24

A.-4.

I.—The Islands generally: Mr. Sterndale.

would think that, if no other consideration would influence Her Majesty's Government to move in the matter, the question of the security of the lives and the property of British subjects located in the Friendly Isles (and the number and amount are very considerable) ought to sufficiently demonstrate the necessity of intervention, before it be too late, to arrest the progress of events which the whole civilized world cannot fail to deplore. The firm of Godeffroy, in Tonga as elsewhere, confine their attention chiefly to the trade in dried cocoanut (or kobra, as it is called there, though it has other names in different groups, such as popo and takataka). They will purchase oil if it comes in their way; but tkey prefer the dried nut, upon which the profits are greater, for the reason thai they can buy it at a cheaper rate, and when transported to Europe (Hamburg and Bremen being the principal markets), where crushed in hydraulic presses of enormous power, they obtain from it a quality of oil altogether different from that which can be manufactured in the Pacific Islands by any primitive or inexpensive method, being clear, colourless, and free from any rancid taste or smell; in addition to which the residue of the substance of the nut, after crushing, is sold to great advantage as food for cattle, in a form similar to that of the linseed cake which has been for many years in so great demand. , Among the other products successfully cultivated in the Friendly Isles, the most notable are coffee—of which there are several extensive plantations—cotton, arrowroot, and tapioca. Among the indigenous products, one most worthy of attention is the Tuitui, or candle-nut, which grows wild all over the group. It contains a great deal of a valuable oil, which is well appreciated in the English markeo. It is fine and clear, and burns with a bright flame. No use is made of it by the natives, except to polish woodwork or to burn in lamps. It is used also as candles, the kernels, which are about the size of those of a walnut, being strung upon a thin slip of wood and burned like a torch. The croton-oil plant is also indigenous, but has not been utilized in any way, excepting for fences. There are some deposits of pearl shell in the Friendly Isles, but the shells are commonly small. Pearls of fine quality but not of large size are often obtainable at a very cheap rate. Hawksbill turtle-shell, or " tortoise-shell," as the traders persist in calling it, is not so plentiful in Tonga as in Fiji. Green turtle is, however, very abundant. It is a mistake to suppose this shell of no value, as at the present time the manufacturers of Europe readily buy all manner of shell no matter how thin or broken up it may be, for the reason that they have a process of melting it down into sheets, and afterwards cutting it into all sorts of articles of use and ornament by machinery. Fungus of the kind called Taringa More is obtained in Tonga, and is usually purchased by traders at 10 cents per lb. for transport to China. Beche-de-mer-gathermg is an old-established industry everywhere in this latitude. There are three kinds—the red, the black, and the grey ; the last is of the best quality. They are well cured, but not usually sorted or separated by the natives, who sell them to the traders at a rate per barrel corresponding to five cents per lb. The market value of this article in China has lately fluctuated between £60 and £100 per ton. Sperm whales are common at certain seasons in the Friendly Group ; indeed, of late years, a pestilence has been caused several times by the natives feeding to excess upon their carcases. Among the vegetable products of the Friendly Isles, a very remarkable one is the Masi, or Tappa tree, from the bark of which the native clothing is made. It is propagated by cuttings grown 2 feet or 3 feet apart in plantations. It is'allowed to grow from 10 to 15 feet high, when it is about the thickness of a gun-barrel. It is very possible that it might be successfully cultivated for the manufacture of paper. It is probable that the bark of a species of banian very common in the islands, and of which coarse cloth is made, would prove profitable for this purpose, to which, however, the bleached leaves of the screw-palm (Pandanus) seem better adapted than any material with which lam acquainted. In these islands are several valuable kinds of indigenous fibres. To say nothing of Kaa, or cocoanut sinnet, there is that of the Yaka, which is very strong, so much so that the best fishing-nets are made of it; also Mati, or Boaa as it is called in some places, as likewise that of a species of Hibiscus, which grows wild in great quantity. It is called Kalakalau, and is used for the making of fringes and petticoats. The fibre is white, of a silvery lustre, and very str'ong. But one of the most beautiful of raw materials to be met with in the Pacific, and of which it is surprising that no advantageous use has as yet been made, is the long fibre obtained from the stalks of the Puraka plant, a gigantic species of Arum, of which the leaves are as much as 6 feet long by 4 feet in width, and the root sometimes as large as a five-gallon keg. From this fibre some beautiful fabrics are made : a sample of it was many years ago sent to London by a missionary of the Hervey group, and there it was made into a bonnet and presented to the Queen. An endeavour was made at one time to introduce it into the market, but it seems now to be neglected or forgotten. In the Friendly Islands, as well as in the neighbouring groups, are found great quantities of the Ti, called by the Europeans the Dragon-tree. The root, when cooked, contains a most extraordinary quantity of saccharine matter: indeed, it seems as though it had been boiled in syrup. Bum is distilled from it in the Friendly Islands, as well as from sugarcane, of which there is great abundance. As to vegetable products, whatever can be said concerning the Friendly Isles applies to Fiji, with this difference, that those of Fiji are more varied, from the more extended area and greater altitude of the latter group creating a diversity of temperature. There are to be found, in great profusion, all those trees and plants of which I have made mention, as likewise many others equally valuable and marketable, wild and indigenous, such as many valuable dye-woods, with ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon. There is also a nutmeg, but not that of commerce, though the true nutmeg exists on Samoa. Ciikewise upon the Fijis are extensive forests of valuable timber trees, such as are not found in Tonga. Copper and other minerals are also spoken of as existing there, n the interior of Viti Levu, but of this I have no personal knowledge.