from Rabaul?

Could Solomon Islands be Administered from Rabaul?

THE time may not be inopportune to state the proposition that the administration of the Solomon Islands should be taken over by Australia from the British Colonial Office. There are a dozen sound practical reasons for the change; while the chief arguments against it appear to be mostly of an academic or selfish character.

The Solomon Islands administration is part of the responsibility of the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, whose headquarters are at Suva, and who necessarily finds that communication with the Solomons is inconvenient and irregular. Trade and communication with the Solomons are almost an Australian monopoly—so much so that, although the Solomon Islands are part of the British Colonial Office administration Australian exchange conditions rule m t e group.

There is much discontent among the residents of the Solomons, and criticism of the Administration. Letters of complaint come to this office by every mail,

Some of the criticism is captious and irresponsible, but some seems to be soundly based. Careful inquiry suggests that the fundamental cause of the dis content is Suva control. There is nothing inherently wrong with what is done by Suva—it is only the appalling incon venience caused by slow and broken communication. S.I. officials are some times charged with weakness and ineffi ciency—but investigation usually shows that the officials are the victims of circumstance. Practically all of these difficulties would be removed if they were more closely in touch with head quarters.

The British Colonial Office probably would be glad to get rid of the Solomons, Under the present system the territory is a heavy and continuing expense, while the domination of Australian commercial interests in the group must be a frequent embarrassment.

If the Solomons could be detached from Colonial office administration and attached to the New Guinea administra

tion, the territory could be administered very much more cheaply, probably for something between £30,000 and £40,000 per annum. Experienced administrative officials say that, with Bougainville and Buka, the group could be divided very conveniently into three administrative districts, with headquarters in Rabaul, with which there is quick and frequent communication. The administrative machinery of New Guinea would fit conveniently onto the Solomons, and would function easily and smoothly.

The ethnological, agricultural, medical, educational, industrial, and commercial conditions are virtually the same in the Solomons as they are in New Guinea; whereas, with the possible exception of the New Hebrides, there is not the same similarity of conditions between the Solo mons apd any of the other groups and territories over which the High Com missioner for the Western Pacific has jurisdiction.

It is probable that the majority of the residents in the Solomon Islands would not object to Australian jurisdiction, as in nearly all cases their associations and connections are with Australia. The big trading firms with interests in the Solomons are almost wholly Australian.

Taxation is no heavier in New Guinea than in the Solomons. There is, how ever, tariff preferences for British goods in the Solomons, whereas in New Guinea there is only an ad valorem revenue duty.

It is probable that opposition to the idea would come from the Lever interests.

Lever’s Pacific Plantations Pty. Ltd. operate a chain of plantations in the Solomons, and copra from those planta tions, of course, is shipped to Unilever interests in Europe and elsewhere. Copra production in the Solomon is not under the same strict supervision as it is in New Guinea, and, for that reason, the Lever plantations have followed a system which probably would be in conflict with regulations in force in New Guinea. It would be hoped, however, that Solomon Islands planters would not permit Lever opposition, based on this circumstance, to interfere with any plan to change to Australian control, because if New Guinea regulations governing the pro duction of copra were to operate in the Solomon Islands in such a way that Solomon Islands copra were graded as New Guinea copra is graded, the S.I. producers would gain substantially. The world’s market values N.G. copra at at least 20/- per ton more than S.I. copra.

It can be said in a general way that the Australian Administration in New Guinea has been more successful in handling the natives than the Solomons Administration. The natives in the two territories are generally of the same type; but whereas, in New Guinea, native labour works fairly well and under a proper sense of discipline, it is a notorious fact that in the Solomon Islands official dom seems to be more or less embarrassed by the Malaita-men. The natives of Malaita are a war-like, aggressive people and they appear never to have accepted European control in the ordinary sense of the term. It is impossible here to examine the problem to the point where blame for this position could be laid; but the fact remains that the Malaita men’s defiance of white authority is

something that embarrasses frequently

the relationship between the Administration officials in their relation with the natives. Without over-rating the serious ness of the Malaita-men problem, we believe that if a couple of experienced district officers and a few well-tried patrol-leaders from the New Guinea territory were placed in charge of the troublesome districts in the Solomons, the difficulties to which we refer would

presently disappear.

There are two substantial advantages which S.I. planters and traders would enjoy immediately if the change were made. Much better and cheaper labour would become available; and the Solo mons would have the benefit of a first class medical service. The Solomons, during recent years, have been almost deprived of an adequate service; while New Guinea, in this respect, has been very well equipped.

The success which has attended Aus tralian administration in New Guinea entitles the Commonwealth Government to think seriously about this suggestion of taking over the Solomon Islands terri tory; and if the Federal Government has any vision—a matter concerning which there is argument! —it will make a move in this direction at an early date. We believe that the British Colonial Office would be glad to consider this solution of the Solomon Islands Administration

problem.

The real obstacle would be provided by those academic politicians who would contend that it is not possible to link an administration carried on under a League of Nations mandate —which is the case in New Guinea —with the administration of a group which would become virtually a territory of Australia. As a matter of fact, such an objection is purely academic and could be solved simply enough, even if it were not a fact that the League of Nations difficulty is likely to end soon with the disintegration of the League of Nations.

It has been pointed out repeatedly in this journal that, for reasons of strategy, it is desirable that Australia should have control of as much as is possible of that fringe of islands which lie off the northern and north-eastern coast of the continent, and which include Papua, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Hebrides, and Norfolk Island. In other words, from the point of view of defence —a subject which is receiving much consideration in Australia at present —it is very desirable that Australia should exercise jurisdiction over the Solomon Islands, in the same way that it does in New Guinea.

Miss Beatrice Grimshaw, the well known South Seas novelist, who came to Australia early this year from Papua, de parted recently for Tonga, after spending several months at Bathurst, N.S.W. She will remain in the Tongan group for a couple of months gathering material for further books. Miss Grimshaw has just written an autobiography, “Thirty Years in the South Seas,” which will be pub lished shortly in America.