FUTURE OF FIJI.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 81, 4 August 1915, Page 5

FUTURE OF FIJI.

’ I SHOULD AUSTRALIA CONTROL 1 ‘ THE ISLANDS. \ i —-a.__.——The [':1(-t of the (I()vm‘n()r of Fiji being also High (.‘onnllissioilm- of the 1W.(.-stern Pzwiiic canm up for :1 good Xiezil of dismxssioti at the recent sit‘bing of the Legislative C‘~onn<~il, writes ithe Fiji <~orréspoudent. of the S_v(hio)' ‘}iDail,v 'l‘oiegrapli. The elected members of the (.‘ouu('il, in the A(idl‘('s>é—-iin-Reply, vx|)l‘u.<.~:e(l the opinion that the time had nrrivied when the two officers should be occupied by two ~p9l's()nS. as there \va_<~, too ‘nmc-.11 Yor one mam to cope with. The (-iovernor. Sir Bicklmni SweetEscobt. expres~sod himself strongly on the point. In the old days. he said. it was possible for the (iovernor of Fiji to he the High Connnissiom=r of the ‘Nestern i’ru‘-ific. It was also :1 very convenient form of ndniinistmtion and very (-heap, and cheapnexs appealed to his .\lnjesty’s Government, and 'P:u'liamont. He did not like the idea. of Fiji tigllring as the hood of :1 (-oxlfo(l(=l'acy. ’|’os.<ihl_v it might in‘ lmttc-.l‘ for thé islmld.s' to he |n'oll,<,r,'lltunder tin» no;2;i:,« of the C‘ommonxvtmltk 01' Australia. as he Im(h=rstood sum‘ of the Im=nlliors I)l'efel'i'b(i. The Solomon Tsialuls. he pointed out. iwm i:lr;.r,ei' _tlmx_l Fiji. and the native races there were t\\'i('(= as nunlerml.~4. being; over 1a30,0()O. Then them were the interests of Tonga, the (iiliwrt, nml l“.l_Ji<:o Islands, Ocean} Island. .\'uuru. anal l<‘lnmf'llti. He iv:l.s‘ .«;otvi.x'fie(l thnl; in the interests of the colony of ‘Fiji these two ofTi('<=rs should be sep:u-utnd.