Trusteeship of Fijian

Lands is Again Underlined

(From Our Own Correspondent) Supervision of Fijian land rented to non-Fijians, the collection of rents and the general management of Fijian land affairs now occupy an or ganisation with a staff of about 40.

This point was mentioned by the head of the Fijian Lands Com mission (Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna) when he laid the foundation stone of the Land Trust Board building on July 28.

The building, which will stand between Victoria Parade and Broadcasting House, close to the Government Buildings, will also house the Fijian Development Fund Board, the Fijian Banana Venture offices, and, during its biennial sessions, the Council of Chiefs.

Ratu Sir Lala said that although Fijian land cannot be sold, its leasing involved a substantial volume of work and management in the interests of the proper economic development of the Colony. An effectual system of control had to be devised, and thus had evolved control by a board of trustees.

Before the Second World War, the Fijians had handed over all their land to the board’s control, a gesture which the then Governor (Sir Arthur Richards, now Lord Milverton) had described as “the finest act of trust in colonial history.”

The Acting Governor (Mr. A. F.

R. Stoddart), who introduced Ratu Sir Lala, said that there was a realisation that land available for leasing should be made available to those who were eager to use it productively.

No non-Fijians could deprive the Fijians of the ownership of their land, but, in order to develop and protect the land, those who leased it must be given a sense of security.

The responsibility, Mr. Stoddart added, lay with the Native Land Trust Board.