Unused Native Land In
p. 47 · Read in the full issue
New Guinea
Letter to the Editor ON listening to the remarks of “The Watchman” from station V.L.R. (taken from the Melbourne “Age”) on the 13th inst. I was surprised and dis gusted to hear the lies and exaggeration which had been published with reference to the resumption of land by the New Guinea Administration, on the north coast of New Britain. No doubt the man who sent this report to the “Age” should be tarred and feathered, and then kicked out of the Territory as a public nuis ance.
The facts of the matter are as follows: The Administration sent a surveyor to the north coast to survey a small area of land to be resumed for the purpose of building a native hospital. Could one think of a more just reason for resuming this small area?
As for the hardship alleged to have been inflicted on the natives, this is all piffle. Firstly the Administration never in flict hardships on natives: secondly there are tens of thousands of acres of first class land in this district lying idle for the simple reason there are not enough natives to live on it. This small area of