Beware Of Pacific Islands

Federation!

Letter to the Editor IT is reported that Mr. Nash has been advocating the federation of the Pacific Island Territories under a five-power control. Federation is an excellent suggestion, for such an arrange ment could, if properly managed, bring all kinds of desirable and beneficial results.

Obviously, though, the control must be in the hands of one sovereign power.

This, no one with any practical know ledge of the Islands can seriously dis pute. The suggestion for a five-power control, however, shows clearly that the lessons of history and experience have been forgotten, or else have been ignored.

These lessons are to be found in the unhappy narrative of tri-partite control in Samoa during the latter part of the nineteenth century, and in the weird story of the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides.

These two unfortunate experiments in the governance of Pacific Island Terri tories should be carefully studied by all who are interested in the future of the Islands. The idea of international con trol, which is the worst of all kinds of government, would then be to retire quietly into well-merited oblivion.

I am, etc-.

P. W. Glover, Bsc, Eras.

Apia, Western Samoa, Feb. 7. 1944.

(See Other Comment on Pages 38 and 39)