BRITISH ANNEXATION IN THE SOUTH SEAS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1795, 21 March 1888, Page 3

BRITISH ANNEXATION IN THE SOUTH SEAS.

♦ (" Wellington Prees ") The latest telegrams contain the announcement that England ifl abcot to annex certain islands m tht> South Seas. They are little known to the great body of our readers, and the following brief description may not be without interest. Penrhyu's island, called by tho natives Fararanga, 1b valuable on account of its splendid lagoon harbor, about nine miles long by seven broad. Thia lagoon abounds with pearl oysters and every kind of rial); thousands of tons of pearl shell have been sent away, and the eupply eec-ms almost inexhaustible. Turtle ore numerous and valuable both for the tortoise shol! of their armour, and as food. The Penryhan divera are reckoned the most dexterous of all the Pacific divora at this wovk. They sometimes dive eighty feet m depth, using no nose-clasp aa Indian fishers do. The cocoa-nut grovea have been wastefully destroyed here and fen remain. The harbor having two entranoee, Is very easy of access, and of great importance. Fanning Island aIBO has a very fine harbor, but it does not contain the or.iinary pearl oyster. Its place is Bupplied by a pearl-bearing oyster of great size (Tridacna Gigas) A single shell sometimes has been found to weigh several hundredweights. Tbia clam was not indigenous, but was brought to Fanning Island by an English vessel. The interesting stranger was petted, encouraged, nay, evtn deified by the islanders. Those shell-fish are very powerful, and sometimes snap off the fingers of an incautious diver if he accidentally insert hia hand between the two I huge valves. Fanning Island Is abundantly clothed with groves of the cocoa-palm, but does not possess any resident inhabitants. Fanning is north and Penrhyn south of the equator, both nearly due north from Raratonga The possession by England of theße two islands, with their fine havans, directly m the route between New Zealand and Panama, should be a matter of congratulation for the Australasian colonies.