Whale Oil

Will Huge Production Decline ?

Faith In Copra’S

Future

AN optimistic view of the future of the copra industry was expressed to The Pacific Islands Monthly by a well-known South Seas merchant, who recently returned from London.

“The world certainly has a tremend ous over-supply of oils which compete with coconut oil,” he said. “I am credibly informed that the whaling in dustry will produce no less than 600,000 tons of whale oil out of Antarctic waters this year. To my mind, it is whale oil more than anything else that has so deeply disturbed the copra mar ket.

“But this tremendous development of the whaling industry is defeating itself. The League of Nations now has become seriously alarmed at the pros pect of the extermination of whales; and certain measures have been agreed upon. Whales which may be captured are to be restricted to a certain size.

“I am not going into all the details, but I may say that the opinion is held in England that the production of whale oil will come back to normal limits within four years.

“Personally, after lengthy enquiry. I am satisfied that the future of the copra industry is perfectly safe. It will remain under a cloud for a while, owing to a combination of circum stances, and we shall all have to be patient. But it will recover, all right.

Of that, I am convinced.”

Father J. Horsch, who is attached to the Alexishafen Mission, Mandated Territory of New Guinea, has left the Territory for the first time in 21 years.

After a brief stay in Sydney, he is proceeding to Germany on a year’s furlough.

Captain A. A. Austin, a well-known master mariner, who was at one time in charge of the Fiji Government yacht, Ranadi, died recently in the Sol omon Islands. He retired from the sea about 15 years ago and took up plant ing interests in the Solomons Group.