New Guinea?

Whither Goes

Recent Visitor Opinions

VARIOUS Australian visitors to New Guinea have been trying to foresee the future of the country. Their forecasts emphasise the Territory’s problems.

Mr. A. E. Monk, a Socialist politician of some eminence, expects Japan soon to make a very strong bid for permission for Japanese emigrants to settle in New Guinea.

New Guinea has only lh million natives occupying a vast region.

Japan has nearly 80 millions occupying an area insufficient for their needs. Many non-Australian observers seem to think that New Guinea may be the answer to Japan’s most desperate problem.

Mr. Osmar White, eminent Aus tralian journalist, sympathises with Australian officialdom’s ambition to keep New Guinea much as it is, as a preserve for New Guinea’s in habitants, if and when they in crease from 1| million primitive lungle-dwellers to 10 or 20 million simple peasants under Australia’s rule.

But Mr, White goes on to say hat there is every likelihood that oilfields will be discovered in

Papua-New Guinea, whereupon the irresistible oil industry will take charge of the Territories. A far larger labour force than is now available will be required. That, in his own language, will mean “in dustrial hell and political dyna mite.”

Considerations which extend from Western to Eastern New Guinea are introduced by a Netherlands Min ister, Professor W. J. A. Kernkamp, who sees no reason why the 14,000 persons of Dutch nationality who have entered Dutch New Guinea in recent years should not increase to 25,000; and why the thousands of Indonesians brought in to work the newly-discovered Dutch oil fields around Sorong, in the Vogelkop peninsula area of Dutch New Guinea, should not be increased to work other oilfields likely to be developed.

The notoriously anti-B r i t i s h Chicago Tribune, urging that New Guinea should be given to the Japanese, says “A Japan, stripped of commodity sources and markets and with a growing population on a low subsistence diet, cannot pro vide much to supplement American strength. New Guinea could prob ably accommodate close to half of Japan’s present population.

A committee consisting of nine members of the Netherlands Par liament arrived in Hollandia (Dutch New Guinea) in mid-August “to

see for themselves about affairs on which they have to make a de cision.”

U Dr. Scott recently completed his term as Chief Medical Officer, Cook Islands. He and Mrs. Scott left Rarotonga for New Zealand dur ing August. Dr. Romans is the new

Cmo.