was scarcely a passenger to be seen on her deck. Whilst she was coming up the harbour the following telegram, dated "Wellington, July 17, 8.35 p.m.," was being flashed along the wires to the local health-officer (Dr Philson) :— "Fiji declared an infected place. — (Signed) G. S. Cooper." This telegram reached the hands of Dr Philson at about 10 o'clock. In the meantime the Penguin had reached the wharf, and when Dr Philson hurried down there he found the vessel alongside. Captain Cromarty assured the doctor that he was in ignorance of the fact that Fiji had been declared an infected place by the New Zealand Government. All the passengers had by this time gone away ; and as he could not see how the matter was to be remedied, Dr Philson ordered the mails to be fumigated before being sent ashore, and then agreed to give Captain Cromarty a clean bill of health, Captain Cromarty assuring Dr Philson that there was no sickness at Levuka, his last port of departure, on the 13th, but that cholera, smallpox, and measles were prevalent in Suva, which port he left on the 4th. The Herald blames the Government for their delay in issuing the notice, when it was known a week ago that the other Colonies had declared Fiji to be infected.

The following from the Suva Times of June 23 explains the action of the authorities of Sydney and Melbourne in declaring Fijian ports to be infected places: — "The ship Poonah arrived on Monday last from Calcutta with 495 souls on board, exclusive of the captain, officers, and crew. There had been 26 deaths from the time of her departure until her arrival, the majority being from cholera. Five cases of smallpox were reported, but no deaths occurred from that disease. The engineer also died from cholera. The vessel is quarantined, and the present proposal of the Government is that she shall proceed to Mekalaw, there discharge her passengers and stores, and leave the Colony without having obtained pratique. There will be a difficulty in placing the rcen under proper authority and in exercising due vigilance over the cargo, which will also have to bb landed. A fresh outbreak has been reported since the arrival of the vessel, and the Government have issued posters printed in the Fijian language notifying the natives that the infected coolie immigrants have been placed in quarantine on the island of Mekalaw, and warning them not to approach it nor fish on the reef near it under the usual penalties,"