ANNEXATION OF FIJI.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4214, 22 September 1874, Page 3

ANNEXATION OF FIJI.

The Uomfi.Jfews gives the following abbreviation of the [speech of the Secretary of State for the Colonies ’on this subject, which is so important to. New .Zealand. This will show that the jfjlqine' Government has determined to accept T ,t)re proffered of the Piji Islands ; . , The Earl of Carnarvon, in calling the attention of the House ’.to the report of the commission on the cession of the Piji Islands to the British Crown, explained that in consequence of some unavoidable delay the papers had not been presented until that morning. He did not think that all the circumstances attending the offer of cession were altogether favorable, and they -would have to consider well the conditions on which such a cession could be accepted There were several alternative courses, the first of which was the establishment of consular courts, which the late Government was rather in favor of, and which might possibly work well; a second alternative was annexation to some of the Australian Colonies, although such an annexation would not be altogether without precedent, as the Colony of South Australia has already a dependency at the extreme north ; the third alternative was to make the islands a Crown Colony ; and the last was to leave matters just as they were, a course of proceeding which he sljould think no one would recommend. ■ The totkl native population of the Fiji Islands was 160,000, of which population-140,000 had passed into a comparative state of civilisation, but unquestionably the other 20,000 were wild and savage mountaineers. The white population now numbered 2000, Ho was happy to say that many barbarous customs were dying out. Formerly slavery was the rule, and the price of women was five dollars per head. Widows on the death of their husbands were strangled, and, worst of all, cannibalism was rife all over the islands. All these things were now gone, the idolatrous temples of heathenism had been destroyed, and in the large square of the principal city the heathen temple in which the orgies of the Fijians were held, had been destroyed, and in its place a Christian church had been erected. (Hear, hear.) A great difficulty no doubt existed in respect to the land, and if the cession was to be accomplished, the Crown must have an absolute right of preemption in the land. Of course the moment that took place, the value of the land would not be doubled, but quadrupled. There was no doubt that the finances were in a moat embarrassed state, and not only had there been £124,000 spent last year in the administration of the affairs of the islands,, Imt a debt of £7OOO had been incurred. At the same time, considering the wealth df the - islands; and_ their area, which were larger than the lonian Islands and Malta put together, there was no reason to suppose biit that in British hands the finances would sodli recover themselves. The noble lord gave an 1 eloquent sketch' of the extreme beauty of the islands, the softness of ‘ their climate, the magnificence and grandeur of the scenery. , He could not disguise the fact that there was a strong desire on the part of the Australian Colonies that these islands should be annexed to British rule. None of them were indifferent to the question, and from two of them, namely, New Zealand and New South Wales, the Government had had offers of the most cordial cooperation, and, indeed, New South Wales had generously offered to share the burdens of the expense which might be incurred in creating the Fijian Islands into a British Colony,for which it was admirably fitted by its position, being in the direct highway from the New World to the yet newer world of Australia, and the centre of that labor trade which they were so anxious to put down. He thought it highly probable that in the event of the cession taking place, the co-operation of those Colonies might bo taken advantage of. At all events, it was the duty of the Government cordially to acknowledge that generous offer of co-operation, and express their thanks for it. Their lordships would not bo surprised to hear that it was the feeling of the Government to accept the offer of a cession, and to undertake the duty and the resonsibility of governing the country, but they could only acceptjitabsolutely unconditionally. At present, the offer which was made by Mr. Thurston, the Secretary of State of the Piji Islands, was clogged -with conditions, especially with respect to Che land. The Government could not recognise any such conditions, and what they had determined to do was to send over Sir Hercules Robinson, the Governor of New South Wales, a man of tried ability and great sagacity, who would state to the native chiefs and the whites, what it was that the Government proposed to do, put the matter plainly before them, and explain that it was impossible to accept the cession on any other footing than that of a Crown Colony. In conclusion, ' the' tlqblo Earl said that he thought the House would agree that he had not concealed the difficulties of the subject; but, at the sanio time, althbngh great, they could bo overcome) if "the cession were made wholly untrammelled abd unfettered by restrictive conditions. (Cheers.)';!”' 1 i U in