Caledonia

When Vichy Tried To Rule New

High Officiol Tells "Inside Story"

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From Our Noumea Correspondent

M. BAYARDELLE, recently appointed by the French Provisional Govern ment as Governor-General of French Equatorial Africa, figured in the dramatic events which, in -September, 1940, turned two Vichy-minded Governors out of New Caledpnia. His new position is one of the highest in the French Emr pire. ft As Secretary-General of this Colony, he occupied the highest position next to the Governor. When Monsieur Pelicier flew back to France, after being unsuccessful in rallying New Caledonia to Marshal Petain, Vichy offered M. Bayardelle the governorship. He refused; and the governorship fell to the military com mander in Noumea, Colonel Denis, whom Vichv ordered “to govern by all the means in your power, including force and a state of siege.”

Denis has been described by M. Bayar delle as “a poor sort of a man, only occupied with his own advancement.”

After 17 days, during which he actually did declare Noumea in a state of siege, Denis was thrown out by force of popular feeling, and at the first opportunity left for Indo-China. M. Bayardelle reveals that Denis was in such a state of fear on the day of Henri Sautot’s arrival from the New Hebrides that he sent the, gar rison commander on beard to greet him.

After his arrest, Denis attempted a counter-coup with some metropolitan officers who still regarded him as their leader.

M. Bayardelle returned to London early in 1941. De Gaulle sent him first to Syria, and then made him Governor of Jibouti.

This capable official is now superior to his former Governor, Henri Sautot, who is to-day in charge of one of the Central African Colonies Oubangui-Char. Here is the remarkable story he told me before he left.

M. BAYARDELLE revealed that two cables reached the Colony, “in clear,” from Vichy ordering, first, the arrest of the British Consul in Nou mea, and the other that priority for the country’s entire mineral output should be given to Japan and Russia—which in those days meant that it was for Ger many.

M. Bayardelle shows how, though Governor Pelicier had engaged the Colony to continue resistance, and though he continued to promise the General Council and the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers that New Caledonia would continue the fight at the side of the British Empire, he actually was, from June 24, 1940, engaged in flirting with Vichy.

The population, however, noticed that the Governor’s sentiments were not in accordance with his acts—particularly when, after keeping them secret for a fortnight, he quietly inserted in the “Official Journal” the new (Vichy) con stitution over Marshal Petain’s signature, which he tried in this way to impose on the population.

The population went wild; and, after a long discussion, the General Council asked M. Pelicier to leave the Colony. It was then that M. Bayardelle received the offer of the governorship. rE gunboat “Dumont d'Urville” then arrived in Noumea from Tahiti, under Vichy’s orders to “maintain

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° following order of the day c e “p nP ifip Naval Station Noumea A ’ 27 1940 v-iqvp vou together to ex piain nature of our international relations. At first, at the moment of the

armistice, there was a certain amount of uncertainty, and a number of heads of colonies thought it was their duty to con tinue the fight at the side of the English.

These colonial chiefs have quickly seen that they were making a mistake and that the recovery of France requires that all should rally to the Government, and that all Frenchmen should unite under Marshal Petain.

“In New Caledonia, it is only separatist tendencies that are manifesting them selves, and it is certain that foreign powers are seeking to profit from these tendencies for their own ends, and so as to occupy the island should serious troubles break out.

“We are here to defend the French flag against whoever may seek to intro

duce themselves. Actually, Prance is in a state of neutrality in respect of all foreign powers, including England, but obviously she is under the control of Germany and Italy.”

This document was torn down and brought ashore by members of the “Dumont d’Urville” crew, who were in sympathy with de Gaulle, and handed to the local de Gaulle Committee, who made its contents known.

The population went down to the wharf and for days howled their anger at the gunboat’s commander, who not only

trained guns and hoses on them, but howled back at them. One of the ways they annoyed him was by singing the “Marseillaise,” knowing that some of the crew would join in.

DURING the fortnight of Denis mis rule, before Sautot arrived, the best that “poor man” could think of (M.

Bayardelle contemptuously revealed) was to try and stir up a native revolt (“re volte des canaques”) in order to “keep the whites busy.” M. Bayardelle paid a great tribute to that “solid and patriotic Lor ramer, Governor Sautot, who for six years had filled with remarkable com petence the office of Resident Commis sioner for France in the New Hebrides