OPPOSITE VIEWS OF FIJI AS AFIELD FOR COLONIZATION.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 692, 2 August 1870, Page 3

OPPOSITE VIEWS OF FIJI AS AFIELD FOR COLONIZATION.

The Melbourne paper, the Argus and the Age, recently gave some account of Fiji, supplied by their respective correspondents from Levuka, which present very different pictures i of the value of the islands as a field for colonization ; we append both : The correspondent to the Argus says : —" I do not think that these islands will ever be a field for emigration in the commonly accepted meaning of the term. There is but little opening, if any, for the genuine Working man. Immigrants without capital will not be able to get on. Any man capable of being a good overseer would command far better wages in Victoria than here. Working immigrants, if they came in any number, would speedily sink into a position analogous to that held by the mean whites in the Southern States previous to the war. I shall have occasion in future letters to refer more particularly to the cotton plantations, the expense of starting them, and the probable returns which may be looked for; but I will give here in a short space the conclusions at which I have arrived upon these points—thanks to information most kindly given to me by those who have had most experience in these matters —leaving the facts upon which I have I built them up to another time. I I believe then, that any man who comes I down to Fiji with the intention of I living in tolerable comfort from the I first, who does not wish to run into I debt, and will not be dependent upon 1 the unsatisfactory Fiji labor, but who I will engage as soon as possible fifty I imported hands, with a responsible I overseer, ought not to bring with him 1 less than £ 1,000. The actual expenses 1 of the first year, calculated on a libe--1 r al scale (for cost of men and their keep I alone), I have found to amount to just I £I,OOO. If, however, an energetic man 1 comes down with the intention of J roughing it somewhat, is content to go | & at first for making a good living I rather than a fortune, and is not averse 1 t» running in some degree into debt, I he may have a very good prospect of

success with from £2OO to £SOO. In any case, Fiji is no Eldorado ; there is hard work to be done and considerable risk to be run for the high percentage it is expected to get. That the per-centage is high will be seen from the fact that a man well acquainted with the subject would be willing to guarantee a clear £lO on the year's growth of each acre of Sea Island cotton. There is no doubt that at such a rate he would be a great gainer. Taking fifty imported men, it is a low estimate that they would clear and plant fifty acres in*the first year. It will be seen that my figures are considerably higher than those which have been given as the cost of starting a plantation, aud no doubt in former days they would have been too large. But now all the best lands which the natives are willing to dispose of—there is a good deal which they will not dispose of for any price—is in the hands of white men, who have a very complete idea of its value. Moreover, the cost of labor and food is greater. I say this because when I was in Melbourne I saw published what I now consider to be a most exaggerated view of the advantages of Fiji."

The contributor to the Age says:— " There is a regular rush here after land; people are flocking in from all parts of the various colonies, and land is rapidly rising in value. Planting. As an instance of successful planting, I know one planter who commenced a little more than three years ago with only ten men, who has cleared nearly £13,000 from his plantation, and with ordinary luck, his crop next season will produce about £4OOO. He has 150 acres under cultivation. Levuka is growing up like a goidfiekls township ; storekeepers are doing tremendous business, hotels are crowded, and everything going a-head. I have not seen such a stirring place since the olden days of the eolony. There is a fine opening for a first-class hotel. Parties coming here must have capital. Any fellow with an ordinary amount of brains and a little capital can do well here, but they must not look much for luxury, as roughing it is all the go here." As to banking, the correspondent says:—" Doing business here is very unsatisfactory, as merchants' orders and lOU's are the circulating medium. A branch bank connected with any Melbourne institution would coin money." Again, as to trading, he says : —" For trading, obtaining labour, &c, among the islands, a smart vessel of from 80 to 100 tons is absolutely necessary. A small steamer with light draught of water would be invaluable. I have known £3OO per month paid for a small craft to go for labor.