1264 



A USTRALASIA ILL USTRA TED. 



itself a valuable article of export, is easily grown, and yields abundantly ; tea and coffee 

 of excellent quality can be produced ; the cocoa-nut and other oil-yielding nuts flourish, 

 and Sir John Thurston, who has given the subject much attention, has demonstrated 

 that the most valuable spices can be cultivated. And yet, in spite of all its natural capa- 

 bilities, Fiji has not given a generous return to the investor. It must, however, be 

 taken into consideration that most of the settlers were men who brought very little 



capital or practical experience for investment in 

 the new colony. But, on the other hand, few- 

 men of those who were better qualified as 

 pioneer settlers have been able to make head- 

 way against the difficulties with which the) 

 were beset, and neither to the worker nor to 

 the capitalist has Fiji proved a good investment. 

 Of all the difficulties, perhaps that of labour 

 is the greatest. The Fijians themselves neither 

 can nor will supply the wants of the settlers 

 as constant workmen. Their own requirements 

 are so few, and so easily* satisfied, that they 

 have no motive for engaging in regular mono- 

 tonous work throughout the year. Moreover, 

 even if the able-bodied men were willing, there 

 are not enough of them to fulfill their tribal 

 obligations, and to supply the planters as well. 

 Labour, therefore, has to be imported either 

 from the other groups to the northward, as 

 far as New Guinea, or from India. This is a costly operation, and it will be perceived 

 that as a considerable amount of capital is required, Fiji is no place for men of small 

 means. Whether, as time goes on, it will remunerate the capitalist or not remains still 

 an undecided question. 



It has been amply proved that excellent cotton, tea and coffee can be grown, but 

 then, excellence of quality does not do away with the fact that their growers have not 

 been able to make them pay. Some years ago sugar, at the price it was then bringing, 

 offered a certainty of a splendid profit, and very large sums were invested in mills, 

 machinery and plantations, especially in the splendid sugar districts on the banks of the 

 Wailevu (Great Water), or " Rewa River." But with the fall in the price of sugar the 

 broad margin of profit, the prospect of which presented itself as a temptation to the 

 capitalist, has dwindled down. Copra the dried cocoa-nut is a valuable article of export, 

 and can be produced to almost any extent. The returns are not so speedy as are those 

 of the sugar-cane, for the palm requires several years to come to full bearing, even 

 under the most favourable circumstances ; but when a cocoa-nut plantation is once estab- 

 lished, it goes on yielding year after year with comparatively little outlay. Of minor 

 products the banana is an article of export of some value, though its perishable nature 

 makes the ventures in it somewhat hazardous, and the Australian market does not offer 

 room for any great extension of trade. Pea-nuts are easy of cultivation, and extremely 



SIR JOHN BATES THURSTON, K.C.M.G, 



