Suva's Fine-Weather Bus

Terminal

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA. June 7. ¥¥7HEN Fiji’s Ten-Year Plan was TV abandoned, Suva’s new bus ter minal in Rodwell Road, 200 yards from Burns, Philp’s Corner, came un stuck with it. The foundations and floor of the station are there, but no roof or anything else.

But, officialdom having made up its mind, on this memorable seventh day of

June, that this was the Bus Terminal, all buses coming into Suva with the usual early - morning crowds, unexpectedly stopped at the place where the Bus Station would have been if there were going to be a Bus Station.

In torrents of rain (Suva’s dry season is much as usual) passengers were dis charged at the non-existent shelter.

Those who had umbrellas complained that they were soaked before they could get them up and the majority who had no umbrellas—Europeans, Fijians and Indians—had a day of acute discomfort in wet clothes.

The one bright spot in New Caledonia’s present economic position is the recovery of the nickel market. After World War I it took about ten years before normalcy returned. But following World War 11, with all the new uses to which nickel can be put, two years have been suf ficient to restore demand. In 1945, for example, Canadian production was limited to 50 per cent, capacity. It is now back to 80 per cent, capacity, and will amount this year to 148,000 tons compared with 125,000 tons in 1946 and 120.000 tons in 1939. The US has lowered its tariff by 14 cents per lb. which enables the In ternational Nickel Co. to lower its sale price in that country.