Kwato’s Activities
pp. 25-26 · Read in the full issue
|Y|R. E. W. HARRISON, of Sebulu gomwa, Eastern Papua, writes at considerable length in reply to Mr. Abel’s defence of Kwato Mission’s activities, and makes the following points: Mr. Abel said that all white tradesmen seemed to be fully occupied—there was room for all, and for a little healthy com petition. But there is now only one white house carpenter at Samarai, instead of three, as formerly. There used to be two or three boatslips at or near Samarai; to-day one is closed down, and the staff dispersed, and the owner of another says that for eight months of 1934 he earned less than £5O. Shipwrights, carpenters and engineers have been forced to go into the Papuan bush to seek a living.
Outside tradesmen, having neither public subscriptions nor Government grants, cannot compete against the Mission.
“In quoting the names of the various firms and individuals who have made use of the Kwato workshops, Mr. Abel makes public at last the extent of his commer cial activity achieved by the simple pro cess of price-cutting. By means of Government grants, public subscriptions, etc, (not forgetting the use of natives to do the work), Mr. Abel can under-quote the local tradesmen without difficulty.
“The fact that a firm, or an individual, makes use of the Kwato workshops is no evidence of sympathy with the Kwato system; it is simply a matter of getting a job done more cheaply in these hard and difficult times.”
Kwato, it is argued, must earn money and maintain itself. But why do it at the expense of white traders and trades men? Kwato is able to keep from 15 to 20 missionaries living in comparative ease on that small island; what they all do to fill in time when work is slack is a matter for conjecture. To add further to the congestion on the island, a doctor has been imported from Europe, although there are three efficient Government hos pitals within a mile or two of Kwato which cater solely for natives, and a hos pital for whites which has been in active operation almost as long as Kwato.
The whites in Papua belong to three divisions, or bodies of people, who have little sympathy with each other, or com mon interest. They form three distinct and separate communities. Government
officials and missionaries get on fairly amicably by following the policy of “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” but they are both in entire agreement that the commercial community in gen eral, and traders in particular, are a blot on the landscape, a wart on the nose of the otherwise comely face of Papua.
Some missionaries give full rein to their feelings, and by economic warfare en deavour to eliminate the aforementioned blots from the local scenery. This latter is the system at present being vigorously operated by Inc. Kwato Extension Asso ciation (No Dividends).
E. W. Harrison.
The comparative statement of Papuan revenue and expenditure for the 12 months ended June, 1934, and June, 1935, shows that receipts for the last financial year increased by £31,999 to £152,611.
Expenditure increased by £32,123 to £152,473. Customs and excise revenue in the territory increased by £7,877 to £43,427 last year.
The Montoro, which left Papua for Australia on August 11, took 1,206 cases of desiccated coconut, 188 bags of coffee (8J tons), 1,230 packages of rubber and 140 bags of copra from Port Moresby.