THE FIJI ISLANDS.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 77, 25 November 1864, Page 3

THE FIJI ISLANDS.

(From the New Zealand Herald.) The following 'description, of life in Fiji has been - kindly; handed atofius for publication by a gentleman resident in this city : — • ._ ■■ „.%-, ■;.. :_ 7 ; ' , j : In your letter of last February you; request information relative to; the capa- , bilifcies of Fiji generally. I will state aj few facts that may give you,; some idea ; of the place. '' " ' "'' ";"""" -~" " ; The land on the north side of both thej large islands is beautiful in .appearance,; excellent pasturage': f " for" sheep, aud! slightly wooded, admirably adapted forgrowing cotton, sugar, coffee, ginger, &d The grasses are as fine as anything Ij ever saw ; climate' about the same as Ij ha\e found io at Wide Bay, in Queens-; land ; plenty of small rivers, but-; only) "two , of >.them ..that , are , navigable^TTor; vessels for any distance. No fevers or. other sickness but dysentery; every, disease appears to be concentrated in this one dysentery." ' However, with only i moderate care and attention, to diet, this complaint W its' stages is easily overcome. One method of treating it is I with calomel, ipecacuanha,^ and opium; I one grain of each taken from- one' to- four times f in 24 hours, .until, the gums'; are i slightly affected, or tlieMisease'has'clisap; peared.-. Arrowroot and milk are the«.besfc diet for invalids. Fish is positive "poison, , i and- people'seldonr recover if they indulge in fish, even in small quantities}. • .Not a single case of dysentery has "proved "fatal to the white residents .during the last year where the above medicine was procurable and taken, consequently" We may sj-yrthat Fiji is quite as, heal thy as the 1 Mauritius; of the climate of the "latter I 1 have had at;times much experience;/ | Cocoanut oil has baen almost hitherto i the principal article of export from thes.islands ; at present it is the rage, and about 5000 acres are now under cultiv jtion altogether ; aud many of our cot oh farms are very respectably:-! y white people, .whohaye an interest in the produce. Next _ year . a . considerable quantity of moat superior cotto i will be aent here from to Hydiioy, and although cotton inayU'all qqjoKlvton-tHa eefctWn^ttt

in lTiji as cheaply as iii; : $rg,^r\ : pf : : tfo£ : 5 ?*w<)rld-M^< : }M^^ years, and^a£^^tlia,t -wo uldv^require/^-fresh _plan^g'll2^e~j^^ 2000los. pej^acrQ-y>W/e; igackjOO|P j^ottqn in; wool bales, „ each". contain ng26olbii. clean ginned cottbiil' I havißiieeWputting up a^windmill to turnTcOtton gins,^d. Mhave"ciijaheii a a^bbiit ' thirty - bales; u wMc&'' f was sent to Sydney and realised 2s; per lb., a^^m^ne" 1 great -*• growii^by' p nati yet a^white' aettfesi c n^:fri^4 ss i^v.. •' — j-^-r^ilT^ bales. .Neit_y^ar_the quantity shipped " |wil] be somdtKin'o^ may possibly then offer "-some. ■ in^cement to tlie Government to take us under.itß, pro« .-, ' tection. The windmill referred to' now cleans about 520 pounds^of, eotfcon, or.two 'bales per diem. '. : r ..;C > '„■ ,.' ■■s&^ '-$ / {The Natives, on the : wiiole, ■';*■'• jiDOut the same as Bhey!; .do ik; tlie "other^ rislands. We get them in gangs wheiiibhey c v 3are in want of ,any T pitrticular thih^;;|put ; when that is^ob^ihexf'ho mdueei^ent ;^ill v make them do any work' until some other *■ article is much required. But the whole T^ol^esian -race -are r bad. - r;: -. : ■ ;%* When I'll^J^^ down with me ldoo sheep", ;whicn*arri ved atlTj.ji ? withth^ the .want, "of^^young,. tender, sueciileht grass | lor A fooat'(the Nativegrasses (in the station npt having been previously ' buriit)7 T the : a sheep, from : eating" ; the ! l6iig J dried -coarse grass, were' attaekedlbydtidigestion, which -carried. offinearly. 500 of them before either I or-other-recent importers of-them-under-— stoodn jth,e jjnatriire ?of f itheir rcomplaint. / '<Jb then adopted my Vowi* plan, and kept » 1 large extent of the old-grass on the station burned? a and fblded^the^sheep^eyery ; njghtp fpri^a'US'fiek,, and- in; that^time- not a. single" case of sickness-.remained un cured, and for , more than a^year I did not lose "a "single" * s'heep.^^l.hLad. altogether' upwards 0/ 600 lambs' tbi's ! y^a'r^^ ]jy well. A friend of mine who-6vvns--a — iheep run adj6iriing:mine;*ib'asrarrange'dit<> •ijake care ofVmy: sheep/jon terms, along with his .ow;n,-as:l could ngt spare time from other-matters Jbo.ojr^^^ The coarse .long, grasses require -to -he Durn.efl_„p.erio.djcally, dike ,. similar grasses are tbus-^ burned > -orjL l th^e prairies, of .the . Western States .oi^Jinimca. v Our sheep station compris"es°ffikn^ I; I^¥ n i £ 3 t k afc 1 vith^^^gFui mauagemen^f jveinay escape the evils of a collision witli the Natives}'- and) WerituaUy^Jestablish a jGi-overnment like that- of the Sandwich Isla\fa^3anbl^ community will spring up eventually—-. alfchou^h^this^'im^roved ;'sta|e' &' ''things; Jbanuot _be effected without!' 'yery'^reaiy" pri varies of 'all fends^ and* "many demises to jthe first pioneers: -yet^we' have got on ; iwell with the Missionim^ ithatftHey.ba:Y!B:A^ and- that com merce-^is-of-only-Yery-secon dary-impor--stance — these' views^of theirs^^must ; hot be with, r ps a nestof J\orhets might '■ be let loose. I am individually on the fbest terms with them~al-I, although I do ■ : not frequent- any a o| their .churches., bjit I 1 simply oblige wbeii needed* by "doing j little matters for tbem-witb a good grace, Ito (fchejj)est^f^^ myrj;abilit^",r and n by, giving )m'y advice courteously wbeii asKed. " """I ; have 'had^sever^i "'losses -tiihes, more especially by the. ill-fated Swan, from .% Auckland, but have nevertheless enjoyed JoOd'Kealfcb all 1 th&. wbilef Affairs ; are r hoyr looking we11., ,, r T y .-,... ;r . ..-. "^ " We have a fine^^ breed of pig's" and goats, some 'cattlej and soon- plenty^ of. sh'eep^ . with yams, taro, rand a , yariet^ of that are suitable forcabbage. Friiit' trees" will m ot succeed- in ;- ; the r hot, -loWj; rPP 21 ?* lands,l3ufc grow" very well' on ; our 'station, where some of" the land is 3000 feet, above the sea, and where it is cool, ajad" wili grow everything in the druifc-bnej just the same as the more elevated "plains "of the Sandwich Islands, : where 5 thave r seeh good Wheat and potatoesjgsqwn,at from 2^ooo to SOQO^.feet above_the sea^ level. . ; : c ' a Tfie tr forud rot^'^ovbrhmehi 5 at present is feudal; it may h.&z : shprtlyjiith^t.i,''phjß Bau Chiefs will elect a King— if so, things may settle down intbWmething approaching orderiand^securityjUnlesstthe ßeligious party interfere. Were this party to mind their professed X3allihg^^he^' t; VTOuId a be much .respected, *;and; ,doj -much: towards civilizing^, the j^. but at present they -influence ihe-Natiyes— to-give -them ct^oa^uVoil,- &Ja;± in^returh forißiblest -fcsC which has^*rather 'i - neutpalizihg effect. . The Catholic. Missionaries do not trjadeat ali^which'is a'good example to theoth^rs. .§ome rivalry e^^^^ sects; as emayebe o easily supposed/. 4rade 'of sFijt'; ■'• ought 'to -belong ex,clusiTCl^\;tib;; ;^^he jieareat large., .mercantile^; port ; and' when you get things. settled with tne;-Maories, &c., there is no doubt of its being attended r toir^l^&rfk 'ffajk? f ; /•; f.; .; JX~'S.7jX.P'"vfi ::: ■■.