Primitive Divorce

ISOLATED Bathurst Island, in th,e Timor Sea, does not boast magnifi cent divorce courts, but the inhabit ants have provided a substitute for the settlement of marital differences. Like many of their white sisters of more civ ilised regions, those of the weaker sex who become restive under the bonds of wed lock usually express their feelings by re turning to their parents. But, after this, the course of events differs from that gen erally followed by the white lord and master.

The injured spouse of Bathurst Island usually retaliates by dragging the lady back to her place in the home; but this seldom dampens her desire for freedom, so again she may return to her father’s home. After a series of desertions, the husband wonders whether the woman is worth all this trouble, and then he invokes the divorce laws of the community. The h,apless wife is tied to a tree, while the husband takes up a position about thirty yards away. He then proceeds to hurl ten spears, one after another, at the dis turber of his household. Should she be hit, it is then her duty—if still alive—to return and take up the yoke of family duties where she dropped it. If, however, she dodges the spears, she is free.

Monsignor Gseil, who described this system to the Pacific Islands Club, re marked, amid laughter and applause, that its adoption in Sydney would simplify domestic relationships and greatly cheap en the processes of the law.

A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs.

“Mick” Rees, of B.G.D. Ltd., New

Guinea, in April.

Rev. and Mrs. J. W. P. Gillan re turned to Tangoa, New Hebrides, by the “Morinda” on May 12 after spending furlough in Sydney. Grandson of the famous Dr. J. G. Paton, he is principal of the training institution for teachers and evangelists at Tangoa.