THE NEW HEBRIDES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1199, 7 August 1911, Page 5

THE NEW HEBRIDES.

CHARGES DENIED. Uy Telegraph—Press Association—Oopyrlfffcl Sydney, August 5. M. Martin, French Resident Commissioner in the New Hebrides, has arrived here, eniTOUte for France. He states that affairs in tho Group are going on smoothly, and there is no friction. Ho denies absolutely. Bishop Wilson's charges in regard to the sale of liquor to natives, and that justice is almost unobtainable whoro outrages are perpetrated on natives. THE PRESENT POSITION. For the past quarter of a century' or more diplomatic negotiations havo been slowly progressing in connection with the New Hebrides, and a careful study of all tho surroundings (.wrote a correspondent of the Sydney "Telegraph" recently), must convince any observer familiar with the position of the disastrous effect which tho so-called dual control has had upon the New Hebrides generally.. In no part of tho world would it bo possible to attain an equally complicated position. There seems to be one law as between the natives and the British, another between the natives and the French; then wc havo tho missionary influence, nnd tho traders' grievauccs, and, finally tho Australian Commonwealth, which has subsidised steamers, and has so far held tho bull; of the trade, and prevented tha whole group from drifting under foreign control,

The convention between French and British representatives, held in London in 1806, provided for tho establishment of a joint control, consisting of three judges— ono British, one Trench, and a third who must bo neither British nor French, who takes his place as president, and who has been appointed by His Majesty the King of Spain. Tho Court is completed by a fourth officer, who will act as Crown prosecutor, and who has also been appointed by the King of Spain. Tho President and the Crown Prosecutor are tho Count de Buena Esperanza and Count D'Andino, and the British Resident Commissioner is Mr. Merton King;

The Joint Court has' jurisdiction—. 1. In civil (including commercial) cases, (a) Over all .'rights respecting land in the group; (b) over suits.of every kind between natives and non-natives.

2. In police and criminal cases, over every offence or crime committed by natives against non-natives. 3. Generally over the particular offences constituted br the Convention of the regulations uutler it.

The French, British. Spanish Court, dealing with British, French, and native interests, together with tho side issues of missionary influence and traders' rights, will all need patient disentanglement after the haphazard chaos of a quarter of a century of man-o'-war domination and control. There seems but little doubt, continued the writer, that in after years it will be altogether in the interests of (ho New Hebrides, as well as Australia, that as the Hawaiian Islnn/ls came under tho control of tho United States, so eventually the New Hebrides should, like Papua, como to the Ausralian mainland.

. The Briish Government complain of the (Treat cost and worry of the. dual control. The French .occupation of New Caledonia is notorious as not being too successful, so that the solution of the whole trouble would be in a closer connection with Australia.