The Word of a White
Man Importance In Pacific Traveller Urges Value of "Good Faith”
Written for Pacific Islands Monthly, by Mr.
Arthur J. Vogan, F.R.G.S., who has recently returned from the Tobriand Islands.
THIS is not a sermon! But the Editor, having honoured me with a request to give his far-flung clientele something useful from the information I have gleaned during many years of visiting the Pacific lesser-known islands, I respectfully offer the following: “Man does not live by bread alone!”
We all know this; but we don't ACT according to our knowledge. Just before I left for Samarai, last May, I found my spare cash for the journey lost, with the lifetime savings of hun dreds of our finest folk, in the Sav ings Bank disgrace. I went to see an old business friend who had often helped me with my reports to London and is well known throughout the Pacific (and the world). He laughed at me. “You, Vogan! Fancy YOU being taken in like that! You that have reported about Communism, and SHOULD know what is going to hap pen here! You should have learned that in this day of Democracy gone luny, no Government institution is safe —for the guarantee of an unstable thing like a Labor Government is like the new accounts by old depositors in the present Savings Bank; words and credits having no real meaning.”
What is an Aristocracy founded on?
Honour! Its Honour is recognised as a solid asset; and of value to the com munity. What is the real bed-rock and foundation of any tried and valued religion? FAITH! But a “Democratic” government has no Faith, nor has it a Sense of Honour!
It represents the muscular, rather than the mental part of the commun ity, “practical,” superficial, ephemeral things! It ignores those essential needs of a nation, without which it is a soulless, empty and inefficient thing.
What has all this to do with the Pacific? Please wait a moment.
The same idea was put before me yesterday, at Taronga Park, where I lunched with that world-famous nat uralist, Le Soeuff, and the world-tra veller, Ernest Bryce, who has just returned from studying birds in Per sia, and Communism in Russia. The World Depression came up between sandwich nibbles. “It is due,” said one of these truly great men, “mainly to a gradual lapse from the old codes of right and wrong, which maintain Civilisation —that sense of Duty to wards one’s Neighbour. There is a criminal trend against the well-tried teachings of Religion.”
The other student of Nature empha sised his opinion that it was due to a moral decadence, such as history teaches us always follows an indul gence in the poisoned honey of luxury.
“Pleasure,” he pointed out, “is al ways, in Nature, a bait to ensure a necessary functioning; or a reward for work properly done. Unearned pleasures create exactly what we see in our modern world: —false values, degradation, decadence of literature, art and religion; and in that uncer tainty, discredit and distrust which is paralysing business, science (properly so-called) and everything else to-day.”
A few years ago I had occasion to visit a mountain village near Table Unio, in the French island of New Caledonia. The gendarme in charge of the district did not like my going there; but finally gave me a guide.
Armed opposition at first obstructed my entrance to the eyrie of the fierce eyed brown folk; but, finally, I was received, not only with kindness, but abundant hospitality. The Chief ex plained, “We like the Australians! We LOVE the English! Had you been of any other nation you would not have been permitted to enter!”
I found that this good opinion of British folk arose in great measure from our treatment of the Maoris; and above all because those splendid aborigines had their own representa tives in the Parliament of New Zea land.
I must needs go that way again shortly. I am wondering what will have been the effect of modern New Zealand’s Labor-folly in sending the man she did to deal with the ancient aristocracy of the Samoan folk —who come of a more ancient lineage than our own Baltic, Grecian and Arab forebears, who gave the first civilisa tion to the ancient world.
The Pacific Monthly, which has in “less than no time” become the recog nised organ (and “much needed want”) of Pacific commerce and social-news, has already dealt with the astounding Domara murder case, where our Federal Labor Government commuted the death sentence pro nounced by local Papuan Chief Jus tice, and confirmed by our very able Lieut.-Governor, Sir Hubert Murray.
The Dedera (mountain) people were promised by the authorities that if they would leave the matter in the hands of the Papuan Court, full jus tice would be done. The Dedera folk did so —sending twenty men to attend
the trial. The verdict and sentence confirmed their growing faith in the honesty and honour of the adminis tration. When I left Papua this faith, so long and painfully a building, had been shattered by the Canberra inter vention.
“We will take our own, old fashioned methods to ensure the safety of our traders in future,” the Dedera folk said. “We will never trust these fool whites again!”
Since then, an internecine war has commenced; and many murders of defenceless field labourers lie to the debit of Australia’s political muddlers.
Any experienced island traveller will endorse my statement that Good Faith is the greatest asset when dealing with primitive peoples. Nothing can be done without an established base (or “departure,” as we sailors call it) to prospect, build or reason from. When we have in power elements whose avowed objective is the destruction of all the foundations of previous well tested and workable methods of life, thought and business, what should we expect but dislocation, decay of that good faith and trust upon which all trading really depends, and just what we see going on around us to day?
Australia’s biggest, or nearly big gest, financier has left Australia per manently, leaving the message that Australia will not recover until a sane form of government by men trained to conduct affairs is inaugurated.
I have received letters from France, America and elsewhere which show that the disgraceful exhibitions we have had of total want of the sense of honour, or of duty by our Labor government —especially the Savings Bank confiscation of hard-earned sav ings—has so disgraced Australia throughout the world that, as one fair correspondent put it, “I'll be glad to get back to Sydney! Australians are now looked upon with contempt here, nowadays!”
When I was among the dear primi tives of the Trobriands recently, their paramount chief told me that they loved their present Resident Magis trate, Mr. Hall (one of the finest men I have ever come across) because he was “as reliable as one of their own Gonyau.”
This word means aristocrats, nobles, like the Ariki of the Maoris —a word coming from an obsolete Japanese one meaning “Old folk,” or Elders, as the late consul for Japan told me.
Here, then, is the asset which we are not using as of old. Are we wise in neglecting Good Faith in our polit ical and commercial dealings?
The word of a Chinese merchant of standing; of a London merchant, when I was a boy; of a Hebrew, of the old stamp was, until recently, bet ter than any written bond is to-day!
Now that we have lost our one reli able commercial standard —that of Gold —and when even Bishops advo cate Birth-control instead of mental control, and abandonment of luxuri ous living, what can we expect but what we are getting? “All national sin is punished on this earth, as it brews its own poison,” wrote the sage.