Future of the Ex-German
p. 24 · Read in the full issue
Colonies
IN the last paragraphs of the “News- Review”, published in the “Pacific Islands Monthly” in March, it was indicated that, beneath the surface of events in Europe, a tremendous drive for a peace settlement was taking place.
The newspapers said nothing about it —or very little—but a careful study of events and conditions showed that something of an unusually important character was afoot. However, nothing came of it; and, now, it is clear that the Allies are going on with the war until Hitlerism is broken.
At the end of March, however, some of the leading newspapers frankly re ferred to the tremendously important “under-cover Easter peace drive”, as they called it. They said that at Easter it seemed, for a time, likely that a peace conference would take place; and then something mysterious happened (no one seems to know what) to interrupt the movement, and stiffen the deter mination of the Allies to go on with the war.
It is interesting to note, among the eleven clauses of Hitler’s peace terms, as communicated to the Vatican and published in some of the Australian newspapers on March 19, that one clause (clause 5) read as follows: “Restitution within 20 years of the German colonies, or equal colonial com pensation, or at least protection of Ger man emigration in areas to be deter mined in Africa.”
This bears out the opinion, frequently expressed in this journal, that the Nazi Government does not want the German colonies which were lost in 1914 —this affects New Guinea, Western Samoa, and the Marshall and Caroline Islands —but it does want large colonial areas in Africa, or somewhere, in which it can expand.
Mr. A. S. Cross, formerly general man ager of Guinea Airways, Ltd., in New Guinea, who went across to the Eastern Pacific a couple of years ago and settled down in Tahiti, recently returned to Australia. He is now serving as an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force at Point Cook, Victoria.
Mr. G. S. McDonald, who at one time was in charge of the Methodist Mission’s Technical Training Institution in Papua, recently was appointed Superintendent of State Technical Education in South Aus tralia.