The Editor's Mailbag

Mormons In Pacific

I enjoy reading the Pacific Islands Monthly which keeps me up-to-date on the latest news in the Pacific area.

Having served in the Pacific with the US Navy and later travelling ex tensively in that area in my civilian job capacity I am very interested in the people, their way of life, and the progress they are making toward self government.

Your in-depth articles give the reader an insight into South Pacific developments he would not other wise be able to obtain—business, re ligion, politics, travel, etc.

As I read your magazine with in terest, I note many references to various religious groups such as the schools they maintain, missionary activities, retirements and deaths of prominent denominational leaders, etc.

However, I have yet to see inform ation of any kind about a group called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose members are more commonly called Mormons.

I understand this group has many missionaries in the Pacific area. The Mormons are constructing many new church buildings throughout the Is lands, and maintain a large chain of schools. On Tonga for example there is the Liahona High School, enrolling over 1,000 Tongan students, plus nine other elementary and junior high schools. On Western Samoa, The Church College of Western Samoa provides education for over 1,000 students and in addition there are eight elementary schools. The Church College of New Zealand, The Church College at Laie, Hawaii, an elementary school at Papeete, Tahiti, the Mapusaga High School at Pago Pago are but a few.

When I last visited Tonga I heard that between 20 and 30 per cent of the entire Tongan population were members of the Mormon Church, claiming among its members many influential Tongans.

In future copies of your magazine I would be pleased to read about activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Islands, just as I enjoy reading about developments and activities of the Wesleyan Church, the Catholics, the LMS, etc. I am certain all of these groups make a contribution to the growth and development of the Is land peoples.

I wanted to call this matter to your attention, certain that deletion of information about the Mormons has been an oversight, and not an intentional editorial policy to exclude certain religious groups. Thank you for your consideration.

Robert L. Foster

Salt Lake City Utah,

Usa

• No, you can rest assured that PIM has no editorial policy which excludes certain religious groups.

PIM does in fact report the activities of the Mormons —in August there was a column and a half on the church’s developments in Samoa. In cidentally, the 1966 census report for Tonga, the last available, gives the following percentage breakdown for religious denominations in Tonga: Free Wesleyan, 49.57; Free Church of Tonga, 17.49; Roman Catholic, 14.72; Church of Tonga, 9.89; Latter Day Saints, 5.15; Seventh-day Ad ventists, 1.49 and Church of England, 0.93. A total of 0.76 follow other denominations, or didn’t state their religion in the census.

Wuvulu

It was pleasing to read in PIM (Dec p 107) that negotiations between the Papua New Guinea Government and Wuvulu Holdings Pty Ltd re sulted in such a favourable deal for the Wuvulu islanders in that they have been given half of the island and that land is fully planted with coconuts. Credit for this solution must go to the negotiating skill of the Minister for Lands, Albert Maori Kiki, the generosity and good sense of the company and the publicity given to the islanders’ needs by Fred Archer of Rabaul. But I must correct the statement in PIM that this settle ment had anything to do with the re-discovery of an encumbrance in favour of natives imposed on the title by the German Government which had been overlooked in the post-war restoration of title.

The early title history of Wuvulu (or Matty) Island is contained in the German Groundbook entries (Admiralty Islands vol 1 folios 1, 14 & 15) held by the Land Titles Com mission in Port Moresby. The first transaction was the purchase of a trading station site of four hectares by the German New Guinea Com-