Editor’S Mailbag

Slugged Yachtie

The Chief Minister of the Solomon Islands, Mr Peter Kenilorea, has made the following reply to the letter written by American yachtsman Ray mond W. Quint (PIM, February ): Thank you for sending me a copy ot your letter sent to PIM and for your covering note. I note with some mis giving your concern in “wanting to give all the assistance possible” to our “very friendly and helpful people”, when with such generous heart and with “several hundred dollars to spend” you should moan over a levy of a hundred dollars which will in fact go into revenue to help the people of these islands.

It amazes me and my people to learn how you could come from such a leading democratic nation as the USA and yet believe that one person alone could make laws for a country.

The laws of this country are made by an elected legislature and we would expect you or anyone else, whether globe-trotters come by land, sea or air, to abide by these laws, as indeed we would have to abide by your laws if we came to your country.

We genuinely wish every visitor to our country to be happy during his stay here. At the same time, however, we would expect our values, laws and way of life to be respected. We do not wish to be told what to do about our own country.

P. Kenilorea

Chief Minister

Honiara, Solomon Islands.

That's Us ! !

. . .in the words of a currently pop ular TV commercial for a leading U.S. cigarette... “You’ve come a long way, Baby.”

The PIM of today is worlds away from the old Pacific Islands Monthly I first read as a GI in the Philippines in 1944 and 1945. In a way, the evolu tion of PIM matches the rapid forward pace of change in the Pacific.

And PIM allows me to keep up with that part of the world.

As a matter of fact in the family battle over who gets the issue of PIM first, I rarely win . . . but National

Geographic has been a poor second choice for many years.

I must compliment you and your production staff on a superior editorial and graphic product.

Editorially, you stand alone as the Time Magazine of the Pacific.

Graphically, the new four-color wrap around cover, the new PIM cover design and the excellent color reproduction ranks your publication among the leaders in world publishing. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

Professionally, I know the gargan tuan task it is to meet each months deadline . . . but you do it consistent ly, year after year. My only wish is that this agency had clients who could use the advertising pages of PIM. We would need no other media to cover the Pacific.

My congratulations to you and your staff, and best wishes for con tinuing success.

E.J. Murnane

(Executive Vice-President) E.H. Brown Advertising Agency, Chicago, 111., USA.

A Public Apology

It was with feelings of shame and horror that I read in PIM (December, 1976) of the harassment and persecu tion of Samoan and other Pacific Island people by the authorities and police in New Zealand.

As a New Zealander who had the privilege and pleasure of working and living in Western Samoa in the 1960s, and who always received the greatest courtesy and consideration from Sa moan people and officials, I would like to make a public apology to all Pacific Island people in New Zealand who have been so mistreated.

Please remember, Samoa, that not all Kiwis think and act like the ill mannered crew who are misguiding New Zealand at present.

Please try to forgive the ignorance and intolerance of the New Zealand Government and police.

Tofa Soifua

Bruce Turner.

Darwin, Northern Australia.