Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-03-12
FIJI ISLANDS OFFER
MANY OPPORTUNITIES
Lord Norhclife Says There Is Room for Agricultur-
ISIS of Inative-Almost Everything
Grows i'll the Archipelago.

Britain. who meets the local inhabi-
tants and is thought worthy by them.
viii get that wholehcartcd assist
ancc always so willingly accorded TO
newcomers who show themselves
really anxious to help forward the
general welfare of the community
That is the colonial spirit every
where. y man who wants 10 get on
Is helped on. Since the war. the re-
m!ttancc men. who wait the arrival
Of the monthly chcque from father
OF mother at the local post Office IN
Canada ana clsewhcr do not appear
to be ms numerous as they were he
fore. But. unfortunately, now AMI
then we still send out n nc'cr Go-wcll
who establishes himself in the local
club and gains for us Il reputation
ior slotn which spreads more rand
~ than ncws.of the success OF tho
nard- working newcomer. TO any
parents. who have designs on Fiji as
deposit. say. for the bad hat of the
family. would SAY empha;ically:
Don't!
As 20 the prospects for the riEh.
sort Of immigrant, | suggest that in
formation he obtained from MIR. Scott
himself (Suva. Hi! IslandS). or from
members Of the Overseas Club. some
Of whom came from another island
TO see me. am very grateful TO
them for their welcome. for the voy-
age they took. and for some of tho
information contained in this brief
attempt to direct attention to what
will one day be wealthy communi.
ty.
Most OF my information owe to
Mr.. Scott. TO members OF tho over
seas Club ana to the writer's Of the
local newspaper. which are surpris-
ingly good. considering their limited
sphere.
At the time OF my visit 4 strike OF
i!rdus was endinE-a strike partly
economic and partly in sympathy with
Mr.. Grandy. AEi;ators, WAS i'm
formed. had come from India To stir
up their co:npatriots. The case of the
employers, as far as asccrtainoJ
II. was that Indian Immigrants are
we'll paid and well housed. They
certainly look 1t. Ii is no; often one
sees people with necklaces and other
ornaments made up of English sover-
eiGns. hat here they were quite COM
mon. Indian wives were unusually
well dressed and had plenty of jew
Clry; and. rs the passengers cane
down the GanEway from our boIr
and wandered through we'll shaded
streets, most OF them were APP
preached by Indians. who asked them
II they had any gold to sell. Su;-
prislng as Il is, some OF them hai
y young Canadian sold an American
50 gold piece to Il coolie for thirty-
Two shillings. Another fellow pass
'ngcr sold sovereign. for twenty
five shi!lings.
object to Iiutmcnt Tux.
The housing OF the Indians ! saw
was superior to that have seen in
India. The coolies whom inter-
viewed seemed quiet and reasonable,
hut their complaint was that. though
their wages were good, the cost OF
living had Increased so greatly that
they We're unable to live as we'll "a
they did 1T home. They object also
TO the hutmtnt tax. pointed out TO
them that l had been in India and
doubted very mitch whether the scale
Of living III India was anything ar-
preaching that in Fiji. asked
whether it WAS true that \ large
number of their compatriots We're
anxious to come 10 Fill, and they at-
United that 1t was.
pointed out the phenomenon of In
dian natives buying gold from new
arrivals hv ship. drew attention
also TO the wearing OF English SOW
rreifns as necklaces. They were
s!lont.
i came away with tho conclusion
that the coolies in Fiji. like most
other people, nave some grievance:
but the fac, that they do not s,i,;-
Ecst that. beyond the passing after
math OF war trouble, they have any
real cause for complaint.
Western Pacific Confederation.
aIr. SCOTS opinion that the inter
es's of the empire in thcsc regions
would be best served BY q confeder-
alton Of the British islands OF the
western Pacific governed and con-
,roleG from common center, has
often been discussed in England ard
throughout Australia.
II YOU turn TO the map, you will
see what a vast area these islands
cover. There are the Gilbert and
El!icc Islands. which now form q,
colony. there ia Tonga. which is :,
iinEduIE. samoa ipronounced Sar-
moa) is governed Ivy 'the Dominion
or New Zealand under mandate from
ne league OF nations. The Solomon
Islands arc under the High Commiy-
Sioner for the Western Pacific. Tho
Ne" licb:ides is controlled by an
Anglo French combine. known as the
tpudominiun. which - about rs 5 &C.
,essfni as the divided government Of
Vansjer.
The Australians. naturally. wish
he center o. the Pacific federation
/ :" he 10 Australia. Some Sow Zealand.
YRS think that 1t should be In New
Zealand.
There are large iptar.... a, ,,,