AFFAIRS IN FIJI

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1536, 7 August 1901, Page 53

AFFAIRS IN FIJI

GOVERNOR O’BRIEN’S ORDI-

NANCE.

The following account of the proceedings &t a special meeting of the Leo-is-latire Council of Fiji on the 29th ult., when th© Ordinance for th© “peace and good order of the colony ” was passed, is taken from the “ Fiji Times ” : The Governor delivered the following message: -Before the draft Ordinance on, the Agenda is read, I desire to explain _fco the Council why I have caused it to b e introduced. You are all doubtawarQ *kafc a movement was insti- ' toted last year for the annexation of this colony to New Zealand. On the peculianty of the manner in which it was initiated and the methods by which it has been conducted it is unnecessary for me here to enlarge, as his Majesty’s Government has declined to entertain the proposal, and has that Fiji is to remain a Crown colony:* U; has, however, now come to the knowledge of the local Government that it is the intention of certain persons to enter on -a v systematic campaign amongst the native Fijians with a view to making th©m discontented with the present form of government, and inducing some of them, if possible, to express {i desir© for federation with New Zealand.

The result of permitting such an operation would be, in the §rst place, to unsettle the minds of the Fijians, to dislocate the machinery of the communal system which is indispensable■* to their existence, and to substitute chaos; next, to form the loyal majority and th e minority, which no doubt exists in this country, as in all others, of worthless and ill-conditioned characters, into two hostile camps; and, lastly, to lead to disturbances, and not impossibly to bloodshed.

4. Such results may he regarded with equanimity by,th e agitators to whom I have referred; hut it is obviously the duty of the Government that is responsible for the peace and good order of the coLony to do |ill in its power to prevent the possibility of their occurring. It is under these circumstances, and for these reasons, that the Ordinance is Introduced, and I am confident that it will commend itself to right think, ing man in Fiji. Liberty of speech is no doubt an inestimable privilege, and volumes have been written on the rtricelessness of this heritage of the Briton. But I have yet to learn that in a mixed community like ours, where the coloured men outnumber the white by some thirty In one, it should be extended so as to permit its beinpr used for the creation and propagation of disaffection and disturbance amongst a semi-civilised, semi educated, and excitable race of aborigines. The Hon the Acting-Attorney-General moved the first reading of an Ordinance to make further provision for the peace and good order of the colony. The Hon the Receiver-General seconded the motion, and the Ordinance was read a first time.

On the motion being made that the standing orders be suspended in order to permit the passage of the measure, The Hon. W. Burton objected to their suspension as he had not had time to thoroughly digest the proposed Ordi nance and deprecated hasty legislation. His Excellency said that he regarded the Ordinance a s one of extreme importance, affecting as it did the welfare of the colony. The proposed enactment was a short one, and its purport could easily be grasped by an ordinarily int°. Jigent person.

The motion to suspend the standing orders being submitted, it was carried on the voices, and the Council went into committee to consider its provisions. The Hon. James Murray said that In would like to say a few words before the provisions of the proposed measure were discussed. He thought it would be conceded that the great majority of Europeans in this country regarded it as a duty to uphold the authorities in the management and control of a half civil* *ised race of people. Every one in the country must have at heart anything that would tend to contribute to the betterment of the Fijian and in the process he thought that sometimes the prosperity of the Europeans had been looked over to assist to this end. Much had been done by his Excellency, to promote the welfare of th e native; a great deal more, in fact, than had been the case by previous Governors; and his Excellency, no doubt, bad the native interest at heart. Holding these views he would support the Ordinance. While doing so he would recommend that it b e carefully revised in committee, in order that some minor offender be pot punished in place of the.actual emissary. Some acts of the -Government in connection with native matters he was not in accord with. The. Hon. W. Burton said that notwithstanding what the hon. gentleman who had just resumed his seat had said, he (th© speaker) regarded it as the duty of each member of the Council to critidase acts of the Government and es pecially in such an instance as that now submitted for their consideration. The effect of the measure it was new proposed to give effect to would in place of th© existing good fellowship stop all intercourse between European and native. More, it would have this effect—-it would prevent a native from complaining in order to obtain relief under

ion. This was a bad feature. He was unaware of th© necessity for the measure. So far as he (the speaker) was aware there must be very few people in the country—perhaps two or three —which the provisions of the Ordinance could touch. Personally he was of opinion that ths Government attached too much importance to the matter now before them. Further, he would say that if the natives of the country were not dissatisfied they would lake no notice of what was said to them. The Ordinance appeared to him to be brought forward without due consideration, and if it became law he thought it would most likely cause trouble

The Hon. GemmelhSmith said he was in favour of the -Ordinance, but, notwithstanding, he would like to be made aware of the reasons for the measure being introduced.

The Governor, in winding np t,h® debate on the second reading, said: Of the thre© unofficial members who have spoken to, the second reading, two have supported the Bill and one of them.has expressed the fear that it does not go far enough and that means .will be found to avoid it, while the third has opposed it- The honourable member who has opposed the Bill, though without giving any valid reason for his opposition, has done so with a light heart. And as far as personal consequences go, he can afford to do so. Fcr he is neither a Fijian, nor a white man living on his property in an isolated situation surrounded by Fijians. Consequently, if tiie Fijians were goaded into violence by the process which the Bill is intended to "prevent, he would net personally suffer in any way. , He would neither have to undergo the retribution that would eventually have to be meted out to the Fijians, nor would he run the risk that isolated whites would have to incur at the commencement of disturbances. He is therefore in a perfectly secure position as far as the safety of himself and his property are concerned, and can smile at the dangers which it is hoped to obviate by this Ordinance. And, indeed, all of us at this Council Board are practically in a like position of security. But, gentlemen, there is such a thing as duty, quite distinct from personal interests, and such a tiling as moral responsibility quite independent of personal apprehensions. And if we, who have the power to prevent the risks which I have indicated, were to sit by and allow them to occur, we should be wanting in our duty, ‘we should incur a terrible responsibility towards both Fijians and whites, and we should become morally liable for the consequences that we had failed to avert. Speaking for myself and the members of Government alone, for °f course I have no control ever the unofficial members, I am quite willing to take the full responsibility of passing the Ordinance ; but I am not willing to take the responsibility of not passe ing it with the least possible delay. The Hon. W. Burton objected to the personal way in which his Excellency had deemed it fit to reply to the remarks he (the speaker) had made. His Excellency said the hon. gentleman must he mistaken—he had stated all were in the same boat. Discussion upon the clauses of 4ie Bill here ensued, and on the Council resuming, the Clerk reported that the Bill had passed through committee without amendment.

The Ordinance was then read a second and third time and passed. At the end of the meeting, his Excellency thanked the Council for their attendance, and said that he was gratified, but not surprised at the almost unanimous support that the Ordinance had received from the unofficial members. And he added that now that the Ordinance had been passed he expected, and certainly hoped, that its mere existence would obviate any necessity for proceedings being taken under it.