NEW GUINEA.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR:1
SIR,—Having stated in my letter to the Spectator of the 14th inst. that as yet missionaries had been only landed on Yule Island, and on various points of the shore lying to the westward, where man- grove-swamps fringe the coast of New Guinea, allow me to correct an unintentional error which crept into my letter, through my omitting to state that a mission had been established in 1873 at Port Moresby, 55 miles to the south-eastward of Yule Island, where the high land first emerges from the mangrove-swamps, and where, as I have already publicly stated, the coast of New Guinea becomes more healthy.
In February, 1875, the Rev. W. Wyatt Gill, B.A., published a paper on "Port Moresby, New Guinea," in Good Words, and I now purpose, through your kind indulgence, to place before your readers the statements contained in that paper, and thus letthem judge for themselves as to the accuracy or otherwise of the state- ments made by Mr. McFarlane on the same subject, in the letter bearing his signature which was published by the rmes of the 6th inst., and concerning which that journal remarks, in its leader of the same date, that "as to the facts of the case, the letter we print this morning from Mr. McFarlane is much more to be relied on than the pictures of New Guinea painted by pro- fessional artists for professional purposes." Mr. McFarlane says in the Times that "there is positively nothing to be had on the south- east peninsula, so far as we know, which is of any commercial value." The Rev. W. Wyatt Gill says in Good Words, when speaking of Port Moresby :—" The general aspect of the lowlands is un- inviting, patches here and there only being capable of cultiva- tion. The solitude of the glens is relieved by the presence of magpies, quails, and numerous other beautiful birds. But whilst from a gold-digger's or a planter's point of view this part of New Guinea may be uninteresting, to the philanthropic and Christian mind, the whole region is full of interest. The in- habitants are evidently part of that race which has overspread central and eastern Polynesia. They are mild and inoffensive ; war is rare. Cannibalism and infanticide are happily unknown. They subsist on bananas, yams, cocoa-nuts, and sago ; in seasons of scarcity, as in many of the South-Sea Islands, they cook and eat the stump of the banana. They are excellent fishermen, and are fond of the chase. Wallaby-hunting is a grand employment. The women are exquisitely tattooed ; the men very slightly so. The former wear neat girdles; Use latter are nearly nude. The destruc- tive cyclone of the South Pacific is never experienced here The soul, which they call Tirava, travels at death to Erema, a land far away in the region of the setting aim, beyond Cape Suckling (the last bold promontory towards the west), where the sago-palm grows most luxuriantly." And quoting from a letter received from the Rev. A. N. Murray, Mr. Gill writes :—"The first inhabited district in the interior of Port Moresby is named Manuolo, and comprises several villages. From early times the people inhabiting these villages had maintained a hostile attitude towards their countrymen on the coast. They waylaid, robbed, and murdered them as they found opportunity. The consequence was, the shore people left off going any considerable distance into the bush. At this their enemies in recent times came right down to the beach to rob and plunder, and among the spoil secured on one occasion was an article which greatly took their fancy, viz., sago. And now a happy thought sprang up in their minds,— they would make friends with the people on the coast, so as to share the coveted article without the risk and danger of fighting."
Now, Sir, Mr. McFarlane should have been in possession of these facts when he penned his letter with a view to keeping settlers out of New Guinea, and he ought therefore to have known of the existence of sago as an article of commerce along the coast of the south-eastern peninsula, for Cape Suckling is only ten miles to the south-east of Yule Island, and yet he says that to obtain this article of commerce an expedition would have to go "to the head of the gulf," and that it does not grow in the very locality named by Mr. Murray in his letter to Mr. Gill.
Speaking of this same locality, Mr. McFarlane says also that "there is one product of the country not mentioned by the emigrants, but which they are likely to get before any of the others, viz., fever." Here we read of "the country" as if Mr. McFarlane had traversed the whole of New Guinea, while in reality he has only lauded at one or two spots on its southern coast, among the mangrove-swamps ; and the very fact of the sago-palm not being found in the interior of the island proves that a colder climate there exists than is experienced on the coast, with regard to which we learn from Mr. Gill as follows :—"The first detachment of teachers was landed in 1873, at Anuapata (--- Great Land), on the shores of Port Moresby, and was well received by the natives. In February last year Mr. Murray paid a second visit V Port Moresby, taking with him Pin i and his wife to reinforce the infant mission. Ere anchor was dropped, the old teachers pulled on board the tiny craft (of only twenty tons) to greet the missionary and Pin. instead of the sickly hue they had when temporarily staying at Cape York (Australia), they looked healthy and stout; their wives, however, were ailing." What the ailment was that affected these worthy spouses of the native teachers is not stated, but no mention is made of fever. In fact, Mr. Gill concludes his paper with the words, "One cannot resist the conviction that the time to favour New Guinea has come."—
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