Uk May Ask Nz,

Australia To

Take Gilbertese

From a Tarawa Correspondent The United Kingdom Govern ment may ask Australia and New Zealand to help relieve the population pressure in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands

Colony by taking a number of

Gilbertese as trial immigrants.

TWO members of the British Parliament. Mr. John Horner (Labour) and Mr. Brian Harrison (Conservative) indicated this in an interview over Radio Tarawa in July.

The two parliamentarians were visiting the GEIC as a fact-finding mission on behalf of the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Anthony Greenwood, who stated in the House of Commons recently that he was anxious to get an up-to-date picture of as many of Britain’s small territories as possible.

Messrs. Horner and Harrison arrived in the New Hebrides from Fiji for a week’s visit on July 22, and they were then to spend a week in the Solomons.

Radio Interview

In the interview over Radio Tarawa, the two men said that there was no single solution to the GEIC’s population problem, and that family planning, emigration, employment overseas and improved agricultural methods would be required.

“Emigration is a question to be faced,” they said, “but it must be carefully planned. There is a possible case for an attempt by the British Government to open negotia tions with Commonwealth countries in the Pacific area for a trial ship ment of people from the Colony.”

On the question of Ocean Island phosphate, Messrs. Horner and Harrison said they would report to Mr. Greenwood that at every major meeting in the Colony there was strong resentment, sometimes border ing on bitterness, that the Colony was not getting a fair share of royalties.

The two men said that after dis cussions with members of the Colony’s Advisory and Executive Councils, they felt that the Colony was ready for further constitutional advancement, and that a Legislative

Council would make the people more aware of their problems.

On the question of attracting expatriates to work in the Colony, they said scales of pay would have to be fixed to take the “special con ditions in the Islands” into account; but the jobs would also have to be looked upon as constructive and re warding and not just means of mak ing money.

Messrs. Horner and Harrison said that the difficulties of travel and communication represented the Colony’s greatest problem, but the problems posed by the approaching exhaustion of Ocean Island’s phosphate, the pressure of popula tion, and the shortage of food were “immense”.

“The Advisory Council, Executive Council and the council that may replace them must ensure that the people are fully aware of the significance of those problems,” they added.

• See also, "The True (ar Wondrous) Story of How Britai Got Hold of Ocean Island," p. 8

after World War 11, recently wrot to Fiji’s Governor, Sir Dere Jakeway, asking for a better retur from the phosphate extracted froi their island. As on neighbours Nauru, Ocean Island’s phosphate mined by the British Phosphate Con mission (i.e., the British, Australia and NZ Governments). Until Fel ruary 6 this year (when an agre< ment made in 1960 expired) the BP' paid a royalty of 25/8 a ton c Ocean Island phosphate, of whic 2/8 went to the Ocean Islanders an the rest to the GEIC Governmen A somewhat higher royalty rate expected to apply from February i The Nauruans, by comparison, r< cently had their phosphate royall increased to 13/6 a ton for 1964-6. and 17/6 a ton for 1965-66. Meai while, the BPC will provide almo £900,000 million a year for tl administration of Nauru.

FOOTNOTE: PIM understands that the Ocean Islanders, who were re settled on the island of Rabi, Fiji,