Origin of Solomon Is.

Protectorate Interesting Page of Pacific History

WHEN the transportation of convicts ceased, the need for labour in the new Australian colonies became acute. Queensland development, with visions of production of sugar and cotton on a large scale made a supply from an outside source essential.

In 1861, the Secretary of State sanc tioned the indenturing of coolie labour from Asia for employment in the tropi cal and sub-tropical Queensland areas.

But, with the prospect of obtaining al most an unlimited supply from the South Seas, the project was dropped—fortun ately, perhaps, for the subsequent “White Australia” policy.

An acute demand, competition and a lack of control brought the labour traffic into disrepute. Reports of cruelty and in justice reached the Colonial Office, and caused considerable uneasiness.

In 1867, efforts to stamp out irregular ities by legislation were made by the Queensland Government, and these were followed from time to time by amending and new legislation, without any appre ciable result. The crux of the problem was that the irregularities were committed outside the jurisdiction of any Colonial or British possession—either on the high seas or in the Pacific Islands.

The British Government’s attempt, without extending its sovereignity, was equally futile.

The Australian Colonies over and over again, advocated the annexation of the is lands of the Pacific, and the whole of non-Dutch New Guinea, but were told

that they should hold themselves respon sible for the cost. The anomaly of con tributing to the cost of a government in which no control was to be, permitted be came an unsurmountable obstacle.

In 1877, in an effort to control the labour traffic, the British Government published the Pacific Islands Order in Council. This Order created the office of High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, and gave full powers for the ap pointment of deputies in convenient groups. Under its provisions, temporary Deputy Commissions were granted to cap tains of war-ships. The Order made an attempt to define the boundaries of what was to be known as the “Western Pacific”.

It extended the operation of the Act to numerous groups in the Pacific, including the Solomon Islands.

It was an elaborate instrument, but it was not long before it was discovered that it operated unfairly on British sub jects, inasmuch as it failed to repress crimes committed by foreigners, or to nunish natives for outrages committed.

British traders and captains were pun ished on the information and evidence of foreign rivals, who could do the same thing with impunity.

This produced what Sir Arthur Gordon, the High Commissioner, described as “not unnatural irritation and a sense of being treated with injustice”.

THE state of the islands in 1882 was little better than in 1877, though the High Commission had. to a great ex tent, checked abuses by British subjects.

About this time considerable concern was manifest in the Australian Colonies at the activities of German trading com panies in the Pacific, particularly in New Guinea where, it was claimed, prepara tion for colonisation was evident. Further

anneals for annexation of these terri tories were made to the British Govern ment. .

The matter was the subject of con " siderable diplomatic discussion and Great Britain was assured by Germany that the New Guinea venture was purely a

private one. Later events, however, dis closed an organised preparation for the occupation of the northern portion of the area, through the agency of the trading companies. The German activities con tinued to create a considerable stir in Australia, and were directly responsible for Queensland’s abortive annexation of the Southern New Guinea territory in 1883.

In 1884. Lord Derby re-affirmed his be lief that no foreign power contemplated interference in New Guinea, and intim ated the intention of the British Govern ment to set up some form of jurisdiction.

THREE months later, before action was taken, the German Ambassador in London informed the British Govern ment that Germany intended to estab lish a colony in New Guinea.

Conversations led to strained relations between Germany and Great Britain; but, eventually, Great Britain gave way and in August, 1884, the boundaries of the pro posed British Protectorate in New Guinea (Papua) were announced in the House of Commons. The area excluded the northern part of the island and the is lands to the north and east.

The disputes of 1884 were settled by the Anglo-German Declaration, which was signed in Berlin on April 6, 1886.

By this Declaration, the jurisdiction of the British portion of the Solomon Is lands, which excluded Bougainville, Shortland and Ysabel, was vested in the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific.

At the signing of the Declaration the

German negotiators insisted on Germany retaining the right to engage labourers freely in the British portion of the Solomon Islands, while not allowing re ciprocal rights. (This was also a feature of the agreement of 1889, when the is lands of Choiseul, Shortland and Ysabel were ceded to Great Britain.) The ar rangement was decidedly one-sided and hampered the administration. It intro duced into the area under British juris diction, foreigners with whom the High Commission could not interfere, and with whom British recruiters and traders could not qompete on equal terms. As late as 1894 Mr. Woodford, Resident Commis sioner of the newly-formed Protectorate, complained that the agreement with Ger many, as well as a later agreement with France, permitted recruiting for New Caledonia (French) and New Britain (Ger man) and permitted also the continua tion of the traffic in arms (banned to British) from foreign spheres.

From 1886 to 1893, there was no varia tion in the method of administration in the British portion of the Solomon Is lands. They were policed by vessels of Her Majesty’s navy.

IN 1892, the Commander of H.M.S.

“Royalist”, after a visit to the Solomon Islands, reported that the natives had expressed a wish for the establishment of a British Protectorate. This, no doubt, was sponsored by British traders, in the hope of improving their condition. The request was immediately communicated to the British Government and, influenced by increasing German activities in the Pacific, was given immediate and secret attention.

On May 24, 1893, HM.S. “Curacoa” left Sydney under the command of Captain Gibson, accompanied by H.M.S. “Gold finch”. Captain Gibson was given secret orders which were not to be opened until the ship arrived at Port Moresby. He was also entrusted with a large parcel marked “secret contents”.

The vessels arrived at Port Moresby on May 30, when the secret orders and parcel were opened. The orders contained in structions to proceed at once to the Solo mon Islands and proclaim a British Pro tectorate. The parcel contained 30 new Union Jacks, which were to be hoisted at the various islands. The vessels arrived at Treasury Island on June 10, 1893.

The next island visited was Simbo; and it is interesting to read that “proceedings were hastened, lest some other Power, getting to hear of them, should step in and

get some of the islands”.-

A.M.

The directors of Steamships Trading Co., Ltd., Papua, have issued 6,000 fully paid ordinary shares in the company— -3,000 to J. G. Nelsson and 3,000 to E. D.

Edgell—in payment for plantation inter ests acquired by the company. These shares rank equally in all respects with ordinary shares previously issued.

A special technique has been developed in Malaya for the fumigation of “white ants” (termites) in living trees. This con sists of burning arsenic and sulphur to gether in a special combustion chamber and blowing the fumes into the channels of the termites through a pipe leading from the combustion chamber. The highly poisonous fumes are thus deposited in the Interior of the nest inside the trunk of the tree, and results in killing out the pest, without in any way damaging the tree. —New Guinea Agricultural Gazette.