Against New Officials

Sharp Disorder In Tahiti

Returned Servicemen Lead Demonstration Against New Officials

THERE has been serious political un rest in the French Pacific Colonies.

On the arrival of the “Ville d’ Amiens” at Papeete on Sunday morning, June 22, from Marseilles, a crowd led by returned Servicemen opposed the landing of three French officials and their families. These officials (an administrator and two Treas ury assistants) had been brought out to join the Colonial administration. Under oressure from the demonstrators, the local troops and police, largely consisting of Tahitians, were unable to intervene.

Harangued by one of their leaders, perched on the gangway, the demonstra tors shouted, applauded, taking possession of the wharf and threatening the three officials should they set foot ashore.

A guard (of demonstrators) was posted on the gangplank and every passenger wanting to go ashore had to disclose his identity and his business.

On Tuesday, June 24, the Governor (M. Haumant), fearing things might take a nastier turn, ordered the “Ville d’Amiens” to anchor off shore. The sailing of the ship was overdue.

The situation was becoming intolerable.

Passengers and crew were getting im patient. A delegation under guard was taken from the ship to the Governor to ask him to make a decision. He assured the deputation that the ship would leave within a reasonably short time.

On Saturday, June 28, towards 6 a.m., two Navy launches went alongside the “Ville d’Amiens” and hastily took on board the three officials, their families and luggage. The launches had no sooner started for the shore than the “Ville d’Amiens” blew her siren and left for Vila, four days late.

These details were given by “Ville d’Amiens” passengers on arrival in Noumea.

The Governor’s proclamation condemn ing the demonstrations was issued the previous day, June 27. The proclamation ended by saying that no matter what happened, in the end the law would pre vail.

According to a report that has reached the Pacific, a Tahitian deputy in Paris has declared that there is a strong move for Tahitian self-government.

Similar discontent though the im mediate causes may be different is re ported from New Caledonia. It is all part of the tense situation which has been created throughout the Western democracies by the attempts of Moscow inspired Communists to get control of the Governments.

THE following is the appeal which the Governor of French Oceania. M.

Haumant (who succeeded Colonel Orselli recently, and who has in turn been succeeded by M. Maestracci) issued to the Tahitian population; “A number of discontented people, who claim to speak on behalf of returned Servicemen of whom they represent only a small minority and in the name of the population the great majority of whom are opposed to their methods and their aims seek to impose their will, by violence, on the local government and on the country.

“Last Sunday, they used force to re sist the landing of one official of the administrative services, and two Treasury assistants sent here by the French Gov ernment to fill vacancies and work for

the better functioning of the administra tion. In particular, the Treasury clerks are needed to reinforce a staff that is insufficient to assure normal service—for the Treasury shortage has been critical for many months.

“The agitators are trying to make out that Tahitians could be recruited for this work, and that, furthermore, the administration has brought out these new officials against the wishes of the Repre sentative Assembly, the only body quali fied to express the wishes of the popula tion.

“These statements are lies.

“npHE Treasury needs, not beginners, but X qualified and experienced employees who are familiar with the special book-keeping technique used, and this cannot be picked up in a day or two, “For a long time now the Represen tative Assembly has been conversant with the situation. The necessary credits have been included in the budget of the Colony, and without these credits, which are regularly voted, the administration would be unable to nay the officials it employs.

“That is the true position, and these who are causing trouble know it. It was explained to them by the President of the Assembly when he interviewed them last Friday, and by the Public Prosecutor, who in the Governor’s name made con tact with them on Sunday. Yet. even though the leaders of the demonstrations acknowledged the force of the arguments presented, they have continued their action, under the excuse that the crowd which they themselves had excited, re fused to allow the officials to land.

“For three days past they have em ployed violence on the ships and on the wharves, preventing the women from landing and seeking accomodation after the fatigue of a long voyage; even trying to stop provisioning of a ship which had just brought to Tahiti tons of produce from metropolitan France. For three days they have used violence to prevent any action being taken, apart from their own.

“ A NEW motive for the agitator’s ac tivities is involved in the distur

bances. For many months now they have followed a policy of agitation, with the avowed aim of getting power into their own hands. They have called on members of the Representative Assembly and representatives of the Municipal Council to resign. They hope, through new elections, in the course of which they would not stop at menaces and violence, to become the strongest party and impose their own dictatorship.

“All the conciliatory measures which have been taken, all the concessions that have been made by the local Government up to the present time, have had only one result—to encourage them still more and force the development of a plan of action whose stages are now familiar.

“The local Government does not wish to employ all the legal means at its dis posal, hoping in spite of all to avoid in cidents graver still.

“TIHE Government is anxious to study JL and carry out reforms for which the need is recognised. A commis sion has been formed which includes two members of the Representative Assembly and two returned Servicemen, plus a

magistrate and a government official, all of them responsible people, who will examine whatever suggestions may be S to 6 ' the T RepresentaUve W c P s£” S ° Vernment ’ “ “ S a ‘ d re -

treatment A lnd g

ment, Governor Haumant ended by saying: “For this reason it is realised that order in the country cannot be disturbed at every turn by agitators who take advantage of certain justifiable and legitimate claims to lead the credulous mass of the population astray, unsettling the country, and achieving their ends by means which belong not to democracy, but to Fascism.”

History of Colonies' Feeling

Against Paris

EVER since World War I. French Colonies in the Pacific have charged the French metropolitan Government with far too frequent changes in the administrative services. Apart from war periods, it has often been rare for French officials to stay more than a year or two in the colonies to which they have been sent. The process has been des-

cribed as “leapfrogging around the French Empire”—with an eye on eventual retirement ‘in Prance

f? ench local populations ftdtag

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There is in addition a strong feeling b eo P le ar ® services the dlfferent administrative , . There I£ * also considerable resentment Decause officials sent out fr° m France are very much higher paid than the a J e .Prevented ?- r ° m nsln g to the higher administrative .iobs.

The position in a nutshell is that the people who know the country best are governed by people who know the country Further, visiting officials received liberal travelling allowances. The result is that ships between the Colonies and France were, in the Ist class, full of French officials, and in. the 2nd and 3rd of poorer colonials who considered they had paid the officials’ Ist class passages.

They too had an inferiority complex, Con sidering the Frenchmen from France looked down on them.

Often the French Colonial system works far from democratically, for the local General Council or Representative Assemblies have hitherto been little but advisory bodies, with no control over taxation and appointments.

All real control is, or has been, in the hands of the Governors: and it is very rare for a governor to stay in a colony for more than a year or two before he is replaced by another governor, so that he often only has a fragmentary knowledge of the colony in his charge. Often gov ernors have lasted in one colony a matter of only a few months in some cases even weeks.

Colonial Ministers in Paris, with the frequent changes in Ministeries which are the plague of French politics, are also so frequently changed that in some cases they know nothing of French territories overseas and French public and press are uninformed.

In 76 years the French colonies have had no fewer than 97 ministers in Paris.

Between September 1, 1933 and November 9, 1934 (.14 months) there were eight Ministers and two Under Secretaries of State who ran the French Empire. The changes in Colonial Governorships have been equally numerous.

Since 1887, Indo-China has seen 21 Governors-General, 23 interim Governors- General and two High Commissioners— -46 rulers in 60 years. New Caledonia and Tahiti could quote comparable figures.

In such circumstances what continuity of administration is possible?

In Indo-China, Governors who lasted for any length of time belonged to the period before 1919. After that date Governors took upon themselves the habit of passing half the year in France.

This caused bitter complaints.

In Cochin China, in 20 years, nine governors (who were only interipi governors) were in power for longer.

During the same time 20 years Tonkin had 19 Resident Governors; Annam, 12; Cambogia, 9; and Laos, 16!