THE MADEIRA OF THE PACIFIC.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1982, 21 March 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE MADEIRA OF THE PACIFIC.

Tnn recent decision of Parliament in the caee of Captain Armstrong, has given rise to so much public discussion that some particulars respecting Lord Howe Island may not be uninteresting to your readers. Let me begin by a brief resume of the case referred to. Some yeara ago Captain B. B. Armstrong, a retired naval officer, was appointed Resident Magistrate at the island. The inhabitants, who bad, up till that period, been " a law unto themselves," found the wholesome restraints placed upon them unpalatable, and, after some three years, succeeded in getting a Boyal Commission appointed to enquire into the conduct of their ruler. The charges were, for the most part, of a trumpery character, and in no way borne out by evidence ; but two were more serious in their nature. The first of the a e was that Captain Armstrong, in supplying seeds of palms, <fee. to Mr. Moore, the Curator of our Botanic Gardens, had over-charged for the eatne, and sought to make profit out of an oflicial transaction. The other wa3 that he bad sold intoxicating drink to the islanders. The Rayal Commission wan entrusted to the late Hon. J. B. Wilson, a gentleman with whom, during some years, I was most intimately associated, and for whora I enter tainedboth love and admiration, and of whom it miy be said that no man was more deservedly respected by his fellow citizens. In the matter of this enquiry, however, Dr. Wilson peems to have made a serious mistake, since it is alleged (and the statement has not been disproven) that ho refu?ed to permit Captain Armstrong either to call witnesses on his own behalf, or to cross-examine those who pave evidence against him. Tho result may bo easily peen : th«? Commissioner's report was unfavorable to Captain Armstrong, and he was dismissed. An appeal to the Legislative Assembly followed, and a committee of that body entered into an examination of the facts, finally reporting in favor of the appellant, and reversing the conclusions of the Commissioner. This report, after lying on the table of the House for months, was finally disposed of by a series of resolutions, which, whilol exonerating Capt. Armstrong, and stigmatising his dismissal as uncalled for, yet expressed regret ihat he had supplied drink to the inlander?, and and further cleared Mr. Moore from all blame I This astounding conclusion has drawn forth very strong expressions of opinions from the metropolitan journals, the great majority of which concur in holding Captain Armstrong blameless, and indicatiug that compensation ia due to him for the treatment he hai received. In the course of the debate, some very nasty things were said of Captain Armstrong, which ia the more to be regretted because that gentleman can show such a record of service as it is not likely can be equalled by any other rotircd officer in Australia. For his " conspicuous zeal and gallantry " in the Crimea, he waa specially promoted by Lord Lyons ; he received the Crimean and Turkinh medals and clasps, and n pension for wounds, besides being made a Knight of the French Legion of Honor, and of tho Turkish order of the Mcdjidio. During his careor, Captain Armstrong also distinguished himself by saving several persons from drowning at different times, and at the peril of his own life. It is probable that fe>v people will learn with regret that there is every prospect of his receiving ample compensation for his loss of ollice, and the attendant shame and trouble biqco another committee of the Assembly, appointed for the purpose of enquiring into the loss he sustained through dismissal, have reported that the land ho had on the island under cultivation was woith at least £1000, all of which is lost, as the plantation has beeu suflerod to run to waate. Since Captain Armstrong's dismissal, the* c has been no resident official on the island, but it has been visited at intervals by a Jujtico of the Peace, an arrangement which h very generally regarded as unsatisfactory, and even absurd, as the cost of these visits alone would more than suOice to cover the expense of a resident magistrate. Mr. William Clarson, well known as a writer on botanical subjeots under the name of " Linnrcus," published, some years ago, a very interesting pamphlet, under the same title a3 I have adopted for this artiole, in which he dealt exhaustively with the oapabilities of Lord Howe Island, pointing out that, owing to ita exceptional climate, it possessed natural advantages unshared by any other British possession in these eeas. lam indebted to that pamphlet for~much that I am about to flay. (In parenthesis, let me here direct your attention to the fact that I am just honeat enough not to filch another man's wares, and then palm them off as my own. It would have been quite easy for me to have transcribed largely from Mr. Clarson without acknowledgment— tb»t I do not do so is probably owing to my largo sense of concientiousnes3 — or, may be, to the fear of discovery — I prefer tho former supposition ) Lord Hows Island is situated about 400 miles from Sydney, in latitude 31 degrees 111 minutes 8. (Clarson — I am not a geographer.) It ia creecent- shaped, about seven miles in length, and very mountainous, its highest peak, Mount Gower, rising to an attitudo <5f nearly 3000 feet above the sea ; and it is perhaps as rear an approach to Paradise as any of us are likely to see this side of the Styx. The inhabitants (numbering about 60 persons) are, for the most part, old " shellbacks," who have selected this charming spot in which to while away their remaining years in peaceful sloth, and contemplation of the sinful past. They cultivate onions and bananas, live on wild pig and fidh, and enjoy themselves hugely — as long as the vrhieky holds out. lam jiißt Buttering to join (hem,

and h\o as they do in peaceful sloth and conemplation r>f mi/ sinful pabt — a<s for the w'dfky, us ]!ip Van Winkle remarked: "I Bchv<\u it oft " Am I bint'ular in my Ov-ha"} How m«uiy woild wfiiry Boheniuuis would gladly forsake the toils and pie.isuiea of the city for a life ■without duu^, without new j papprs, without cine for the monow? I gues^, if I tried to or^anirfo an expedition to Howe Island (and found the funds), very many Australian journals would be dull reading for awhile, and my banner would have a noble following. Everything {/rows in the island without any trouble to speak of, and in the matter of onions, it beats ths world. As onions are the staple fruit of pressmen, this fact would be a large inducement in itself. Oranges, lemons, bananas, peaches, and any quantity of tropical and sub-tropical fruits, grow wild, and no Chinaman would have a show in the place. Droughts and frosts are unknown, and the climate is remarkably temperate, knowing no such sudden changes as we experience on this continent. Mr. Clarion giveß the range of summer temperature at from GO to 80 deg., and slates that the thermometer rarely falls below -18 deg. in winter. He strongly urges the desirability of using this island as a sanatorium, and contends that, for auoh a purpose, it is in no way inferior to Madeira. Another inducement to speculators is the exceptional advantages the island offers as a fish ing station. Fish of all sorts and sizes swarm in its waters, and lie around just asking to be caught, as it were. A fortune might be made, in a quarter less than no time, by the transportation of these "critters" to Sydney, in boats with wells, or else cured, as they can be on Howe Island in a much more satisfactory manner than anywhere along our coast. All these good things lie a-waiting, for the N.S.W. Government have proclaimed the place a reserve, and settlement thereon is, therefore, almost impossible. It is to be hoped that era long there will be some modification of tlm policy, for such a treasure sb Howe Island should not be allowed to lie idle and unußed.