Bishop Wade’s Opinion
p. 39 · Read in the full issue
Mission Friction
Exaggerated
Vicar Apostolic of the Northern Solomon Islands (the Most Rev. Dr.
Thomas Wade, S.M.), in an address in Sydney on August 25, on “From the Paths of Primitives to the Shrines of Mystics,” said that, despite statements that there was serious friction among the various missions, he had been very happy in his relations with missionaries of every denomination. Interested people, he said, exaggerated the extent of any friction that did occur.
As far as the Mandated Territory was concerned, continued Dr. Wade, he had been disappointed that General Griffiths’s proposal to subsidise mission education had been thrown aside. It had been stated that missionaries educated only to serve their own interests, but he thought that the best possible service was given to the State. Because of a multiplicity of languages, the best interests of the na tives would be served by teaching English everywhere.
Splendid relationships existed between the missionaries and the New Guinea Ad ministration. Friction usually ensued when the younger officials and young missionaries listened to native tales. In many instances the natives went out of their way to cause trouble. People ap peared to get excited easily in the tropics.
Anthropologists who visited the Terri tory accomplished much good, but they frequently missed the point because of the brevity of their visits.
The report that natives could not live happily in monogamous marriage was ab solutely untrue. There might be isolated cases, but thousands of natives were liv ing happily in Christian marriage.