Reviea of Reviews, 1110/06. 



CORRESPONDENCE, 



y 



Mr. Jas. McConnell, of Fiji, writes on matters 

 Fijian: — An able man like the late Mr. Seddon is 

 badly wanted in Fiji for six months to organise a 

 scheme of decentralisation; to secure reform; to es- 

 tablish a progressive and intelligent public policy, 

 and to teach the Colonial Office a lesson. 



The Governors and officials sent to Fiji by the 

 Colonial Office have been pedlars. Some of them 

 may have had experience in islands inhabited by 

 African negroes ; old colonies either stagnant or on 

 the down-grade for over half-a-century, such as 

 Ceylon and the West Indian Islands. They know no- 

 thing about Colonial history, and how the States 

 of Australia and New Zealand have been colonised. 

 Their policy is, and has been, to manufacture or- 

 dinances. As administrators they have not been a 

 success. Monopolies are permitted and encouraged. 

 Many of the ordinances are a dead letter. The let- 

 ters patent contains a mass of blots and deformities; 

 yet it has been grossly and daringly violated. Fiji 

 IS under these conditions an unprogressive colony. 

 Mr. Seddon lodged a protest with the Colonial Office 

 against the perversion of colonial history by Sir 

 George O'Brien in a speech by him made at the 

 opening of a hospital ou the Rewa, re.sulting in tlie 

 recall of Governor Sir George O'Brien and Mr. Allar- 

 dyce. 



At the conference of Colonial Premiers in London, 

 three years ago, Mr. Seddon took up the cause of 

 Fiji, and denounced the servility and incompetency 

 of the Nominee Conncil in Fiji. He advocated a 

 Legislature for Fiji, to be composed of elective mem- 

 bers. This, no doubt, rendered great assistance to 

 the Fiji Reform League, represented by sixteen dele- 

 gates, who on the 3rd March, 1903, prepared the peti- 

 tion to have abolished the Nominee Council. Neither 

 Mr. Seddon nor the delegates are to blame that the 

 r-onstitution granted contains so many gross absurdi- 

 ties. 



Sir Henry Jackson, a typical official with West 

 Indian experience, is alone responsible for the Letters 

 Patent being so defective. His experience led him 

 astray, and absolutely disqualified him for the task. 

 The death of Mr. Seddon will be an irreparable loss 

 to Fiji. 



The history of Western Australia, while it was a 

 Crown Colony, is being repeated in Fiji. Western 

 -Australian officials looked upon the town of Perth as 

 the limits of the colony, and the building up of a 

 city there was their principal aim, appropriating the 

 revenue for that purpose, and the voting to them- 

 selves large salaries and pensions satisfied the Colonial 

 Office. 



The policy of Fiji is absolutely homogeneous. Suva 

 is regarded as Fiji. Fourteen members of the Legis- 

 lature out of the eighteen are Suva and Levuka resi- 

 dents, who know nothing practically about the Islands 

 of Fiji ; and this is one of the anomalies and absurdi- 

 ties out of the twenty blots in the Letters Patent 

 which is part of the structure designed by Sir H. M. 

 .lackson, in direct opposition to the advice of the 

 colonists. 



The question for consideration is, " Is Fiji to be 

 exnerimented upon by officials, and the settlers wnoon- 

 fed by them for another twenty-five years?" I hope 

 not, but I fear it will be so unless by accident a 

 Mr. Weld or a Sir George Grey be sent here as 

 Governor. Mr. Weld during 1870 was by accident the 

 Governor of Western Australia. He had had colonial 

 experience in New Zealand. He joined the settlers, 

 and recommended the formation of a capable Legisla- 



ture to represent each district of the colony. The 

 amended Legislature contained twenty members, eight 

 nominated and twelve elective. The colony was 

 divided into twelve districts. One district only con- 

 tained twelve electors. At that time there were only 

 25,000 inhabitants. The Executive Council was com- 

 posed of three of the nominated and two of the 

 elected members of the Legislature. From that time 

 the colony gradually forged ahead. 



Cannot the settlers of Fiji take a lesson from Wes- 

 tern Australia? 



It is impossible to obtain redress for the many 

 wrongs committed by the Executive Council in Fiji. 

 In two cases if either of them were the work of a 

 department in any State of Australia, the Ministers 

 responsible would be hurled without delay into ob- 

 livion. I have always held that the present Legisla- 

 ture, composed of townspeople, was not capable to 

 construct a workable Lands Ordinance. The Execu- 

 tive Council is proved to be in a degree less compe- 

 tent. Two cases out of fifty need only be stated in 

 support thereof. 



(1) Confirming the sale to an outsider of a lessee's 

 tenant's right to the improveiiieiits on a Rewa planta- 

 tion. 



(2) The irregular procedure adopted at the election 

 held ou the 28th September, 1905, gives another mem- 

 ber to the township of Suva, and robbine tlie electors 

 of the right to nominate a candidate to represent the 

 islands. 



Now that the friend of Fiji (Mr. Seddon) is dead 

 the prospects of securing a capable Legislature and 

 an efficient executive are very remote. Fiji is under 

 the thrall of officialism, and has not the ear, nor the 

 sympathy of the Secretary of State. This is a ter- 

 rible and sad position to be placed in; discouraging 

 to the settlers trying to found a colony in a country 

 possessing great possibilities. 



T.H.O. asks, " In the event of the agitation against 

 gambling eventuating in the absolute suppression of 

 Wren's ■ Tote,' would it not benefit the V.R.C , at 

 any rate for a time?" [I do not think so. I think 

 the two things do not conflict. With the facilities 

 afforded by the " Tote " thousands of people gamble 

 who would never dream of going to a racecourse. It 

 will be cutting off one of the largest roots of the 

 gambling evil. — Editor.] 



THE SOCIAL PROBLEM. 



A New Zealander writes : — 



I would like to ask through the medium of this 

 wide-spread publication what is the true definition of 

 right or wrong principles, in the question of private 

 rights or liberties, as against State Socialism? To a 

 candid observer, the ino.st odious or invidious methods 

 of State surveillance lie in the system of penal legis- 

 lation, progressive taxation, and protective tariffs ; 

 while the least offensive elements lie in varying forms 

 of co-operation between man and State. In view of 

 the tendency to coerce the citizen (as the proposal for 

 compulsory voting), the most effective way to pre- 

 serve nersonal riglits would be to in.si.st that no action 

 not ethically wrong be treated as a penal offence. To 

 come to my own country : much is said for freedom 

 of tenure, as against State serfdom, but when we de- 

 duct mortgages, taxes, besides State inspection in 

 various industries, little but the verbal definition re- 

 mains. It appears to me that the true aim of en- 

 lightened legislation should be to substitute the State 

 partner for the prosecutor, through co-operative ac- 



