Fiji’S Major Problem Shifts

From Indian To Fijian

[THE Indian population of Fiji L keeps on growing; Indian influence extends and becomes tronger; the British rulers express n ever livelier concern for the iture of the Fijian race, already utnumbered and threatened by le Indian community; but no ractical plan for the future just overnment of Fiji has appeared.

On nnnthpr nnp-p nf thic i«np iere is an artFcll who is n old rpsidpnt nf Fiii nnd n lOUghtful observer He has desribed a grave weakness of the resent set-up in Fiii namelv the immunity system under which the ative Fijians are deprived of all litiative and political power but e does not suggest how the obvious 3 medy is to be attained This erhaps, is the most important ictor in the problem of Fiji

SniifiPQi 6

.cause m a political sense they do

VuoTr.' fJrS?

XL ahe Clidv of thPm F.T

3rn^ established hi TfiT that

lev now dominate the economv h Sf ! y rich Cofonv- and that thev re af actor imnortantas l the i?ians f in all the

IturS Of Fiii It k?hew waS

time to think of them in Snv her Y

[ner relationship.

We feel sure that that is the lew of the very small section of

the British Colonial Office that knows anything about Fiji. Prob ably, the chief concern now of high officialdom is to find an ad ministrative policy which will give practical effect to Britain’s solemn obligation to protect the land rights and social privileges of the indigen ous people, while giving the Indians a voice in Government. That is not ea sy. In fact > calls for a

whfch^hltherto

the P which hitherto has § ulded the Brltlsh ad m™stration. rmwA-r nv,Qno-P Vmc Lppn inHinafoH 'JTHAT change has been indicated 1 by some of the more thought ful old residents of Fiji. In 80 man y plain words, it calls for a far-reaching change in the Fijians’ system of life. As soon as possible, the y , mus s abandon the ancient feudal system of absolute rule by their herditary chiefs, hulls, or headmen, over their communities, a nd change to the Western or democratic system, under which there is self-government in local and national affairs—the system now f oll l ? w ® d ll by ?£ ltl P 1 > . and soon to be fol i OW( r d ] he Indians.

In other wo y ds ’ J[T Btead of merely “protecting” the Fijians, the British must teach the . FlJlans how to meet the Indians m government on equal terms : Already, in Fiji, the Europeans and the Indians are in charge, as communities, of their own local

—each European and each Indian, in some form or other, has a voice. machinery*of *the Fijians, are cared for by the Native Department, through the native headmen—the individual Fijian has no voice what ever, Sooner or later, the Indians will exercise greater administrative power through the national govern ment, whatever form it takes; and ft follows, as a matter of course, that if the Fijian is to have future security as against the Indian, he must meet the Indian on at least eqUal , te t rms in the national ad " ministration.

While present conditions remain ? 1J i an has n 0 ho P e , of tjj a L If the Indians were now to attain a governmental 'voice, the only way in which the Fijians could get pro tection would be by the creation by the British of some special legal machinery, which would give the non-voting Fijian certain powers and privileges over the voting Indians. How long would that last? \\TE do not for one moment argue W that the present Fijian com munal system is a bad system. Actually, as demonstrated over the last century, it is a very good system, so long as the men in charge of the communities are wise and just—and most of them are. So far as administrative efficiency and individual happiness are concerned, it probably is a better system than that of the West. Most of the political evils of

Australia, for example, would disappear overnight, if the one-manone-vote method of government were wiped out, and small communities placed in charge of wise and trained men with autocratic powers.

The present Fijian system is bad only in relation to the political set-up in Fiji. The Fijians must be trained to meet the other races in self-government; and they cannot do that unless their political organisation can stand alongside that of the Europeans and Indians.

Acceptance of the fact that the Ration to (a) prepare for the ?,w when the Indian P communitv S

take its shS-e TWeste

and (b) simultaneouslv

Fijians prep|? themselves

accept the same resnon?ihliitv t 0

tn responsibility.

Failure to do this simply will

create a certainty of grave conflict, sooner or later.

The Fijian, in intelligence, and in adaptableness to changing con ditions, is fully the equal of Euro pean or Indian. He can be trained quickly in citizenship responsibility.

In all European colonies where the native people out-number the Europeans—especially in Asia and Africa —the Europeans now are on their way out. There is nothing to suggest that that rule will not apply in Fiji.

While the British are in Fiji, they can take care of the Fijian.

They will be wise to train the Fijian to take care of himself, in the field of government as well as in other important fields, when the Westerners move out. In that task, they probably will get support and valuable help from the more thoughtful men of the Asiatic communities and especially the educated Fijian-born Indians.