COOK ISLANDS

Timaru Herald, Issue 170301, 21 August 1920, Page 7

COOK ISLANDS

ASSERTIONS OF" NEGLECT. \ •DENIED BY MINISTER, In the House on Wednesday l)i' Pomare Jaid on the table a report on the Cook Islands. Mr Witty declared' that these islands had been, sadly neglected. He complained that Cook Island laws, passed by the House some years ago, had only recently been translated into the native lengirage, and-it was a grievance with the natives that they did not know what the laws were. Lack of shipping Wa« the greatest act of neglect of which the Government had been guilty. Dr. Pomare: "AVe do not own ships." Mr Witty;: '-No; but you should own ships, to give the natives opportunity to get their fruit regulariy to market." He also complained of lack of ' ater, drainage, telephonic communication, and cool storage. Compared with Tonga and the islands under America, the Cook Islands were sadly neglected. If we terated Samoa as we have treated the Cook Islands ■■ it would be nothing to our credit. The work done 1 v Sir •Tames Allen while on the parliamentary trip was, . however, worthy of the highest commendation. Mr Glenn said that he. as well ; = Mr Witty, had seen what was-'required in the Cook Islands. "'He told the Hous* nothing new. The Government was well aware of what was needed, and were seeking to catch np the renuircm>nts. Mr Wilford suggested that the discussion should be postponed till members bad had an opportunity of reading the report. Many members wished to speak on the Oook Inlands, but it was useless to do so until the contents of the rop'irfc were known. Mr Rhodes (Thame--') rebutted Mr Witty's statement that/the Cook Island laws had not been expeditiously tianslated. That work had. been done by the official reporter without any delay, and he (Mr Rhodes) had secured a copy of them in the native language, lie favoured an energetic policy cf development in the islands, to make the most of their great potentialities. Mr Smith (Taranaki) said it was to be regretted that though . six months had elapsed since members visited the islands nothing had been done t 0 meet the wishes of the islanders and traders. It was an anomaly that while we were starving in New Zealand for oranges, thousands of cases were being destroyed jat R-arotonga, Regular shipping was the cure for that waste. We should do I as the Australians had done, and provide a. properly insulated steamer to carry fruit to the Dominion. He considered that we had the wrong man as Resident Commissioner at the islands, because he lacked tact in dealing with those under him. The standard of education in the islands was disappointing, and altogether the Minister had failed to make the islands the valuable adjunct to the Dominion they should he. Mr McCombs declared that the Cook Islands were the most backward part of the Pacific visited by the T'.rliamentary party. It would he better to leave the islanders to themselves, .as the Tongans were, than that they should be administered by Dr. Pomare. who was too indolent t 0 attend to their piessing requirements. New Zealand had little to be proud of as a result of seventeen years' administration in Cook Islands :and on what had been done there. We should not have been given ftither authority in Samoa. Mr Reed said he saw nothing in Rarotonga to complain of. .Ho ihouaht the complaints made by hon. members regarding the backwardness of education, were exaggerated. Ho was greatly impressed by the educational tests m;.de by Mr Bird, who accompanied the parliamentary party. What the islands needed more than anything < lse to create and develop trade was regular steamer communication. Mr Isitt said ho must protest against the statements made regarding the lack of education, amongst the ishuiders. He thought the work of the ttacluis was beyond all praise. Members did not realise the difficulty in lifting a barbarous people into a state of civilisation. Mr Howard said there should be a. Commissioner, who would administer the whole of the islands, and not sitdown at R.arotonga and listen to the troubles of the traders. Then wc should ■get from th e British Government some trawlers with engines in them, to go from island to ■".island, and trading troubles would end. The islands were backward and full of discontent from lack of organisation. The Commissioner should, above all" things, bo : n organiser. Mr Young gave, the Administration every credit for the results achieved in the islands. The debate was .continued after the supper adjournment by Messrs Horn, Powdiell, Dickson. (Chalmers) tnd Bartram." - Dr., Pomare rose to reply at 11.20. He said he had heard some c.rping criticism, and some useful suggestions during the debate'. For the latter he was thankful, but lie deprecated the destructive attitude of three members, • who had no object but to make capital against the Government. The policy of the Government > had been to cut their coat according to their cloth. It I would be very nice to have telephonic communication all over the islands, but that spelt money. Nothing could be done without monev, and th§ir desire had been to make the islands as nearly self-supporting as possible. Rebutting charges of neglect, he pointed out that during the past five years eight, schools (including an agricultural school) had been built out of island revenue. New Zealand has spent nothing on school buildings, and in this - connection he wanted to thank the London Missionary iSociety for the generous way in which it had met the Government with buildings and sites. The Agricultural Col-lege-he hoped to make the pivot of the whole educational system, to teach the islanders something useful. English might be all very well, but it vas as reasonable to upbraid Europeans in New Zealand with not knowing Maori as to complain that Barotongniis did not know English. A water supply had j been provided on every island, anil cool ! storage, telephones, letter boxes', packing stores, savings banks, hospitals, nurses for outlying districts, roads a-nd bridges—all these had provided in the group, yet some hon. gentlemen said there had been nothing bn-t neglect on the part of the Government. He admitted that there was a short igo of shipping, but the question of Stateowned ships was a. big one, that had not ; been _ satisfactorily settled anywhere. Inter-island shipping was all very well, but th'ev must remember that after they got their* fruit gathered at Rarotonga they still had a difficulty- in getting it | away from there. So what was the good of advocating wild-cat schemes and then: feme ,back and attack the ! Minister because these, schemes had . failed. Tn answer to charges that the exports from the islands had fallen off, j he claimed that the decrease was during the war years, when shipping had been comma.ndeered. Mr Pla.tts 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 nnoopular with the traders because he helped the natives to help themselves, and did not leave them at the mercy of the i traders. Thai; was the whole trouble at Rarotonga.. Dr. Pomare deprecated the suggestion that native and white | children should attend separate schools. He believed their association in tender l.vears created a closer bond than if they had not com© together till later in life. As tn giving white traders representation in the National Council, he could not do it under the terms', of cession until the. natives n«kp.d for it. uvless he +— r> a sc'-ip of Pare.r. and ho- was British enough nit to do tha*. when it . was binding on both races. He stated