Ill-Treatment Of

Natives

Cases Cited by Resident of New Guinea

Letter to the Editor IAM a constant reader of your “Pacific Islands Monthly" and I noticed one article in your issue of July that I would like to reply to. It is the one concerning the native that was tried at Wau recently. He was found guilty of stealing and was acquitted.

I have done a great deal of travelling in this territory. My business takes me to all parts. I am now going to relate some cases of innocent natives who have been gaoled and ill-treated during the past three months. These are just a few cases that I know of. There are, most likely, hundreds more.

The first case was in Madang. A car penter boy, working for two brothers, carrying on the business of building and contracting, was arrested on suspicion.

At that time, a woman staying at the Madang Hotel lost a pair of short pants and naturally, it was thought that they were stolen by a native. This carpenter boy was arrested and gaoled, until such time that some evidence could be found against him. There was not one scrap of evidence against him and he was acquitted, after being in the calaboose for a week.

He returned to his employer in a very bruised and injured condition. He was in too bad a way to work. The employer was not too pleased about the matter, and took the native over to the district office to make a complaint.

The Government officials, at the dis trict office, pleaded with the employer not to take the native to the doctor, as there would most likely be trouble for some body. Instead, the Acting Magistrate made out an order for the native to be deported to his village as soon as could be arranged. The employer lost a good carpenter boy that he had trained him self, and the native was severely injured and deported for something' that he knew nothing about.

The second case was also in Madang.

An aged native, working for a Govern ment roadmaster on the aerodrome, was arrested and accused of stealing rice. He was in the habit of saving a little rice every week, out of his issue. At this par ticular time he had saved up about half a bag full and gave it away to a “one talk”. He was seen giving it away and was accused of stealing Government rice.

A check was made on all the stores, and there was no rice missing.

There was no evidence against the native, and yet he was sentenced to three months in gaol, for giving away some of his own rice. He was aged and, while in gaol, he was ill-treated so that he is now in the Madang native hospital in a very bad way. It is doubtful whether he will live.

The third case was in Salamaua. A house boy was accused of stealing a foun tain pen. The pen just happened to be missing and, of course, somebody black had to be accused, more or less as a mat ter of form. This particular native was sentenced to three weeks in gaol. He only did two weeks, and the pen that was supposed to have been stolen was found.

Of course, the native was released, when it was definitely found that he knew noth ing about the matter.

The fourth case was in Wau. A raw native was given a hiding by a white man.

It appears that he gave this native some orders and, as he was not able to speak “pidgin”, naturally the native could not understand and. of course, did not obey orders. He was given a hiding and he went to the district office and made court against the white man. He was examined by the doctor and was found to be very much bruised and cut about the head.

Anyhow, when the trial was on, the white man managed to spin a good tale, with the result that the native was sentenced to two weeks in gaol. He served his two weeks, and was released four weeks ago.

Since then he has been in the Wau hos pital, suffering from internal injuries that he received while in gaol.

The fifth case was also in Wau. Re cently the native sing-sings were banned.

It used to be the custom for natives to hold a sing-sing outside the town area every second Saturday. It was suspected that there was sodomy going on, and these sing-sings were banned. I might mention that the ridiculous administra tion forces the New Guinea natives to live under labour conditions where sodomy is inevitable and then has the pleasure of giving any native that it catches three months in gaol.

Anyhow, this one particular night the natives held a sing-sing outside the town area. While it was in progress, the police boys raided it and arrested all present. 1 know of three natives that were present They had permission in writing to attend this sing-sing and yet they were sent enced to two weeks in gaol for attending.

Those three natives were released two weeks ago. One of them spent a week in hospital with an abscess on the palm of the hand, caused through handling a shovel while in gaol. Another one of them is still going to the hospital as an out patient, suffering from wounds received in gaol.

These are just a few cases that have happened in the past three months. Over a period of years, I could relate hundreds.

It is true that natives get out of hand at times. That is caused chiefly through new-comers—women, especially. They

have no idea of how to handle natives, but think they do, and that in my opinion is the cause of the trouble.

Natives are an asset here and, in my opinion, they should be treated decently.

I do not mean that they should be allowed to do as they like, etc. They should be kept in order and made to do their job of work. If they do not, then is the time that they should be punished.

If they are caught stealing, they should be punished.

This is just a brief story of a few cases of innocent natives being gaoled and ill treated. In the July “Pacific Islands Monthly” there is the story of the native who was found guilty of stealing and was acquitted. I ask all readers if they really consider that there is any justice in New Guinea. I consider that there is no such thing.

I am etc..

New Guineaite.

Wan 20/8/1939. -- Mrs. Stephen H, Davies, wife of the Bishop of Carpentaria, arrived in Sydney from Thursday Island by airliner early in September to visit her mother who was seriously ill.