PACIFIC PROBLEMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 74, 26 March 1920, Page 7

PACIFIC PROBLEMS.

A MATTER OF LABOUR. '" DETELOPING THE ISLANDS. MP. .IA.MKS ALLEN'S VIEWS. Tt 'ii". m! 1 lie summed up in the one • word t_i_ur: that h the outstanding;' •-e'-'cm ~f the islands, said Sir .lames,Allen, leader of -he Parliamentary, party t" the island-* of tiie -south Sea.-. ' -hen Interviewed aboard the Mokoia to-'' day. That question' is not so prominent, in K.irot.uiga as in some of the other', islands, li.it even there it is intimately l! associated with the development of the I'onk '.roup. iThe ~|.ect of th.. trip, continued Sir 'lines, was to enable members to see for! them-ehes the conditions prevailing in tho islands, and ,-specially to enable them i to make a careful study of the labour ■' rroh'em. That problem was probable , most acute in Samoa, where so much • utlt:-. anon had been accomplished by the Hermans who were there before us." He , could n"t say what members' opinion, were, hut he gathered that most were convinced that ,ie must face the re-'pe-!<sib:lity of keening the islands in a cond'tion in which they could oroduee nnd distribute their products. Further, it was not right to allow the rich islands ■it the Pacific to lie idle when so many neople were wanting 'the things which ther produced in such lavish profusion. Members had ■?tn fur themselves that it was impossible to keen up production in Samoa, with native labour only. and that the European nwnel plantationmust be abandoned ~r labour must be procured from outside. They also knew ■ hat so far' as present information went : r was impossible to set either J. van»se or Solnmon Island labour. No on- wis-hrd to deal with Samoa in the same way as Fiji had !>een dealt with, by the imoorta"on of co.-lei and 'heir wives, because, that meant the ultimate extinction of the Samoan. and he gathered that the j hulk of members were convinced that the simplest solution of the difficulty was to continue the introduction of Chinese lahour. Tbe point which was troubling some of them was not so : much the introduction of labour as the moral question, and that opened un a, problem which seemed almost insoluble/ The Government's present information | was that the Chinese would not be allowed to bring in the ; r wives; N'ewi Zealand could not contemplate with j equanimity th° pros-sect of Chinese marrying Samoan wives. and taking them to China, but he hoped and believed that a period of short indenture. ear not more than thr»e vnar-. would h« a partial solution of a difficult question, though it could by no means be regarded as a comnlete solution. As fir as he could see the Chinese lived quite contentedly in Samoa, and they were not a serious menace to the Pomoan Tare so lop? as they were not allowed to remain there in pernetuitv. He cou'd -»p no better way to preserve the Samoan race, and to keep the island productive than to continue the policy on the lines existing at present. A FIELD FOR SETTLEMENT. When the question of the disposal of the P.H. and P.O. plantations. some thousands nf acres of which have been brought to a stage nf complete cultiva-t'c-n. was raised sir James sa ; d that after sPeing these plantations he was convinced that it was not wise to attempt an immediate pnliev nf settlement upon them. Trained men who knew how fn manage copra production were not available, and it would be necessary. for some time at all events, to work these plantations as community concerns, in order to make the best u=e of the drying machines and other plant He favoured using the big plantations w T-aip!ne- grounds for peoplp who would eventual'v take up the land. Any man of intelligence and vigour should have Ihe opnortnnitv of getting this training, with the opportunity later on of taking im -200 acres of land. He had thought that a hundred acres would be sufficient, but after going into the question on the = "ot ho bePeved that the area should be double that size. A man taking un land in Samoa should have the onnort"nity of making a real'v good living, his prospects should be better .than : n New Zealand, and he believed that would be achieved under the system he had outlined. It wart suggested that planters in Samoa feared that if the Government, with its unlimited resources, worked the plantations they would be able to secure labour by outbidding the pr!vat° employer, but Sir James did not think that that fear was well ground. 1. The Government, in running the plantations, would do so for a limited time only, and ib did not want to pay high wages and thus injuriously affect the prospects of those who would ultimately take them ever. TN THE COC»K GROUP. Sir James was not inclined to attach too much importance to the differences between the administrator and the whites in the Cook group. The whites had now the opportunity of obtaining representation on the island council, providing they were prepared to ac?ept the accompanying conditions of island prohibition and of a law preventing coil ibitation between white men and native women. That matter would < ome before Cabinet shortly. Transport was the principal trouble in the group just now. but that was a trouble that would right itself. The Union Company would, he- believed, provide for all the trade that was available, but at present en-_ side seemed Vo be waiting for the other to move. Personally he had no fear but that the shipping facilities would provide for the full development of the islands. THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN. Sir James was reminded that there were some who questioned the wisdom nf New Zealand accepting the mand'te in Samoa. He had no doubt upon the matter himself. He doubted very much whether Australia, with her extreme white. Australia policy. could do better than New Zealand. The suggestion had been made that there should be a federation of the islands of the Pacific, but he did not see how that was going to benefit Samoa. The other alternative, control by the Colonial Office had little to recommend it- The administration was too far away, and. there was nobody to appeal to, as .-saraoa could now appeal to New Zealand t-ie proximity of the two allowing of an interchange of visits impossible in the case of direct 'British control. He was perfectly certain that it was for the good of Xew Zealand andl as well as of Samoa that control of the islands should ■be taken over. -If the Dominion did not take an active interest in Pacific questions, its politicians and people would grow narrow minded. He was perfectly certain that the visit just concluded, had broadened the minds or" the members who made the trip, and that they would be- of more value t o New Zealand than if they had not agisted in the voyage •f investijation.