president's address — SECTION E. l53 



The Australian mandate covers all the former German pro- 

 tectorate of New Guinea south of the equator, including the 

 following : — 



Apiirox. Area Approx. Native 



in Sq. Miles. Population. 



The late Kaiser Wilhelm Island 72,000 ... 150,000 



to 

 234,000 

 The late Bismarck Archipelago ... 20,000 ... 100,000 

 The late German Solomon Islands 3,500 ... 16,000 

 (Bougainville and Buka) 



95,500 .. 266,000 

 to 

 350,000 



Detailed proposals* for the administration of this territory have 

 been prepared by a Royal Conrmission apix)inted by the Common- 

 wealth Government. The recommendation of this inquiry takes 

 the form of three alternative proposals for administration: — 



1. A policy of amalgamation; providing for the administration 



of the late German territory as a part of Papua. 

 21. A policy of separate administration ; maintaining the 



adm.inistration of these as two quite apart and separate 



undertakings. 

 3. Internal administration and executive and legislative 



councils to be quite separate, but under oiie head 



administrative officer. 



The main difficulty that presents itself is that " immediate 

 union would involve the adoption of all the Papuan laws and the 

 cancellation of the whole legal system under which the mandated 

 territory has grown up." Such a course would create confusion. 



In these extra-Australian tropical territories the people of the 

 Commonwealth have a great trust, for their potential resources and 

 productivity are enoi'mous if developed on fruitful lines. 



The Commonwealth now controls half of New Guinea which, 

 with the exception of Greenland, is the largest island in the world. 

 It possesses every variety of climate, is rich in minerals, with good 

 prospects of petroleum oil-fields, has important resources of soft 

 wood timbers, and is capable of supplying all tropical products. A 

 great range O'f mountains traverses it from end to end, a distance 

 of about 1,200 miles, rising in lofty peaks perpetually snow- 

 capped though situated almost under the equator. This great 

 barrier to atmospheric circulation leads to- the phenomenal precipi- 

 tation of several hundred inches of rain a year on some of the 

 highlands, and indirectly results in developing an important system 



* Commouwealth Parliamentary Pajier 29, 1920. 



