Tropicalities

NOW that Japan is an ally of the Nazis, it is to be expected that she will afford every facility for the conversion into merchant-raiders of the German merchant ships known to be sheltering in her ports. They include “Burgenland” (7,320 tons), “Munsterland” (6,408 tons), “Regensburg” (8,068 tons ), “Scheer” (8.298 tons). “Ursula Rickmers” (5,050 tons), “Elsa Essberger” (6,130 tons), “Anneliese Essberger” (5,173 tons) and “Scharnhorst” (18,184 tons).

In Manchukuo ports are the “Augsburg” (6,512 tons) and an old Pacific friend, the “Bremerhaven” (1,615 tons), once the scourge of Australian trade in New Guinea and the Solomons. There is little hope of the “Bremerhaven” becoming a raider—she is much too slow. B.P.’s and Carpenter’s will say bitterly, that already she has done more than her fair share of raiding! * A PAPUAN resident, whom we suspect to be a liar, says that this was written by an educated native about his Mistress:— She even thinks that up in heaven Her class lies late and snores, While poor black cherubs rise at seven To do celestial chores. * SINCE Mr. R. B. Lewers, in a recent article in “PIM” described the historic flight of the first aeroplane from the coast of New Guinea to the Morobe town of Wau, interesting correspondence has taken place between Mr.

Lewers, the editor of “PIM” and Mr.

Fliehler, head of the Lutheran Mission at Madang, New Guinea, as to the actual date of the flight.

It always had been placed by Mr.

Lewers as April 17, 1927, which was in the Easter period. Mr. Fliehler was then a missionary in that district. Mr. Fliehler has been able to show that the plane flew over his district, Gabazing, on the morning of Sunday, April 17, which was Easter Sunday; and Mr. Lewers acknowledges that, if that were so, then the first successful flight from Lae to Wau must have taken place on Monday, April 18. Two or three unsuccessful attempts were made, on successive days, to find

Wau, with Lae as a starting point; and Mr. Lewers says it is quite possible, ow ing to the circumstances surrounding this difficult enterprise, that an error was made in fixing the date when the aeroplane finally got through. * WHEN Mr. S. G. Middleton, ARM, was stationed at loma, in the Northern Division of Papua, he was visited by a party of district natives, who had heard that he was to be transferred to another station. , , “We want to buy you”, announced the spokesman, as they entered the office and he counted out a pile of notes and silver upon the table, amounting to £25.

“The money is not for you”, he added.

“It is for the Government. We want to buy you, so that you can stay with us always.”

The implacable Service, however, trans ferred Mr. Middleton to another district.

He is now in Australia, waiting to be called up to fill a post in the RAAF. * "QLEASE send my regards to Jack West, 1 of Kulili Plantation, Karkar, New Guinea”, says Mr. W. G. Argabrite, of Lewisburg, West Virginia, USA, in a letter to the editor. Mr. Argabrite was formerly a resident of the South Pacific Territories. ♦ IN the Goilala country. Papua, the con stable of Gaiva village appealed to a patrol officer, for a divorce from his wife. He appeared with two women, and asked permission to marry the younger.

To strengthen his case, he produced a piece of string, with 12 knots tied down its length, and in loud and excited tones he commenced a long recitation, in his own tongue, as he fingered each knot. Be wildered, the patrol officer asked for ex planation.

Each knot, he was told, represented one of the woman’s failings. There were many more, it was explained, but the string was not long enough to take more knots.

In Papua marriage and divorce are regulated by native custom, and the Gov ernment does not interfere. This the patrol officer attempted to explain; but

the exasperated husband continued his recital—while his wife stood humbly at his side, secretly pleased at the commo tion she had caused. * THE following is from “Saturday Even ing Post” of March 9, 1940: “Boston: Francis A. Countway, bachelor head of Lever Brothers, soap makers, who paid the country’s highest income tax in 1938, began as an accountant in the sales

department. Out of his salary and bonus of $469,713 he paid approximately $285,000 in Federal income tax, $37,000 in State income tax, leaving him a net in come of $148,000, little more than half of what Washington took. He lives with his unmarried sister in a modest apartment in Brookline.”

It is at least a comfort to coconut planters to know that the gentleman suffered at the hands of the tax-collector something of what the copra-producers endure under the operations of the Lever Combine. The only difference is that, while the poor old planter tries to manage on a bread-and-margarine in come, Mr. Countway still has about £35,000 per annum wherewith to scare the howling wolves away from his portals. * rE town of Rabaul, in New Guinea, is becoming racially colourful, accord ing to this paragraph from a recent issue of “Rabaul Times”:— “Eleven Asiatic females appeared before the District Court on Wednesday charged with playing an unlawful game in a public place. The game was ‘Jimmy Coon’, and the place was on the beach near Ah Tam’s. Police evidence showed that the ‘school’ caused considerable interest amongst the natives who were onlookers.

Each player was convicted and fined 10/-.” ♦ SEVERAL years ago, two members of the Papuan Armed Constabulary, who had put an end to the suffer ings of two desperately-wounded tribes men, found after an encounter with some mountain tribes, were formally tried. In the view of' the law this was murder, and they were sentenced at Samarai to be hanged, in Port Moresby gaol.

The vessel in which they were to travel to Port Moresby was ready to leave and, at the last moment, the two ex-constables

were seen racing along the wharf. They smiled apologetically at the ship’s officer as they jumped on board. “We are very sorry”, they explained, breathlessly. “We were talking to some friends, and forgot that we were going to Port Moresby to be

hanged.”

Their sentence, later, was commuted to a term of imprisonment. * IT is stated by the “Rabaul Times” that there has been so great a reduction in the activities of the New Guinea Public Service, owing to the lull in the copra market, that although some 60 members of the New Guinea Service have joined up for active service overseas and only 5 temporary employees have been engaged to fill vacancies, the service does not appear to be suffering from over work. * FOR many years the Chilean dollar was used as currency in the Pacific especially in Tahiti, Rarotonga, and adjacent islands. When was the coin first introduced? As late as 1900, the dollar was common enough in Rarotonga, and the New Zealand authorities had to make somewhat stringent regulations to ex clude it. It was not for some years, how ever, that it was excluded, and British coinage established there (especially in the outer islands). The reason, of course, was that a fairly regular trade with Tahiti had developed, and the natives had become so accustomed to the dollar that they looked upon any other coin with some suspicion. Though some authorities believe that the Chilean dollar came into prominence when John Brander and other traders in Tahiti developed considerable commercial relations with Chile, it was known on that island long enough before.

Possibly, the whalers and sealers who

found the salubrious climate of Tahiti so attractive, introduced the coin. —“Vakatini”. ♦ AN article of timely interest in the November issue of the New Guinea Agricultural Gazette is entitled: “Copra Deterioration During Storage and Shipping”. A deal of attention is being given to this subject by those who believe that current supplies of copra will be quite insufficient to meet the tremendous oil fat demand when the war is over and the European market is opened again, and who therefore advocate the storage of present supplies of copra. The question that nearly every copra-grower is asking to-day is: “Can copra be stored, and for how long?” Another timely article in this valuable Gazette is: “The Food Value of the Coconut” —an expert analysis which shows the various possibilities of the coconut. * AT a recent meeting of native council lors at Abau, Papua, a recommend ation was placed before the magi strate that two women found talking to gether should be put in prison for two months. They explained that the women “make bad talk” and that the lies that they tell form the basis of evil reports.

The magistrate pointed out that there was already a regulation to punish those who spread lying rumours.

“That’s no good”, cried the reformer.

“Put the women in gaol whenever you find them talking together, and there will be no more lying rumours.” His sug gestion was not adopted. * IT is not generally known that one of the longest roads in the South Seas territories is in New Guinea. It is on the island of New Ireland, and runs southwards from Kavieng. The German administration originally built about 100 miles of this road; and, since then, it has been slowly extended by the Australian administration. The Administrator (Sir Walter McNicoll) after a visit to New Ireland last month, stated that it is now possible to motor from Kavieng south wards to Namatanai, a distance of 220 miles, along a road which was quite a credit to those who were responsible for its construction. * A MAIDEN lady lived in a small coun try house in England with a house maid. The officer arranging for the billeting of children evacuated from Lon don rang the door bell. The maid ad mitted him and then rushed upstairs.

“Please, mum,” she blurted out, “you’ve got to have two babies and the man’s downstairs.” (This one should appeal to Dr, Goebbels!) Two young men of Apia, Western Samoa, Messrs. Kennedy Godwin and Oliver Moors, recently proceeded to Van couver to enlist in the Canadian Forces.

A number of volunteers from the Terri tory are serving with the New Zealand Forces—several on active service in England and Egypt.

Mr. N. C. Watt, formerly a teacher in the Queensland Education Department, has been appointed headmaster of the L.M.S. boys’ school at Port Moresby, Papua, in succession to the late Mr.

Stuart Lade. Mr. Watt, who will take up duties this month, will be accompanied by his wife and two children.

Rev. J. G. Heath, well-known in the Solomon Islands where he spent some five years as a teacher for the Melanesian Mission, has been appointed vicar of Papakura, N.Z.

The Chief Medical Officer of Papua, Dr. F. J. Williams, leaves shortly on leave for New Zealand.

Rev. E. C. and Mrs. Leadley passed through Sydney in October on their re turn to the Methodist Mission’s station at Roviana, Solomon Islands, after spend ing furlough in New Zealand.

Mr. L, L. McKillop, newly appointed field manager for Papuan Apinaipi Petroleum Co., arrived in Port Moresby recently and proceeded to the Co.’s work ings at Oiapu.

Mr. Grahame Dickson, who was acting manager for the Union Company at Rarotonga earlier in the year, has rejoined the “Aorangi” as purser, and is again on the Sydney-Vancouver run.

Mr. Dickson (who visited Rarotonga on numerous occasions on the old “Makura” and other vessels on the San Francisco run) attended several functions in his honour before leaving Avarua.