[?] The Fiji £

[?] ess Men Want It [?] Own Correspondent

THE South Pacific Commission, constituted by six 4m’ S e C^ a t o^ n e a with I s?er- France, United States, Holland, Australia and first meetings at St. Georges Heights, Mosman, fhen Australia and New Zea- May 11. jiated their currencies to a The plan for the Commission developed a : ?, 5 ppr ,. cent - under sterling, Agreement, made between Australia and New ?et banks, conception of Dr. H. V. Evatt, Australian Min lted it to go down to the Aus supported by Mr. Peter Fraser, Prime Ministhd New Zealand level, and the

THE next step was taken when a Con ference was held in Canberra in January, 1947, and delegates of the six nations named decided unanimously to set up the Commission. A good deal of delay occurred then—probably the re sult of disturbed international relations— but finally the Commission was consti tuted as follows: Great Britain.—Sir Brian Freeston, KCMG, Governor of Fiji and High Com missioner for the Western Pacific; and Mr. S. S. Vaskess, CMG, QBE, former Secretary of the Western Pacific High Commission.

United States.—Professor Felix Keesing, of Stanford University; Dr. Karl Lee brick. vice-president of the Hawaii Uni versity; Mr. Milton Shalleck, of New York: and Dr. Ruth E. Bacon, special assistant to the directors of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs, Washington.

France.—M. Jaques Lassalle-Sere, In spector-General of Colonies for Noumea; and M. Georges Dubois, of Noumea.

Australia.—Mr. J. R. Halligan, secretary of the Department of External Terri tories; Dr. J. W. Burton, formerly general secretary of the Methodist Missionary Society. Alternate Commissioners: Colonel J. K. Murray, Administrator of Panua-New Guinea; Mr. E. W. P. Chin nefv, anthropologist, formerly a senior public servant in New Guinea.

Holland.—Pending the arrival of the delegation, Dr. J. A. de Ranitz, of the Dutch Legation at Canberra, was present.

The delegation comprised: Mr. E. G.

Bevers Luis; Mr. J. P. K. Echout; Mr.

M. A. Pellaupessy; and* Dr. W. C. Klein; with Mr. Kayardo and Dr. A. Loosjes as advisers.

New Zealand: Mr. C. G. R. McKay (formerly secretary of the NZ Depart ment of Islands Territories) and Briga dier F. L. Hunt (who "BBSS trative Sap*""

-Government, which wanted to trahan ' on sterling.

An acg on loca j advice the Government the Rt. took the middle course of a de trahan ion 0 f iq per c ent.—mainly to help wa s exporters of copra and of the °utlin«day the boot is on the other foot. which. ts are booming while the cost of im- II wa and the consequent cost of living was t begun to frighten even the strongest ence or t ers^ ar f'he Suva Chamber of Commerce has cussed the question (rather ponder ously) but has not yet decided on a line

°£‘ action.

of cr ♦ The six dredges of Bulolo Gold Dredging \ d in New Guinea, in April, obtained ,760 ounces of fine gold from 595,000 l;ubic yards of gravel.