Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-11-24
AN PARADISE.

Far away down in the balmy Pacific
lie the islands of New Caledonia. Bal
ade, for so the chief island is called, il
one of the furthest outlying stars Of the
A~ustralasian constellation. Six days O
fast sailing are needed to reach the spot
from Sydney; and when there, If men
versed nthe modern science, and pos
sessed of the modern artillery of war,
chose to resist a landing even a power.
full force might be unable 70 effect it.
Balade is two hundred miles long and
about thirty wide, and it is so guarded
by Jealous coral reefs, Jagged rocks, and
treacherous ssnd-banks, that by only
two tOrtuOus channels in all that cir.
conference is it possible to get to the
shore. One of these is that BY which
Cook sailed in when he discovered the
island in 1874, and the other was only
found by Captain WOOdin in 1919. The
books say there are sixty thousand per-
sons living on Balade; but, since the
wars, which lasted for some years after
1853, when the French Seized the island
to establish a naval station, the number
of natives has probably been much d.
minished. These facts, and others about
Balade, lave lately taken q fresh inter-
est, for hip-lOad after ship-load of French
Communists have recently been sent
thither, and New Caledonia will con-
~sequently, assume an Importance here
after in the eyes Of the civilized world
it has never possessed before. Ten thou
sand Communists n to be put upon
the island under the surveillance, for the
present, Of a single regiment of French
troops; and the future Of such q society,
while certain to be scanned with unfae-
ging curiosity, may likewise prove both
socially instructive and politically sig
.nificant.
Apart from the magnitude and social
importance of this experiment, it is in
vested with a romance that must in
crease the interest with which it is re-
garded. All the picturesque adjunets
that have charmed the world in the ad-
ventures, real or imaginary, of Robinson
CrusOe, PaulIand Virginia, or the dwell
ers, at Pitcairn's Island, may easily be
equalled or surpassed at Balade. The
climate is exquisitely soft and balmy,
and the scenery Is Of fairy lOveliaess.
Groves of sandal wood range for miles
in the interior, lofty peaks, divided by
fertile valleys, soar maiestically into the
The eOcOanut, the banana, bread
fruit, the yam, taro, and mango, grow
.indigenOusly, and so the sugar-cane
and the vine. Large and well-watered
yield bOunteOus pasturage. Fish
and game are abundant. Coal and iron
are found among the hills, and-althOugh
the French government have discour-
aged the search for it-gold is known to
exist there. Other choice stones and
minerals are abundant, including good
granite, and the rarer green amplitude.
Thus, al the materials Of delicious eli
mate, unlimited and fertile soil. exquis-
lite scenery, uncommon security from
external attack, exist to assure comfort
and happiness. Eden itself could scarce
ly set forth a mOre perfect earthly para
disc; and If Communism can flourish
permanently anywhere, or under any
circumstances, it assuredly should be at
this beauteOus isle, "set in the silver
sea, - the future home of the unquiet
who lately tn ew up baracades,
smashed the Hotel de Vile and deied
Bismarck and NJ. Theirs alike behind
-he walls Of Paris.