Ris Urged To

Oid

Rors Of Past

'rom Our Noumea Correspondent

Noumea. Mar. 29.

JESTIONS concerning Asiatics ir

New Caledonia and other French fic territories have been discussed ally in Paris and Noumea by orities from widely-separated s. r. Florrisson, Senator for Tahiti, e a controversial speech to the sell du Republique in Paris. >ng other things, he seems to ; made an indirect attack on South Pacific Commission, ;h has its headquarters at mea. ; reported at Noumea, his words “What is this South Pacific mission trying to do for us? never hear it spoken of in our titutional assemblies; no parlia tary member for French inia is a member of it.”

Florrisson said that it would ‘great folly” to take to Tahiti leighbouring but foreign labour 5 under United Nations control.”

J warned the French Govern t against “neighbouring young jrialists,” and urged that at ion be given to “certain faults to be committed in French mia” and to the adjustment of

fits already committed while »re was yet time.

Surely, he said, more suitable grants could be found within the ;nch Empire—North Africa, for tance. Workers from such terri ies would be French citizens and ers—although, he added, these Uifications might not please the ninistration in Tahiti, deanwhile at Noumea the ques a of repatriation of the remain- Indo-Chinese in New Caledonia 5 again been raised in the As ibly. Repatriates who have gone k to Haiphong and Hanoi have tten letters complaining of cial taxes imposed on them, ne who were quite wealthy say y now have little money left, n reply to a question in the embly, the Secretary-General 1 that in his opinion the Ton ese could be forced to leave NC. ;y had come under labour cou nts, and now that the contracts e ended the onus was on them leave at the expense of the NC /eminent. However, lack of ship g had prevented this policy be carried out. everal members pointed out that st of NC’s carpenters and build tradesmen were Tonkinese, but member representing the trades ms said that the technical col i at Noumea was turning out iesmen. The Tonkinese, with an [•-increasing number of children, e, he said, a threat to the present future non-Tonkinese trades i. was also suggested that fialised labourers could easily trained among the people of •-populated indigenous tribes. two-member commission came Noumea from Saigon recently to sstigate the possibility of settling asians from Southern Vietnam tfC. These Eurasians are in an appy plight, and it is certain ; in the event of all Indo-China’s ing out of French control tier by joining the Communist minh or by complete inde ience), they would be treated as ;siders”. a report of the commission’s £ or conclusions has been made lie, but it has been rumoured i there were hopes of settling ) Eurasians here. Such a e would be greeted with very 3d feelings in NC.

Iditorial note: It is assumed Dr. Florrisson’s reference in s to a “neighbouring but foreign ur force” may possibly be linked i the 1954 Noumea-Suva dis ions on a proposal that young Indians should work in New donia for a fixed term. This appears now to have been iped. As far as is known, tier Tahiti nor the United ons came into the picture at stage).