§ Mr. Iremongerasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement about his proposals to implement constitutional advance in Fiji.
§ Mr. H. FraserYes. It is proposed that the franchise should be extended to include women and that the present property and income qualifications should be abolished. This means, apart from a simple literacy qualification, universal adult suffrage for the three main racial groups.
The membership of Legislative Council will be increased by three elected and three official members. In the next election the Fijians, the Indians and the Europeans will each elect four representatives to Legislative Council. The life of the Legislative Council will be extended from three to five years.
I have placed in the Library copies of the exchange of despatches between the Governor and the Secretary of State which set out the proposals in greater detail.