COOK ISLANDS REPORT

Otago Witness, Issue 3467, 24 August 1920, Page 6

COOK ISLANDS REPORT

ADMINISTRATION OF THE ISLANDS

DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE

(Feom Que Own Cobeespondent.) WELLINGTON, August 18. The production of the annual report on the Cook and other islands this evening was the immediate signal for a discussion on the wholo administration of these outposts of the dominion. Mr G. Witty (Ricearton), who opened the proceedings, complained that the legislation under which the affairs of the islands were administered had not been translated and made available to the natives until a few months ago. He said that until recently tho natives had been at the mercy of the whito traders'. TherO was a lack of drainage, water supply, cool storage, and means of communication. The shipping sorvico was totally inadequate. Dr Pom are: You cannot blame the. Government, for that. Mi- Witty: But I can blame the Government. They are: a part of the dominion, and we ought to see that they have a proper steamer service. D r Pomare: The Government does not own any 6hips. 1 Mr Witty: But wo should have the ships. After a further reiteration of his complaints about the conditions obtaining in the group, ho said that while a certain amount had been dond for tho islands, much more should have been done. 'tie complained that the policemen there received only £8 a year, and had not had a suit of clothes in five years. The soldiers there had not received their gratuity and restrospective allowances until after the parliamentary visit. ■ , Mr W. S. Glenn (Rangitikei) said that most of thoso who visited the islands had

made the same observations as Mr Witty, but the latter seemed to expect that all tho necessary reforms be provided on the instant.

Mr T. M. "Wilford (Hutt) suggested that it was idle to discuss the question until the report had been studied. It would be better to defer it until the Estimates dealing with the department were before the House, or until legislation affecting the islands came down.

Mr T. W. Rhodes (Thames) said that Mr Witty had been misinformed regarding the delay in tho translation of legislation. Tins, ho said, was effected with all possible prempitude. Ho also said that in view of tho native customs and general rates of labour, the position of- the native policemen was hot as bad as had been suggested. ' Mr S. G. Smith (Taranaki) said disappointment was felt, because, despite the lapse of time since the parliamentary visit, so far as was known nothing had been done towards meeting the requests made by the people there. At that time he deprecated tho separation ol the control of the Cook and other islands from that of Samoa. The result of his observations while down there was that there was not much to be proud of in the administration of the islands in past years. Ho said that with all _ due respect to the man concerned, he believed that the wrong man was in the position ,of Resident Commissioner. He lacked some of the qualities necessary to the position, notably taot. Mr J. M'Combs (Lyttelton) condemned the administration of the Cook Islands, and said that the young chiefs could not talk English. One native, referring to Dr Pomaro, said: "Him no good." Then ho corrected himself, and said: -"No, that's not right, he would bo good for soup dish with two buckets of onions." —(Laughter.) In the Cook and other islands the flics were so numerous that they settled on tho white clothes of tho parliamentary party and turned them into suits of grey.

Mr V. H. Reed (Bay of Islands) gave a J flat denial to the statement of the member J for Lyttelton that Rarotonga was the gem I of the Pacific Islands, and the education • there was just as good as it was in Tonga. The schools in the islands were well up to the standard of the Native schools in 'New Zealand.

Mr L. M. Isitt (Christchurch North) said he thought the one hopeful thing in the islands was the magnificent spirit shown hy the few teachers there and the work they were doing. He said that it was doubtful whether New Zealand children would have emerged any better from the tests through which the native children were put. The criticisms he had heard against the teachers were a cruel reflection on the people whose work had filled him with admiration. There might be room for fault-finding in other directions, but not in the work of the teachers. "I am likely to have a few words of criticism of the actions of the Minister," continued Mr Isitt, "but I am not going to charge him with the flies.—(Laughter.) I believo if we gave the member for Lyttetton 17 years' administration of the islands the flies would still be there."

Mr E. J. Howard (Christchurch South) said we had had 17 years' administration of these islands, yet the thing which struck him first on landing was that they were met by an interpreter. ,

The Hon. A. T. Ngata (Eastern Maori): Wo have one here in the Upper House. He complained that orice the schoolchildren were away from the routine questions of the school they had nothing to say. He suggested that one commissioner should control all the islands. They should obtain one or two trawlers from the British Government to act as feeders to the mail steamers, and collect the fruit from the outlying islands. The debato was continued after the supper adjournment by Messrs J. Horn, W D. Powdrell. J. M. Dickson (Chalmers), and P. N. Bartram.

Di- Pomare rose to reply- at 11.20 p.m

He said he had heard some carping criticism and some useful suggestions during the debate. In the latter he- wa s thankful, but he deprecated the destructive attitude of three members who had no object hut to make capital against the Government. The Government had been to cut their coat according to the cloth. It would be very nice to have telephonic communication all over the Islands, but that spelt money. l\othing could be done without money, and their desire had been to make the Islands as nearly self-supporting as possible. Rebutting to the charges of neglect, he pointed out that during the past five years eight schools (including agricultural school) had been built out of island revenue. New Zealand had spent nothing on school buildings, and in this connection he wanted to thank the London _ Missionary Society for the generous way in which _ they had met the Government with buildings and sites. In the Agricultural College he hoped to make a oivot of the whole educational system to teach the Islanders something useful. English might be all very well, but it was just as reasonable to upbraid Europeans in New Zealand with not knowing Maori, as to complain that the Rarotongans did not know Maori. Water-supply had been provided on every island. With regard to cool storage, telephones, letter boxes, packing stores, saving banks, hospitals, and nurses for outlying districts, and' roads and bridges, all these had been provided in the group, and yet some hon. gentlemen said there \had been nothing but neglect on the part of the Government. He admitted that there was a shortage of shipping, but the question of steam owned ships was a big one, and had not been satisfactorily settled anywhere. Inter-Island shipping was ajl Very well, but they must remember that after they' got their fruit gathered at Rarotonga they still had the difficulty of getting it away from there; so what was the good of advocating wild oat schemes, and then coma back and attaok the Minister because

these schemes failed. In answer to the charges that the exports from the Islands had fallen off, he claimed that the decrease was during the war years, and when shipping had been He defended Mr Platts, who was anxious to do right, and he did not know how he could get a better man than the one who does right. Mr Platts was unpopular with the traders because he helped the natives to help themselves, and did not leave them at the mercy of the 'trader. That was the whole trouble at Rarotonga. ~ He ' deprecated the suggested that native and white children should attend separate schools. He believed their association in tender years created a closer bond than if they do not come together till later in life. As to eriving white traders representation on the National Council, he could not do it under terms of cession until the natives asked for it, unless he lore up the "scrap of paper," and he was British ■ enough not to do that, when it was binding on both races. He ' stated that a' Bill would be brought down this aession giving the whites representation on the Island Council, because the natives now asked' for it. He thanked members for useful suggestions which he hoped would _ help_ to promote harmony amongst the inhabitants jpf the Islands. The paper was laid on the table.