Solomon Islands

Anomalies of New Wage Scale

From Our Own Correspondent.

Tulagi, Jan. 15.

THE first recruits at the new rate of pay have been signed on. Not many orders are out, and recruiters, interviewed at Tulagi, report that the natives have been well prepared by their District Officers for the altered wages, as no one seemed surprised when recruiters ex plained the new terms. Many natives who would recruit at the new rate, baulk at the proportionately reduced advances at the time of signing on with the recruiter.

There are many anomalies and incon sistencies of which employers are guilty, in connection with native wages, which make it doubly hard for the prospective recruit to reconcile himself to the reduc tion. Labourers employed for two weeks’ work on the steamer get six times the minimum adult wage-rate of a boy en gaged for two years’ service.

Recently, some boys at Tulagi had a chance of a trip to Sydney, and held out for eight times the local wage—thereby missing a trip South, at a wage well

above the minimum. Other natives eagerly seized the opportunity.

New “Cash And Carry” Store

B.P.’s new “cash and carry” is well under way, having opened its business with the New Year.

The site is a particularly convenient and desirable one, and would be very useful to the firm as headquarters if ever circumstances should permit the building of a Government wharf and bond stores at Tulagi, in which case B.P.’s present place of business on the separate island of Ma kambo would be very inconvenient. Whether the available land would suffice for the entire B.P. establishment remains to be seen, but quite a few of the clients would be glad to save the trouble of crossing from Tulagi to Makambo.

Charting Vella Lavella.

Quite a few services performed in the Solomons remain unrecognised, and being unknown, are not availed of. Some time ago an official of the Lands Department had occasion to visit Vella Lavella on a special mission, and he took the opportunity of making an accurate map of Vella Is. As the Admiralty chart of Vella consists chiefly of dotted lines in the wrong position, this map, if supplemented by even approximate reef indications (not a difficult task when the coast line is filled in accurately), would be of great value to navigators.

The map is being used so far only in district maps of the group for official use, and for this purpose will probably have to be reduced in scale. The original larger-scale map would make a valuable addition to Admiralty charts, or, if made available by the Administration would be useful to Gizo residents and others in need of navigation help. Maps are being prepared of all districts, and if anything helpful like this plan of Vella is incorporated in them, they will be well worth the trouble the Lands and Survey Department has taken over them.

Xmas Ball At Tulagi

Christmas has passed with very little excite ment. His Honour the Resident Commissioner gave a ball—an unusual social event for Tulagi— to be accounted for by the presence in the Group of Mrs. F. N. Ashley to act as hostess. Very few Tulagi residents went away for the several days’ holiday—partly on account of the event of the Residency, and partly because of the danger of being prevented by the nor-west season from getting back in time for business and the Malaita’s arrival. As it happened, the weather was good.

An unprecedented event has occurred. H.B.M.'s Treasury has been disgorging overpayments, some of them despaired of, while others were over charges of which the suffering public were un aware. If this sort of thing goes on, Government departments will be making themselves popular.

The Resident Commissioner, with Mrs. and Miss Ashley, is at present spending a fortnight in Gizo. They arrived by H.M.C.Y. “Tulagi,” and are residing in the now unoccupied Medical Officer’s bungalow. Already sensible social con tact has appreciably eased the old feud between Tulagi officialdom and Western ideas of sane, progressive, and just administration.

The nor-west season to date has been sur prisingly good, although everybody is more or less prepared for the blow at any time.

When the Malaita left for Sydney the price of copra had risen to £8 per ton locally. While the strained international situation which causes the rise is deplored, planters cannot help rejoicing at the improvement in price of their staple product.