Solomon Islands

Council

Wide Range of Subjects

fpHE Solomon Islands Protectorate Advisory Council commenced its first session of the year at Tulagi on Monday, April 4.

The Resident Commissioner (Mr. F.

N. Ashley, C.M.G.) presided, and mem bers present were, Official: Mr. F. E.

Johnson, 1.5.0. (Treasurer and Col lector of Customs); Mr. S. G. C. Knibbs (Commissioner of Lands); Dr. H. B.

Hetherington (Senior Medical Officer).

Non-official: Mr. D. Mackinnon, Right Rev. W. H. Baddeley (Bishop of Mel anesia), Mr. J. C. M. Scott. The fourth non-official member, Mr. C. E Hart, was unable to take his seat owing to

an injured knee, but his colleagues were in daily conference with him at the Government Hospital, where he was be ing treated, and he was permitted to submit a motion through a fellow member in council.

The President, in a comprehensive and informative address, referred to the fall in prices of copra and other ex portable products, the result of which, he said, would affect the public revenue.

Leprosy

His Honour dealt at some length with the incidence of leprosy in the Protect orate, and gave particulars obtained re cently as a result of the reconnaissance survey carried out by the visiting Lepro logist, Dr. J. Ross Innes. The total number of natives examined by Dr. Ross Tnnes was 21.615, of whom 221 (1.02 per cent.) were found to be afflicted with leprosy.

Taking the Protectorate as a whole, the number of lepers is estimated at 000.

Expert opinion is that the total inci dence of leprosy in the Solomons is moderate; that there exists no present danger of an explosive outbreak, and that about half of all cases may be taken as infectious, with perhaps one quarter curable.

Phenomenal Sale Of Stamps

The phenomenal demand for the Cor onation commemorative postage-stamps brought the Protectorate an unexpect edly large financial windfall. Although the issue was restricted to three de nominations costing SH. for the set, the total sales from May until the issue was withdrawn on December 31, 1937, amounted to nearly £12,000.

A new pictorial issue, consisting of twelve denominations, to take the place of all stamps at present in use, will, it is expected, be on sale towards the end of this year.

Radio-Telephones

The process of linking up Government out-stations by wireless is progressing, if slowly. Radio-telephonic communi cation between Tulagi and Auki (Mal aita) is functioning satisfactorily, and has proved both the efficiency of the sets employed and the advantages con ferred by an inter-island wireless service.

The next installation will be made at Gizo, within a few months.

The cost of the three beacon-lights, with towers and bases, erected in Tulagi harbour, amounted to £2,567.

Solomons Goldfield

The goldfields on Guadalcanal, His Honour said, “have not proved, so far, the wedge of Ophir that we all hoped.”

The present position, he added, is that a company called the Guadalcanal Sluicing and Dredging Co., Ltd., has been floated with a capital of £200,000, and is carry ing out prospecting in the river flats.

Other prospecting licenses have been issued, and a new find of gold is re ported, but many difficulties and obstruc tions encountered appear to leave defin

ite prospects of establishing a mining industry somewhat uncertain.

Finances

Following the President’s address the Treasurer (Mr. F. E. Johnson, 1.5.0.) furnished a detailed survey of the Pro tectorate financial administration for the year ended March 31 l&st, of which the following is a brief summary:—

Exports

Copra, 22,927 tons, a decrease of 2,136 tons as compared with previous year.

Trocas, 213 tons, down 52 tons.

Ivory Nuts, 534 tons, down 59 tons.

Increase of revenue from Cus toms Duty £4,870 Increase of revenue from Post ageustamps £10,760 Surplus realised on sale of gold coin. (Currency Note Re serve) £2,608 .Estimated total revenue .. £80,400 Estimated total expenditure £70,153 Estimated surplus £10,247 (Subject to revision; accounts incom plete.) Business dealt with at the present session included: A recommendation that public lava tories be provided at Tulagi. This was resolved in the affirmative by unan imous vote.

Proposed Air-Service

A proposal was submitted by Messrs.

W. R. Carpenter & Co., Ltd., to estab lish a weekly air-mail service between

Tulagi and Rabaul, to connect with the Company’s New Guinea-Australia air mail service, in consideration of re ceiving a subsidy of £2,000 per annum, was negatived on the ground that the Protectorate was already committed to a mail contract involving an annual sub sidy of £3,000, and could not afford any further outlay for transportation service while the economic outlook was so obs cure as at present.

Copra Export Tax

A motion was submitted by a non official member to provide for the fixing of a minimum rate of export tax on copra on the following basis: When the market quotation in London is £lO per ton or under £lO, 6d. per ton.

Over £lO but not exceeding £l2/10/-, 9d. per ton.

Over £l2/10/- but not exceeding £l5, 1/- per ton.

Over £l5 to be on the graduated scale now in force.

It was pointed out in support of the motion, that the market price of copra at present is under cost of production, and in these circumstances the current export tax, amounting to 5/9 per ton, is, in effect, a levy on capital. The impost is open to criticism on several grounds. It is unwarranted owing to the prosperous budgetary position dis closed and the large accumulated surplus funds in reserve; at variance with the practice of other Empire territories, and unsound economic policy which, if con tinued, must eventually bring financial

disaster to the main industry of the Protectorate.

The proposal, which was not debated, will be submitted to the High Commis sioner for the Western Pacific for con sideration.

Customs Tariff

It was announced that a motion rel ative to a suggested revision of the Cus toms Tariff, which was submitted at the October 1937 session of the Council, had received, in part, favourable con sideration, and the High Commissioner approved the following articles being placed on the Duty Free list as from April, 1938: Boats, launches, etc.

Bran, pollard and wheaten meal.

Knives, 12 inches and upwards in length, and copra knives.

These items were formerly charged Customs Duty at 12i per cent. (British preferential rate).

Other routine matters being disposed of, the Council was adjourned sine die on April 6.

Mr. R. V. McKay was recently elected President of the Ex-Servicemen’s Asso ciation of Western Samoa, in place of Mr. R. H. Brown. Mr, Murray Mitchell is secretary-treasurer.

Mr. Sidney Muddell, of Port Moresby, Papua, married Miss Mary Therese Ryan at the Church of our Lady of the Rosary, Port Moresby, on June 1.