The Editons' Mailbag

Land And The L.M.S.

Sir,—Paul Mason asks, apropos of nd tenure in New Guinea, what the MS was doing in 1890 when the oita people of Port Moresby were lling their land ( PIM, Jan., p. 37).

I wouldnt know, I wasn’t born. But can give a pretty fair guess. My less is that in 1890 the LMS was >ing told exactly what Bishop rniay was being told in 1966—that e Church mustn’t interfere in >litics.

Percy Chatterton

augere, >rt Moresby, P-NG.

South Pacific Games

Sir, —I have just received the nuary PIM with its very fine South icific Games coverage, all handled ry diplomatically and based on fact.

Just one small point. You’d better irrect the name of the Fiji girl squalified in the women’s 80 metres irdles. It was Elinor Phillips, not na Mitchell.

As a suggestion, what about an tide on Alan Scott, of Fiji? He is without doubt the driving force hind athletics in both Suva and oumea.

Both Tony Bowditch and I are still lining, and if we are up to standard 1969 then we’ll attempt to make e Nauru team again.

R. T. Morgan-Morris

auru.

Editor’s Note: Our thanks to long stance runner Morgan-Morris for >inting out our slip over the 80 stres hurdles disqualification, and ir apologies to Iona Mitchell for •ongly disqualifying her in the ption to our picture on p. 24 of nuary PIM —although we had our cts right in the accompanying story.

Sarka Of The South Seas

Sir, —I have just had the joy of ading Robert Langdon’s delightful tide on Sarka of the South Seas in e December issue of Pacific Islands onthly. I could not be more ithusiastic. It is perfect.

Mr. Edward Williams, of Buffalo, as kind enough to send me his copy that I could see the article just it appeared.

I happen to be the daughter of aydon Jones, referred to in the e story. My father’s sister, Grace,

was the wife of Charles Sarka.

Today (January 27) is her 90th birthday, and how proud I shall be to show her the story, which, I under stand, has already brought several visitors to the Black Gallery in Madison Avenue [where an exhibition of Sarka’s water colours opened in December].

My mother went to Samoa in 1895, and, as a child, I spent hours and days looking at the fascinating pictures in two great red volumes she brought back from that adventure.

The family has Robert Louis Stevenson’s copy of Goethe and Bret Harte—and each year I make a ceremony of opening my Christmas cards with his tortoise shell letter opener, all of which were given to my mother on that long ago voyage.

Catherine H. Jacobs

New York City, USA.

New Postage Stamps

Sir, — Your article on the prolifera tion of new postage stamps in the South Pacific {PIM, Feb., p. 11) omitted to mention that the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony is to bring out three new ones this year to commemorate the colony’s new con stitution and 75 years under the British flag. There will be three denominations—3c, 10c and 35c.

Stamped-Out

Betio, Tarawa.

Conditions At Vanua Lava

Sir,—I was interested to read the views of the geologist, Mr. Arthur Warden, in your February issue (p. 86) in the article accompanying my piece entitled, “Four years among the sulphur deposits of Vanua Lava”.

Regarding Mr. Warden’s report on the sulphur deposits, I am in agree ment with it generally.

I also agree with him about the virulence of the mosquitoes on the east coast of the island.

I remember walking behind a very fussy VIP from Paris, who had come out to see how the Compagnie Coloniale des lies Banks—as Sola plantation was known—was going.

He was a fat man, and soon his nice silk shirt was sticking to his back.

Then the “mozzies” hit him! And his white shirt was black with them.

I have seen the “mozzies” so thick

that the islanders—not having fou arms—could not cut copra.

Regarding what Mr. Warden saij about the mangrove swamps at Vanin Lava being the haunts of crocodiles all I can say is that the Whitforo settled in the Banks Group aroum 1890, and up to when I left then in 1934, no puk-puks were ev©' sighted. Maybe an odd one couIIj have been blown away from Vanikoro.

Doug Askev

Samarai, Papua.

Schools In Tahiti

Sir, —I have read with gres; interest Robert Langdon’s articld “Tahiti’s School Centenary Was 5t Years Too Late” ( PIM , Dec., p. 804 As a member of the Eglisj Evangelique de Polynesie Francais and as editor of our church’s monthlli French newspaper, allow me to tes you that Mr. Langdon’s reactioc seems to me fully unjustified. evidently thinks that on September 17, 1966, we celebrated our centenan as if the Protestant school work ii Tahiti had started only with thl French missionaries. This is not so< The centenary we have been spealt ing of was of the French-speakins Protestant schools in Papeete. W/ have never forgotten that ttri missionaries of the L o n d o < Missionary Society had started schoo* work in Polynesia long before thd year 1866.

In the August, 1966, issue o our paper Notre Lien, one of our co-editors wrote: “The first Protestan, schools in Tahiti started 150 yean) ago. . . . The British mission didnn want to “anglicise” but to evangelis the Tahitians, and biblical culture i the biggest heritage of that time o pioneers”.

A little book which was publishes for the centenary carries the titEJ Centenaire des Ecoles Protestants Francoises (Centenary of the French Protestant Schools). But this didnn prevent the author writing a firsi chapter dealing with “The Britisa Period —The LMS’s T a h i t i a Schools”.

In that chapter one may rea<£ among other things: “It is a thinn which too many people ignore thsi French schools came after half century of teaching in Tahitian. I would be unfair at the beginning m this booklet not to pay homage to thd LMS missionaries whose work estabJ

ished the Tahitian language through he translation of the Bible (1809- [835) and gave to thousands of fahitians the opportunity to read and vrite in their mother tongue”.

As you see, we are not altogether inaware of our history! I have felt he desire to let you know this so that four readers may have a right mpression about what has actually ieen our centenary, and I will be very hankful to see this letter published in four magazine.

Giovanni Conte

iditor, Notre Lien, iglise Evangelique de Francaise, ’apeete, Tahiti.

Editor’s Note: We are delighted to lear that the work of the British missionaries has not been brgotten in Tahiti, especially as none >f the reports from Tahiti on which article was based gave any ndication that anyone connected with he centenary celebrations had spoken >f, or even knew that the LMS had istablished schools in Polynesia long >efore the one whose centenary was «lebrated in September. On Sep ember 14, for example, the Papeete laily, Le Journal de Tahiti, published i front-page story headed simply ‘Centenary of Protestant Schools”. In his it was stated: “One hundred rears ago next Saturday, the first °rotestant school in the territory was naugurated”. On September 19, Le Journal de Tahiti said in a report on he centenary celebrations: “The pro :eedings commemorating the centenary of Protestant schools began in Saturday morning with the renam ng of the Rue Perotte, which, from low on, will bear the name, of the l ounder of those schools, Charles V i e n o t. The phrase “ French Protestant schools” has not been used n any report we’ve seen.