72
Australasian
United Steam Navigation
Company,
Limited.
handsome structure, and forms a land-mark to ships entering the harbour. The town is well lit with gas, and there is a plentiful supply of good water. The market opens every morning at 5 o'clock and is over b y 8, everything being sold in open stalls, and during the three hours the " P l a c e du M a r c h e ' is a very busy and noisy spot, and is well worth a visit. One striking feature of the " Marche " is that all fish sold must, by municipal enactment, be alive, and it is not the least interesting of the matutinal promenade to watch the fishmongers diving their arms up to the elbow in the huge tubs on wheels, in which the fish are confined in salt water, to bring forth some finny prisoner for the purchaser's inspection. There are some fine drives in the neighbourhood of Noumea, the " Pont des Frangais," " L a Coulee," and the " Dumbea," and, in the opposite direction, the drive to the beach at " Anse V a t a . " N o u m e a is well supplied with carriages, and the tariff is moderate. N e w Caledonia is, owing to its natural conformation, more of a mineral than a pastoral or agricultural country. Nevertheless there are some fine coffee estates on the island, the N e w Caledonian coffee being much run after in France, and, if well looked after, a coffee plantation can be made remunerative. Indeed, coffee planting has taken such rapid strides that a steady immigration from France has set in during the last two years. This immigration is very much protected and encouraged by the H o m e Government, whose policy is to settle free people on the land and abolish gradually the penal element. Besides coffee, maize, lucerne, rice, and other produce are largely grown. Cattle and sheep do not thrive owing to the poor nature of the pasture. Notwithstanding the heavy tax of ÂŁ2 per head, cattle from Australia continue to be imported in sufficiently large numbers. Most of the islandgrown cattle are absorbed by the meat preserving works at Ouaco, on the west coast. This company has an extensive contract with the French W a r Office. Steamers leave Noumea for the east and west coasts every week, carrying mails and passengers, and are back in time to meet the outgoing mail for Europe and Australia. The steamers on this line are new and commodious, electric lit, and are an improvement on those of the late contract, which has just expired. T h e trip round the island is a most charming one, and takes eight days to accomplish. The steaming is all inside the reef in smooth water, and the vessel anchors every night. N i c k e l ore, although the chief mineral product, is being gradually superseded b y chrome ore, of which about 1,000 to 1,500 tons are shipped per month. The falling off in the export of nickel ore is due chiefiV to over-production, but