The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1885.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXIII, Issue 7484, 25 February 1885, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1885.

When General Scratchley arrives at Wellington there will be a discussion in Cabinet about increasing the subscription of New Zealand to the sum total of the expenses of his Government of New Guinea. «The Colony stands committed to a pro rata share of the sum of .£15,000. Until the joint guarantee for that amount was granted by the Colonies of Australasia, the Imperial Government did not care about making any serious effort to annex New Guinea, or rather that portion of the island which the German Chancellor intended to permit them to annex. But since the annexation has been proclaimed, it has been found that ,£15,000 will not pay the expenses of governing the now territory. The Governor has no capital from which the acts of government can be performed. He is obliged to travel about in his steamer from one harbour to another, and steam travel costs money. It is true that he will have no shore establishment, but it has beeD found certain that the .£15,000 will not nearly compass the necessities of the floating position. Originally the Imperial Government warned the Governor that anything he might spend over and above the ,£15,000 guaranteed would have to come out of his own pocket. The position was awkward. Since then New South Wales has refused to contribute more than her share of the .£15,000 originally promised, on the ground that there is no reason to expect any proportionate benefit. New South Wales, moreover, has given the Wolverine to the New

Guinea Governor. Victoria is very | sore that Germany has been allowed to obtain a footing in New Guinea, and so is Queensland. It is unlikely that they will agree to any increase of the original amount. New Zealand is pretty sure not to either. On the other hand the positionhas been made better for General Scratchley by the determination of the Home Government to increase the Imperial subsidy. » One can understand readily enough how it is that the New Guinea Government is threatening to turn out more expensive than the estimate. The original estimate was considered, if not purely formal, merely temporary at the worst. But no one feared the worst. Had we not the experience of Fiji before our very eyes ? Fiji had been annexed without any more formalities than New Guinea, and without guarantees. By taking advantage of the Native institutions, Sir Arthur Gordon organised his Government in a few weeks. Taxes were imposed and paid punctually. The impost was made at the capital; every chief was informed of the amount required from the district over which he presided as Governor; the Governor summoned his Council, which divided the amount required among the sub-districts, whose chiefs and governing bodies met, and agreed upon the best method of levying the tax. When each village had got to understand the amount it had to furnish, the people planted produce of some kind, or went off to get copra, beche-de-mer—anything that could be picked up •in the way of saleable stuff. It was necessarily a tax in kind, the Natives not possessing any coin of any kind in appreciable quantity. For the tax it was claimed that the collection was eminently fair, fairness being secured by the system of subdivision, and that the encouragement given to cultivation by the necessity to supplement the natural productions by cultivation is most beneficial to the Fijian race. When collected, the produce was handed by the Government to traders who had tendered to buy it at a schedule rate. In this way, the Fijian Government brought money into its Treasury, and very soon had a balance on the right side. The system established by Sir Arthur Gordon is, we may add, in use to the present day. Looking at this Fijian experience, people expected that the same could be repeated in New Guinea. But in order to give similar results, we must have something more than another native race. It is now better understood that the Fijian race is the most highly organised of all the Pacific races, and that the Papuans of New Guinea, on the contrary, are the least organised of any. Most probably the Fijian system will regenerate aiid improve them after its application, and it supplies the only feasible method of governing them. But it will take time to apply it: chiefs have to be created, respect for authority inspired, the h?„b#t of obedience inculcated. When these things shall have been ' done, the guarantee of the Colonies will become the mere matter of form which it was originally regarded to be. But i for some time the New Guinea Treasurer can not be expected to prei I sent a favourable balance-sheet.

This is all very true, but it does not concern New Zealand very nearly. We made a mistake in joining in the cry for the annexation of New Guinea. But having given our word, we are, as a Colony, ready to keep it as far as the contribution assigned towards the expenses of its government. If anything more is required, that should be matter for Imperial and Australian concern. Queensland is the most interested in the question, as she was the most persistent of the agitators f6*r annexation. It is more the duty of Queensland to contribute than the duty of New Zealand. If there is anything in the theory upon which Annexation policies in the Pacific are based —viz., the theory of danger to., Australia, of probable foreign establishments in their neighbourhood, New Sbuoh Wales and Victoria also have some interest in the matter. The Imperial Government, moreover, is acquiring a property rich in resources, which one day must become extremely productive. Unlike .our neighbours across the Channel, that Government has the knack of always making its colonisation policy eventually financially successful. New Guinea, properly managed, will one day rival the Dutch East Indies in prosperity and wealth. The Imperial Exchequer need not grudge a few small annual payments for such an acquisition. There is no conceivable reason, however, why New Zealand should be required to increase her subscription.