Caledonia ?

[?]Red Shadows In New

OUGH scarcely perceptible as

yet, there is evidence of an undercurrent of Communistic rity in New Caledonia. The >ian virus is attacking the foun ms of life there, slowly dropping political poison into the French ny. It may eventually affect r colonial administrations of South Pacific. considerable portion of the e population here are direct endants of former political s from France who, in March , 1871, participated in a revo nary outbreak involving great nee and bloodshed. It was then the Commune of Paris was set y Communists, a brief but dras egime which was ended only by burning down of the Commune deportation to New Caledonia ae worst offenders, ms there is a possibility that modern Russian ideology would ial t o the grand-children of 3 old political prisoners, ace New Caledonia employs a ; contingent of Indonesian fil ed labour in the mines, the ;ian germ may be one of the i “import goods” passing un into the country. Mining enhave pointed out to me that ersive currents are at work idy. ckily, our New Caledonians, on whole, are not interested in ics. No news vendors appear tie streets and papers are only in the big stores. There are no i headlines on public notice ds to incite the siesta-loving in tants. jwever, it does seem a short ted policy on the part of the ich Government to refuse offers American enterprise to build ir roads, better hotels, to con ;t a network of railways (after failure to maintain the only tiin-de-fer linking Noumea with a). Thus we delay an improve t in living conditions, higher :ies and general amenities for »le whose ears may be already ned to Russian propaganda, flourishing tourist trade would prosperity to the country, and is surprising to would-be “Hers to the charming island of Caledonia to find that the ich Consulate in Sydney is so Hi pped with information on the ect. There are no booklets to 'e foreigners to New Caledonia; advice and adequate data ap to be given unwillingly when d for.—Eß. r. and Mrs. F. P. Drury and • two children returned by air jae in early February, after 3 ths’ leave. Mr. Drury has Civil Aviation’s airport ager at Lae.