Tahiti's Economic

Condition Reassuring and Inspiring Address

by New Governor

THE following address was delivered by Lieut.-Colonel George Orselh. the new Governor of French Oceania, at the opening of the 1942 session of the Economic and Finance Council;— Sixteen months have passed since you met together, feeling overwhelmed by the ruin of the past and the uncertainty of The armies of France were beaten. A few defeatists, a few traitors, sheltering behind the glorious past of a pusillani mous old man. were ready to deliver up all that remained of France: the , re / n “ nants of her army, her entire fleet, her Empire France, however, was not dead. Some of her sons, under the guidance and example of a great soldier, General de Gaulle, were concentrating upon the sole aim of continuing the struggle.

Never was there a better occasion to apply the watchword of William the Silent, liberator of the Low Countries.

“There is no need of hope in order to attempt a task, nor of success m order to persevere with it. ’ They have attempted, they have persevered, and now hope has been born and success is 8 Free French Empire exists; Tahiti stands at the head of it. Your children are fighting to liberate the soil of France.

Others are working and preparing for the defence of their country. For Tahiti will be defended; it will be defended by its sons, by all the French people of the

Pacific; it will be defended by our great Allies the British Empire and the twenty nations of the Americas.

And the day of victory will come to us; for always has France, the France of Lafayette, been present m the fight When Clemenceau, that great French man of whom we stood in such dire need in 1940 on November 11. 1918, announced the ultimate victory, he ended his speech with these words: ‘‘France, yes terday the Crusader of God, to-day the Crusader of Liberty, will always be the Crusader of the Ideal.”

Gentlemen, we are fighting for an ideal. But economical and financial questions are of utmost importance in the conduct of the war, and it is for that reason that we are here to-day in order to legislate for the economic life of the Colony during this year.

Before we can legislate for the future, we must be thoroughly familiar with the present, and prepare our budget. Let us, therefore, consider certain figures which have been furnished for us by the Chief of the Customs Services—figures which are irrefutable.

Certain pessimists, certain defeatists, certain propagandists working for the enemy, continue to repeat over the Franco-Japanese radio at Saigon that there is an economic crisis at Tahiti, and that certain essential products are scarce.

Well, let us say definitely that there is no such crisis here in Tahiti, and that essential products are not scarce, in fact never has Tahiti been so rich, never has’ so much wealth come into this Colony.

Statistics for the year 1941 show that Tahiti has sold and Tahiti has received three times more money than m 1940,

twice as much as In 1939, the last year of peace— l24,ooo,ooo francs m 1941, 47 000,000 in 1940. 63,000,000 in 1939.

Certainly, there is always the problem and it is a very real problem—that this wealth will not be equally distributed certain members of the community will have too much, while others will not have enough. But our care will be to see that those who have not enough shall have more, that a greater justice will come to pass, and in this task we shall have the help of everyone.

The same statistics show us that not only are essential commodities not scarce, but rather, that we have more than we had in times of peace. Here are a few the basic food: We have received during 1941 two and a half times more flour than in 1940. 500,000 kilogrammes more than in 1939. . 2 Meat' 478 tons in 1941 as against only 167 tons in 1940 and 312 tons m

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3. Rice; 1.559 tons in 1941; 1.373 tons in 1940; 1,560 in 1939. 4. Sugar: 1,195 tons in 1941; 645 tons in 1940; 778 tons in 1939. 5. Milk: 206 tons in 1941; 164 tons m 1940; 223 tons in 1939. 6. Butter: 55 tons in 1941; 37 tons In 1940; 59 tons in 1939. 7. Finally, gentlemen, we have petrol, which was one of the great problems of 1941 We received 11,337 hectolitres in 194 T 9 840 in 1940, and 10,380 in 1939.

We received, in 1941, 100,000 litres more than in 1939.

Think, gentlemen of France, of all the countries of Europe, of Japan, of Indo china, and compare the position of those countries with our abundance a nd, when next the professional defeatists tell their sad tale to you, ask them to

read these Customs statistics.

Certainly, we have received less wine, less cigarettes, less whisky, lesser quanti ties of certain luxury lines, but those are the sort of economies which allow us to have an abundance of essential products, and which constitute reserves for the future. Consider that a very small sacri fice, when we think of our families in France who lack bread, meat and coal.

There is, however, one unfortunate fact which I will not hesitate to mention here. At the moment, it does not mat ter so very much, but in the long run, it may have grave consequences. I refer to the scarcity of construction materials.

We are trying very hard to remedy this position, and if we can procure the ship ping space, we shall have timber and cement during 1942.

In conclusion, gentlemen, I must again stress this fact: Tahiti is rich, but Tahiti could be richer, if her natural wealth were properly used. Why, for instance, import tobacco, sugar, potatoes, fruit,

when we could produce all our own sugar and tobacco, and, in the Tubuai Group nearby, our own fruit and vege tables? We must, therefore, work a little harder, and so ensure a good future for Tahiti.

Work for ourselves; work for Tahiti; work for France; and work for liberty!