By Governor

Fiji Land-Agitation Firmly Discredited

Indian Community Again Warned of Over-Population Peril From Our Own Correspondent

Suva, Nov. 25.

11HE Fijian land reserves situation, cur rently the subject of unrestrained Indian political agitation, was handled with characteristic directness by the Governor (Sir Brian Freeston) in his opening address at the Budget session of the Legislative Council to-day.

“Let us hear no more of the irrespon sible talk, which I should like to believe is based on nothing worse than misunder standing and stupidity—but which, if all that reaches my ears is true, has led to apprehensions of wholesale evictions, plots to get the Indian farmers off the land, and the creation in the next year or two of a large class of landless paupers,” the Governor demanded.

“Such talk, and the encouragement of such fantastic fears is, to say the least of it, unutterably foolish, and I rely on the good sense of our Indian fellow-sub jects in this Colony to treat these rumours and their originators with the contempt which they deserve.”

Number of Indian Lessees THE Governor said that in the two pro vinces, Ba and Lautoka, where the boundaries of the Fijian reserves have now been finally established, there are 2,643 Indian canegrowers.

“Out of this number only 32 occupy native leases which will expire and will not be renewed on December 31 next year,” said Sir Brian. “Of these 32 who will be required to vacate their present holdings in 13 months’ time, all but one have already had their position and pros pects carefully examined by the Western District Resettlement Committee.

“Of the 31 cases examined, the com mittee found that only five required as sistance towards resettlement, the re mainder having already provided them selves with other land on which to main tain themselves and their families when they leave their present holdings.

“In the remainder of the sugar-belt there are, I believe, 2,298 Indian cane growers. In this area the boundaries of the Fijian reserves have not yet been published; on the information available, however, it is expected that 41 native leases will expire without prospect of re newal on December 31, 1950.

“Of these 41 cases the committee has so far examined 33 and has found that out of these 33, 23 are already, provided for and only ten are in need of assist ance.”

To sum up, said the Governor, out of a total of nearly 5,000 Indian canefarmers in the Western District, the number in need of assistance towards resettlement was only 15—or 20 if allowance were made for the few cases which the com mittee had not yet had time to examine.

Dealing with the more distant future, the Governor said: “On the particulars available to me I can say that after 1950 there will be possibly another 100 native leases which will not be renewed on ter mination. Some of these, however, still have many years to run, and the displace ments involved will be spread over the next 50 years.

Apprehension Discounted “AS regards the rest of the Colony, no XX exact figures are yet available; we shall know more about this aspect of the problem in 12 months’ time. But there is no reason to apprehend that the difficulties will be on a much greater scale than in the Western District, or that they will be incapable of solution on the lines which I have indicated.”

After pointing out that, given goodwill on all sides, the transitional period could be passed with a minimum of hardship to those immediately affected, who were very few, the Governor said that, when complete, the operation of the system would give greater security of tenure to non-Fijians in respect of lands outside the Fijian reserves.

At this point the Governor recalled his pronouncement to the Legislative Council that their overwhelming rate of increase threatened to bring about a catastrophe in which Fiji would be unable to support its overcrowded population. He said : “The case which I have laid before you rests on the basis of the non-native popu lation of Fiji as it exists to-day.

“As regards the consequences of an un restricted increase in their numbers, I have nothing to add to, and nothing to subtract from, the remarks which I ad dressed to you from this chair in opening the August session of Council.”