"Lucky"?

Mystery of South Pacific Franc and Banque de I'Indo-Chine

A CORRESPONDENT says that “resi dents of New Caledonia appreciate how lucky, they are to have their franc value guaranteed at the pre-war rate by the British Government, instead of being tied to the rate prevailing in France.”

The remark, apart from this matter of luck, directs attention again to the mys tery of the Bank of Indo-China. How is it that this great institution, whose head quarters are in Paris, and whose general manager (un until verv recently, at least) was the anti-British Vichy Minister Paul Baudouin, continues to provide the fin ancial channels through which the Free French Colonies in the South Pacific carrv on their life-giving trade with the British Empire and America?

If the South Pacific Frenchmen are luckv in having their franc guaranteed by Britain, are not M. Baudouin and the Bank of Indo-China equally lucky? Pre sumably thev have an equal interest in the fate of thf 1 South Pacific franc.

It is incredible that this leakage of Free French-British credit into enemv or ouasi-enemv hands is going on. Yet, if the South Pacific branch of the Bank of Indo-China has been senarated, com vletely and permanently, from the main institution and from Paris and Vichy, nothing has been said about it.

Mr. E. J. Matthews. Rarotonga mana ger for dagger & Harvey, returned to the Cook Is., from New Zealand, by the “Matua” in April.

Mr. H. D. Murphy, who was well known to Pacific Islands residents as a member of the Sydney staff of Burns, Philo and Co. Ltd., is at oresent serving with the AIF abroad, holding the rank of major.

Mr. Murphy was connected with the Travel Department of BP’s for some years and later was with the Islands

Department.

Mrs. Grey, wife of Mr. J. R. Grey, died at Nabavatu, Fiji, recently. She went to the Colonv with Mr. Grey three years ago from Tahiti, and they purchased the late Mr. K. Allardyce’s plantation at Nabavatu.