"Intrigue” In

New Ireland

Ridiculous Story In London Newspaper.

ONE of the queerest things about over seas newspapers is their apparent inability to torite soberly and truthfully about the Pacific Islands. Whether it is the result of the romantic atmosphere with which the South Seas have always been invested, or whether it is simply flat footed sensation-mongering, the fact re mains that scarcely a month passes without some London or American news paper publishing amazing and ridiculous stories about the South Seas, WE had occasion in the October issue to deal with a modern Munchausen— a Canadian journalist who had painted such extraordinary pictures of conditions in Papua and New Guinea that he aroused the ire of the Australian Parliament, Now we have another of the same kind.

Here is a story which appeared in the London “Sunday Dispatch,” and which was cabled to the Sydney “Daily Tele graph” and published in that newspaper on December 4: “The ‘Sunday Dispatch’ publishes a yarn that Mr. J. H. Thomas is faced, as Secretary of the Dominion, with another Irish trouble, he having to give close at tention to a serious situation in New Ire land—one of the islands of the New Guinea group.

“Self-government is being demanded, it is stated, and organised violence is threatened if it is not conceded, with the result that the Australian authorities are seeking British advice.

“The Dispatch refers to fears of a rising of natives, many of whom are cannibal istic, causing the whites to demand firm action to remove the danger of massacre.

“An ex-planter, who has lived long in New Ireland, told the ‘Dispatch’ that the trouble is due to weak local administra tion. Natives, he said, assaulted whites, and received ridiculously inadequate sen tences. The authorities must, it is con tended, act swiftly and drastically, especially in view of the natives’ gift for pol itical intrigue.”

The Sydney “Daily Telegraph” was wise enough to refer the thing to Major C. W.

C. Marr, who dismissed it with the curt remark “All moonshine.”

The report is not worthy of further comment. We reprint it in its entirety so that residents of the South Seas may have the benefit of a good laugh. We particu larly commend to them the bit about “pol itical intrigue.”

We suppose this sort of thing will go on so long as yellow journalists are per mitted to strut the earth, without their very necessary coating of tar and fea thers.