Migrants to New Caledonia Should Be

Prepared to Take Place of Asiatics

JN answer to numerous requests from potential settlers from France, the New Caledonian Chamber of Agricul ture has issued a frank statement on the present state of the Colony. This should do 'much to answer Paris newspaper criticism and allegations that genuine information is so hard to come by that all migrants go to the Pacific with far too rosy a pic ture of work potentialities and the sort of life they will be able to lead on arrival.

Says the Chamber : [N New Caledonia, as elsewhere, any intelligent working man who is will ing to take risks can find his place in ;he sun, but it is necessary to warn him beforehand that he will have certain diffi culties to overcome.

It must not be forgotten that the country is relatively small, that there is tlready in occupation, a French population )f 20,000, as well at 30,000 natives some of vhom are in a state of evolution, and hat the best jobs and the best land are iccupied; also that births are numerous md that the future of the children of he country necessarily is a preoccupa ion of the public authorities.

So, if you expect to find here, without triving, a job superior or equal to that ou already have,. there is a possibility hat you may be disappointed.

There is little free land open for settle ment. It is true that certain properties re for sale, but owing to the exchange osition prices are high. Do not forget, bat metropolitan francs must be divided y 5.5 and that a suitable property here osts anything from 500,000 to 800.000 ’acific francs.

New Caledonia, however, has some un deniable attractions to offer, a fine cli mate in which the European can work as well as in France, and a social life exempt from troubles. Also, for young men, married or single, who to start off with are satisfied with a modest situa tion, there is the possibility of finding work because hitherto much of the work of the country has been done by Asiatics introduced as labourers whose production capacity is mediocre, yet who, because of their birth rate, have threatened to ab sorb the European population.

This Asiatic labour so far as it is em ployed in agriculture only gives satisfac tion when engaged on a share basis under which the proprietor gets one-third and the share-worker two-thirds of the pro duction. On the coffee plantations*the basis of sharing is fifty-fifty.

Agricultural workers receive relatively small money wages, but in addition lo their 1,000 Pacific francs (5,500 metro politan francs) a month they are lodged, fed and clothed. Yet although the pay is not high, such jobs would allow French metropolitan farm workers to know the land and its possibilities so far as the.v were concerned.

The Chamber of Agriculture therefore with all goodwill extends a warm wel come to metropolitan French and Euro pean emigrants, and within its means will do all possible to provide them with con tacts and information; but it can at the same time only promise the necessities , of life, the “minimum vital”, to those who, at the start, are courageous enough to accept work that is now being done by Asiatic agricultural workers, either em ployed qn a wage basis or as share crop pers.

Further information can be obtained from the Colonial Agency, 20 rue de la

Boetie, ans (8me); also the Chamber of Agriculture will reply to correspondents who explain their own particular position.

Mr. and Mrs. L. P. Armit have been down in Sydney from Papua for several months leave. They expect to return to the Territory shortly. Mr. Armit is a Territorian-true; his father, Captain Armit went there in 1883 as the leader of the Argus (Melbourne newspaper) ex pedition and was probably the first man to walk the Kokoda Trail. LPB joined the Papuan service in 1902 but has been re tired for some years. His interest now is in rubber trees.