The Islands

How Socialist Weakness Threatens Disaster In The Islands

THERE are indications that Commu nists are at work in different Terri tories of the South Pacific, poisoning natives against their European adminis trations, creating friction between em ployees and employers, and carrying on their insidious, deadly attack upon the British Empire, and everything that stands for orderliness, decency and security.

In this issue, there is an account of recent events in the Cook Islands, a de pendency of New Zealand. The fact that both jSTew Zealand and the Cook Islands are small and unimportant detracts nothing from the significance of these incidents. A concern called the Cook Islands Progressive Association, is arro gantly trying to assume dictatorial control over the group, and has already dis rupted Cook Islands commerce. Clearly, it receives its inspiration (and, probably, its instructions) from the Communist dominated Waterside Workers Union of New Zealand: and the NZ Government, pinkly Socialist, instead of kicking the whole organisation out of the Islands, without explanation or apology, is sweetly chiding the CIPA, and asking it to be good, and not interfere with the Cook Islands Workers Union (which ap parently is Government-sponsored and non-Communist).

In this and recent issues, we have evi dence, also, of how Mr. Ward, the Aus tralian Leftist Minister, is interesting himself in the welfare of a trade union in Fiji; of how the natives of the Solo mon Islands have subscribed, in large numbers, to something they call “Mar xian Law”; of how gentlemen in the Australian Territories, who decorate themselves on May Day with miniatures of Joseph Stalin, are fostering political

movements: of how the New Guinea Ad ministration is tenderly remonstrating with certain spirited natives who have been trying to introduce Communist organisation among the jungle peoples.

Some people may find the picture startling, when it is lined ud in this way.

But it is not a surprising development.

All over the world, the emissaries of Moscow, headquarters of Communism, are trying to weaken and undermine what they are pleased to call “the Im perialist powers.” It is part of their plan to spread discontent and sedition throughout all our colonies.

THREE nations in the world have enor mous colonial territories. In their order of importance they are Britain, France and Holland. It is the Commu nist plan to deprive them of their colonies.

During the 1940-44 period, when France and Holland were occupied by the enemy, their colonies were more or less cut off from firm central control; and in those years the emissaries of revolt got in some deadly work seen in Indo nesia, Indochina and North Africa. The Dutch, disclosing splendid strength and patience, have got the Netherlands In dies nearly back under control, and the traitorous Javanese who set up the so called “Indonesian Republic” are at the end of their tether. But France, honey-combed by Reds at home, is by no means happy in her colonial empire, and her skilled colonial administrators, lacking support from Paris, are faced with most difficult tasks.

Britain, not having been over-run by the enemy, should have had no troubles in her colonial empire. But Britain, hav ing defeated her enemies without, is

herself being defeated by her enemies within. And the most treacherous and dangerous of her enemies within are the creations of her own political system. She has had endless and continuing colonial trouble.

EVERY intelligent man, witnessing re cent events in Egypt and Palestine, India and Burma, Ceylon and Iraq, knows that there is something desper ately wrong with the Empire; but few are able to give it a name. Clearly, the fault lies with the Socialist Governments, elected to power in the immediate post war period by the war-weary British nations. We have these futile, blunder ing, well-meaning Pinks with us in Lon don, Canberra and Wellington.

We have economic troubles, industrial anarchy, maddening “controls,” far reaching rationing of essentials, and a steadily deteriorating political condition in the United Kindom, Australia, and New Zealand, which are ruled by the Pinks. We have few. if any, of these troubles in Canada, the United States and South Africa, which are English speaking nations ruled by non-Socialists.

We have native restlessness, national istic movements, betrayal of colonial administrators and outright loss of vast areas in the colonial territories controlled by Britain, Australia and New Zealand: but nothing of the sort in the Territories of United States, Canada and South Africa.

It is impossible to escape the moral to be drawn from these facts.

The peoples of Britain, Australia and New Zealand elected these Pink and blundering Governments to power; so their troubles are clearly of their own creation. They will learn their lesson, and react accordingly.

BUT it is an unfortunate thing that the weakness and ineptitude of Governments located in London,

Canberra and Wellington should create, in the South Pacific Islands, the condi tion to which we have referred. For, while those conditions are due immedi ately to the activities of Communists and their fellow-travellers, they really are caused by the feebleness of the major Governments, and their inability to deal with the Communist emissaries in the only possible way.

The trained and experienced officials in the Territories have the right idea. The clerk in Manihiki who arrested a dozen obstreperous militants who were ob structing the loading of a ship, and put them in handcuffs on his verandah; the police officer in Rarotonga who promptly placed two screeching nuisance-makers in gaol; the officials in the Solomons who arrested the “Marxian Law” ring leaders ; the experienced DO in New Guinea, who brought discipline to a line of arrogant labourers per medium of a hefty boot applied to their backsides— these men know that the only way of maintaining order, and decency and human progress in the Islands is by

strength, justice and uncompromising

firmness.

Endless industrial strife in the British Socialist countries is the direct outcome of the Socialist Governments’ failure to impose industrial discipline upon masses of trade unionists who are supposed to be educated men, living in a world governed bv reason. How much more trouble can we expect, therefore, when these same Socialist Governments, in dealing with the uneducated, simple minded people of the Pacific Islands, shrink in the same way from exercising firmness and discipline?

FOR years, we have been pointing, in these columns, to the increasing menace of Communism in the Pacific Islands: in the same way that, for years, we directed attention to the menace of the southwards-creeping power of Japan.

The stupidity and indifference of non- Socialist British Governments left all British Pacific countries for a time, at the mercv of Japan-. We fear that we may be similarly exposed to the dangers of Communism.

We were saved from Japan by the power of the quick-moving Americans.

But we then had the advantage that we were united nations our borders were closed, and the Japs were north of the equator.

It may be a different story when we enter the inevitable struggle between the Western Democratic nations and the Communists led by Russia. Long before the Americans can come to our aid, we may be fighting for liberty and life, in our own backyards, against the swarms of fanatical Reds who are being per mitted by our blundering Socialist Gov ernments to establish themselves strongly amongst us. A new and horrible kind of Fifth Column, in plain fact.

And part of the Commo-Fifth Column technique is to sneak around among the Islands communities, and destroy the natives’ natural allegiance and loyalty to us.