PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference -
mimico. 885
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGR
NOT TO
24 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE
BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
290
WESTERN PACIFIC.
in a large water tank which stands on the office verandah a few paces from my office. I failed to complete these precautions owing to the fact that the vessel came in flying the French flag.
To His Excellency
The High Commissioner
2996
291
WINDWARD ISLANDS.
No. 113.
THE ACTING GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 19th January, 1915.)
I have, &c.,
ALFRED SMITH,
Deputy Commissioner.
(Grenada (General).
Confidential (1).)
SIR,
for the Western Pacific,
Suva, Fiji.
Enclosure 2 in No. 111.
(Fanning Island. Secret.)
Office of the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, SIR,
Suva, Fiji, 19th November, 1914. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th ultimo, reporting the circumstances in which the cable instruments and appliances at Fanning Island were destroyed, on the 7th September last, by a landing party from the German ship "Nurnberg," cash and stamps to the total value of £761 48. 10d. were looted, and all defence and confidential papers were taken away. 2. It is unfortunate that the defence scheme for Fanning Island should have broken down on the first occasion on which it should have been brought into opera- tion, and that, owing to a trick, which might have been expected, you were unable to destroy any of the confidential and secret documents which you and your prede- cessors have received from time to time from the High Commission Office.
3. You have reported, no doubt, to the New Zealand Government that stamps and cash to the value of £71 88. 8d., which belonged to the Dominion Post Office, were removed by the officers of the "Nurnberg."
His Britannic Majesty's
Deputy Commissioner
for Fanning Island.
8808
No. 112.
I have, &c.,
BICKHAM Esсотт,
High Commissioner.
THE RESIDENT COMMISSIONER, NEW HEBRIDES, to THE HIGH
COMMISSIONER.
(Received in Colonial Office, 22nd February, 1915.)
(Confidential.)
SIB,
British Residency, Vila, 28th December, 1914. WITH reference to my Confidential despatch of 13th October last, and to Your Excellency's acknowledgment of 21st ultimo,† I have the honour to report that, as the German naval forces in the Pacific have now apparently been disposed of, confidence seems to have been restored among the French settlers and the members of the Administration. The defensive measures and arrangements for the evacua- tion of Vila have been abandoned, and my colleague and his officials, as well as the other French residents, remain in town at night as before the war.
2. I regret to report, however, that the financial situation has by no means improved.
I have, &c.,
M. KING, Resident Commissioner.
His Excellency the High Commissioner
for the New Hebrides.
Government House, St. Lucia, 29th December, 1914. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Confidential despatch, Grenada (General), of the 1st instant, calling for a report summarizing the steps taken in the Windward Islands consequent upon the outbreak of war, and the general condition, social and economic, of the Colony.
2. You desire the report to be made to the 31st December, 1914, but, as I have acted [as] Governor of the Windward Islands from the time of the outbreak of war to the present date (29th December), and have been directly concerned throughout, I have thought it might be convenient that I should make the report to date before relinquishing the temporary administration of the general Government to-morrow, the 30th December.
CE
3. On the receipt of your "warning" telegram, at the end of July last, fol- lowed by your war telegram on the 5th August, two considerations engaged the immediate attention of the Governments of the three Colonies of the Windward Islands
(a) The defence of the Colony as laid down by the defence scheme for each Colony, and
(b) The care of the people of the Colony against panic and want.
4. To give a short account of the action taken in each Colony, I beg to report
Grenada.
as follows:-
Measures were at once taken
(1) to bring the Defence Force of the Colony-the police and the Volunteer Force-together, and to have them ready for immediate service in event of attack by the enemy;
(2) to practise the Defence Force over the lines of defence as laid down by the defence scheme;
(3) to establish look-out posts at the two principal points;
(4) to place a guard at the hut where the cable of the West India and Panama Telegraph Company is landed;
(5) to take possession of the cable office, to require the office to be kept open throughout the night as well as day, and to establish a censorship over all cable mes- sages and telegrams, Mr. H. Ferguson, Treasurer, being appointed Censor.
These precautions have remained in force and are being carried out to the present time. Postal and Press censorships have also been established.
The people of Grenada depend to a larger extent than St. Vincent and St. Lucia on imported foodstuffs, and, shortly after the outbreak of war, a severe unrest began to arise amongst them when they heard that the merchants of the place were doubtful whether they would be able to continue to receive supplies from abroad, and local prices began to rise. A meeting of the principal merchants of St. George's was held, and, having ascertained from them that they were entirely in ignorance as to their prospects of being able to make arrangements to continue to obtain their supplies from abroad, I decided, with the concurrence of the Executive Council, to order, through the Lieutenant-Governor of Halifax, a supply of 2,000 barrels of flour and a small supply of salt fish from Canada. Application was at the same time made to you by telegraph to extend the provisions of the Order in Council of the 26th October, 1896, to Grenada and St. Vincent, to give, more par- ticularly, power to regulate local prices if necessary. Your prompt action in this matter relieved the situation, and when the people of Grenada heard that the Government had ordered a supply of flour and salt fish, that the Governor had the
* 38217: not printed.
* No. 109.
+ Not printed.
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