THE NEW HEBRIDES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1536, 7 August 1901, Page 66

THE NEW HEBRIDES

While people in New Zealand are interesting themselves in the affairs of Fiji, they ought not to forget that they have interests in the New Hebrides that are being threatened by French interference and! aggression. The French h-»v*> locked for many years upon the New Hebrides

with envious eyes. Their possessions in the Pacific are already considerable. The tricolour floats over New Caledonia, the Marquesas, the Society, Loyalty and

Gambier groups, the Low Archipelago and Tubuai. Possession of the New Hebridean group is desired by the French, in order to complete what they call their Pacific station. What the official French view is may be gathered from the fact that the Government at Paris agreed last year to grant favourable administration to products from the New Hebrides imported into French territory, if such produce came from their own colonists in that group. As a large portion of the trade of the islands is with New Caledonia, the General Council there has been urged lately to admit New Hebridean produce free under the “favourable administration” resolution of the French Government. When the matter was up for discussion, M. Vincent, one of the ' members of the General Council, argued that to so favour products of French colonists in the New Hebrides would foe

for members to reconcile their acts to their words. “We are always demanding the taking of the New Hebridean group, and we look upon tho islands as French land, then let us act according to our opinion.” The reply of M. Dezarnaulds was: “All that may he true. ' We are all anxious to annex the group, but until that annexation takes place, we would be opening our market to people

who stop at nothing to ruin French influence in these islands, and to prevent our taking possession. Who will guar* antee us that the maize brought from the New Hebrides to New Caledonia was produced by French colonists P Let us be as patriotic as we can, hut don’t carry it so frr as to be duped.”

Thus we have an insight into French sentiment, opinion and policy with respect to these islands, which were pro* pared by British missionaries for British occupation and trade. The people in New Zealand have, through the support given by them to mission work in the New Hebrides, an interest in the group; and while to the Australian Commonwealth the territorial interest is great, our people have equally strong reasons for being opposed to the French occupation of the New Hebrides and the conversion of the islands into convict stations. That this is the object of the French is borne out by the statements made in Australia by the Rev. Dr Paton, the veteran New Hebridean missionary, on his return from London last week. Speaking at Adelaide, Dr Paton said that the proposal of France to annex the islands and send a hundred thousand convicts there was only checked by the protests of Australia and Great Britain, and these criminals had been deported since to an unknown destination. Notwithstanding assurances to the contrary, the fears'that the French will succeed in ousting the British from the New Hebrides' have not been dispelled. It is notorious that the authorities at Downing street have been indifferent with respect to British interests in the group. They have submitted to a series of "pin-pricks”

from France over the administration *.-f the islands that would have exhausted the patienc© of the Federal Administration, and precipitated a final settlement of the question long ago. We have, of course, the. assurance of the Federal Premier that a watchful eye is being kept on all matters pertaining to the South Seas, and Mr Barton has been able 1o obtain a distinct assurance that it is no part of the policy of -the British Government to allow the New Hebrides to become the sole property of the French Republic, on any terms that have yet been suggested. We are further told that th© matter is receiving the “earnest, continuous, and kindly consideration ’ of the Imperial authorities.

Despite all this, the position is far from satisfactory. The French throughout the Southern Pacific are extremely aggressive. It is alleged that they have obtained title deeds affecting more land in the New Hebrides group than is above the sea surface. Natives sell small portions of land by the beach and the French purchaser runs his boundary fr.om the sea to the centre of the island. Then other sales Overlap this, and confusion is interminable. Attempts at clearing up land titles have failed, and disputes as to ownership are now being settled on the principle of priority of dates ; but it is plain that this method is unsatisfactory, and whenever a stable government is set up in the islands there will be much trouble over land titles. A semipolitical organisation called th© “Societe Francaise” is acquiring all the available land, and it is feared that when a final settlement is forced upon the French and British Governments, this society will exert a powerful influence against Australia and New Zealanu. If Great Britain is forced out of the islands, it will -ffie a bad day for the Commonwealth and this country. Although there is supposed to be dual control of the islands as between Great Britain and France, the indifference of the former has induced the latter to dominate the group. The French are practising unmolested a system of slavery that is a disgrace to civilisation, and must be hurtful to Britain’s prestige in the Pacific. British subjects are not allowed to trade with the na-

tives in “grog and firearms,” but the French traders do so with impunity, and the trade of the islands is fast being monopolised by the French. If they secured absolute control, every Britisher would be expelled from the islands. The intelligent natives have appealed to the British missionaries to secure the annexation of the New Hebrides by the Imperial Government, but the representations of the missionaries have so far been unheeded. The only satisfactory point in the whole business is that Aus® tralia is determined that th e islands shall not become French territory; but in order to strengthen th© policy of the Commonwealth in the Pacific the Parliament of New Zealand would do well to pass a resolution while in session in support of tho Federal Premier’s endeavour.