Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/493

 PACIFIC ISLANDS 371

Duff or Wilson Islands, eleven islands, the largest about 6 miles in circumference. Starbuck Island, 5° 30' S. lat., 155° W. long. ; area 1 sq. m,, uninhabited. Malden Island 4° S. lat., 155° W. long. ; area 35 sq. m., pop. 168. Jarvis Island on the equator, 159° W., area 1^ sq. m., pop. 30. Fanning Island, 3° 50' N., 159° W. ; area 15 sq. m., pop. 150. Washington Island, 4° 40' N., 160° 20' W., area 6 sq. m. Palmyra, 6° N"., 162° 30' W., area 1^ sq. m. Baker Islands, on the equator.

These islands are mostly of coral formation ; most of them grow cocoanut trees in large quantities, and some of them are valuable for their guano.

The High Commissioner of the Western Paciric, assisted by deputies, has jurisdiction, in accordance with an Order in Council of 1893, for tlie purpose of carrying out the provisions of the Pacific Islanders' Protection Acts of 1872 and 1875, and to settle disputes between British subjects living in these islands. The jurisdiction of the High Commissioner extends over all the Western Pacific not within the limits of Fiji, Queensland, or New South Wales, or the jurisdiction of any civilised Power, and includes the Southern Solomon Islands, and the various small groups in Melanesia.

The New Hebrides, however, are under a mixed commission of English and French naval officers on the Pacific station. Under the Anglo- French Convention of February, 1906, ratified October, 1906, there is an arrangement for the reorganisation of the administration. This convention also guarantees the interests of French, British, and natives, respectively, and Hxes the conditions of land-holding in the Islands. It also provides for the regulation of the recruitment of native labourers. Within the Islands Great Britain is represented by a Resident Deputy Commissioner, who reports to the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. The larger islands of the group are Espiritu Santo, Mallicolo, Api or Tasiko, Efate or Sandwich, Eromanga, Aipere or Tanna, Futnna or Erronan, and Aneityum. Area, 5,100 square miles ; population about 70,000. At the end of 1905 there were within the group 225 British and 417 French subjects. There are 3 French Catholic rnis.sion schools, and 1 Presbyterian. Settlers have acquired large areas within the islands ; and though there are many disputes as to rightful possession, and much of the land is still uncleared, cocoanuts (for copra), maize, millet, coffee, and bananas are grown, and a prosperous timber factory prepares Kauri wood for export. The dis- tillation and importation of spirits are prohibited. The expenditure for 1908 was estimated at 30,060iJ. or 15,030Z. for the British and an equal amount for the French. There are several French and British trading companies, and the commerce of the Islands, in the absence of statistics, maybe estimated at about 53,000Z. for imports, and 43,000L for exports. The trade is mostly with Sydney and Noumea (New Caledonia). The imports are provisions and foodstuffs, clothing, metal-work, and furniture ; the exports are maize, copra, coffee, and other island products. Vessels visit the islands frequently, including the repeated voyages of two French and one British company, whose steamers provide for communication with Sydney, Noumea, the Solomon Islands, and sometime? the Gilbert Islands.

Books of Reference.

Convention between the United Kingdom and France concerning the New Hebrides, signed October 20, 1906. London, 1907.

Foreign Office Reports on the Trade of Tonga. On the Solomon Islands. On the New Hebrides. Correspondence relating to the Administration of the Gilbert and EUice Islands Protectorate. London, 1908.

Pitcairn I.sland. Report by Mr. R. T. Simons. 1905.

TheCriminal and Civil Code of the Kingdom of Tonga. Auckland, 1891.

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