40666.
156
No. 9.
The GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF AUSTRALIA to the SECRETARY
(Confidential.)
OF STATE.
(Received November 3, 1906.)
[Answered by No. 11.]
Governor-General's Office, Melbourne,
October 1, 1906.
MY LORD,
IN continuation of my cablegram of the 28th ultimo, I have the honour to forward herewith, a copy of a Confidential Despatch addressed to me by his Excellency the Vice-Admiral Commander-in-Chief on the Australian Station, covering a copy of a report made by Captain E. F. A. Gaunt, of H.M.S. "Cambrian," on the administration, &c., of Tahiti.
I have, &c.,
(Confidential.)
MY LORD,
NORTHCOTE,
Governor-General.
Enclosure in No. 9.
"Powerful," at Williamstown,
September 25, 1906.
I HAVE the honour to forward for your Excellency's information the enclosed copy
of a report made by Captain E. F. A. Gaunt, of H.M.S. f Cambrian,' on the administration, &c., of Tahiti, after his recent visit to that place, observing that the original report has been forwarded to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.
His Excellency the Governor-General
I have, &c.,
W. H. FAWKES, Vice-Admiral, Commander-in-Chief.
of the Commonwealth of Australia.
P.S.-I have been told that a French newspaper has lately denied the report that France would give up these islands.
W. H. F.
157
}
The natives would welcome the British as their rulers more than any other nation; they had somehow got an idea that the "Cambrian "Flora
and "had arrived to take possession of Tahiti, and flocked to the beach in great numbers upon their arrival, with cries of "Britanni,'
""Britanni." I gathered in general consultation with Europeans-not French--that the impression is that the French are anxious to give up possession of the Islands.
E. F. A. GAUNT,
Captain and Senior Officer.
41839.
No. 10.
The GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF AUSTRALIA to the SECRETARY OF STATE.
(Received November 13, 1906.)
[Copy to Foreign Office and Admiralty, November 20, 1906, L.F.]
(Confidential.)
MY LORD,
[Answered by No. 11.]
Governor-General's Office,
Melbourne, October 5, 1906. FURTHER to my confidential despatch dated 1st October 1906,* relating to the French administration of Tahiti, I have the honour to inform your Lordship that my Ministers have seen the report, a copy of which accompanied the despatch in question to your Lordship, and my Prime Minister has invited me to express the hope that the matter may receive the careful consideration of His Majesty's Government.
41839.
No. 11.
I have, &c.,
NORTHCOTE,
Governor-General.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
गय
C.O.88
Reference :-
+885
17 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATION-TAHITI.
The French have removed the whole of their troops, the barracks, both Artillery and Infantry, are empty, and quite latterly a vast amount of barrack and troop material was sold for a fraction of its value.
The number of "fonctionnaires " is rapidly being reduced. In the opinion of the British Consul, Mr. Simons, the French are making preparations to give up the whole of the Islands if they can be sold or exchanged for a consideration.
The cost of administration is very high, and, mainly due to defective administration, such as prohibitive Customs duties, the Islands do not pay their way.
In view of the prospective completion of the Panama Canal in seven years' time, Tahiti with its two excellent harbours, Papeete and Port Phaeton, becomes the natural half-way coaling station between Panama, New Zealand, the Fijis, and Australia, and undoubtedly should be in possession of the British.
It is probable that with Tahiti and the neighbouring Islands in our possession France would find herself so shut out that she would be glad in time to hand over her interests in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia for a very small consideration, and so the ever-increasing friction with the British Colonies in Australia could be removed.
* No. 4,
The SECRETARY OF STATE to the GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF AUSTRALIA.
[Copy to Foreign Office and Admiralty, November 20, 1900, L.F.F.] (Confidential.) MY LORD,
Downing Street, November 16, 1906. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's confidential despatches of the 1st and 5th October, in connection with the report of Captain E. F. A. Gaunt, of H.M.S, "Cambrian," on the adminis~ tration, &c. of Tahiti.
2. The matter will have the careful consideration of His Majesty's Govern- ment, but, as I informed you in my telegram of the 22nd October, the French Government, of whom inquiries have been made, state that the withdrawal of troops from Tahiti, and the administrative reductions there, are solely due to motives of economy, and that there is no question whatever of the cession of the group to anyone. I may add that the French Naval Squadron on the Station is to be kept up to its usual strength during 1907.
I have, &c.,
ELGIN.
• No. 9.
Nos. 9 and 10.
‡ No. 7.
Page 540Page 541
839.
158
No. 12.
The GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF AUSTRALIA to the SECRETARY
OF STATE.
(Received January 7, 1907.)
[Copy to Admiralty, February 4, 1907, Confidential, L.F.] (Confidential.)
Governor-General's Office, Melbourne, MY LORD,
November 29, 1906. REFERRING to your Lordship's cablegram of the 22nd ultimo,* respecting the intentions of the French Government concerning Tahiti, I have the honour to forward herewith, for your Lordship's information, a copy of a confidential despatch addressed to me by my I'rime Minister on this subject.
I have, &c.,
Enclosure in No. 12.
NORTHCOTE,
Governor-General.
1357.
159
No. 13.
FOREIGN OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received January 11, 1907.)
(See No. 18.)
THE Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments
to the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, and, by direction of the Secretary of State, transmits herewith copy of the under-mentioned paper.
Foreign Office,
January 10, 1907.
Reference to previous letter:
Subject.
Colonial Office, November 20, 41839/06.* Name and Date.
Consul Simons (Tahiti), No. 4, Political, December 5, 1906.
Rumoured cession of Tahiti by the French,
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :--
EPELE C.O.
سلنا
+885
17 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
(P.M.06/4719.)
(Confidential.)
MY LORD,
Commonwealth of Australia,
Prime Minister, Melbourne,
November 28, 1906. WITH reference to the Secretary of State for the Colonies' telegram of the 22nd October, I have the honour to inform your Excellency that the statement made by the French Government respecting their intentions concerning Tahiti has been noted with satisfaction.
2. I, however, think it advisable in continuation of my despatch of the 4th October 1906 to request your Excellency to inform the Secretary of State that disquieting rumours to the effect that Germany is gradually increasing her interests in the group continue to be received.
3. It is now known that the German Banking Company, which has a branch at Papeete, is endeavouring to secure possession of a large number of estates by advancing money on mortgage.
4. The feeling in the Group that France intends at an early date to relieve herself of the cost of administration by cession to another Power is strong and widespread. Should the French Government at any time show an inclination to reconsider their determination to retain possession, it would be greatly to the disadvantage of British interests in this hemisphere to permit these Islands to become the property of any other Power.
5. When the Panama Canal opens an additional highway between Europe and Australasia it is certain that a large part of the trade between New Zealand, Fiji, and the eastern parts of Australia on the one side and Great Britain on the other, will be diverted to the new route. distance to be covered, it will be necessary for steamers to have coaling Owing to the stations, and as the Society Islands, which are about halfway between Sydney and Panama, are also the last group possessed of good harbours before the wide stretch of ocean between the South Sea Islands and the American Continent is reached, it is practically certain that the chief of such stations must be located at Papeete or Port Phaeton.
6. The views of Captain Gaunt as expressed in the memorandum referred to in my letter of the 4th October, that these Islands should undoubtedly be in possession of the British, are strongly endorsed by this Government, who trust that His Majesty's Ministers will give them that earnest consideration which the grave importance of the Imperial issues affected assuredly deserves.
His Excellency the Governor-General.
* No. 7.
I have, &c.,
ALFRED DEAKIN.
(No. 4, Political.)
Enclosure in No. 13.
British Consulate, Tahiti,
December 5, 1906.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith, for your information, extract from the "Auckland Star" of the 12th of September 1906, headed "Britain and Tahiti," which, having doubtless been copied in the Australian news- papers, probably gave rise to the telegrams which form enclosures to your despatch No. 2 of this series (33361) of the 10th of October last.
It is difficult to comprehend the anxiety of the Australian Commonwealth
in this matter, unless, indeed, it had concluded that His Majesty's Government were about to take over the Tahiti group and abandon to France, as an equivalent, Great Britain's existing control in the New Hebrides.
His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs,
I have, &c.,
R. T. SIMONS.
EXTRACT"Auckland Star" of 12th of September 1906.
BRITAIN AND TAHITI.
Withdrawal of French Troops, &c., &c.
When the mail steamer 'Sonoma" left San Francisco a report was current in that city to the effect that negotiations were proceeding between England and France respecting the Tahiti group. It was stated, on the authority of a large landowner of the islands, that France is about to abandon Tahiti and sell the islands to Great Britain. Letters received in San Francisco also make the same statement. The report (says the San Francisco "Chronicle") is to the effect that the authorities are perfecting their plans slowly, and by the gradual withdrawal of Government stores, ammunition, much valuable machinery, and the recall of both the naval and military forces, Tahitians are impelled to the belief that the island will either be sold or an exchange be made for some other island. It is not thought in Papeete that negotiations are pending with the United States, but the consensus of opinion is that the island will be turned over to the English, who have already made the claim that Tahiti was practically a British Possession once, but when England was making deals with France and Spain she let the Tahitian group go to France. Of late years the English, it is claimed, have been paying some
L.F., transmitting copies of Nos. 10 and 11.
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