NEW GUINEA AND Till: PAPUANS 4 I ."J 



island from the 141st i)arallel eastward is again sul»- 

 divided into two nearly equal portions, of which, by an 

 agreement with Great Britain in 1886, Germany pos- 

 sesses the northern, together with New Britain and 

 New Ireland, and the various small islands in the neigh- 

 bourhood. To this territory the name of Kaiser Wilhelm 

 Land has been given, and, in defiance of the rules of 

 geographical nomenclature, the names of New Britain 

 and New Ireland have Ijeen altered to Neu Pommern 

 and Neu Mecklenburg. All tins group, including the 

 Admiralty Islands, is collectively known as the Bismarck 

 Archipelago. 



This dominion is administered by the New Guinea 

 Company, who exercise the rights of sovereignty dele- 

 gated to it by imperial letters patent, except where such 

 functions are, in virtue of a special agreement, under- 

 taken either partly or wholly by officials appointed by the 

 home Government. The Commissioner is selected by the 

 Government from the Board of Agriculture, and is supreme ; 

 the head of the Company is known as the " Landeshaupt- 

 raann," and under him are various judges, residents, and 

 other officials. The Company received the imperial 

 authorisation on l7th May, 1885. No arms or spirits 

 are permitted to be sold, and the labour traffic is for- 

 bidden except for German plantations. There are five 

 districts — Finschhafen, Konstantinhafen, Stephansort, 

 Hatzfeldthafen, and Mioko — the latter in the Bismarck 

 Archipelago. 



Finschhafen, the most important settlement, is situ- 

 ated a few miles north of Huon Gulf. It has a good 

 harbour, and the land in the neighbourhood is especially 

 good, though thickly populated. The scenery is remark- 

 ably pretty. Though wooded near the sea, the country 

 immediately inland is hilly and dotted with clumps of 



