Mixed Races

Chinese in Tahiti

From Our Own Correspondent

Papeete, July 20.

THE ten-yearly census of French Oceania was taken on June 30, and it will be exceedingly inter esting to learn just what changes have taken place in the population during the past decade. The great epidemic of 1918 took a heavy toll of the nat ives, and since that date the Chinese element has obviously increased very considerably. Of late years, also, num bers of Chinese women have entered the islands, and their prolific offspring, now growing up, will later on be French citizens.

Marriages between Chinese and Nat ives are surprisingly few, and tempor ary alliances are by no means as com mon as generally supposed. Chinese half-castes are almost negligible num erically; but such as have come under my observation display qualities of in

dustry and thrift entirely lacking in the average native. Some of the half caste Chinese girls are remarkably at tractive.

On the other hand, the European and the Polynesian appear to find a mutual attraction and mingle freely together, so that there is now a com paratively large and increasing ele ment in the population of Tahiti of mixed parentage, but with varying degrees of European and native blood.

As a class, these people are attract ive, handsome and ambitious. They fill subordinate Government positions, and engage in commerce and other Island activities within the limits of their opportunities. In Tahiti, at any rate, the pure native, without a dash of European blood, is probably now in the minority.

The value of imports into Papua for 1929-30 was £373,918, an increase of £12,647 over the previous year. The exports showed an almost equal de crease, being £324,775, as compared with £337,365.