The Press. THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1914. The New Hebrides.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14979, 28 May 1914, Page 6

The Press. THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1914. The New Hebrides.

It is satisfactory to learn thai the coudition of affairs in the Now Hebrides is - about •to be made tho subject of enquiry by an Anglo-French conference It. is particularly satisfactory that the chief representative of Great Britain is to bo Lord Enunott, who recently visited tliis part of th© world., and. is

therefore -well acquainted with Austra

lasiaa sentiment on the question. Thero -is no doubt that the Condominium has been a complete failure, and that tho conditions under/which the government of the New Hebrides is carried on is a . reproach to civilisation. This is conclusively shown by Mr Edward

Jacomb, an Englieh barrister resident ,at Vila, in the New Hebrides, who has

just written a very telling indictment

of the system in a book entitled , "Tho *• Anglo-French Condominium : Franco "and England in tho New Hebrides."

. ; Tha experiment -was in fact from ite -jvery nature doomed to failure from the • outset. Mr Jacomb points out it is based on a negation <>f all previous political experience. "Experience tells "us that divided authority destroys v itself. Whether we consider the case '•"of tho Romans who. appointed two y" consuls to command their army on " alternate days, or whether we rcracm- " ber how tho Americans had to ap- *' point a Dictator in tho canal w>n<\ r "or whether wo recall the Biblical "maxim, 'No man can sorro two "' masters, , wo are but enunciating dif- *' ferent instances of tho samo prinw ciple. Divided authority can never ''prosper. And here in tho New Heb- *•" rides the whole conception of theCon"'dominiuni is bnilt on. a theory ol authority. Had the Condo"mininm succeeded tho impossible ♦•would have been achieved."

The scandals and abuses arising out

<«f the present system have been more

than once pointed out in these columns. Apart from th*» delays and miscarriages in the administration of justice inseparable from tho system, it is weiKknown that so far as tho French are concerned the administration of justico is a farce. When a Frenchman is convicted of a serious offence against a native — 'even in some instances murder —although a conviction may be recorded it is seldom enforced. Regulations regarding rncruiting and the supply of liquor to

the natives are irtrictly enforced on English, subjects by tho English authorities, but are treated l»y the Trench with tho utmost laxity. It may be asked why. if the natives are so ill-used by the French, they continue u> engage with them. "The arusoer." say.s Mr Jacomb, "is a double one. Many

of them aro tricked or stolon, and many aro tempted by tho immediateprospect of tomo illicit temptation

such as the gift of alcoholic liquor

''or other attractions of a baser kind." Mr Jacomb cites a remarkable statement made by a native named Banga, who was sentenced to death by the joint Court on l>cccmbcr sth, 19J3, for tho murder of a French citizen and a Loyalty Islander. The accused admitted tho crimes, but said that ho had an excuse. He had worked with his employer for five years, and had then consented to re-engage for two re re years in consideration of a woman being given to him as his mistress, and that transaction had taken placo. at the French Residency, and this woman had subsequently been stolen from him by his. master. These statements, Mr Jacomb a.ssures us, were not contradicted. Indeod he adds that it is a matter of common .'knowledge* that this device is frequently used by French settlers to induco natives to recruit or ro-cngage.

Admitting, as everyone must do, the unsatisfactory character of tho present system, it must bo further admitted that it is difficult to decide what can best take its place. Three alternatives have boen suggested. One is to give up the islands to France. This may be ruled out as impossible, owing to Australian feeling. Another is to buy Franco out; or to acquire her interests in exchange* for territory elsewhere. A recent statement by the Commonwealth Minister for Internal Affairs indicates that the Federal Government favours purchase, and is prepared to find tho money. This is tlio plan favoured by Mr. Jacomb, who goes so far as to say that sooner or later both the' New Hebrides and New Caledonia must become A-ustralian. Bis argumout is that the- French are not a colonising power, and it will be a case of tho survival of the fittest. This would certainly, be the best solution as fnr as not only British interests, but tho interests of the natives, aro concerned. Mr Jacomb says that even the French residents know in their heart ofhcarts that it would bo best for them also. Tho difficulty wilj be to find some arrangement under which France could give up her share in tho Now: Hebrides without any sacrifice'" of "aino'urpropre.'? The third solution is tho division of the group. Mr Jacornb points out very strong objections to tho proposal, not tho least being our responsibility to the natives.. "We are respon- " sible, 1, he says, "for the welfare of

" C 5,000 natives, and we daro not leave "'them unprotected to the French now. "that we know Tiow . they will treat

"thorn." If, however, the principle of partition is to prevail, he> adds, ono thing at least should be. stipulated for, and that is that Britain should retain one of tho only two good harbours in tho group—either "Vila or Port Sandwich. What we are. afraid of is that the con-

ference will be tempted to tako the lino of least rosistanco. and will decide in favour of a continuance of joint control with certain" recommendations for improvements in tho working of the system. That will merely stave off the evil for a timo, and tho problem will again have to bo faced, perhaps under less favourable conditions than the present.