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From the 1914 protocol between France and Britain, until the first national elections in the New Hebrides in 1975, the archipelago experienced the most quaint and sad kind of colonialism. It was odd for foreigners like journalists, lawyers and businessmen, but a sad condition for the New Hebrideans themselves who were without citizenship and nationality, and without legal rights. Ninety-five per, cent of the Melanesian population was coldhized by the three per cent of Europeans who owned and held power. The Melanesian communities had a practical freedom to manage their own local affairs through custom chiefs and church leaders but they had no access to politics. The purpose of this short article is to explain the connections between custom and politics, until the beginning of political life in the New Hebrides in the 1970’s.