Tropicalities

AN irate friend in New Guinea writes threatening penalties “unless you drop your irritating and quite inappropriate use of the word ‘coon.’ To those of us who have any respect for our language, and out of my knowledge and understanding of natives, I say that ‘coon’ is frankly offen sive. Gordon Thomas has never used it— though recently one of his correspondents did —but will not in future. The word con notes, or rather epitomises, that rotten attitude of European-native irreconcilabil ity that is the greatest stumbling block against progress here. And it is also of very recent origin—not known here in 1922-1926. We must reconcile the two sets of interests —each is vital to the other —else we kill the goose that lays the egg. So let’s have ‘natives,’ ‘Melanesians,’ ‘primi tives,’ even ‘kanakas’ (there’s no connota tion of contempt in this last) but not the negro spirituel ‘coon.’ ”

We stand corrected. But, in pleading guilty, we would point out that the term is used very widely in New Guinea—and not contemptuously or sourly, but rather in a good-natured way.

THE following appeared in a Melbourne newspaper in March: An important step towards civilising the natives of New Guinea and Papua is under discussion by the Minister for Territories (Mr. Marr) and the administrators of those areas. While admitting the magnitude of the task, the authorities are seriously inclined to order the schools and mis sions to teach the English language to native children in the localities that have been brought under Government control. The proposal is that the very young children should be taught English from their earliest days, and that native children already attending schools should be gradually weaned from their tribal dialects, and given a fairly thorough grounding in English. It is not proposed that the adults should be given more than a rudimentary knowledge of our words. One of the effective methods of converting the natives to the official language will be to send into their villages educated natives, who will undertake the teaching.

It is impossible to believe that such a “step” is under serious consideration. It is much more likely that a fanciful scheme, along the lines indicated, has been sub mitted by some of the earnest souls who always are hanging about the Depart ments, and who never get down to the practical facts of hard, every-day life. It might be, perhaps, a good thing if the coming generations of natives were given a little better knowledge of the official language (English); but the suggestion that they should be “gradually weaned from their tribal dialects” is simply fan tastic, and could have come only from someone who is either a fool or is ignorant of conditions in Melanesia. The natives who are under European influence do not need more education. What is needed Is a system of education that is more scien tifically adapted to their requirements— less “education,” if anything, and the inculcation of knowledge that will allow the natives to handle more efficiently the various problems created for them by their inevitable contacts with European life. The aim should be to preserve native languages, customs and conditions of life to the fullest extent compatible with the removal of what we must regard as criminal or semi-criminal practices. The most horrible things one can see in the Islands are mostly the direct results of attempts by earnest old gentlemen to “Europeanise” the stone-age Melanesian peoples.

THE following was sent to us by a resi dent of Gizo, B.S.I., who vouches for its truth; Nowadays the lady tourists on the “Malaita” look forward with eagerness and trepidation to the Gizo district, where they hope to meet our local Samson— the man who hugged an alligator to death.

“What a glorious death!” said one little blonde.

Samson was walking along the beach of his plantation, when he came on a “croc,” asleep on the sand. Without thinking of the danger of blood-poisoning from the reptile’s teeth and claws, he crept up to it and leaped on its back.

He got an arm-hold on its throat and, after a long struggle, managed to throttle it.

Apart from a number of bruises on his chest and arms, Samson was unhurt.

Now, then, you Delilahs!

Mr. George C. Dromgold Writes

from Los Angeles to the editor of the P.I.M. to say that he and his partner, Mr. Shackelford, are still busy editing the 50,000 feet of film which the Shackelford- Dromgold expedition took in New Guinea and Fiji last year. This enterprise was very well planned and equipped, and, as a result of its activities, it may be expected that a really worth-while film about the South Seas will at last be released.

One curious result of imposing a semi- European education upon Melanesian natives is disclosed by complaints from mail-order houses in Sydney and Bris bane. It appears that the natives study the advertisements in the newspapers, and not infrequently write to the store con cerned, and ask for the despatch of selected goods, under the system by which payment is collected through the post office on delivery. It is discovered, even tually, that the addressee is a more or less educated Kanaka, whose healthy opti mism, while most praiseworthy, cannot be converted into the necessary cash. So the goods have to be returned, to the annoyance of everyone concerned, WE have been gently censured by our friends of the Bulolo Gold Dredging Company Ltd. for referring to that con cern as “American”; and we are assured that by far the greater portion of the company’s capital is British and Austra lian. We tender fitting apology. But when we said “American” we did not mean “United States.” We were taking notice of the fact that there is much Canadian capital in the Bulolo and Placer concerns, and we described that group as “American” in order to distinguish it from the New Guinea Goldfields group, which has closer European affiliations.

“I NOTICE that you keep hammering away at the Larkin case” writes a friend from New Guinea. “I am afraid that you are not really doing yourself any good by this agitation. Some of the most influential people in the Administra tion are against you, in this, and you do not want to earn their illwill. Better let it die. Larkin will get a substantial re mission of his sentence for good-conduct, anyway.”

To which we reply, formally and editorially: We are convinced that when James Larkin, having injured a native and contributed to his death, was found guilty of murder, and sentenced to ten years’ hard labour, a grave and cruel miscarriage of justice occurred, and we shall not cease our agitation until this verdict and sentence have been reviewed by a competent authority. Although fre quently urged to do so, the P.I.M. does not engage in irresponsible criticism of Islands governments and institutions; on the contrary, the editor keeps constantly in mind the fact that Pacific Administra tions occupy no beds of roses, and that tionest officials ought always to be pro tected from underground attacks. But, conversely, the P.I.M. does not care two hoots for the goodwill or otherwise of any Pacific Administration or any person; and if it thinks an injustice has been done, it will say so, in the loudest voice it can command.

We have been disappointed by the leth argy of New Guinea residents concerning the Larkin case. Many of them agree in private letters that Larkin’s sentence was excessive and cruel; but they do nothing.

Do they not realise that, so long as that verdict of “murder,” and that sentence of ten years’ hard labour stand unchal lenged, so long is their personal security menaced, and a grave reflection cast upon the soundness of the legal system under which they live?