Solomons?

Chinese For The

Whole Question of Labour for Pacific Territories is Receiving Serious Consideration

THE question of whether Levers Pacific Plantations Ltd. will continue to op erate its important chain of coco nut plantations in the British Solomon Islands, or will abandon these apparently valuable properties owing to lack of an adequate labour force, has remained un answered for over two years.

Lack of labour and of transportation in the Solomons has preventd the re establishment of the copra industry. The lack of copra cargoes has discouraged the development of any kind of shipping communication. (See article elsewhere in this issue).

It now appears, however, that Levers have no intention of abandoning the plantations—instead, they will endeavour to bring an adequate force from outside the Group.

For some time now, discussions have been under way between Levers and the British authorities, under which it is pro posed to import between 600 and 700 Chinese labourers, from Hongkong. If it was planned to bring in Asiatics from al most any other Territory, there might be difficulties, in the present state of world politics. But Hongkong is a British Colony, and the Chinese labourers from there would have British passports.

This BSI experiment will be watched with great interest by British, French, Australian and New Zealand adminis trative officials, because —owing to post war developments in their Territories similar to those in the Solomons —there is everywhere a great shortage of labour.

If the Pacific Islands cannot call upon the bottomless labour reservoir in Asia, so as to maintain their planting and other industries, then there is no econ omic future in the Pacific Islands.

Most European Governments to-day— especially the Socialistic administrations in power at present—are extremely sen sitive on the subject of transporting Asiatic labour into Islands Territories — where-some of the idealists imagine that the natives might develop self-govern ment and a nationalistic spirit. But that is a passing phase.

It must become a plain choice between Islands Territories which will become economically healthy and self-supporting, and Territories which, like New Guinea, become a kind of laboratory for anthrop ologists and social planners, and a heavy financial burden upon the country ad ministering them.

The only danger is that imported Asiatic labour may not be kept under strict indenture, and foreign communities may become established. Once estab lished, it is almost impossible to remove them —as has been shown in Fiji, Tahiti and New Guinea.

The only exception occurred in West ern Samoa. There, following the collapse of the repatriation clauses of the inden ture system, a considerable community, half-Chinese, half Samoan, took root; but the New Zealand Government, be tween 1930 and 1945, took a ruthless course and shipped most of the Chinese away. The half-castes remain however.

The British Phosphate Commission uses large numbers of Chinese to work the phosphate deposits on Nauru and Ocean Island. This system has been operated quite satisfactorily over many years probably because the Commis sion has scrupulously observed the re

patriation clauses of the labour con tracts.

Even if it is not considered wise to bring in Asiatics for coconut culture in the Islands, they must be considered as a means of keeping the Islands mining industries going especially the gold mines in Jtfew Guinea, and the nickel and chrome mines in New Caledonia.

Hitherto, the French have worked the New Caledonian mines with inden tured Javanese, and the New Hebrides plantations with Tonkinese. Owing to circumstances created by the war, it is not expected that these types of labourers will be available in the future, and it has been reported that French interests have been giving serious thought to the possibility of using indentured Japanese labour.