Petition To Remove Suva

Town Board

Prom Our Own Correspondent

Suva, Aug. 24.

SUVA Town Board is satisfied that it has done its duty by Suva citizens, even if 292 Fiji residents are not.

A petition, stating that the Board’s methods of conducting affairs did not warrant the confidence of the towns people, was promoted by Messrs. W. G.

Johnson MIC. A. A. Ragg MLC, and R.

Munro, and was signed by 292 people some months ago. It was sent to the Governor of Fiji and was sent by the Government to the Board, for comment.

At the August meeting of the Board, where the petition was discussed it was decided that, although it was believed that the Board had done its duty, it would disband if the Governor felt that it had failed in any way.

The chairman of the Board (Mr, Alport Barker) pointed out that of the 292 sig natories of the petition, only 70 appeared in the Suva rate book, and many of them lived outside the town boundaries.

The petition, by the time it reached the Board, hadi lost a great deal of its point. It is now known that the Govern ment intends shortly to re-establish Suva as a municipality, with an elected (in stead of nominated) council. The life of the present Board is therefore limited.

The municipal council system was abandoned over ten years ago, in the governorship of Sir Murchison Fletcher, ecause of the difficulties and embarrass ments created by the Indians’ demand for a common roll. The same difficulties exist to-day; but there has been a great change of heart and outlook in Whitehall. It already has manifested: itself in Asia.

The fate of Suva is a small thing com pared with the recent disastrous events In India, Egypt, Burma, etc.