Mandated Islands?

Defensive Works In

THERE are three groups of Pacific Islands held under the Mandate sys tem —i.e., New Guinea, by Australia; Western Samoa, by New Zealand; and the Carolines and Marshall Islands, by Japan—and the question has been raised at Geneva as to where their legitimate activities under the Mandates cease, and colonising activities commence.

The Norwegian delegate to the League of Nations, Dr. Lange, declared at Geneva on September 18 that the Mandated lands were simply camouflaged colonies; and he gave as an instance the activities of the Japanese in the Marshalls and Caro lines. Dr. Lange said that certain har bour works and other constructions pro ceeding in the Marshalls and Carolines

were a disguised form of fortification, designed for the use of the Japanese fleet. Japan’s contention that they were intended for civil and commercial pur poses was unconvincing, because the large sums involved were not justified by civil requirements.

A statement issued by the Japanese Foreign Office in Tokyo on September 19 reiterated that the purpose of the works in the Mandated islands was purely economic, and suspicions expressed at Geneva were baseless.

The position is remarkable, because Japan has withdrawn from the League of Nations and apparently does not recog nise the wishes of that body; and she has stated, moreover, in the most explicit terms, that she will in no circumstances give up the Marshall and Caroline Islands, which she now holds nominally under a League of Nations mandate.