THE NEW HEBRIDES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1514, 7 March 1901, Page 50

THE NEW HEBRIDES.

TREATMENT OF THE NATIVES. A BURNING SUBJECT. DEPUTATION TO THE PREMIER. When the New Zealand General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was held at "Wanganui the other week, it was decided that a deputation should interview the Premier on the l subject of the - - condition of the natives, and of British subjects and missionaries at the? New Hebrides. Accordingly, the Rev ' J. K. Elliott (Moderator), the Rev W. Shirer,; Messrs W. Allan and W. M. Hammy and the Rev Mr Mackenzie (Santo waited on Mr Seddon last night shortly after his return from Nelsoii. The Rev Mr Smale, an authority on*’ New Hebrides, matters, was l to have accompanied the deputation, but for sqme reason failed to do so, and his statement will be _ forwarded t.o the Government inwfitihg. The deputation stated its case, but found that Mr Seddon,was not only thoroughly . acquainted, with the Ayhole of the en'cumstances; of the " missionaries, islanders and traidefs, but had matters well in train for the remedy of the evils complained of. The Premier said that he had been watching) the game that was being played in the New Hebrides for some time. "When he was. ill Melbourne he had sent a memorandum to the Right Hon E. Barton, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, on the 23rd January last, pointing out that .£Ke French claimed to have acquired land from the natives, and that the natives had denied the sale of the land, and giving it as his opinion that there was necessity for inquiry into the forcible ejection of natives and; Europeans from land so claimed to have been acquired: He had' also expressed apprehension lest the French would ultimately .claim a paramount interest owing to the areas of land held. He had pointed out to Mr Barton, also, that a; trade boycott was being carried ,on; that French Traders were selling arms and goods which British traders were prohibited from selling; that there was practically no' one to represent British iiiterests’or to see that our settlers and traders got fair play ; that months elapsed Between the visits of British men-of-war; and that recently the captain of a British man-o’-war undertook to inquire into a purchase or alleged purchase of lands by the French Government, or French settlers and traders, and decided that the sale was valid. He had stated to Mr Barton that under what authority a naval officer had so acted he was at a loss to Comprehend. He had pointed out, also, to the* Federal Premier, how important it was for Australasia that on no account should British interests in the New Hebrides be ceded. But, recollectingwhat had happened in Samoa, he had X'entured to suggest there was urgent; necessity for statesmen like the Federal Premier to bestir themselves ere it was too late. He had suggested the making of a recommendation to the Secretary of State, that, pending the Commonwealth dealing with +be matter, a Resident Agent should be appointed to the New Hebrides; that visits of the High Commissioner of the Pacific or Deputy-Clommissioner should occasionally' be made, and that once in every three months a man-o’-war should visit the islands. He had also-suggested that a mixed Commission should be set up, with a chairman well versed in native customs, to inquire into the causes of complaint. The Rev j. K. Elliott said the Premier seemed to have anticipated the deputation in every suggestion which it had proposed to make. The Premier replied that as far hack as October last he had communicated with the Secretary of State for the Colonies. on these same lines. He had been made cognisant of what was going on during his visit to the islands, and it ivas upon that that he had taken action, and he had thought it well to enlist the sympathies of the head of the Commonwealth, and besides writing to Mr Bai*ton, he had had a conference with him on the subject. He. still thought that the first step to be taken was the a.p- - p ointment of a British Resident to go about amongst the islands. Directly those with grievances had some one to appeal to, many of the evils would be stopped. But nothing less than a Commission could settle the matter. The appointment of a Commission would, however, naturally take time; His information was that maps had been sent to France to enable emigrants to select land, and no doubt these maps were faulty as to landmarks, and a great deal of misunderstanding had taken place for tin's: reason, as it Bad done in this colony over the same question. An especially complicating influence was the fact that there were shore natives and inland natives, and it was morally impossible for some of the land which the French claimed to go back as far as it did. He could not understand how a naval officer could profess, to settle questions of this kind,, when there were express re-, gulations that officers of men-o’-war were not to interfere in questions of land or land purchase. The mischief of it was that the French would make use of this expression of opinion in the prosecution or their claims. The matter had now arrived at an acute stage, but the deputation would realise that at the present juncture the matter would lmve to be

approached in an entirely diplomatic manner. What wer were asking for, however, no one could take offence at. We were merely asking for an inquiry into the condition of the British traders in the New Hebrides. No* doubt lack of British assertiveness in the past had given the French a false impression. The sooner they understood the true position the better. Mr Elliott, Tn thanking the Premier, said that undoubtedly he had a thorough grip of the subject, and was doing his best to serve the British Empire in this matter. The Premier replied that to him it was a labour of love.