UNDER TWO FLAGS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1054, 17 February 1911, Page 9

UNDER TWO FLAGS.

IN-THE NEW HEBRIDES. THE FRANCO-BRITISH "CONDOMINIUM." The New Hebrides Islands' have-been the scene during the last ffw months of one of-the niost interesting- experiments iri the history of civilisation; Thero have been many instance's of peoples ofIho sanio race and language "nnialgiin'atibg under oiii Government, " nnd - there hiive.-.beeti.' still: ip.oro, frequent C »5*S; pjf; ono nation overwhelming another arid 'iniposing its -.laws, and, customs-, on thfcßulte ducd: nation..' But .rarely.' havo two no-" tions- of- about equal strength arid of. foreiit blood- coriio .together amicably,, anQ; by voluntary agreement appointed >a 'court:to' judge 'between' tho members ot one or the other nationality according to the laws of both. Yet, says the Sydney ."Daily Telegraph", in art lnterwling review of the new "Condominiujn, tnat is what tho-British and.Frenoh liavo done in tho Neiv Hebrides Group., lhero tno iiiiwritten ■ treaty between ana Great Britain, known as tho entonte eordiale,"'has''had the most results, for it has changed a situation that well might have been" a.sicorid Fashoda into oiio of the most friendly acts over accomplished between onco Hostile nations, t■ v .""- ':' ' '. ' v

In the Beginning. . ' TW. New Hebrides, were discovered by .the Spanish; navigator Do. Qtiiros m.? 600. ■No attempt .was made to. claim till about tho middle of, last., century. _ Then British . Subjects' began , to. some, in . tno different. islands, thougli Frenchmen clainled Wit, the. "dependencies mentioned in' Despointes's proclamation, referred to the griup. Yot. in 1871, hardly any Frnrichmen had settled there, whilst, there was a fairly large number of Brit; ish traders and missionaries. M°« •.®« trad 6, however, passed through Noumea, which strengthened the French argument that the islands were a ijaturnl adjunct to New Caledonia. Th? French siittlers who went to tho islands'under the auspices of the New Comniiny had the benefit of practically free trade with France, and their rmmbprs spon surpassed those of the British. Then it was that the need of $orii4 authority or court to settle disniltes began to be felt. Hitherto li passing cuubcat was the only emblcrii of law or order seen iii the group. In IS?" the Joint Naval CommisMori wis brought into beins. Tt consisted of two officer from a British and two from a French warship, presided over by the British and French Com; niandants alternately. "The _ duty, of the commission was "to maintain .order and nrotect (lie.persons and croods of the s"bjc6ts of the two nations ifl-thd islands. -. No Marriage-Laws.

.But thero was no civil law.' Marriages between colonists in tho islands were considered illegitimate, a contract could not be enforced, in respect of a non-criminal offence. Committees'. which were formed in tho populous centres sought to provide a tribunal for tho colonists, and marriages wero celebrated "in'the nauio of public morality.".... ... In 1895 an Arbitration Court, with a British and French judge was formed by the colonists themselves, aud givou th? narno of "SpociaL Jurisdiction of the Union of Colonists." This court, however, was not allowed to sit, the Joint Naval Commission .having, imposed its...veto. Five' vears. later'..both, the .British, and French settlers had, the'right to. appeal to a court presided over by. a jucmo'Of their own '..natiori',...bnt'ithcro..,still was. lacking a coinmon" fribiinal t6 settle uispntes arising: amongst British, F.reneli; tr, natives, ; •There'iiias/ii.o pjjrit atfwhi.Ch'the; British "arid. F/.cU'ih J conrts ■They w ; erb"'paTuncl,: jurisdictions "with' no. fiommon debfttirig ground. Enter: The-Joint Court. ' . So, drawn together by the differences of their subjects, tho British.anii Ji'fe.Bch Goverrimerits appointed tho'J6irit Court of tho. ,Neiv' Hobridesj which canio into cxisterico.'oflici(illy'.'.:at ( . l Vilal oi). H^;oygnl bcr 15,1910. Its, members are'Couilt'ofßuenft .Espcranza (president, appointed ,by the Kiug of Spain),- Judge . Rosoby'. (Great Britain), and Judgo ;.. Colouna ', '(Franco).; Before the.Corirt could sit a vast ain6unt of work' had, to bo dori6. by tho British and French: Judges in the way. of drawing up rules of procedure. The, Joint Court was constituted as, a Supremo Court, a Land Court, an- .Arbitration Court, a District Court, and a Criminal Court.. Tho rules of procedure had, there-, fore, not only to cover all these Courts, but to be', in' every case, a fair ainalgatiori of the British and French systems. Moreover, the Judges,', in..drawing .up these riiles,■ could- filid ,no:preceueut ta. work from.There,, was.;npthiri? ,t:o" help -them in the-rul&T bf' tho Joint..Court, of: Egyp^'br; : 6f^M:Wg9«'Td^l.", had, tfiereforOj to 'construct.'for..:them-, selves a new Tnethod.of .procedure,'know : int, at the same, time,', that , they were creatitig pricederit, which, might- oho day' be .uSed' in a .far. larger ..Sphere tjian tho New Hebrides : .' " After many weeks' work. t)io rules for the Joint Court Woro drawn up, and they are now being printed in Sydney under the direction of Judgo Rosoby, who.camp to Australia- for that purpose. They cover 61 foolscap pages divided into two columris; -. One-column is in , English and tho oth6r ill French, each clauso of the rules being printed opposite its neighbour. In the interpretation of . these rules, and, iri fact, in the whole business bf tho Court, tho Judges have not only to bo Experts iri tho different branches Of thi law, but good linguists also. Cawe havo often tiirried oii the interpretation of a phrase. It will be-interesting.to tee whether tho dual expression Of a clauso iri different languages will help or corifuse its interpretation... .. ■

"Features of the flow Law. . . ~, In mariy -respects tho rules are strange to English eyes, especially where French procedure haS been grafted On to our own legal methods. For instance, provision is made for tho creation of the ofiico.of. "Court bailiff" to correspond to the French "huissier." He serves summonses and carries on the official correspondence between Court and litigants—work which,, in English countries, is douo by . solicitors. But ,? tho bailiff of the Court may not act for his parents in tho' direct line, nor for. his brbthers, sisters, or relatives in tho same degTee." In criminal cafes the procedure, except as prbvidcd -in the rulcs of the Joint Court,, fihajl the natioualtiy. of, or apnlwd to, tho mjured party.. There shall also bo tneno assessors chosen by, lot to be summoned to assist iri tho trial'.** Special rules have been, framed to deal with cases iri' which''foreigners are concerned.' "Iri civil and (iommercial cases it a defendant or accused bo neither Bntisn nor Frerich ho' may havo tiio choico of the legal system to. bo applied to his. case. In police- and . criminal •' cases- if ho is the prosecutor or irijurod party the Loilrt will decide on tho system to bo used. If he is the prosecutor together with cither French subjects or British OTbjects, tho system.to be used shall b6 that of the nation of tho co-prosecutors; but if the co-pro secutora aro both French and British thon the Court , shall decide as to tho systerii. ! Iri ari'y caso all rieccssarj may bo taken by,' tho prosecuting officer to enhiro tho presence of tho .accused at the trial. When an Offcnco has "been comihittid against one bf tho duicers 6f tho Court, tho accused, if non-native. shall bo trUd according to the penal iaws of tho nation lib belongs to; if ho is a native he will bo triod under either national law; arid if ho is a foreigner ho will likewise bo,triod under laws of either nation as the Court thinks fit unless ho has chosen' orio or the .other -within, a certain time. . • ,

A Significant Remark.. ■ So much for this' very interesting re; view in'..'the. "Sydney Daily Telegraph. Now, here is ft curious point. During tho recent visit of tho French frigate KerSaint to Wellington; ft reprostntativo uf The Dominion - w'ns privileged to visit tho warship, arid while on bbard was courteously accorded a)i interview with. Compandor Tioreelin, who spiaks excel; lent English. Tho conversation was mainly of a general character, but during a. brief reference to affairs, in the New Hebrides, the Cbnimander riiado a sigriiiicant rtoark, apropos of recent statements which had appeared in" tho riresS. These statements need not bo , detailed here. At ariy rate, the Coriimarider Said that ho did riot think the condominium would last.longer .thaii'about three "years. Now, what did " Commander. Tiercelia mean by that?