Old And New

In The

S. W. Pacific

AS the future Government of the British Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides Condominium—and to a lesser extent the French Colony of New Caledonia—is likely to be under close review in the next year or two, a new book comes opportunely—“lsland Administration in the i South West Pacific,” by Cyril S. Beshaw, and pub lished by the Royal Institute of Inter national Affairs, Catham House, St.

James’ Square, London.

Mr. Belshaw was an Administrative of ficer in the Solomons, and has seen a good deal of the New Hebrides and New Caledonia; and he is in the position of being able to supply much valuable background information covering the history of those Territories, their economic possibilities and the way in which conditions there have been affected by wartime and postwar developments.

Mr. Belshaw obviously has spent many industrious months on research, and the material he has lined up, and carefully indexed, should be found very useful by all those concerned with the problems of Islands administration and the welfare of native races.

This is Mr. Belshaw’s conclusion: “It is quite clear . . . that these small afreas are magnificent laboratories for experiments in colonial development and social ‘engineering.’ It is a tragedy that they have, up to the present, been governed with little imagination; and that so many factors have delayed or unbalanced the few bright plans for the future that have been considered.

“Perhans the South Pacific Commis sion, and the growing political restive ness of the people themseves, will ulti mately bring administrations to the view that tolerance and legal justice are not enough; and that a forthright pro gramme, leading without delay to the es tablishment of social and economic re sponsibility is essential.”

There seem to be scores of these busy and painstaking and well-meaning writers at work, in their fearfully humour less way, upon our post-w’ar sociological problems: and, the more they make their influence felt —mainly through Socialist Governments and United Nations instru mentalities—the more are we plagued with nationalist howling by peoples who are not fitted for national responsibility.

And so we have world-wide troubles, ranging from the chaos of Southern Asia, and the humiliation of the Dutch in Indonesia, to the “Marxist Rulers” of the Solomons and the incendiaries of little Buka. it is time that a disillusioned world cancelled the license of its mischief-making Planners, and applied itself to the restoration of discipline in all those countries which understand only the rule of the Big Fist.

We do not agree with all Mr. Bel shaw’s conclusions: but we heartily com mend his book to those who, seeking a way out of our socialistic maze, want all the facts they can get, in a handy form.