Report of the Commission appointed to Inquire into the Decrease of the Native Population, with appendices.

  • Fiji. Commission appointed to Inquire into the Decrease of the Native Population.
Date:
1896
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Commission appointed to Inquire into the Decrease of the Native Population, with appendices. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    13/442
    COLONY OF PUT. DECREASE OF THE NATIVE POPULATION. (EEPOET OF THE COMMISSION APPOINTED TO INQUIEE INTO.) ^ov&rrbor of <^iji^ ^g.^ (^g. Suva, 19tli July, 1893. Mat it please YorR Excellency,— 1. The Commission appointed by Your Excellency to— (1) Inquire into, and report upon, the causes suggested for the Decrease in the Native Population, and the remedies proposed for checking such decrease, in the Heplies to the Colonial Secretary's Circular* of the 30th December, 1891; and (2) Generally to report upon the causes which, in the opinion of the Commission, have led, and still lead, to a decrease of the population, and what remedies can be applied to check the decrease have agreed to the following Report, which is now respectfully submitted for Your Excellency's consideration. 2. In the course of our inquiry we have examined seventeen Native Eijian witnesses, three Gilbert Islanders, two Hotumans, three Samoans, one Native of Eutuna, two Tongans, two Solomon Islanders, two Banks' Islanders, and one Tamil; making in all a total of thirty-three persons, besides others whom we have interrogated incidentally. We have had the advantage of the services of the Medical Staff of the Hospital for the purpose of making certain analytical experiments, to which we shall h reafter refer. We should, perhaps, mention that during the course of this inquiry we have had to carry on the work of the several Departments with which we are officially connected. We have, therefore, been compelled to repeatedly lay aside the work of the Commission to make way for pressing duties of current routine. Had it been possible to relieve us of those duties, we should have been in a position to present our Report at an earlier date. Preliminary. 3. Before proceeding to discuss in detail the two questions which Your Excellency has been pleased to remit for our consideration, we deem it well to set forth the opinions that have been put on record by early observers as to the number and density of the population of the Eiji Group. 4.