THE PACIFIC QUESTION

Otago Witness, Issue 3315, 26 September 1917, Page 37

THE PACIFIC QUESTION

TO ORGANISE THE EMPIRE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, July 84. Mr J. B. Clarkson, who has just arrived in England on one of his periodical, visits, makes some interesting suggestions in an interview in The British-Australasian on Aftor-the-War Problems. In particular, Mr Clarkson suggests that something definite should bo done about the Pacific Islands. "There must be an organisation of the islands of the Pacific into an Imperial dominion, fit' to take its place with the other self-governing units of the Empire. What is required is a Dominion of the Pacific, which should include New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa, and the Cook Islands, and which should have its centre in Fiji. These islands contain, in population, anything from 500,000 upwards ; and if thoy were given self-government and the native races were educated and coached by the whites in their midst, they would undoubtedly become a strong, independent, and, from a commercial point of view, a lucrative unit of tho Ejjipire. Mr Olarkson thinks there is no doubt at all that the island communities could govern themselves. In Fiji, especi ally, there is a vory virile and progressive white comniunity, which has sent a valuable contribution to the war and has important commercial interests Australia and New Zealand are not in any way fitted to govern islands so distant from them. They have plenty of scope for yeai'B to come .in developing their own resources. With the assistance of tho whiter in their midst the island people would quickly consolidate themselves as self-governing constitutional States. It would be a great benefit to Australasia to have in the Pacific a strong buffer State—also in the British Empire—to intervene - between them and, for example, Japan, China, and. Russia. It would give the British Empire a strong outpost instead of the weak position now prevailing. It is not practicable for people who live in temperate climes to govern those lying in the tropics. They cannot live amongst them continually. But tho white people in Fiji and elsewhere have become acclimatised there and have made it their home. All their interests are there. New Zealand has certainly improved Rarotonga, but it could be done far better by merely sending down officials. There are, perhaps, half a million fine people scattered about in the Pacific who are capable of doing something and of being made of some use. We could teach them to be buyers of our products. They could govern themselves quite well through a Parliament sitting, say, at Fiji, for a few months each year."