N. Caledonia

Jap Labour for N. Caledonia Protests in Australia

AUSTRALIA is concerned because, under a tentative agreement between the French and Japanese

Governments, it is believed that 2,000 Japanese will shortly go to New Caledonia to work.

The French Government negotiated the agreement without seeking the views of the Australian Government, although Australia is known to be sensitive on the subject. This has “alarmed” certain Federal politicians who recently asked the Minister for

External Affairs (Mr. Casey* whether he considered the settlemer; of these Japs just 900 miles off tM Australian coast a potential threj; to security. Mr. Casey said that H did not think so but that the situa tion would be watched.

At the outbreak of World War ] there were about 1,100 Japanese i New Caledonia. With the encourage ment of the Australian Governmem New Caledonia rallied to De Gaulll in 1941. Had the Colony gone pro- Vichy the 1,100 Japs there may hav later caused considerable trouble.

They were all rounded up and in terned and later deported.

It is unlikely that the presei; French Government in Nes Caledonia would again contemplai the importation of Jap labour ha they found another solution to thes labour troubles which go back ovr the past 10 years. Before the was New Caledonia enterprises employ© indentured labour from Java or IndJ China. The indenture system broK< down during the war and since no satisfactory system of importin the necessary labour has been dt vised. Rightly or wrongly, a Js seems more potentially dangerous an Australian than a Javanese, Indl Chinese —or a Chinese, for thr matter. However, if the Frenoj decided to let Japanese in limits or unlimited numbers into No Caledonia, Australia cannot do muoj

)out it except howl—as they are )wling.

Japs Won’T Come To

Australia

After much argument, Australian aster-pearlers at Broome, WA, were /en permission this year to engage arl divers from Japan.

But it seems that Broome pearling II have to get on without Jap assist ed after all. The Japanese say they •n’t come to Australia because the istralians don’t like them.

Phis is true enough. Although the jrage Australian is not adverse to )an buying the country’s main ex it, wool, Japanese wool buyers •v in Australia for the wool-sales by no means popular guests and /e had to swallow many insults, wever, what they are prepared to for the wool industry they Jently will not do for the pearlers Broome—and Mr. Average Aus ian to whom pearls are un )ortant and Broome a foreign ntry, could not care less.

Jr. J. R. Hall has been appointed nager of the Bank of New South les, Rabaul branch, NG, in :ession to Mr. F. G. McMullen ) is returning to the mainland.

Hall served in the Bank in Fiji, Suva and Lautoka, and is at >ent stationed in Sydney. He sets to arrive in Rabaul on 3ber 19. like Ravula, a tough, hard-hitting : r from Fiji, defeated Aucklander in Cotter in a professional light ry-weight contest, in early Septem- Ravula was 9 lbs lighter, and e inches shorter in height and h than his opponent but he had advantage in nimbleness, winning t of the ten rounds of an in ding fight.