From the Islands press

I would like to ask that the at tention of the authorities be brought to the urgent need to arrange the repatriation of all the unemployed people now living on the tiny islet of Betio.

I suggest that if this is done and they are all sent back to their home islands, there will be much less crime and public health will improve. All these people without work are causing a lot of trouble, crime is increasing rapidly, and people are living in very crowded and unclean conditions.

If the people are told that they must go to their home islands, they would become very valuable to their country, working on their own lands and helping the im plementation of the development schemes being planned by gov ernment.

Ir is much better to do this than to become cowboys of Tarawa.— Letter from Bobai Timon in “Colony Information Notes,” a Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony Newssheet.

WITH the country [of Western Samoa] now past its second general election since independ ence and many of its politicians getting on in years, it is about time some consideration was given to providing pensions for long-service parliamentarians or their immedi ate surviving dependents, Parlament is now regarded as a full-time job, and as this elec tion showed, competence is no guarantee of continued employ ment.

As in other countries a pension scheme should be instituted where by after, say. three consecutive terms, a politician would be en titled to some sort of retiring allow ance.—Editorial in “Samoana,”

Apia.

THE good old days are gone.

Cricket is a game of the past with us on Pitcairn Island. . .

With the exception of an im promptu game between islanders and visitors, no game has been held since 1957.

The reason is obvious—there are not sufficient capable men to make up two opposing teams.

Mainly we have become an island of oldsters. In 10 years the island

population has dropped from 152 to 96.

The married men, widows and bachelors are far too old (mostly) to participate in such a strenuous game as cricket.— Comment in “Pitcairn Miscellany ”

A RE VIEW of the United Nations’ 1966 activities, issued last month by the organisation’s Office of Public Information, shows once more the capacity for self-deception that marks the at titude of the Colonialism Com mittee of 24, and resolutions on colonial territories passed by the General Assembly.

The review records that the General Assembly has solemnly declared that the continuation of colonial rule “threatens inter national peace and security.”

To the people of Fiji and the Soiomons and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony and Pit cairn, developing peacefully under Britain’s guidance, the declaration is patently and utterly absurd.

Neither internal nor inter national peace and security are threatened in the slightest degree by the “continuation of colonial rule”.

On the other hand, the pro longed violence in the Congo, the resurgence of tribal enmities in others among the new African states, and the racial strife in British Guiana under lagan’s con trol are examples of threats to in ternational peace and security which stemmed directly from the premature ending of colonial rule. —Editorial in “The Fiji Times”, Suva. is that in the seven years a Boroko electrical store has been in business, it has not re ceived one undamaged stove shipped from Australia. Recently 16 stoves arrived from England in perfect condition. The following month two came out from Bris bane with the tops bashed in.— Columnist in the “South Pacific Post”, Port Moresby.

MOST Outer Islanders [in the Cook Islands] think that the term “Outer Islands” is a very pertinent and proper one. They contend that the Outer Islands have aways been on the “outer”

when it comes to government and other help. Rarotonga, they say, is always considered first.

At present, the government is making strenuous efforts to change this position, and perhaps it would be a good idea if a new name was used for the Outer Islands.

According to Time magazine, the Hawaiians have solved the problem by calling their outer islands “Neighbour Islands”. Any ideas please?— Editor’s query in the “Cook Islands News”, Raro tonga.

T AM a Samoan educated in the -*■ United States and have made the following observations: Many of our Samoan people are trying to make fools of the Palagis by lying, being deceitful and mak ing unkind remarks in Samoan.

We should realise that Palagis are here to help and we cannot do without them.

Getting along with them is very important because they carry im piessions of us back to the United States. We live on their tax dollars and we must keep that in mind.

So let us be more careful with our manners. If we are proud people, let us be proud of being people. If we think to fool some body, we are very mistaken.

This is not something to laugh about. Think it over.— Reader's letter in the “Samoan Times,”

Pago Pago, American Samoa. npHERE were three Wise Men who came to the Solomons— one from New Zealand, one from Australia and one from Great Britain.

And the Solomon Islander said to the three Wise Men; “I respect and thank you for the wisdom you bring from New Zealand, from Australia and from Great Britain, and I have one question to ask you.”

And the three Wise Men replied; “Ask!”

“Where are we?” said the Solomon Islander. “Are we in New Zealand? Are we in Aus tralia? Are we in Great Britain.”

And the three Wise Men re plied: “We are in the Solomon Islands.” “Then tell me,” said the Solomon Islander, “who is to speak with the wisdom of the Solomon Islander?”— Fable in the “BSIP N ewssheet”, Honiara.