Japan

Morinda Leaves For

rE old Burns Philp steamer Morinda, which was sold last year and has been tied up in the Parramatta River, Sydney, for months, left under her own steam for Yokohama in mid-February, Morinda was put up for sale when the Malaita went on the Sydney- Norfolk Island-New Hebrides-BSI- New Guinea run and was sold to the Henderson-Trippe Shipping Co., of Manila, Philippines, for the ridiculous sum of £3,100.

On her way to Japan, Morinda will load scrap in the Pacific. As she is going under her own steam, her newest owners are being held to ransom by the Australian Sea men’s Union. Under conditions which the Union has been able to force on owners, Australian vessels bought overseas must be manned by Australian crews on their delivery voyage, at Australian rates of pay, plus 20 per cent, for a minimum of two months, plus repatriation rights.

Morinda will carry 34 of an Aus tralian crew on her voyage to Japan.

As the price paid for Morinda was so low, her new owners can no doubt afford this Australian Union bushranging. Most overseas owners buying ships in Australia these days, get over the difficulty by sending tugs to tow the old ships home.

It is officially notified that Mr.

John T. Wheelock, United States Vice-Consul in Noumea, now has consular jurisdiction in Solomons ind Gilbert and Ellice. Mr. Wheelock is United States consular repre ientative for the whole of the South Pacific Islands, most of which le visits periodically.

After three years of building for ;he Methodist Foreign Mission Board building on Buka and Bougainville, Mr. G. H. J. Yearbury las returned to NZ. He built the Jon Alley Memorial Hospital (com nemorating a missionary victim of he Montevideo Maru war tragedy) ,nd a mission station on Buka