Land Tenure Systems in the Western Pacific High Commission Territories—A Comparative Study
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1970.tb00709.x |
| Date | 01 April 1970 |
| Published date | 01 April 1970 |
Land Tenure Systems in the Western
Pacific High Commission Territories
-A
Comparative Study
By J. B.
TWOMEY
Mr.
Twomey is Commissioner of Lands and Surveys in the British Solomon
Islands Protectorate. He attended the 1968-69 Cambridge Course on Development,
and specialized in
Land
Administration.
Historical Aspects
IN the southwest region of the Pacific Ocean are to be found three separately
governed island territories administered by the High Commissioner for the
Western Pacific. These territories are the
Condominium
ofthe
New Hebrides,
the
Colony
of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and the
Protectorate
of the
British Solomon Islands. Although this paper is primarily concerned with
the present-day land tenure structures found in each, it would perhaps be
appropriate to provide first some information regarding their constitutional
status.
The
Pacific Islanders Protection Act was passed by the Imperial Parliament
at Westminster in 1872 and in the year 1875, by a subsequent enactment,
provision was made for the appointment of a High Commissioner having
jurisdiction over all British subjects throughout the Western Pacific.
The
first Order in Council, issued in 1877, made provisions controlling civil
litigation between British subjects and also set out a code for dealing with
their transgressions. It did not attempt to control the acts of the indigenous
inhabitants within the area administered by the High ComInissioner, unless
these amounted to war.
Civil administration over a number of Pacificislands was established follow-
ing the Proclamation of British Protectorates in the Gilbert and Ellice
Islands in 1892 and over some of the Solomon Islands in 1893.
Additional Proclamations to extend the boundaries
of
the Solomon
Islands Protectorate were made in 1897 and 1898. By the Samoan Tripartite
Convention
of
18991afurther territorial addition to the British Solomon
1Aspirations to include the island of Samoa within the German Empire in
the
latter
half
of the nineteenth century almost led to war between the United States
of
America and Germany. However, after each power had lost naval vessels in Apia
Harbour
(Samoa) in 1889 as a result of a hurricane (neither side would risk loss
of
prestige by ordering its vessels to sea to ride the hurricane) and the attendant loss
of
life, it was agreed by Great Britain, the United States
of
America and Germany at the
Treaty
of Berlin in 1889 to recognise the independence of Samoa and the claims
of
one
Samoan cltief as ruler. Municipal Government
of
Apia by the three Consuls of the
metropolitan powers was also introduced together with a Supreme
Court
under
a
Swedish
Chief
Justice and a Lands Commission to settle claims between Europeans
and
Samoans. As a
number
of
Samoan Chiefs did not recognise
the
rulerand eventually
set
up a Government in opposition, it was agreed at the Samoan Tripartite Convention
of
1899 to partition the island between Germany and the United States
of
America
and
that
British claims
of
sovereignty to the island be withdrawn in
return
for the
relinquishing of German sovereignty over a
number
ofislands in the Solomons
Group,
thus
allowing Britain to include these
under
the Protectorate umbrella.
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