Late News in Brief
p. 10 · Read in the full issue
ALTHOUGH Commonwealth Govern ment in 1926 provided £250,000 as bounties for producers of cocoa, manila coir and sisal fibre, sago, vanilla, kapok, unground spices, bamboos, and rattans in New Guinea and Papua, only £8783 has been claimed. A committee, representing Australia, New Guinea -and Papua, will examine the position.
The murder of a native woman in Pa peete, Tahiti, some months ago, led even tually to the arrest of a white man, a wandering gardener. A great sensation has now been caused by the arrest of one of the most prominent and wealthy French residents of Tahiti on a charge of having instigated the murder.
Messrs. George Bambridge and Charlie Brown, of Papeete, have established a pineapple plantation and cannery in Ta hiti; and 10,000 shoots have been planted.
A new law forbids Europeans to stay more than 48 hours in Maiao, Rapa, and the Marquesas Islands (French Oceania).
Nuka Hiva and Hiva Oa are excepted.
The Queen of Tonga, Dame Salote Tu bou, returned to Tonga at the end of October, after a visit to Australia. She is now much improved in health.
The Marquesas Islands are suffering a severe drought—no rain for eight months.
Commonwealth Government announces that any tea grown in Papua will be ad mitted under duty of only Id. per lb., in stead of 3d.
Police Chief Carlyon, of Rarotonga, Cook Is., by clever detective work, dis covered that a Tahitian had entered dag ger and Hervey’s store and stolen £54.
Money recovered; thief got five years.
A tablet in memory of the early mis sionaries of Tahiti, presented by Mr. W.
W. Bolton, was installed and dedicated in Moorea, in November. (Report in next issue.)