An Island Congress.

Island affairs do not seem to concern our statesmen very much, for the reason perhaps that there is no body to speak with a united voice on behalf of the scattered island communities and to represent their requirements. Sir George Grey dreamed of an island federation and was I Aligned at. Mr. Seddon was also laughed at when he talked of attaching Fiji and other groups to New Zealand, in addition to the Cook and other islands that are now, thanks to him, dependencies of the Dominion. A future generation will find it hard to understand why the Imperial views of these departed statesmen did not meet with favour. A federation of the British-owned islands ouch t to be practicable, and I shall show in a later article that it is—at least, I believe it to be. At any rate, a congress of representatives of the various British-owned islands might every now and then meet for the discussion of islnnd affairs—Auckland, by the way, would be a very suitable place for the tial meeting—and the represestation made by such a body to our [unclear: Ga] vernaments—Australian and New [unclear: Zeasland]—should have some weight. This [unclear: con] would, in the first instance, be a [unclear: pu] deliberative body, bat it might in [unclear: corned] time develop into something more, and! I sibly from its members one or two [unclear: mought] be elected to sit in our Houses of [unclear: Led] ture, as honorary member, if you [unclear: ble] specially to keep an eye on island [unclear: int] There will be some who will scaff [unclear: at the]—who will regard it as fantastic, [unclear: imp] ticable, and useless. If it is, then [unclear: so is the] wider movement that is gaining [unclear: favour] Home to secure cohmial representatie the House of Lords and House of [unclear: Common] To give the islands special representation would be doing exactly the some thing a miniature scale, and be giving a lead the Motherland. Besides, France [unclear: give] her pacific islands representation French Parliament, so that if the thing feasible in her ease it is also in ours, Any how, if the giving of Pome surt of [unclear: reperents] to the British it island as a [unclear: whol] is deemed impracticable, it will surly be denied that the Cook and other island which now form portion of New Zealands territory are as much entitled to a [unclear: vo] in Parliament as the Maoris.

I have for the present only roughly [unclear: in] cated the scheme, but if ever if ever serious consideration by our politicion hope they will make some effort to, as [unclear: Mr.] Chamberlain would say, "think Imperially" when they come to discuss it.