Commentary

■level Bog-down

Citizenship

a year since a PIM corres andent after visiting Rabaul “If you are a native in New a these days the possibilities are s. ... If you are a European, Dn’t like your own future, you it out. If you are Chinese you icome naturalised and do the ;hing. But if you are of mixed and some of it’s native, you ick with it, and the indications at you’ll be left to rot where e.” t article went on to say that the jsians of the Territory— dy between 300 or 400 of them -could, because they were only :ted Persons” and not Austra tizens, spend their entire work es in the P-NG Public Service, /er be more than “temporary”; lot join the military forces; and heir children, although edu in Australia, could never stay lermanently. unsatisfactory legal status of ironesian people of P-NG was w discovery a year ago. For the Australian government has rged by European residents of luinea and by various organisa n the same Territory, to do ing about the anomalous posi f these people who, through lit of their own, fall into the able position of being virtually ;s persons. request for Australian recogni as made before the privilege ranted to the New Guinea e in 1957—it was, in fact, the ;sians who asked for Australian lisation and the Chinese who in spite of all the requests e urgings and the obvious un s of the situation, we find that conference between the Ad ation and the Missions in Oc this year, when Bishop Leo J of Wewak and the Rev. W. of Rabaul brought the matter lin, they were fobbed off with me excuse that has now been t for years: “The matter is consideration at top level.” damentally, it is the Australian themselves who are concerned citizenship is to be conferred tsiders. Yet, when it was sud announced in 1957 that the

New Guinea Chinese were to be given the privilege, there was not one serious word of dissent. They felt capable of absorbing any number of New Guinea Chinese who wished to become Australians and they would be equally capable of ingesting the few hundred Euronesians who would seek citizenship.

A few months ago, the Australian Government announced out of the blue, and without asking anyone’s permission, that when the phosphate on their home island was exhausted Nauruans would be invited to trans fer to Australia, even though, from all accounts, the Nauruans don’t par ticularly want to go. Yet against that, we have the picture of the whole Australian Cabinet, “at top level”, sitting up at nights, with a wet towel around its collective head and crying into its collective beer, while it is emotionally torn to shreds over the terrible problem of saying “yea” or “nay” to 300 or 400 Mixed-Race people!

It is one of the silliest pieces of political dithering in the last genera tion and there may still be some de lay before decision is reached. The old Parliament ended its life in Oc tober; Federal elections come in De cember and it will be well into 1962 before any legislation can be ex pected from the new Parliament. ☆ ☆ ☆

Britain To Close The

Famous Open Door

INDIANS in British Colonies—in cluding Fiji—have been express ing unhappiness about their future right to go unchallenged into Britain, and reman as long they wish.

The poultry-farmers of Australia also are unhappy, because Britain is purchasing fewer overseas eggs, and the industry’s outlook is gloomy.

The two developments, apparently poles apart, are directly connected.

Britain, unable to adequately main tain her export markets (through which she gets the wherewithal to buy overseas foods and materials, and to keep her ever-increasing millions in employment) is taking some un foreseen and drastic steps.

More and more, the fertile soil of Britain is being used to grow for Britain, and that includes more eggs, dairy produce, meat, grain.

And, to keep the available jobs for persons born within the British Isles, Britain is closing her hitherto open door of immigration. Until now, almost anyone—and certainly anyone who officially is a citizen of any part of the British Common wealth and Empire—could go and live in Britain. Countless people of all races, since World War 11, have gone in through that open door and settled there.

Most noticeable of these are the Jamaicans—people mainly of the negro race, born in the British Colony, and driven out of their island by sheer over-population. They have entered Britain in recent years in hundreds of thousands, got all the benefits of the “Welfare State”, and now fill so many unskilled jobs that they are an industrial and social em barrassment.

Britain’s own home-grown popula tion has increased rapidly in the last decade, to 51 millions. While there was an export market for more and more goods, produced by more and more hands, the arrival of overseas people was not a problem for Britain.

But now the overseas markets are fiercely competitive, and Britain must produce at home an increasing pro portion of what she hitherto has im ported.

In plain words, the change in the economic roundabout means that Britain cannot accommodate in Britain any more overseas people who enlarge the fundamental problems of food, shelter and clothing.

Henceforth, persons visiting Britain will enter on the same terms as they enter all other countries. If they are visitors, and give proof that they are provided for, they stay as long as they like. But if they wish to reside in Britain, and support themselves, they in future must submit to a strict quota system, which is to be applied irrespective of condition, colour and race. ☆ ☆ ☆

Jamaica Says 'No 7 to

Federation Plan

OF all the reverses and humilia tions which the British Colonial Office has suffered in the last 18 months, none was greater than the decision taken by popular vote by Jamaica in September. Jamaica re fused to remain in the West Indies Federation. The Federation came imo being, provisionally, in April, 1958.

Jamaica has had internal self-govern ment since 1959. (Over)

The British Government, soon after World War 11, began to move to wards a West Indian Federation, to embrace the eight British Colonies, ranging from the big islands of Jamaica, Trinidad and ‘ Barbados to the smaller Leeward and Windward groups. A Constitution was drafted; a provisional Federation inaugurated; sovereignty promised.

Colonial Office planners eventually fixed May 31, 1962, as the day when the Federation would become “inde pendent”; and Port-of-Spain, in Trini dad, was to be the Federal Capital.

But it appeared that opinion in Jamaica (which has 1,800,000 out of the 3,000,000 people in the proposed Federation) was sharply divided.

“Yes” (for continuance in the Federa tion on the new, enlarged basis) was advocated by Premier Norman Manly; while “No” was urged by his cousin, the leader of the Opposition, Sir Alexander Bustamente.

A referendum on September 19 gave a large majority for “No”. The Premier must have had his tongue in his cheek when, having accepted the popular vote, he announced that on May 31 next (which had been fixed by Britain as “Federation Day”) Jamaica would decide by popular vote whether to seek complete indepen dence.

Jamaicans (over 60 per cent, of whom are illiterate) took the view that Federation had nothing for them that they need all their economic strength for the solution of their own problems. Without Jamaica, there is little likelihood of Federation pro ceeding further. , , It had been hoped that the Federa tion would be joined and strengthened by the two mainland British colonies, Honduras and Guiana. But British Guiana, in August, elected an anti- British, pro-independence govern ment- and British Honduras seems to be in a growing state of political dis turbance.

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Indonesian

"Responsibility"

Addressing the un General Assembly in November, the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Dr.

Subandrio, said once independence was declared in Netherlands $ New Guinea, Indonesia would be “com pelled” to crush the proclamation, “even if it meant war”. If anybody ever had any illusions about Indo nesia’s sense of responsibility, they should now be shattered. Indonesia cannot be trusted.