Hebrides

‘Red Tonks’ Of The New

Extraordinary Mixture of Condominium Races

By Vernon Wheatley

i FTER living in the New Hebrides, 1. one must consider the popula tion question.

Of course, the largest community re the natives. The New Heb ,deans are usually craggy and mgh-hewn, only a few decades re toved from the Stone-age. They re not over-burdened with brains, nd they are usually dirty. The rawny, muscular type tires rapifily; le wiry type seems able to work arder.

After a year or so away from the iro patch, the average native squires some “savvy.” But has also “come cunning.

Almost every island has its own ,nguage, and some characteristic, anna natives, for example, have a jputation for treachery. Paa-uma id Epi natives are versed in herbal rts, which include poisons. Male ila natives are sullen. (It is said lat Central Malekula natives still [•actise cannibalism). Aoba natives re happy; and, because of their ner features, the women are much night after by Europeans as listresses. The same applies to the anks Island natives, in a lesser ay.

J'OW we come to the Tonkinese. 1 France has done a great dis service to the New Hebrides by taking these one-time indentured tbourers French citizens. Origin ily they came out as contract tbour to French interests on iantations. Their fare from Indo hina was approximately £2O per ead. They travelled like cattle, id, once here, they were treated ke cattle. The Tonkinese, there >re, do not like the French.

Then came the war and transport [faculties. The French Govern ient could not then repatriate lem; and, when this could be done, le fare had gone to nearly £2OO er head. The individual planter ould not —and legally could not be irced—to pay the extra and the rench Government did not feel ke finding the difference.

So there the matter rested until band of militant Tonks marched ) the French Delegation and de landed repatriation or civil rights.

The French Government then lade a monumental error—prob bly the worst ever executed in the outh Pacific. It passively granted itizenship rights to all the Tonk lese.

In a recent conversation with the Iditor of the Pacific Islands lonthly, I mentioned the Tonk

inese women, who are hard at it, building up the Tonk population.

Mr. Robson was astounded when I told him that Tonkinese women had come out with their husbands and families. So I will repeat my words.

Tonkinese women came out to the New Hebrides either as in

dentured labour or in the company of their husbands. In some cases they brought families. Now, with full rights of French citizenship, they are breeding merrily away and, in time, will become an even greater menace than they are now—and all under the benevolent eye of the jolly old Condominium.

Pertinent footnote: Most Tonk inese are Communists. Their greet ing to one and all is “Comrade,” irrespective of colour or race. Most Tonk stores display a lithograph of Stalin either behind the counter or in a back room. Whenever the French Forces in Indo-China meet with a check or defeat, the Santo Tonkinese stage a mild celebration, with fireworks. French officials, with a peace-at-any-price attitude,

either look the other way or are faintly amused.

As the Tonks are French subjects, British officialdom can do nothing.

One of the bottle-necks caused by the Condominium style of govern ment.

There are no reliable figures to show just how many Tonkinese are living in the group, but a census would be most unreliable because the race breeds prolifically here.

Some of the children, first of the New Hebridean generation, are already married, and doing quite well, thank you. So the group can look forward, with the greatest of confidence, to progressive increases in the Tonkinese population as time goes by.

Personally, I would say that there are at least a couple of thousand in the Group; and, if there is not, there soon will be.

Tonkinese live, for the most part, by running hole-in-the-wall nauve trade stores, most of which specialise in selling pure or adulterated grog, running legitimate taxis with illegit imate prices, and other rackets. A few indulge in legitimate occupa tions; but, for the most part, the average Tonkinese serves no useful purpose in the New Hebridean economy.

UNLIKE our Tonkinese the Chinese are more stable citizens. The old-timers are generally respected, and behave

themselves. A few have been caughl sly-grogging; but, for the most pari the average Chinese is law-abiding In my couple of years in the Group only a few sly-grog convictions wen recorded.

This can be caused by two things; Either the Chinese wish to remair in the clear, being a very weals minority, or (as it was put to me by an official) the Chinese who dc sly-grog are invariably caught. . . only the figures seem innocent. II ten Tonks are convicted againsl only one Chinese, it is only because there are ten times more Tonkj selling illegal liquor than Chinese It is hard to say.

Some Chinese, by the way, are under French protection, but the majority are under British rule.

It is onl y fair to record here that many French and British nationals have been convicted oj sly-grog offences and many more who are suspected will ultimately be caught. It is not an exclusive Asiatic racket.

Some of the younger Chinese would be better employed out oi the Group. Some of them are good fellows, and are likely to do more good than harm to the group. They all have, it is to be understood, an eye to the main chance, as is usual with Asiatic residents of the Pacific, In this, the Europeans cannot com plain, for some, both French and British, are either in active or passive partnership with Chinese, Some of them are connected with large commercial interests operat ing in the Group and run their partnership as a sideline, totally un connected with the interests they regularly serve.

At this writing I cannot see the Chinese ever getting a strangle hold on the New Hebrides like they have in Tahiti. There is too much heavy commercial artillery operat ing in the Group—companies of long-standing with large assets. In filtration tactics, as usually practised by the Chinese, would be hopeless.

New Chinese are admitted to the Group only if they are related to existing residents.

A type of Chinese the Group could well do without is, fortunately, only in the minority. They are in stantly recognised by the weird and distressing shirts they sport, and are as noisy as a working cattle dog. They operate £lOO cameras (which they will sell for £3OO at the drop of a hat) and feature photo graphy in the Port Said manner— really ripe, I assure you! Who said Marseilles had a monopoly on this business? Their trading tactics are on a par with Captain Kidd and it is possible to buy interesting watches from them. These watches have big-name dials and cases, but, alas! the contents are spurious— made in China or Japan. Naturally they sell for the big-name price, in keeping with the best traditions of spivdom.

But, as I said, these are only a

mall majority—which is just as iell for the Group in general. iOME private French employers imported labour on their own initiative. One experimented ith a group of Italians. This mdable effort fell flat—unfortun tely, because the scheme had pos ibilities.

Another, with a small band of 'ahitians, also missed fire. This lanter imported both male and ;male labour, but the immigrants yidently did not like the conditions f their employment. The planter nished up by hawking them around le town at so much a head in an [fort to recoup the losses incurred i their fares. I do not know much bout this particular scheme, but ae fact remains that the French rovernment’s sympathies appeared ) be with the runaways. A few Tallis Islanders are now in the rroup, but I fancy these importa ons are French-Government spon )red; or at least, have contracts pproved by the French authorities.

The engagement has been an ounced of Miss Margaret O’Sullivan, ho was on the Port Moresby staff f the Commonwealth Bank for vo years, to Mr. John Brown, of le Administration staff, Port [oresby.

Two Fiji police officers—lnspector Jioji Suguturaga, a Fijian, and Sub- Inspector Walli Mahomed, an Indian—are being sent to the Hendon police establishment, in England, to undergo training in a course for senior detectives.

Mr. lan L. Gray, new headmaster of the Presbyterian high school at Onesua, New Hebrides, left Auck land in February. He went first to Fiji, to inspect mission educational institutions: and he will visit all stations in the New Hebrides.