New Caledonia’S
p. 131 · Read in the full issue
Credit
System Assailed
From Our Noumea Correspondent VIEW CALEDONIA’S all-embrac- Ll ing system of “credit” provides one of the most interesting mssages in Senator Coude du r oresto’s famous report on the Colony.
Credit, states the report, is offered or everything from postcards to notor cars. The main objective of redit accounts is to make sure of he client’s “commercial property.”
When articles are scarce, the cash ustomer is often rebuffed, the goods eing reserved for credit clients.
Young Government employees rriving from France are offered all ,ouse-furnishings on credit, as well s motor cars—and a Government Brvant without a car is likely to be deconsidered.”
When he returns to France, the rovernment servant cannot take is possessions with him because I excessive freight charges, and so e sells his goods—often to the riginal vendors—at a heavy loss, sually the articles are refurbished id resold to start a new profit fie cycle.
Admittedly the system gives ser ce to the purchaser, but it places m in marked subordination to the mdor. This would not matter in, y, Paris, where commerce, politics id administration are in separate impartments, but it is a very dif rent matter in a small town where ie three groups are jammed to ther.
Again, the man who wants to go l the land finds it easy to obtain °ds on credit. If he fails in his yments, an arrangement is made lereby the debtor abandons land id materials to the creditor and ually works his former property a foreman. This system explains e accumulation of huge areas of id given over exclusively to cattle, d the same formula accounts for s large mining domain of the big port-export firms.
Phis at least is the situation as :n by the Senator. :t is possibly significant that in 3 recent session of the Assembly nove was made to curb the credit ;tem as far as possible. The tion was introduced by a member 0 happens to be head of the vernment workers’ union, and it s repulsed with great energy by mbers connected with commercial erests.
I. Marc Biros, who has completed ee years as Secretary-General in New Caledonian Administration, 1 returned to France. He has been moted to the rank of Governor colonies, but it is not yet known jre he will be posted.