South Pacific

Conference

Preparations For Assembly In Fiji In April

THE First South Pacific Conference will meet at Nasinu Training College, near Suva, Fiji, on April 24.

This Conference will consist of between 50 and 60 delegates, drawn from the in habitants of all the dependent territories —there are 15 of them—which fall within the scope of the South Pacific Commis sion; in addition, there will be a delegation from the Kingdom of Tonga.

The Conference (said the Governor of Fiji recently) is an ambitious and ima ginative project which may assume in the years to come an importance which it is difficult at present to foresee.

It is laid down in the South Pacific Agreement that the delegates from each territory shall be selected “in such a man ner as to ensure the greatest possible measure of representation of the local inhabitants of the territory” and that they “shall be appointed for each terri tory in accordance with its constitutional procedure.”

The South Pacific Commission itself, which normally meets twice a year in Noumea, will hold its Fifth Session in Suva shortly after the termination of the Conference. The South Pacific Research Council, which consists of 15 persons dis tinguished in the various fields of re search, will also be in Fiji during that period.

A party of natives, carefully selected by officials, will represent Papua-New Guinea at the Conference. They will be ac companied by Mr. W. C. Groves (Director of Education), Dr. Gunther (head of the Health Department) and Mr. Boyen, who will represent the Co-operatives.

Dr. Davidson, who has been political adviser to the Samoan Government for some time, and who recently accepted a University appointment in Canberra, will attend the Conference in Fiji as adviser to the Samoan delegation.