PROPOSED ANNEXATION OF NEW GUINEA.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 308, 8 June 1875, Page 4

PROPOSED ANNEXATION OF NEW GUINEA.

{Sydney Morning Herald, May 20.)

The (Jolouial Secretary (the Hon John Robertson) received a deputation yesterday, appointed at a public meeting held a few days ago at the Masonic Hall, in reference to the proposal for the annexation of New Guinea to the British Empire. The Mayor of Sydney, in introducing the deputation, said the gentlemen present waited upon the Colonial Secretary in pursuance of a resolution passed at a public meeting, to urge upon the Government the desirableness of taking steps to induce the British Government to annex New Guinea to the British Empire. The resolutions which the public meeting arrived at were passed unanimously.

Mr Robertson said that what he understood was wanted by this numerous and influential deputation was that the Government should do what might be in its power to aid the movement set on foot by a public meeting. The resolutions that were passed by that meeting decidedly expressed the opinion of the people of Sydney, and he believed of the people of the colony generally, He understood that the deputation were desirous that this Government should facilitate in every way in its power the proposition contained in th? resolutions. He need scarcely say that he sympathised with the movement. He had not yet had an opportunity of bringing the question of the annexation of New Guinea before his colleagues. But whilst expressing his own sentiments, he would like to point out what had been done. He regarded this question of the proposed annexation in a somewhat more extended light than that appearing from the resolutions. Four or five years ago the question of annexing Fiji was before the Government of which he was the Colonial Secretary and Sir James Martin was Premier and AttorneyGeneral. In reply to certain despatches from the mother country, Sir James Martin took a course which he believed was really the cause of the annexation of Fiji. He thought the paper written by Sir James Martin pointed oat that it was impossible for any colony, as was suggested by the Home Government, to create a colony in Fiji and govern it. And he thought that if any one would take the trouble to read that remarkable paper written by Sir James Martin, which was forwarded by him (Mr Robertson) to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, five years ago, they would see that in those days the annexation of islands where a European population had settled was defended and maintained from our point of view as the duty of the British Government. Then we found that when there was a change of Government, when Mr Parkes became Colonial Secretary and Premier, that gentleman arrived at pretty much the same opinion. At any rate Mr Parkes was in favor of the annexation of Fiji to the British Crown. He (Mr Robertson) held somewhat different opinions to those of Mr Parkes or Sir James Martin.; or rather he did not think they would agree with the view he was about to put forward. But he thought the time had now come when that view could be put forward and urged strongly on the British Government. He was bound, however, to state that he had not laid his views before his colleagues, and in now speaking he spoke for himself and not for his colleagues. He thought that if the Australian colonies were severed from the British Crown —which he hoped would not be for many years to come—we should be sure to colonise not only New Guinea, but the whole of the islands of Polynesia. He thought the colonies would do it in the interests of peace and in the interests of Australasia. We were fortunately connected with a great empire, and it seemed to him that what would be the duty of Australia in its own interests, it was the duty of Great Britain to do in the interests of the empire of which we formed a part, Great Britain should take up every one of the islands of Polynesia, in order that they should not be taken up by any other nation. He did not press that view upon Sir James Martin, when he was dealing with the question of annexation of Fiji, as he thought it was hopeless to expect Great Britain to incur the expense of governing the islands. He thought the Home Government had acted wisely in their last procedure with regard to Fiji, but he did not think they need have sent out a Governor with £4OOO a year salary, and everything necessary to form a first-class establishment. But, having done that, if they would now make that gentleman Governor-General of Polynesia, the whole of the islands might be governed, and the additional expense would be a mere bagatelle. The Imperial Government had appointed a Governor and a judicial staff, and the Governor, he presumed, was a gentleman of great ability. If, as he had said, they mode that gentleman a Governor-General of the whole of Polynesia, and made his palace on some man-of-war, which was, he believed, intended at Fiji—callitaGovernmert house, or anything else—whenever that ship was in any harbor there would the seat of Government be whilst it remained. It appeared to him that a ship of war would be a convenient residence for a Governor of Polynesia. The British Government had four vessels, three of which were built in Sydney, cruising about the Southern Seas to put down the slave trade. If they had three or four more, and had on each a captain who could act in the capacity of police magistrate, they would have itinerating courts of justice, which would be sufficient for the government of Polynesia for a long time to come; If the Imperial Government could borrow money at 3 per cent for the government of the islands, he believed it would be soon recouped by the extension of trade and in other ways—the government would really be no expense at all. He knew that the Government of this colony had been asked to contribute towards the government of Fiji. He did not see how we could do that. He did not think Parliament could be reasonably asked to contribute any large sum of money in the expenditure of which it could have no control. But he thought that the Imperial Government, having launched into the thing, and gone to nearly all the expeuse that would be necessary for governing the whole of Polynesia—having provided judges and law courts, and having several ships—they might with a very little further expense deal with the whole of Polynesia. He had had the advantage of long and intimate acquaintance with Captain Charles Edward, the gentleman who went away yesterday in charge of the vessel so liberally fitted up as an expedition ship by Mr Macleay. He had the pleasure of travelling with that gentleman to the Gulf of Carpentaria some months ago, and he knew hiru to be possessed of a good deal of information with regard to the islands of Polynesia—in fact, he had had some twenty years or more acquaintance with them—and

that gentleman was of opinion, having always been on good terms with the islanders, and conducted a large business with them, that if the islanders saw a British ship of war going now and then to visit them, the white people would have perfect security in their holdings or settlements which they might form; and the native inhabitants would aid in giving up to ships of war or the law courts any persons who might transgress the laws, whether natives or white people. He intended to prepare a paper, if his colleagues agreed with him in such a scheme as he had indicated, embodying his views on the subject, to be sent to the Secretary of State for the Colonies by the next mail. He thought the scheme was quite practicable. The Sydney Morning Herald publishes the following minute by the late Administration of New South Wales on the colonisation of New Guinea, which was forwarded by His Excellency Sir Hercules Robinson to the Secretary of State, and has been some months in the hands of Lord Carnarvon :

" Minute for His Excellency the Governor. " On the subject of New Guinea, to which you made reference in our conversation a few days ago, I desire to make some observations in which my colleagues concur. " The attention of this colony has been on several occasions directed to New Guinea by persons who have been much impressed by its natural fertility and rich resources. About seven years ago an effort was made to form an association in Sydney for voluntary settlement on the eastern shore of the island; and again in 1870 or 1871 a number of young men, mostly natives of this colony, and some of them the sons of respectable and wellknown residents, banded themselves together, and chartered a vessel for the purpose of formic g a settlement there. This vessel, the brig Maria, sailed from Sydney, it is said, under very improvident preparation for the voyage, and she struck on a reef and foundered off the Northern coast of Queensland. Some of the adventurers were lost, others escaped to the shore, and suffered severely in an uninhabited part of the northern colony. The interest in New Guinea, and the belief in its future importance, which have been felt very generally in this colony for some years, have received fresh strength from C a ptain Moresby's discoveries, and from the increasing trade of vessels from this port to Torres Straits. " There probably is no country in the world which offers so fair and certain a field for successful colonisation as this great island, as there certainly is none so rich and attractive, and at the same time so elose te British rule.

"It is understood that the objection of English statesmen to extend the colonies of Great Britain is based upon the impolicy of throwing the cost of founding new settlements upon the English taxpayer. If this be so, and is held to be an insuperable objection, might not an Imperial charter be granted to an Australian company to colonise the eastern side of New Guinea, England reserving to herself the appointment of Governor and authority in other matters deemed of first importance. I feel very confident that many man of high character and large wealth in these colonies would at once engage in an enterprise so tempting and honorable, if they had the opportunity of doing so under British authority, and that a colony might be successfully founded without costing Great Britain a single shilling beyond the support of her ships of war. "The importance of New Guinea to the British Empire now rapidly forming in this part of the world cannot be over-estimated. Its close proximity to the Australian coast, its territorial extent, the valuable character of its lands, its known mineral wealth, the pearl fisheries in the neighboring seas, give to it a prominence in the progress of these colonies which will go on increasing every year. Its colonisation by a foreign power could not fail of giving rise to many embarrassments. Its colonisation by Great Britain would be hailed with universal approbation throughout Australasia. " Henry Parkes. " Colonial Secretary's-office, Sydney, July 27th, 1874."