Pressure To Resume

Freehold Land?

From a Honiara correspondent When the second session of the Governing Council of the British Solomons opened on

November 16, some interesting

points were raised.

Main item was the presentation of the budget by the Financial Sec retary, Mr. J. Smith, which increased the price of petrol by 5c a gallon duty. Solomon Islanders use petrol in outboard motors, but the expatriate population will bear the brunt of this increase.

Archdeacon Thompson criticised the budget as being just another “holding budget”, and likened the council members to the children of Israel who sat down and waited whilst Moses went up the mountain to get the tablets of law (except in this case they were waiting for the tablets of law to come from the Secretariat). He complained that there was nothing new, and mean while time was being wasted. He also criticised the agricultural ex tension services, which, he said, had no impact on the lives of ordinary village people.

Referring to the slum dwellings in Honiara, he said something should be done quickly to improve con ditions, including payment of a decent living wage for labourers. Peter Salaka also commented on this situation, ending with the remark, “If we don’t help them, God help you!”

Gordon Siama accused European plantation owners of not being interested in developing plantations or replanting; of coming here to fill their pockets and return home. He urged legislation to re-acquire free hold plantations and return them to the original owners; also to enforce replanting.

Several people have anticipated that a move might be made to ex propriate land from expatriates at some time in the future, but this may now come sooner than they expected.

In fact, unlike other territories such as New Guinea and the New Hebrides, there are comparatively few expatriate plantations, and of these, even fewer are freehold, the majority being leasehold. The largest plantation owners are Levers, though as the Chief Secretary, Mr. T.

Russell, pointed out, they have done

a good deal of replanting and carried out extensive coconut re search.

Newcomer to Govco was Mr.

Joseph Bryan, who got in by a hand some majority with over half the votes cast in a three-cornered fight in an election held after Mr. Leone Laku’s earlier election was declared void. He emphasised the need for experimental farms and an increase in agricultural development. He also advocated the introduction of prawn fishing.

Mr. George Pugeva complained that development of South Guadal canal was being neglected. He said that Honiara was rising higher and higher as the south coast was sinking into the sea.

Many elected members stressed need for training courses in business for Solomon Islanders. There are scarcely any Solomon Islanders run ning businesses on their own account, most private businesses are operated by Chinese.

But despite all the talk, the session in the first week had produced just a mental health bill and some minor bills. The private members’ day was yet to come and the session had another week to go, but it didn’t appear likely that much of any importance would actually materialise.

Don't expect Solomons girls to go in for that bikini look in their beauty con tests: These two belles in the recent Honiara Agricultural Show Queen contest,

wore everything

except the übi quitous bra—and the result is a style worth a second glance.

Winner, left, is Mary Joseph Noli, with runner-up Gretel Kuper.

Photo: Ted Marriott.