FIJI AND THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2709, 2 March 1916, Page 6

FIJI AND THE WAR

* , AN INSPIRING EXAMPLE PLENTY OF MONEY AND MEN The part that Fiji is playing in the f/ar was the main theme of a Sydney interview with_ Mr._J. M. Hedstrom, a member of the Legislative Council of that colony, who is on a visit to Australia. Mr. Hedstrom said that two official contingents, numbering 120, and consisting of men of pure European parentage, had already gone to the front. There had been a little discontent on account of tho fact that men of mixed blood had been rejected. In addition to those in the official contingents, it was estimated that between 150 and L'OO men from Fiji had gone on active service, either with the Australian, or New Zealand forces, or else direct from England, and thus Fiji had mado a good showing when the smallness of her European population was considered. Out of seven solicitors practising in Fiji before tho war, two were already at the l'ront, and one had lately enlisted in New Zealand. Itatu Sukuna, eldest son of tho grand old chief Ratu iloni Madraiwiwi, M.L.C. was at Oxford studying law when the war hroko out. As he was not accepted with the British forces, he joined the French Foreign Legion, and at last advices was lying wounded in a hospital iu France. Itatu Charli, his younger brother, had left Wesley College, Melbourne, where he was studying, and joined one of the Maori contingents in Now Zealand. Tho Native chiefs, through their representatives in the Legislative Council, had offered a contingent of a thousand Fijians. This offer had not been accepted. Probably the Fijians were not considered suitable for the work on the Western front, but he was cortain that thoy would have boen useful in ligypt, Mesopotamia, or East Africa. It would have been a good diplomatic move to have accepted the contingent, as it would have created great enthusiasm amongst the natives. All classes and races in Fiji—the Fijians themselves, Indians, Gilbert Islanders, Samoans, and T'ongans—had contributed generously to tho various war funds, the total amount raisod in tho colony being over £50,000. "1 saw in the papers the other day some references to unrest among tho natives iu Fiji," Mr. Hedstrom continued. "There is bound, I suppose, to bo some unrest among a people who aro undergoing a process of evolution, but there is 110 political unrest, and no likelihood of any disturbance which will affect the ,poace and prosperity of the colony. Tho unrest, such as it is, is of a social and not of a political na.t.ure. Somo of the natives are anxious to do their business and export their produce without tho intervention of the European or Asiatic trader. Some of tho more enlightened resent tho fact that certain laws apply to natives only and not to white men. In addition to tiie ordinary English law the natives are governed by what are known as the native regulations. These provide penalties for petty offences which under liritish law would not meet with any punishment at all., With one law for Hie white man and another for tho brown man, one can understand how intelligent natives feel about it; and it seems to me that some special legislation is necessary to meet the conditions. On the whole tlio • Fijians aro a very contented and law-abiding people. II am sure there is no danger of a general rising firstly to the lack of sufficient cause, and, secondly, to tho lack of cohesion among the provinces," Strong exception is taken by Mr. Hedstrom to certain statements in an article 111 tho "Herald" a few days ago on Gorman influence in Fiji. He said that some of the statements would give a very wrong impression of the stato of affairs. Ho doubted whether there were twenty Germans in Fiji either naturalised or unnaturalised. There, was 0110 business, purely a branch of a Hamburg business, that ought certainly to have been closed up. It had been stated in the article to which he referred tbat since the war German firms had shipped thousands of bags of copra and other produce to the United States. This was quite erroneous. No German firm had shipped a sack of copra to America since the war began. During 1914 Fiji had shipped nearly 9000 tons of copra to San Francisco, but this had all been sent by his own firm, Morris, Ilodstrom, Ltd.—"Syduev Mornin"Herald."