THE NEW HEBRIDES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 23, 10 January 1912, Page 3

THE NEW HEBRIDES.

A CHANCE LET SLIP,

Touching upon the position of France and England in the New Hebrides the Sydney “Herald” says By the ratification of the convention of 1906 each country acknowledged that the claims of each were equal, so tliat that date may be taken as the starting point of a race for ownership. It cannot be disguised that the French, at whose efforts at colinisation British communities have been wont to smile have year* after year been establishing for themselves it firmer foothold upon these islands, and they have moved steadily along the path to “effective occupation,” and in any division of the spoils they will certainly claim to be entitled to the lion’s share. At present, >and for some time past, French interests have predominated. The French are in excess of the British in point of population, and are in possession of the greater portion, and that the most valuable, of ! the land.

The French claim, indeed, that they possess the freehold of two-thirds of the whole area of the group. A mild endeavour was made some years ago to stimulate British colonisation, but it proved a failure. The settlers, who vere attracted by offers of land at a peppercorn rental, drifted back to Australia so steadily that in the course of a comparatively few months they had dwindled to less than a third of their original strength, discouraged by the drawbacks they had encountered and the absence of any intelligent movement on the part of the Commonwealth to afford them trade facilities.

It was thought that British; interests would go ahead a little with the establishment ofj a Condominium, but chat has not bepn the, case. British traders and settlers are seething with indignation at the injustice of the present condition of affairs, which does not please the French either, though French interests are flourishing, British settlers complain that the i* re rich are not carrying out the spirit of the letter of their contract, and in reply to those complaints they have ueen enjoined to be patient, and all will come right. But the Condominium has been in existence for s.. 1 tune, and, tiie New Hebrides are liecoming more and more a happy hunting ground for the unscrupulous. Even cue judges of the joint Court, who are at present in Sydney, have confessed that abuses still exist in connection with the sale of firearms and grog to the natives and recruiting.

The joint Court has not yet seriously entered upon the task of determining land titles, and, security of tenure not being assured, the development of the group has been greatly retarded. It has been said that practically the whole group has been oought by white .men, at some time or other, and not. always by settlers or traders. visitors to the islands have bougirt , large pieces of land from the natives, some of these transactions dating •as far back as leu or fifteen, years'.; The natives who sold the land have perhaps died off, and the land has in lots ot cases been resold twice over to whites. There are cases where the first buyer was. an .iiiiiglishman and tiie second a Frenchman, and tnere is going to be a lot of trouble in,'determining, who is the actual owi\ef of m?ny> of .these, areas. ,! T.iie French company, P"iis or claims mud alj ovej-.the places itu niost cases t i's ,lyjiig ,idle, and ijt has be.em suggested ' more than once ’ that they would not turn a deaf ear to any offer made for their properties. The New Hebrides will always be a source of trouble under present conditions, and a .division of .the-islands may be the only way out. The late Mr. Seddon foresaw the difficulties, and almost his last recorded words were : “I would rather see Great Britain and, France divide the islands at .ppce.i The,;<icat-aud-dog existence; iin <3anioa,. where they had a triple protectorate, the jealousies and troubles that larose., support mo in this view, i do nob anticipate that harmony will ..{’rise from a joint protectorate:’' And iijs . words have come true.

' V ;'£he last suggestion • made for the partition of ths islands between the Yffq. nations was that one should take mb northern and the other the southern half of the group, permitting persons of either nationality already settled in the islands to remain, aipl he placed on the same footing as the nation that is given possession of the island. With this would also have to oe guaranteed absolute free trade throughout the group, irrespective of file nationality of the islands and the traders. If this was accomplished, the administration of justice would be carried out on each island according to the laws of that particular nation, and inter-island offenders would be on the same footing as international offenders at present; The question of immediate concern is; If the islands are to be cut up, will Australia have some say, for it is a matter in which siie is vitally interested.