Fiji Land Crisis

Former Governor Tells How It Was Solved

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, April 4.

THE inside story of a dramatic page in the history of Fiji has come out in an address given by Lord Milverton (formerly Sir Arthur Richards. Governor of Fiji, 1936-38).

Lord Milverton said that in 1937 a ptfj minent Indian leader pleaded with him for Indians to be given the right to own land.

“They were short leaseholders of the Fijians, with no security; and one had to find some solution of a problem which must end in violence if left to drift,” said Lord Milverton, He continued: “On the other hand were the Fijians, loyal, peaceable, but distrustful of the Indians and resenting them as intruders.

The major Fijian Chief came to me and asked that he and his four fellows might resign from Legislative Council and all share in it. He told me that they had no quarrel with the Government, but they heartily disliked the Western democratic system of elected members of Council.

They resented the manners of the Indians in public debate.

“He said they were a chiefly people with respect for authority, who could not bear to sit in Council and hear In dians abusing Government and the King’s representative.

“He indicated that it was a situation they could well have handled in our ab sence, but since we were there they were restrained. He said they would be glad to leave that sort of government to us, and if we must have it that way they would be happy not to be represented and would leave their interests in the Governor’s hands.

“In point of fact they were persuaded to stay.

“Not much later the Fijian Chiefs, great and small, after the lengthiest delibera tions, were persuaded to agree to relin quish all their lands, held communally, and to place them in the hands of the Governor in trust.

“They were to be divided so that ample areas were reserved for them and their descendants, and the remainder thrown open for alienation to Indians or other races or to Fijians who desired to break away from the communal system.

“The idea was at one stroke to remove the bitterest Indian grievance, to settle and reserve the Fijian areas and to pro vide a safety-valve for the young pro gressive who wanted to break away from the communal system.

“All rent revenues from land so alien ated were to be paid into a Fijian welfare fund for the benefit of the indigenous population.

“This generous and far-sighted offer of the Fijians was probably the finest act of trust in colonial history.”