1. Major Developments Affecting the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

The tropical western Pacific islands of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands are administered by the United States as a strategic area under the terms of the trusteeship agreement approved by the Security Council on April 2, 1947, and by the United States on July 18, 1947. Extending over an area of some 3,000,000 square miles of ocean, the Territory includes the Marshall, Caroline, and Marianas Island groups, except for the island of Guam. These island groups constitute the major portion of Micronesia and during the four centuries prior to World War II experienced, either in whole or part, administration by Spain, Germany, and Japan.

Although scattered over a vast extent of ocean, the 1,460 islands of the Trust Territory have a total land area of only 687 square miles. Included within this total are atolls with a land area as small as .09 square mile and a population of 138 people and single islands with a land area as large as 129 square miles and a population of 6,316.

Within the Territory there is considerable cultural variation among the peoples of island groups and even among islands and atolls in the same geographic area. Most of the population of 54,299 people live in small settlements and on farmsteads and are engaged in subsistence farming and fishing. On the low coral islands the people grow breadfruit, pandanus, coconut, papaya, banana, arrowroot, and taro. On the high islands additional crops such as yams, sweet potatoes, fruits, corn, and pineapples are grown.

The administration of the Territory is made difficult not only by problems of communication and transport and by the cultural differences of the people but also by the meager natural resources. Copra has been the chief export of the Territory. Considerable phosphate has also been mined on Angaur, but the quantity remaining is limited. The other principal exports have been handicraft and trochus shell.

The second annual report by the United States on its administration of the Trust Territory was examined by the Trusteeship Council at its seventh session.1 This report covered the period July 1, 1948, to June 30, 1949. At the conclusion of its examination the Council congratulated the United States on the substantial progress made in

1 Under a resolution adopted by the Security Council, in which are vested all functions of the United Nations relating to strategic areas, the Trusteeship Council was requested to undertake those functions relating to political, economic, social, and educational matters in strategic trust territories.

all fields during the year under review and expressed its opinion that the progress achieved was all the more notable because of the scattered nature of the islands comprising the Territory and the relatively short time during which the Territory had been under the administration of the United States. In addition, the Council made a number of specific recommendations regarding the advancement of the inhabitants of the territory.

In the field of political advancement the Council commended the progressive development of regional and local organs of self-government and recommended that the United States press forward with its long-range plans to establish a territory-wide legislative body and that the United States proceed progressively to democratize the municipalities which are the basic units of local government. More than 100 of these municipalities of local government have been organized and have provided the people and their leaders with the means for accepting increasing responsibilities in their governments. Above the community level the administration has been developing regional advisory bodies as rapidly as the people in any given region appear prepared to cope with problems on a regional basis. Such advisory bodies have been established in the Palau and in the Marshall Islands and are under consideration in Ponape and the northern Marianas.

In connection with a recommendation adopted by the Council the previous year on transferring the seat of government of the Territory from Guam to a site within the territory itself, the Council noted with gratification the establishment of a field headquarters on Truk and requested the United States to continue to give consideration to the possibility of placing the seat of government within the Territory. In other recommendations on the subject of political advancement, the Council noted that the United States is studying both organic legislation for the Territory and the question of the application of international treaties, agreements, and conventions. It expressed the hope that organic legislation would soon be enacted and that the results of the study regarding the application of international treaties, agreements, and conventions would soon be made available to the Council.

In the field of economic advancement the Council made three recommendations. The first of these noted the steps taken by the United States to foster indigenous fishing enterprises and indigenous-operated shipping and recommended that the United States continue its efforts to diversify the economy of the Territory. The second recommendation related to a recommendation passed the previous year. It took note of the explanation given by the United States as to the

desirability of utilizing the head tax in the Territory at the present time, as well as the assurances that the administration fully appreciates the desirability of introducing, as soon as practicable, taxes based on ability to pay, but reiterated the Council's recommendation that the administering authority consider the ultimate abolition of the head tax and its replacement by a more progressive system of taxation. Finally, as regards economic advancement, the Council took note of the existence of systems of customary tributes to indigenous chiefs or headmen and expressed the hope that the administering authority would take such steps as might be possible to insure that these customs are not abused. These tributes are given in recognition of the chiefs' or headmen's hereditary claims to the land and consist of such items as the first fruits of harvest, the first catch of fish, and a share of copra production.

Conspicuous progress has been made by the United States in the field of public health in the Trust Territory. A part of the publichealth program has been the furnishing of a medical survey ship, the U.S.S. Whidby, especially fitted and equipped. This vessel has been making a detailed medical survey of the inhabitants of each island in the Territory. The Council commended the United States on the progress achieved in the field of public health and considered that the statistical information to be derived from the medical survey would be of great value. In a second recommendation in the social field the Council, noting with satisfaction the election of two women to the Palau Congress, expressed the hope that the administering authority would encourage increased participation by the women of the Territory in discussion and management of island affairs.

In the sole recommendation on educational advancement, the Council commended the administering authority on the progress in education, trusted that this development would continue, and recommended that the administering authority consider the possibility of the greater use of radio for mass education.

During the months of April, May, June, and July, the third regular visiting mission of the Trusteeship Council visited the Pacific trust territories, including the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. This mission, appointed by the Trusteeship Council, was composed of Sir Alan Burns (United Kingdom), chairman, T. K. Chang (China), Jacques Tallec (France), and Vittorio D. Carpio (Philippines).

After brief stays at Honolulu, the Territory of Hawaii, and Guam, where discussions were held with the High Commissioner and Deputy High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the mission spent the period April 15 to May 2 visiting the principal islands in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. During this

visit the mission talked with the inhabitants and local leaders and with officials of the administration in surveying the steps taken by the United States for the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the Territory. The mission's report, including eight petitions, which are the first received from the people of the Territory, dealt with such territorial problems as indigenous participation in the government, public finance, taxation, land claims, commercial fishing, transport, trade, copra production, the standard of living, medical and health facilities, and the educational program. This report will be considered by the Council at its eighth session.

2. Major Developments Affecting Other Trust Territories

As a result of the examination by the Trusteeship Council of annual reports on each territory and of the reports of its visiting missions, the Council made numerous recommendations relating to political, economic, social, and educational conditions in the various trust territories. In addition, the many petitions received were dealt with by the Council in other resolutions. Because of the similarity of general problems in the trust territories, there is a basic similarity in many of the recommendations of the Council. Consequently, in the following sections of this report the recommendations for each territory are not reviewed in detail.1 Instead, emphasis is placed upon the more important and distinctive problems of each territory.

(a) PACIFIC TRUST TERRITORIES: NEW GUINEA,

NAURU, AND WESTERN SAMOA

New Guinea. The Trust Territory of New Guinea, comprising the northeast portion of the island of New Guinea and some 600 islands of the Bismarck Archipelago lying to the northeast of the main Island, is notable among trust territories for its primitive nature and because of the vast destruction which it suffered during World War II. Many thousands of its people are not yet in contact with the administration, and great areas of the Territory are not as yet under its

For a complete account of the Council's recommendations and resolutions, see the reports of the Trusteeship Council covering its first special session, its second special session, and its sixth and seventh sessions, supplement no. 4 (U.N. doc. A/1306).

control. Because of these conditions, Australia, as the administering authority, and the Trusteeship Council, in its supervisory capacity, are faced with many challenging and difficult problems in assuring the progress of the Territory toward the objectives of the international trusteeship system.

In considering the significant events relating to the Territory during the administrative year 1948-49 the Council noted in particular the passage by the Australian Parliament of the Papua and New Guinea Act, 1949, providing for the joint administration of the Australian territory of Papua and the Trust Territory of New Guinea and the establishment of various executive, legislative, and village councils to participate in the administration of the territories. Those aspects of this legislation which dealt with the union of administrative services between the two territories was considered at length by the Trusteeship Council's Committee on Administrative Unions. In its report, which the Council transmitted to the General Assembly, the Committee noted the assurances of the administering authority that the separate and distinct status of the Trust Territory will be maintained and expressed the opinion that the administrative union should continue to be examined in order to insure its operation in the interests of the inhabitants of the Trust Territory.

Many delegations to the Council, including that of the United States, drew attention to the immensity of New Guinea's problems, which were complicated by climate, terrain, and the underdevelopment of the area, and took note of the efforts of the administration to meet them. The Council recommended that efforts be made to accelerate the pace of advancement in every field. In the political field it. drew particular attention to the importance of the establishment of village councils and urged that their number and responsibilities be progressively increased in the future. Further recommendations were made on the importance of introducing suffrage methods and of training inhabitants to assume positions in the administration.

Two-thirds of the budget for the Territory for the year under consideration consisted of grants by the administering authority. The Council, while commending this contribution, considered that the wealth and natural resources of the Territory should be reflected to a greater degree in budgetary receipts and welcomed the stated intention of the administration to introduce new forms of taxation. A particular recommendation in this regard was that the administering authority give serious consideration to increasing the Territorial revenues from gold production. The gold industry accounts for onethird of the value of all exports from the Territory.

The administering authority in previous reports had indicated its