7 6 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



adequate and, so far, reasonable as to cost. 

 Those, therefore, engaged in industrial pur- 

 suits, possess an advantage in being able to 

 draw their labour supply from the Territory, 

 thus obviating the heavy expense of importing 

 coolie labour. The native is excellent at scrub 

 clearing, and shows a considerable aptitude 

 and intelligence in acquiring a knowledge of 

 his duties, if explained by practical example ; 

 this is especially the case with plantation work. 



During the year ending June 30, 1909, 4,226 

 natives were indentured, and apparently no 

 difficulty was then being experienced in readily 

 obtaining all the labour required. The maxi- 

 mum wage, including rations, was about is. per 

 day in 1909, These indentured Papuans are 

 considered by competent authorities to be quite 

 equal to the Kanakas of the Melanesian 

 Islands of the Pacific, who were, until recently, 

 largely employed on the Queensland sugar 

 plantations. 



Coming to the matter of soil and rainfall, 

 we are told that the latter is heavy and evenly 

 distributed, with the exception of a strip of 

 country extending along the south, about forty 

 to fifty miles east and west of Port Moresby, 

 the capital. As to the nuts themselves, a 

 planter of many years' practical experience in 

 Ceylon has carried out some careful experi- 

 ments as to the relative value of coco-nuts 

 from the Solomon Islands and Ceylon as com- 

 pared with the indigenous nuts growing round 



