FIJI, OR VITI ISLANDS.

Colonist, Volume VIII, Issue 803, 7 July 1865, Page 3

FIJI, OR VITI ISLANDS.

(From lite Wvlli.'.ilon A<ln>rlker.)

[XV A ItRCR^'T VISITOR.]

Before going into the Jfijiau metliod of trading I will dispose of the general character of the islands. They are at present only very partial!}' developed, owing, as I have said, in a great measure, to the many unfavorable reports which have been published about them. Why they should have been so disparaged I am at a loss to conceive, for a more luxurious place in which to live the imagination could hardly picture, and a more genial and beaulii'ul ciimale is scarcely to be found through the known world. It was nearly the height of summer when I arrived there, and though the islands are in high latitudes, the lowest being 1730 S., the thermometer never ranged higher thati 95 ° for nine months out of the twelve; rains are seldom, yet drought is a thing unknown, during that period what vegetation there is being watered by dews. The natives, though idle, are infinitely more industrious than either the Savnoan or Tongua natives ; they work only to supply individual wants ; if a man wants some calico, a knife, or an axe, he will engage to work for you bo long

■ If 7", , -.;•'""i'""..:r.i J' JJl''.'J J-[•*•"•*.'","".'',rl-.''lT':'''l'.. Jll!l±— a time until he lias possessed himself of the article he requires; that done, he leaves you, though in. the midst of cotton picking or any other work which, you may have set him to do, which, of course, is very trying and annoying to the employer, but he has to endure it patiently, that is, if he is dependent upon native labor. Mr. Burt told me that he would rather employ men from cannibal tribes, not only because they can bo obtained cheaper than the lotu natives, but they work more willingly and are less independent. I think the missionaries are somewhat to blame in not having, at the same time that they were disseminating religion, tried to inculcate habits of industry amongst them. I say this, knowinghow respectful the natives are to the missionaries, and how willing they are to obey any command issued 6y them. The Eev. J. Culvert has been living with them nearly thirty years. His introduction was, of course, fraught with obstacles and dangers ; twice, I believe, he has been condemned to be eaten, but each time saved through the j intervention of a great chief whose ire they feared to invoke. He (Mr. Calvert) has now reached the acme of respect amongst the natives, and most deservedly, for though imperilled in various ways he has, nothing daunted, " worked the way of Him that sent him," fearlessly and nobly. He was about leaving Eiji for England this month, hearty and full of years, with his health unimpaired. To Mrs. Calverb the women of Eiji will ever be grateful, she having been ever ready to go far and near to help them when disease or other ills overtook* them. To Mr. Calvert is ascribed the honor of translating the Bible into the Fijian language, _ a gigantic task, and one which occupied him over six years. The other missionaries, though of later advent, have labored with equal earnestness, and in their several stations have nearly completed the work set before them. At Kautavu, the most southern island, there is a native training college, where are sent the young men chosen from the mass of converts for the purpose of educating them for the native ministry. During my stay at Kautavu I was the guest of Mr. Nettleton, the principal. On several occasions I went with him to the college to witness the system used, which is the same as that employed in like institutions at home. The intelligence and aptitude of the students (I must call them so) amazed me. These students are told off every Saturday for duty, going in their canoes in the afternoon to the townships to hold services on the Sunday. I have now detailed all that 1 think worth narrating, except the manner of trading, &c.

The Fiji trade is at present a monopoly, Sydney alone considering the islands worthy of attention. Auckland tried; but whether tie traders could not compete with the Sydney men, or whether the risk was too great, I know not. Anyhow, they have withdrawn from the trade. • At present the method of trading is—as in the early days of New Zealand—barter. The principal articles brought by traders to exchange are calico, spirits, knives, axes, large iron pots, gunpowder, guns, and other small wares. I will not speak of the articles employed in bartering, for most of them do not deserve a comment. The liquors sent there are the most inferior possible to obtain. No cus-tom-house officer to board you, and fix his inviolable seal, nor collector to demand his dues ; you negotiate the sale, that effected, you land your goods, get the money (if selling to Europeans they produce lucre ; if to natives whatever they have to offer) ; and there is an end. The three largest traders are Capt. Eobertson of the barque Eosumah; Capt. Lyon3 of the barque Ocean; and Capt\ Browning, the latter originally from Auckland, being the first man to attempt a trade with the South Sea Islands from New Zealand. These gentlemen bring a full cargo of the things I have enumerated, and sail round the groups, bartering at each island where the natives produce anything worth their notice. That these trading expeditions are profitable I am convinced, for I have seen such an amount of produce given for a <: fathom of cloth" (always a fathom, a yard not being enough to go round their waist), that it would realise an immense profit on the first cost of the calico. Not only calico bears such great profits, but everything else, when trading with the natives. The produce they offer you is chiefly cocoa-nut oil and cotton, tortoiseshell, fibre, and bechs cle la mer, which at one time was by far the best thing to take in exchange, being much neglected, each of these requiring time and labor (which the Eijian much considers) to collect. Beclie de la oner, or sea-snail, was either taken to China or Japan, where the people made soup of it, and considered it a great dainty. It is found clinging to the coral reefs; when at low water the natives collect it, dry it in a shed, and then smoke it. Great care is required in the preservation, otherwise it very soon goes bad. The falling off of this snail trade is attributable to its being procured from islands nearer to the places where it is chiefly consumed. Tortoiseshell has of late depreciated much in value, and though still dealt in profitably, is very little sought after. Fibre, once made by the natives largely, is now a thing of the past. In the British Consulate is kept an annual export return, which Captain Jones very kindly allowed me to look over ; in 1862, the exports were valued at £13,080; in 1863, a £13,070, having decreased £10 during thos years, the three articles mentioned abov c being little dealt in. Being gathered extensively in 18G-1, the exports rose to over £27,000, more than double either of the past years; this doubling of the return was consequent on the amount of cotton grown. If the plantations continue to increase, and of which there is no doubt, in two years a direct communication will be opened between those islands and England, who will, from what the Consul told me, afford every encouragement and protection to enterprise.