Samoan News Budget.

From Our Own Correspondent.

Death Of Old Chinese

Settler.

APIA, March 31.

THE death occurred on February 29 of one of the few remaining old, free Chinese settlers of Samoa, Mr.

To Ah Soon, in his 53rd year.

Ah Soon was a well-known identity on Apia Beach, the most successful and affluent Chinese merchant in town.

He came to Samoa as a mess-steward on the German cruiser “Comoran” in 1897, started as a carpenter and later started a Chinese and general store.

Being intelligent and enterprising, he succeeded quickly to make his store the leading Chinese store of Apia. He also owned a large banana plantation.

The store will be conducted by his two sons, who were educated in China and who returned home a few months ago.

Mau Women Hold Monster

Meeting.

To prove to the world and to the Samoan Administration that the Man is not dead and still “going strong,” women partisans of the Man move ment have just held a monster meeting at Leulumoega, on the west coast of Upolu. It is estimated that at least 2,000 women in their blue “uniforms” participated in this review of Mau ad herents. They were conveyed to and from the meeting place by numerous motor ’buses.

N.Z. Market Glutted With

Bananas.

According to Auckland papers, the banana market was glutted with ban anas during February and first-grade ripe bananas sold as low as 8/- per case. As Samoan bananas cost some thing like 15/- to deliver to New Zea land, the February shipment by the "Maui Pomare” will probably show a heavy loss.

The heavy winds experienced during the second week of March have occa sioned serious damage to the banana plantations. The “Maui Pomare” took about 7,000 cases on her last trip, leav ing on March 10, but it is possible that, owing to the damage sustained, the next shipment may be smaller.

Complimentary Dinner To

Business Man.

An unique honour has been conferred on Mr. R. H. Brown, the popular local manager of Messrs. Burns, Philp (S.S.) Co., Ltd., by some of the cocoa planters of Samoa, clients of the firm. On the occasion of Mr. Brown’s departure by last “Tofua” on an extended holiday, the planters gave him a complimentary dinner in token of the esteem and ap preciation of Mr. Brown’s fairness and sympathetic attitude in all his past business dealings with the planters.

Quite a few complimentary speeches were by those present and it was speci ally pointed out that this was the first occasion on which such an honour has been paid to a business man in Samoa.

In former years, the cocoa planters have sent their produce on consign ment to America or European agents.

This practice, however, has been given up, as the planters have suffered heavy losses through unreliable or unsatis factory business connections. At pre sent the bulk of the cocoa production of Samoa is sold straight out to local business firms and the producers have found this to be far more satis factory.

Escape Of Prisoners.

Two Samoan prisoners, Osea and Simaile, when working in a prison gang at the European cemetery, man aged to make their “get-away” and escaped. Both men are serving long prison sentences for serious offences and much apprehension is felt by the population, as the police have not suc ceeded so far in apprehending the escaped men,

Mail Communications.

On March 14 the Quarantine on Pago Pago was lifted and mail com munication with American Samoa re established. From May on, however, the existing three-weekly mail steamer service with the Pacific Coast of Am erica and Australia via New Zealand will be changed into a four-weekly service. As the “Tofua” will soon be replaced by a cargo boat (the “Wai pahi”), our mail connections will suf fer in consequence.

Mr. P. H. Edmunds, of Tahiti, is in Sydney this month, on his way to Eng land. He will spend the better part of a year in England before returning to his home in Tahiti. He considers the prospects of this French territory are excellent.