Wartime Rules

Native Labour in N. Hebrides

ALL sorts of controls upon civil activi ties are imposed by many sets of Regulations, published in the New Hebrides Gazette for April-May, 1943, just received. There are Regulations to provide for censorship, land transfers, sale of cattle, maintenance of essential services, native labour, requisition of native labour, sale of meat, sales of articles to servicemen, sale of liquor, rationing of rice, and so on.

War apparently is hell in the Condo minium, as well as in other places.

There are elaborate but very confusing Regulations (four sets of them) covering native labour. One set of rules says that natives living within 16 miles of Vila may be compelled to work in essential services, at the rate of 5-id. per hour Australian for nine hours, and after that on overtime; while another set of Regu lations, with a slightly different head ing, of the same date, says that native labourers shall be paid 1/- Australian per working day of eight hours, and then overtime at 3d. per hour.

Evidently the mania for making in numerable and confusing wartime rules, which some people think is pecularly an Australian phobia, is not confined to Canberra.

The Patriotic Pete, held in Suva, Fiji, on October 11, raised well over £6,000 for the day, in spite of bad weather condi tions. The drive for the Fete has been in progress since August and it is expected that final figures will show a net return of over £30,000. This success is due, in no small measure, to the enthusiasm of the organising secretary, Mr. L. A. Lawlor. Proceeds are to be used in the Colony for the benefit of Fiji Servicemen and merchant seamen.