N.Z. Talks A Lot But Does Nothing

Chronicle (Levin), 4 February 1949, Page 5

N.Z. Talks A Lot But Does Nothing

AUCKLAND, Fel). 3. • 'riticipm of New Zealand's poliey loward tlif Cook Islands and Samoa, ua- e.\ pi'essetl by Professor K. Beag'leiede, professor of psychology at Vieioria I'uiversity t'ollege. Wellington, in a paper entitled "Good (to vern.ment Mnl Self-(tov ■ernuient, at the Pacili'' j Seiein e ( 'ongress. I Aildressing nieniliers of the anthro-j pologieal seetion, he said New Zealand ialked a lot about autonoiny for the' Oi.iik Islands but sliowed no intention j >f doing anything about it except by I '>iig drawn out progressive step.v Thej natives were now lieginning to stir t'roinj a very Iong sleep and as soon as thi.s' stirling sliowed itself, it was called | 'oiininunisin. New Zealand's policv in the Cook' islands was a curious mixture of the British and Freneh eolonial svstems, he! «diied. The Freneh intiuence dominated >o f'ar as the developnient of the land and educational theory was coneerned uhile jiolitieal eontrol was balanced rather uneasily at the nionient between a further developnient of self-governing institutions and proposed representa-. tion in the New Zealand Parliament., The Samoans were lieginning backwards uith the whole problem of government. ! fliey had the whole of the mechanisml but did not know anything about it nor| how to work it. Xationalisni had developed very quiekly there and it had heen expedient to grant self-government1 ralher tlian run into unpleasantness. Hel jiredicted there would also be diffieultios 1 before Fiji's problem was solved.