From The Archives

February 1931

Shipment of liquors

All sorts of difficulties are placed in the way of firms desiring to ship spirituous liquors to certain Pacific territories. The regulations are the result of representa tions made by missionary organisations, who desire to protect natives against the evils of liquors traffic. But if the European population of the islands cannot get liquor from Australia, they get it from other coun tries which impose no such regulations.

The net result is that Australian shippers are considerably handicapped in competi tion with traders of other countries. It is a matter concerning which many protests have been lodged but officialdom goes on

its own stub born way.

The regula tions, for instance, compels Australian

exporters to send certain liquors to Noumea, from which port they are reshipped to other territories. Without the

Pacific Islands

regulation they would be shipped direct, and considerable expense avoided.

This applies par ticularly to wine, gin and whisky.

Rapid growth

of Indian population The population of Fiji is curiously divided. There are over 4000 Europeans.

The native population numbers 90,000 and the natives, of course., are largely the landowners. The Indians, brought in origi nally to work the sugar plantations, are now 65,000. They are largely engaged in agriculture, and are rapidly overhauling the

native population. And there are 1000 Chinese.

The Indians are now a power to be reckoned with in the Colony’s economy. They have in many countries become wealthy, and all the

motor cars ((some 700) are driven and

mostly owned by Indians.

New Hebrides farce

As a result of foolish laws the British planters in the New Hebrides are being driven out of business. The French planters, working under French laws are permitted to use cheap indentured Tonkinese labour but the British planters are not allowed to import Asiatics for this purpose and, as a result, they must either work their plantations at a heavy loss as compared with the French; or seek French instead of British citizenship; or sell out to the French. As a matter of fact, many of them are following the latter course. In 1927, a British Commission, recommend ed that the British planters be allowed to import indentured labourer - but nothing has been done since. The result is that the New Hebrides plantations are gradually being passed over to the French and the labourers, and the valuable trade, which Australia has hitherto done with the British section of the New Hebrides is, of course, being transferred to France. ■

Established 1930