Tropicalities

ONE well-informed correspondent com ments thus on the election of Mr. A.

G. Smyth to the Legislative Council of Western Samoa: “This was something of a blow for the New Zealand Government. Mr. Smyth was one of those deported, owing to his support of the Mau: and it was on his return to Apia, when the natives were giving him a demonstrative welcome, that the clash with the police occurred, and Tamasese was killed. The ballot shows where lies the direction of the sympathies of the European residents of Samoa.” ♦ ♦ ♦ AUSTRALIAN Born British Subject” writes from Tulagi, 5.1.: “In ‘Tropicalities* some time ago there was a paragraph from which the following is an extract: “ ‘We beg to make formal protest against the continued use of “British”

Solomon Islands. The word “British” actually has no meaning.’

“I am rather surprised that a ‘British’ publication should give this as its con sidered opinion. I, for one, see quite a lot in the word ‘British,’ and am proud to be able to include it in my address, and would be very sorry to see it done away with.”

Our friend, in order to shout his pat riotism, shuts his eyes to history. Until 1914, there were two sections of the Solo mon Islands—German (Buka and Bou gainville) and British (the rest of the group). It therefore was customary and necessary to speak of “British Solomon Islands.” It is no longer necessary; all the Solomons are under British adminis tration —the northern islands being part of the Mandated Territory, and the re mainder enjoying their old form of go vernment. The “P.1.M.” is British to the backbone, but it does not suggest “British Fiji” or “British Cook Islands.” There would be justification for “British Samoa,” however, to distinguish that territory from American Samoa. * • ♦ A CORRESPONDENT of the “Rabaul Times,” with multitudes of words, ridi cules recent statements in the Pacific Islands Monthly —especially our claims that Wogamush is about 150 miles from the mouth of the Sepik River; that the Aitape earthquake was not reported in the Aus tralian newspapers until long after the event; and that General Griffiths intro duced a system of pack drill to the native prisons of New Guinea.

It is very clear that the anonymous writer is a New Guinea public servant, writing in an extremely bad temper, and it is scarcely worth wasting time and space in splitting straws with him. We will merely say, categorically, that the latest map shows Wogamush 150 miles from the Sepik mouth (the N.G. writer having made the distance 300 miles, by measuring the distance along the winding river /); that the Director of the Riverview Observatory, Sydney, had not even heard of the earth quake in the Torricelli mountains until, about mid-October, we supplied him with a •copy of our correspondent’s report; and that, even if the Prison Regulations pro viding packdrill were passed in 1931, it is certain that they were not applied generally until General Griffiths took hold in 1932-33.

The gentleman refers to a statement pub lished by us some months ago, to the effect that certain public officials of New Guinea had accepted favours at the hands of Ger man shipping interests; and he querulously

says that we have neither withdrawn the statement nor apologised for it. Quite true.

We shall withdraw the statement, and apologise for it, when it is shown to be incorrect. * * * QUITE a commotion was caused in a suburb of Apia, Western Samoa, one recent Sunday, when a resident in convivial week-end mood told some local-born boys that “the local Administration was seeking recruits for the coming Anglo-Italian war and that intending warriors would be medically examined by the Apia doctors.”

He added that “recruits would get a free trip to New Zealand and that agents would be paid 5/- per head for every man pro cured by them.”

The tale spread like wildfire among the natives and a few hours afterwards a crowd of native boys appeared at the residence of the practical joker, asking for further information. Having sobered up meantime, and being worried about the result of his joke, he managed to send the eager war riors home, though one trustful innocent actually presented himself next morning to a surprised doctor with a demand for medi cal examination. * * * AN inquiry was made some months ago concerning the whereabouts of Dom ingo de Brum. Father Carl Heine, a missionary in Jaluit, Marshall Islands, writes: “I regret to say that Domingo de Brum died about two years ago. He was a very decent chap and I liked him well.

He was at Nauru when the war broke out. His father was a Portuguese and his mother a Marshall Islander. Born in these islands, then under the German Protectorate, he became a naturalised German citizen. When Nauru was occu pied he was told he might remain if he claimed British protection. Having re ceived a fair deal from the Germans he said that it was only honourable to stand by his pledge, so he was sent to the

internment camp near Sydney with other Germans.” * * ♦ A RESIDENT of New Guinea informs us that it is a practicable and com paratively simple thing to bring a car from New Guinea, for use in Australia during furlough. Freight from New Guinea to Sydney was £25; wharfage charges were 28/-; he was allowed to run the “bus” for three months in Aus tralia on the New Guinea registration, and • then was able to register in Aus tralia for a short period only; and he did not have to pay for a driver’s licence.

This is the first time, in years, that we have heard a visitor praise any Austra lian institution; as a rule, Australian rules and regulations seem to have been designed by Satan himself to harass and exasperate all people from overseas. * * * THE Montreal branch of the Royal Empire Society has arranged an Em pire Products Exhibition, which will be held next January. Australia has supplied useful literature, but the Islands Territories are not represented. If it is not too late, publicity material at least should be sent.

The address is: Mr. W. Tees Curran, Royal Empire Society, Sun Life Building, Mont real, Canada. ♦ ♦ ♦ WE like modesty; but one must adver tise. The following note is to hand from a missionary in a back-blocks station in Papua: “The P.I.M. seems to be in every house with an iron roof up here —and I have seen it often under grass. Really, it is a great paper.” * * * ON May 2, 1935, two tourists, M. E. Kirk and A. Forder, cast a port-wine bottle into the sea near Suva, Fiji. Inside was a note —“our first sad parting on a wonderful world’s tour.” The bottle was picked up, on October 21, 1935, by a planter, near one of the passages through the reef, at the eastern end of Sud-Est Island, Eastern Papua. The bottle had travelled over 1200 miles in six months, through an ocean dotted over with islands.