From the IslandsPress

Fan incredibly stupid and insensitive move in a country that is trying to create a Samoan image and build tourism as a major industry, hostesses of Poly nesian Airlines have been forced to discard their attractive and traditional paletasi uniforms to don long slit skirts of Siamese style. About the only thing typically Samoan in the airline now is the depressed rates of wages applied to local employees!

At the other and equally thoughtless extreme of Samoani sation, the Bank of Western Samoa now seems to have taken a lead. If a customer makes an inquiry over the phone in English, as likely as not he will be answered in Samoan. This works out for 90 per cent, or more of bilingual customers—the trouble is that it is the 10 per cent, who speak only English who make most of the money.— Columnist ‘Oliano’, in “Samoana”, Apia.

NOBODY could make a very good guess about how many cats are in Rarotonga. A very poor guess might be somewhere around 9 or 10,000, since most households have several.

Many of the kittens born are not wanted because of too many cats around the homes. Pitying people take them off and dump them somewhere after they are old enough to fend for them selves. But, with none to feed them, the abandoned cats become a menace to chickens and duck lings and can often be found lurking around people’s chicken yards or stalking a mother hen with her chicks.

As such they must be shot.

What other solution is there to excess unwanted kittens?— Editorial in the “Cook Islands News”, Rarotonga.

LIKE those of the seas in which the islands of Fiji are set, the wealth-earning possibilities of the forests of the Colony have never been realised to the extent they might have been. The latest annual report of the Forestry Department shows that some forests continue to be put to good use, and that new ones are being

established in parts of Fiji. Else where, on the other hand, there is inefficiency and waste through small-scale logging operations, and the planting of trees and planned forest development are being re stricted by the lack of availability of land. . . .

The work of departmental staff could, with much advantage, be supplemented by encouraging the Fijian owners of reserved land within large prescribed forest areas to plant trees on their land.

This could be done under Forestry Department supervision, and the whole area could thus be planned, and the timber eventually cut, on an economic scale which would bring efficiency to the whole operation and maxi mum profit to the landowners.— Editorial in “The Fiji Times”, Suva.

THERE seems to be a growing tendency among Administra tion officials to regard newspaper representatives as interlopers with few, if any, rights. This attitude is most pronounced at present in the Sepik District, though it is present in varying degrees throughout the Territory.

Some officials blatently hamper the Pressman while others seek to muzzle him, often on the most spurious and untenable grounds.

For instance, when a reporter flew to the Sepik recently to try and find out at first hand the facts of the alleged Sekotchiau border in cident, he met what he described as “a security clamp as tight as a wet bandage”. . . .

We are not telling a potential enemy anything by revealing the work of an Administration patrol and we must be very naive if we believe the Indonesians do not know what goes on around the border areas.

The attitude of officials in the Sepik was in contrast to their Port Moresby superiors, who, although not gushing with in formation, were at least prepared to state the facts as they knew them and indicate what action was to be taken.— Editorial in “South Pacific Post”, Port Moresby.

NOTICE the Cook Islands News hereby serves notice that no more illegible notices, advts, or letters will be accepted.

Such items will have to be re written, typed or printed.— Editor.— Note in the “Cook Islands News”, Rarotonga.

A FISHERMAN on Bairiki had an unusual catch on Saturday night, June 19, when he went out net fishing on the reef.

The fisherman encountered a couple of turtles and he smartly got hold of one but the other one escaped. After battling with the turtle, the fisherman success fully brought it to the land. The fisherman said that he had a wonderful ride on the turtle from the water to dry land. It was a catch which net fishermen do not usually expect. “ Colony In formation Notes”, official news letter of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.

ON July 13 at 8.15 the Norfolk Island Musical and Dramatic Society, after a lull of a few years, will present a show at the Rawson Hall. It has been called the “July Show” in the hope that interest will be revived sufficiently to enable another Show to be staged towards the end of the year.

Like all legitimate shows in small places, it has been a hard row to hoe to induce people to take part. The small cast which has banded together has had a lot of work to do to get to the final stages of presentation but with determination and harmony (some of which we hope you will enjoy too!) it has gone ahead in its efforts to give some pleasure and interest to the community.— “Norfolk News”, Norfolk Island.

FCIDENTS of stone throwing at passing vehicles have been reported almost daily now by motorists from the Western District. ... To stand in the dark and throw a stone at a pass ing vehicle is to admit to no one but yourself that you are nothing but a plain, stupid coward.— Editorial in “Samoa News”, Pago Pago.