The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-11-30
FEW WHITES
LEFT IN FIJI
Alexander H. Ford Tells How
Hindus Are Possessing
the Land.
Samoa. August IS, 1907.
BY Alexander Hume Ford.

/ Nv Alexander hume r UIU.
I trust Hawaii has no intention OF
ever inviting the Indian Coolie TO
migrate to the Paradise of the Pa
cific." He is not making exactly a
Paradise of Fiji from all can observe.
On the contrary.
| I walked over from the Nasuri sugar
mills on the Rewa river, Fiji, eight
miles, to Bau, the ancient and cannibal-
istic capital. Although miles upon
miles of land are under cane in this
region, from the moment I landed, on
the little wharf until 1 arrived at Bau
never once saw a white face. l walk
| ed through the mills and saw the Solo
mon boys and the lighter skinned men
from India at work, but nowhere the
white man to represent the great out
lay of Caucasian capital. AS I walked
mile after mile through the cane
fields, 1 looked for the white man, and
| beheld him not. The. entire country
seemed to have been turned over to
the Indian Coolie. l might have been
in India, for even the Fijian has
receded from before the advance. of
these little brown people of Ceylon, it
is they VINO secure the land from the
natives and plant it in cane, it is their
wives and daughters who pound with
primitive mills the rice and millet by
the roadside. Everything betokened
poverty and filth-on the river bank
itself may be seen the quarters of the
coolies, and nearby the little floating
Fstores, containing each stock valued
at perhaps fifty dollars, these explain
the absence of the white storekeeper.
Once the Indian Coolie has served out
his term of indenture he takes up land
and plants cane, until now the white
man can no longer compete with the
prices he is willing TO grow cane for
One great sugar company threatens to
control the produce of all the sugar
from Fiji, and the white population
las dwindled away until it is less in
Eli today than it was in 1870.
I have seen the Clearly, industrious
little Jap in Hawaii. He is not, I be-
lieve, overquarrelsome, nor does he
bring loathsome diseases; leprosy may
be traceable to the Chinaman, as it is
to the Indians in Fiji, but if the Jap
has faults, filth is not one of them, nor
lack of self-respect another. I believe
Hawaii can congratulate herself that
she sent to Japan instead of India for
her tillers of the soil.
Samoa has been so often compared
To Hawaii that 1 was not unprepared
for the resemblance as the boat from
Fiji to Auckland neared the island of
Upolo. There are parts of Hawaii
that resemble Samoa, there is no por-
ton of Samoa as beautiful and attrac-
tive as are some parts of Hawaii.
Public spirit does not exist in Samoa,
although the traders on both the Ger
man islands keep open house for all.
l once protested that the Hawaiian in
ter-island rates were excessive AMI
failed therefore to beguile tourists.
The island of Upolo is twelve miles
distant from the island of Savaii, fare
by schooner five dollars, fare by native
long boat ten to twelve dollars-or if
you charter a sail boat all to yourself
fifteen dollars for the little Journey
Their is no regular communication be-
tween the islands, people sometimes
waiting for weeks in Savaii, Upolo or
Tutuila (Ameriean) for an opportunity
to get to the next island I spoke Of
the Hawaiian Promotion Committee to
some of the merchants of Samoa they
seemed to fear the German govern
ment might resent any interference on
the part of citizens in what the gov
eminent might be inclined to consider
its sphere. The one masterful man in
Samoa is an American, who once put
Mataafa ION the throne in defiance of
the United States and Great Britain.
and later when the United States gov
eminent stopped the war and censured
its admiral, this American trader act
ually compelled him to take ship and
fly from Samoan waters.
The only launch now in use is operat-
ed by this Yankee merchant, who runs
her at intervals between the islands
gathering copra and taking any stray
passengers who may happen along.
Cocoa is now becoming the staples
crop of Samoa, and pays the planters
profit of about one hundred dollars
an acre. My Yankee friend wonders
If 1t would pay to start a cocoa planta-
ton in Hawaii, he believes that the
land near Hilo should be suitable for
its growth.
The cocoanuts of Samoa are the most
prolific bearers in the world Lever
Bros. of Sydney, Australia, send their
large steamer here for cargoes of nuts
TO plant on their Solomon island plan
tauons. There are people in dear old
sleepy Samoa who wonder why enter
prising, progressive Hawaii does not
put up soap and oil works. as it is so
near the COBRA market and vuO,,1d not
have to pay any duty on the manufac-