13. I see no future in the Burns recommendation that the Fijian administration should be wound up as soon as possible. The Fijians are determined to resist any move in this direction. They realise that whatever its defects the tribal system does provide a leadership capable of defending the Fijian communal interest against what they regard as the Indo-Fijian threat. Without their chiefs they would be leaderless. In many respects, of course, the Fijian administration is old fashioned and we should seek opportunities of modernizing it. But rather than curtail its activities I would be inclined to give it more responsibilities particularly in the sphere of local government. It may still be possible to develop multi-racial local government except in a second tier (i.e. delegations of Fijian and Indo-Fijian local government bodies meeting in joint conference). In each case the Fijian Administration could play a big part.

14. I would personally be inclined to go further and encourage the development of some Indian counterpart to the Fijian administration. This would offer Indians opportunities for public service which they both want and need. The existence of two communal organizations moreover would help us to overcome a major problem. At the present time, many necessary development or administrative projects tend by their nature to favour one community rather than the other. Fair shares for all is a slogan which makes government hesitate to do anything for anybody. If roughly equal subsidies could be given to both communities to spend as each thought best there would be less cause for jealousy. Scholarships are a case in point. A number of Indian children are educated abroad at their parents' expense. Few Fijians can afford this. The Fijians are thus keener on scholarships than the Indians. Yet at present scholarships which are centrally administrated have to be given on a basis of merit; and the Indo-Fijians — deservedly on this basis — tend to scoop the pool. If scholarships were a communal matter, the Fijians would probably spend more on them than would the Indians who could then spend the money on other projects of which they are in greater need.

15. Hitherto we have held up the concept of a single multi-racial community as the goal towards which Fijians and Indians alike should strive. The Fijians will no longer accept this; and the more we lay the emphasis on multi-racialism, the more suspicious they will become that we plan to sell them out to the Indians. The only way, in my view, to exorcise the fear of communal domination is to make it clear 'as of now' that we stand for equal rights for both communities as communities and that we shall not pull out until both ask us to do so.