The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-08
Trading Vessels Must Be Half
Owned and Differed by
Frenchmen.
MUST FLY THE FRENCH FLAG.
Times Bad in Tahiti and the Marque.
saS and the Government Are
Impoverished.

France is after the trade of Tahiti and
the Marquesas. 1t is apparently, also, in
tenton grabbing all the islands in sight,
and Bola bola and Huaheine are not the
only spots in the Southern Pacific that
France wants to annex. Other islands will
be taken as the occasion warrants, and in
q short time it will be race between that
country and Great Britain as to which ma
ton will first get its hands upon the re-
manning independent islands of Aus
tralasia.
In the meantime American commerce is
being hurt by these grabs, and the fleet of
American traders in the southern seas will
soon be extinct. Nine-tentns of the
schooners, briggs and banks that trade be-
tween Tahiti, the Marquesas, Gilbert group
and other places in the southern seas
are owned and manned by Americans.
France is changing all this, and in future
all these vessels must be owned to the ex-
tent of half by Frenchman, and must
be commanded by a master of the same
nationality.
AS a result all the vessels or nearly all
of them. are tied up, as those which cannot
obtain French masters cannot get any one
able or willing to purchase an interest.
American sailors are in consequence
thrown on the beach at Papeetee and all
are praying an opportunity to reach San
Francisco.
The schooner Leon, which arrived from
the Marquesas yesterday is one of the
vessels that came under the ban. Her
owner is an American named Kennedy
but the master who cleared her at Papeetee
was Captain Andron. The Leon Is now
under the French flag and after being re-
coppered and fitted with new sails she will
In tn be
VINO has purchased a part interest will
register as managing owner. This means
that In another SIX months the American
flag will not be seen on a trader to the
French colonies except when the Tropic
Bird and City of Papeetee arrive at and
depart from Tahiti with the American
mail.
On board the schooner the white officers
and men tell n woeful tale of hard times
in the French possessions. Nearly all the
foremost hands are bareheaded and bare
footed natives, but the white men saw they
were glad TO work their way up with them
III order TO reach civilization. According
TO them there is no trade of any kind
going on, aud the people are heavily taxed
III order to keep up an army of Govern
ment officials. For years past the cocoa
nut plantations have been going from bad
to worse. until now a Government edict
prohibits the making of COBRA for six
all the nuts they require for their own use
and what is wanted for planting. But for
six months there are to be no harvests
and each native must do certain amount
OF planting.
The pearl shell fisheries have also been
closed except upon the newly acquired
islands of Bolabola and Huaheine. AS
there is very little shell on these places
however, 1t means q practical shut down
for six months. Then when the law came
compelling all trading vessels to register
under the French flag and be commanded
by French officer 1t was the last straw.
In addition to all this the crews of the
traders are paid in Chilean money and as
one of these dollars is only worth so cents
In America the men have been practically
working for half pay
''Of course France is only taking a leaf
out OF the United States book" said
Captain Kennedy, $50 we ought not to
grumble. Before vessel can trade be-
tween American ports she must be owned
and differed by Americans Still the APP
picatiou of the rule in the South Seas is
very hard on those traders who have built
up good connection. They have the
whip hand over us, however, and we can
either comply with their laws or go out of
business"