TEE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO, 



1.S5 



Humboldt Bay, ami c^ppe-WIty Jilmig thu southeast must The rtault is 

 (Mi ihu whole unfavourably t]u*ir general s«i-ipl1 eondiiinh appearing to 

 bo much lower tlian had Imm-h Mippoafd. Soniu i>f tin- pnrtki-s» a.s!-i'«-i;iti'd 

 with tlit-ir treatment or the dead, an alluded tohv the KngluJi mfcaioiiarics 

 about l'oi t Moresby and BftdtdtT Flay, are indescribably revolting,, and 

 ■Mm to place thew savage* at the wry lowest stag* of human culture. 

 Apart final provocation from Europeans, they are also found to ha natur- 

 ally falsa in n I treacherous, nf filthy habit*, and unclean Gttafl^ devouring 

 vermin ami all things digiutibk, while giving a deeded |.rrf. nm ■■ '.< 

 reptile*, pig, and man. In MUM) plaries carinihidism in iU most rcpulhivH 

 form is universally pruetised, and to attend on<Mif tlu?ir piTRidical rumiilud 

 fciuttu an in v\ tut i<ui was ^ nt to tin- IU-v. James Chalmers, who found the 

 guests strutting about M with pieces of liuinau flesh dangling from their 

 iipt k and arms." A child destined for this bain juet * 4 was spared far a 

 future time, it being considered too small." (Work and AilrrtTtttrti tn 

 JVVmj Gttimtt, 1S85.) Needless to say that nzuougst these QOOTrnnnltiw 

 Christianity has not made much progress. Some of the north -efuUcrn 

 tribes am ao backward that thf y ns* nothing but sdndl im [dement k J ilny 

 < ihlIiL li;iti]]y bu Tuuile to undkT^'ind the purpose ofa tomahawk, mid fWW 

 seared by a" match being struck by a member of Captain Behlgft'ssurmyiug 

 party (1SS4). Yet of good augury for the luturo ]* the fact that both the 

 true* I'lipLinnn and the half-caste Polynesians manufacture some article 

 And especially pottery, not only for local usu, but fur the express purpose 

 of trading with their neighbours. 



Political Division*.— While nuwt tvt ttae country remains in 

 the hand* of the natives, the whole island has sinee 1885 been nomi- 

 nally distributed amongst three European powers. The claims of 

 the Dutch to the Waster n half, a* far east as 141* E,, long., claims 

 based on the former rights or pretensions of the Sultan of Tidor, are 

 now fully recognized. The eastern half is divided in equal proper- 

 tionn between England and Germany, a conventional line drawn from 

 the Dutch frontier east wank forming the boundary between the 

 Britbli protectorate on the south-east and the German on the north- 

 east coast New Guinea is thus parcelled out in the following pro- 

 portions amongst ibuac three Stales;— 



Dutch New Guinea , 148,000 

 British „ .... 89,300 



Gorman „ .... 8*^000 



Total 324,500 



Thero ih no Dutch settlement in New Guinea, Dorcy at the north* 

 wetf entrance of Geelvink Bay being only it missionary station, noted 

 in the records of local exploration ns (he starting-point of many 

 expeditions to the interior. 'The German New Guinea Company ha* 



