THE New zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, JULY 21, 1923. EUROPE IN THE PACIFIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18457, 21 July 1923, Page 8

THE New zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, JULY 21, 1923. EUROPE IN THE PACIFIC.

_ _J>The establishment of Western life : and law in the Pacific is beset with serious difficulties, but they furnish . no sufficient reason for abandoning the task. It is too late in the day ; to talk of leaving the native peoples to their own devices. The dark ages of the Pacific closed long ago. Explorers, missionaries, traders, scientists, politicians, even tourists, . have made for ever impossible amy return to primitive, conditions. They have imbued the dark-skimed islanders with the ideas of Europe; and it is beyond their powers to exorcise the spirit they have imparted. Did they wish it, they ( could not put back the clock: the islanders themselves are set on leav-' ing the life of their forefathers and accepting the white man's way. But to wish this and to achieve it aire vastly different. The first may come in the twinkling of an eye;' the other takes generations of patient and persevering effort. In the process there is risk of untold harm through too, impetuous ambition on the part of the. Kanaka, and too hasty conferring of political responsibility by the sovereign nations of the West. America no less than France and Britain repre- j sents the impact of Europe on the Pacific—is faced with a crisis in the Philippines occasioned by. granting political responsibility over hastily' to the natives. They are dissatis-1 fied with the measure of representative government granted in 1916, and press' for an independent republican constitution. However, the expert report of the appointed Governor-General, whose sympathy with the Filipinos' point of view is unquestioned, reveals their immature fitness to govsrn themselves according to the Western code they would adopt.; and in their own interests the fall freedom they seek must be conferred with vigilant j deliberateness. j

From Fiji also romes news of a proposal that resident' Indians shall be given the right to elect two members of the Legislative Council, that | is, an additional member, for the Council now comprises seven elected Europeans, two Fijians, and one , Indian. The native population, in- ; cluding a small number of halfcastes, is nearly 85,000. There are! over 60,000 Indians. A prima- 1 facie case can easily be made out for the addition of another repre- j sentative of these Indians, but a j basio principle governing administration in the Pacific islands, is that; the interests of the aboriginal islanders shall be the first considera-' tion. Whatever, privileges are granted to others must not violate the rights of these natives. The permanent presence of immigrant Indians may or may not be a menace to the Fijians, but the question is surely involved in any decision affecting the Indians' political status. The whole ■ master was ■ put quite clearly, in general terms, in the covenant of the League ■ of Nations: the well-being and develop-' ment of peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world form a sacred trust of civilisation, and the tutelage of such peoples— than their sudden enfranchisement—is the best method of giving practical effect to the principle. The Philippines and Fiji are not mandated territories under the covenant; but the principle ex-'

pressed in the League's covenant

will run everywhere in the Pacific

where Europe exercises rule.

The most thorny situation created by Europe in the Pacific exists in the New Hebrides, "that unfortunate group," to quote Mr. Edward Jacomb, "where all the evils of the South Seas seem to find their happiest hunting-ground." There, in the joint rule of two colonising Powers, the interests of the natives have been given too little care. Once, for a short time, under the New Zealand Charter of 1840, the group was part of a British colony. But, by the operation of the entento cordiale, both British and French colonists have settled there, and in the upshot their countries of origin have agreed to share,control. After a joint Naval Commission had made a mess of things foir twenty years, a Condominium Government came into being in 1907. The Convention j provided explicitly that each of the I two signatory Powers should retain jurisdiction over its subjects, and neither of them exercise a separate control over the group. The condominium has been a ghastly failure. The report just tabled by the Australian Prime Minister indicates' that, since the amended agreement between Britain and France was ratified by both countries last year, j nothing effective has been dono. Provisions under British control have been brought into operation, but the French authorities have been so inactive as to hold up joint administration. This French inertness Has been mainly responsible for what is euphemistically described as "the long-continued habit of effecting nothing of moment" which has been practically unbroken t.ince 1907. But in the meantime, under missionary tuition chiefly, the natives have become educated, i at ; least up to the point of becoming interested in their group's govern-1 ment. - Therefore, closer assock,tfcm between the governors and the governed has become highly desir-! able. Despotic government in no longer suitable, especially where it does nothing to justify its existence. The condominium, although amended and retained, seems unlikely, ever to succeed. Partition <rf

the group is suggested by Mr. Bruce as the ultimate solution, although the proposal has not been discussed by the two Powers. It is doubtful whether it would succeed: it ; could not overcome the French indisposition to train the native for political responsibilities. To, the New Hebrides native an Englishman is a white man. A Frenchman is, never so called: he is either a "Frenchis-man" or a "man a ouioui.' 3 The interests of the natives would seem to demand, not division, but a mandate under, one competent Power. Until that is done, the New Hebrides native, whatever may be the fortune of the European colonists, seems doomed to fall between two stools of administration and to remain a political nonentity.