Subject: !-Tat i ve La bo:r StU'Vay'-l\Iew C aladonia and Dependencies . . - - - - - - - - - - - -- ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

4•· Cvno$r:ning ·tne diat:ri btttion ratio of . guides , labore:.t*§3.!. etc . f• who are employed at the pr-esent time b"J ~ va;riou.s u. s . Ar!Uf authorities • 'two factors are taken into OOll.Sdld.e:t•a'tioni (l} the pressm~e of priority t"!!rk and (2} the necesso.1'7 distri1:n:rcion ot district and tribal workers.

; . O~p Montravel (reference a) ie :tooatec1 two kilometers north of I>!oumea on t he raid to Dueon and is con .... t:rolled 0<.1 t ho French Colonial Adminis·tration working in con­junctiion with tllG French Militia., At the presm t t1.me .,. there are 550 workeTs, under contract .by both Francll and .Amoriem.1 authorftties, and 200 natlve militia quartel.'"ed the:re .

6. Tr·ibal Chiefs have agreed to ti.U"llish sel ected young men that can be spared from their normal dutioe as workex·s in the 'llll!l'ber ya1•ds, publie wo:rks department • and i:n ·tlte local nickel plant . Tb.e French have levied as heavily as ]~osaible on the various tribes on N-~w Caledonia an~l itt3 Depend.enoiea in order to provide sufficient workers for their O'Vm needs• ;:;~he co:ro.parat1:vely a:roo.ll ma:n-p<>lorer pool available b.as made theS.:t• prob~em ·dif:i'ieult in the extreme. E:ve:ry con.­oaivahle means nave been used in Ol."der to gain tho extra fevt hundxed laborers assigned to u. s. Army Fo~ce2 on New Cal~donia. ALl 1\'re:neh autho:t·ities .vith whor.fl the labor situation was dis .... cttrmod hai.re otated that they a1·e negleetln.(J> their m\1!1 problems in order -to mak\1 the compromise . that present condi tiona d3mand .

7• . !"abor is normally obtained by making \Vl"'i·tton oont:racts w:tth the tri.bal chiefs who agree to :flli .. nlsll the above mant ioned young men who ean be best apl;red tro m tb.eir :norhial duties . Thee.;: cont:t•aets and :r0;Lationships are w.rltten and maintained 'b~r t he .t'Urea.u Des P-ffairas I.nO,.ige;nes • '11he Juue~iean .:.'tr:Iey" art;hori·~ios have made ~tibor controota .diretrtly- with ·G.he .F':t·ench. Co.lonial Adlr.tinist.ration as all natives ar!9 wara.s of the French Gmre:r.n.."'nent . · 1£lle usual tia's'is of emplo;yment is gi·TH~n j.:n reference (b) •

~ • tl'he coffee Ol"Op Which util:tzes a good deal ot n.ati.,.Je labor retains its economic impo.rtance despite war cou• ditions, Form.e::t•ly ~ most of the orop was ex:port,eci to :B"ra.n,...;e but o.r:r£l.!lgem.ezrt;s are being m&de to arrive at a reci:pl .. oeal ·trade agreement vdth Australia and New Zea~and in 'I.<'Jhioh coffee v.rould be axchar1ged :for commodities trom. the Antipodes . All authorities consulted agree that a very 1•eel eat>nomio~ di$­ta~eBs would result i!' the labor :now s:mployod in agricultural purouitn was to be further diverted. The native elements

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Subjeo1a Uative Labor Stn'v·ey--New Caledonia and Dependencies . -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

directly c-ontrol one--third of the cof:t'ee inih.urtry and~ :Joa­so:nolly1 have to dra-,; upon tribes from other dis'l:~riets to help t:tem in the ~piclci11g., S:L"'11iliar1..y,, v1orkers not so en­gaged draw ·upon eoftoo plantat:i.on labo:r to hel p them in tlloir crw'n s.g:ricult';ll'al. pu:rsuits ._ An .econO!llic condition han re~ulted. whe:t•cin the la·oor rotation is in di.reot proportion to the Cl'"OP :rototion• I'his situo.tlon :ts Island ... wi.de . Jmother point of :t:n·terezt, econondoal l:T1 is th.e teet ·the:t the coff'ce ripening VaricH) in certain di.stricts-Avhich m.euns that t :e:rrJ iS 110 de .... f'ini·co coffee n seasc.nn .

9. French authorities h£nre rel eased to the u. s . ~ some ,of' the "'vort:elt's used for normal public works ._ ~~Jld aro ma.'l t elllp~at.i.o in stating that a fu.rlher divers ion vmuld be an error.;, rm d labor ers in pa.:rtict\.b. r are needed• dm 'to t_l heavy punishment military trucks eu~e giving tho highways at J:>:reoent . The recent revolt {:Novemb;..r 121 1942) at Hie:1.ghen~ .vas a direct result of' cons.criptlng mo:re thau a nol"mal quota of natives .

10. Ther~ a.i·'e no, sldllod artisans e.vailr~hle locally-. This ola.ss of Ja bor has never been inclu<led amon5 the native elome:nt . ~ ~

11. 'i'here are not enough J"avan~no or TonJtinerJ(3 la:)ol~ert~ t , :ru~.f:tll th•J n1 ckel :plant l"equ • · ts . on t h _, co1rtr~. l:J • some nr:rtive :t .. alonesia.ns a:re working at the nickel plant-­·whiclt 5.a authoritati-v-ely stated to be unde:r.manned .

12. Until l'{ovember 16 19421 Captain Da Aoo~;r a bo-lie1rcd that t,.:p to .200 convict !a bort)l~f'3 might be available to iile Fb:-st Marine Amphi 'bious Corps ~ These lahorers v.rero e;:q:;ected to hav~ been rounded up by t h(} F'reD.ch 1il:i.liti ror to.k:i.ug pert iu the ;;po:radio rebellion '3.+. Hienghe:te on !ov..­ember 11-12, 1942 (Paragraph 9} . Hmrever~ on NovenDer 17a 19h2, t.Le Captain stated that only t~<r.nty :five natives had been captured; so must be discounted as a. source of labor.

13• . C ptain Da Aooota strted on November 171 191~2 , that he had received definite intoJ:"'D.a.tion- to the e:r:eec·t that 300 lttborer:-> ~tmrc irr.mcdiately u.va··labl3 :f.;r:·om Wallis and Fo:r:--tu:na Islands; 200 fro..1U the former and 100 from. the lattel:. 'l'lds labo:r is semt;...indigenous to ·the isl ands and includes many :persons of mixed racial an.cQstry-.. ... the principal re.<J.es l·opr·"sen.t. ed include Jave.neseJ II1ndus1 ~Tagros , end Po13'llOsiaxLS mixed with loaal native stock. These people · are 'ro.rds of the French Govc:z·nmont t and te:rms for hirinr; tlu=;:l vrould be based

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Native Labo:t· Surv-ey-:tiew Caledonia and Dependencies,._ . - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - --

on a similia!> contract now exist:L1g between u. s . 1~ a.utn­ot-1 tios and too F:r·enoh Colonial Administration (reference b) .. B:riofly 1 t .10 :following contract \'al precedence has been e~:tab­lish.ed: Employer (U., s. Arm;r ) is obligated to fu:rnish tz}~1!ls-­portation to and :t'J:>om point o:r origin1 a wage and subsistence scale: of' tv1enty seV6cll e.ncl one-half tl"ancs per da.y per man , an ovortfr.1.e wae;e seale o:f two tranos pe:~ hour per men ( ~ vwrk:tng wo!Slk oonnists ot six l"tino hour days) , ltousing i'aeilitic:-J , 8.lld a VJOl"k ·tonm~.e not · to e:r.eeed ·three months ~ Thiz la:~er urovi• zion, hovtcvel , :may bt-; subj ac~t to am.end.n'ant in the ca.'-" eo> of :nutl ves not or:i.ginutin.g in Nevi Caledonia or :t ts Dape1~de~wies .

14. Capta.1..n Da Acosta. sta·ted that there was a remote :posn:i..bility o:f su:pplelllenting the .300 laborers mentioned-above tdth 50 to 100 na.ti\res taken from various local sources .

J.5 . Attaohed is a suppla.'tfl.enta:ty !!lap ot 1\h"c Calodo:nia and ·t~ e Loyalty Group m-hioh shmvs the labor distribution nearly a..3 it :l.s possible to determine e:t ,·the present ti:mo .

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H. E. r . Thon:.poon1 Lieu-;~er:.aut , Ubl!P