Papuan Notes

All Industry Quiet —Experiments with Castor Seeds and Tobacco—Distress Among Natives

From Our Own Correspondent

Port Moresby, Sept. 8.

INDUSTRIAL affairs in Papua are stagnant. Rubber at 2½d. lb., even with the assistance of the Australian preferential duty and percentage of exchange, hardly justifies plantations in continuing operations, and copra at £11/2/6 is in almost as bad a position.

Desiccated coconut is up against saturation in the Australian market, and we have no other industries of any magnitude.

Loudon’s Eilogo Coffee estate is in creasing its shipments to Sydney and local sales are well maintained.

Preparatory work is going ahead in connection with a small tobacco plan tation and a small castor oil proposi tion, near Port Moresby. It is eloquent of the depressed condition of agricul ture in Papua that two such small concerns should attract the attention that they do.

We hear little of the Sangara Sugar Co.’s progress towards flotation. Local sympathy is strongly with the com pany on account of its local character and the scrupulous honesty of the pros pectus, and it is sincerely hoped that it will go ahead and prosper.

Cotton’S Flutter

The London price for cotton (3½d. per lb.) recalls the time, some years ago, when the high price offering in duced a fever of cotton planting in Papua. Dozens of small syndicates took up land in suitable and unsuit able positions, apparently without

much regard to the nature of the soil, drainage, rainfall, or the peculiar re quirements of the crop. Many estab lished plantations devoted a portion of their area to it or interplanted it with rubber or coconuts. A very few bales were shipped and the industry died out as quickly as it was born.

Devastating Drought

Coupled with the drought, which is very severe, exceptionally heavy winds have caused a good deal of distress among the natives of the central divi sion. Gardens are devastated and many villages are reduced to almost starvation point.

The Government is making the ut most of the opportunity to instil into the native mind the advantage of self help and initiative. Relief is not being given indiscriminately, but natives are being -mablea, by means of loans for trading purposes and similar measures to retrieve through other channels what they have lost in their gardens. This has been always the policy of the pre sent Administration, and an instance will show its efficacy.

The Hanuabada people have been suffering, not only in common with all central division natives from the effects of drought and strong winds, but also from the decrease in lucrative employ ment in Port Moresby. A short time ago they approched the Government, through their village council, with a request for a loan to finance a trading expedition to the west. The loan was granted from the Native Taxation Trust Fund, and a few weeks later was repaid with 16 per cent, interest voluntarily added.

Shipping

The Mataram arrived in Port Mor esby on September 3 with few passen gers and little cargo. On her previous trip south, in August, she shipped: 1,099 cases desiccated coconut 1,356 packages rubber. 27 bags coffee. 34 packages sandalwood. 12 bags shell.

The Le Maire, the K.P.M. steamer, arrived from Rabaul, on August 12, and left for Java ports on the same day, loading from here only 13 tons of copra. However, the Alynbank had taken the main stock in July (7,237 bags) for European ports, under the agency of Messrs. Burns, Philp and Co.

Recent visitors to the New Hebrides, from Sydney, were Messrs. C. J. Sulli van, F. Frow, G. Herr and Eisen.