Cheeky Natives
pp. 49-50 · Read in the full issue
A Problem in Eastern Papua
Letter to the Editor IT seems high time that the voice of the Papuan European miner in Misima is given an attentive ear by of ficialdom.
Bwagaoia is the port of Misima Is land, and is situated five miles from the nearest mine—Cuthbert’s Misima Gold Mines Limited. . This mine has been producing for the past 20 years and from all indications, is likely to continue doing so.
There are about 14 Europeans living in Bwagaoia, which has been proclaimed a township. There are about 47 Europeans at Umuna (C.M.G.M.) which has not been proclaimed a township. If Umuna closes down, Bwagaoia automatically loses at least half of its inhabitants.
Why, then, is Bwagaoia a township and Umuna not?
The proclaiming of a place as a town ship doesn’t enhance its value; but ap parently it makes a big difference in re gard to law.
In Bwagaoia, every native has to be in his own dwelling by 9 p.m. In Umuna, he has not.
In Bwagaoia, if the rest of the inhab itants are disturbed by dances and drums, after 9 p.m., they can complain to the Government and have it stopped. In Umuna, the natives can belt drums and kick up a row all night and nothing legal ly can be done.
The natives, needless to say. take full advantage of this, at times annoying the white population to madness. A native
drum to a tired man endeavouring to sleep is an incentive to murder.
If, in Bwagaoia, a native is insolent in any way, or is heard swearing, he may be summoned for it. If it is done at Umuna, there is no redress.
Is it any wonder that there are fre quent cases of white men boxing a na tive’s ears and being charged with as sault in the Court? They are 99 per cent, cases in which the native has just received a slap in the face with the open hand, but the white man is always con victed and fined.
A native “bush lawyer” can use all power to provoke a white man, while keeping within the law himself, until the white man loses his temper and smacks him. Then the native can go and complain to the Government and the white man will be charged with assault and convicted.
There was one case on October 19, where a native actually wrote a challenge to his white boss. When the white man. humiliated before numerous natives,- went and hit the boy responsible, the latter immediately reported the matter to the Government and the white man was con victed and fined for assault. The native had apparently been trained to write by missionaries, and his own bush lawyers had schooled him in the art of provoking a white man.
The Government say that if they al low a white man to lay a finger on a boy, it will lead to brutality. Do they consider’ themselves the only ones who have been civilised to the extent of dis liking brutality? Do they think that re sidents of Papua would stand by and see natives brutally treated? Have the na tives who have besmirched decent citi zens’ names with convictions for assault
been marked in any way resembling brutality?
Papuan citizens, as a whole, set a wonderful example to the native and mostly take a whole-hearted interest in the welfare of the native and the coun try. They are also blessed with a cer tain amount of pride of race. Why, then, should a white man be convicted for smacking an insolent native’s face?
There is such a thing as dumb insol ence. This is not an offence according to Papuan law, although every man in the country, including officials, knows it can be more aggravating than anything else. In army law, it is an offence.
We have long passed the days of slav ery. The native receives respect from us, and we expect respect from him. How ever, when he signs a contract to work he is expected to do his whack. Instead, he has to be watched continuously or he will sleep on the job. That is all con sidered fair and square by the man work ing him. But when one native, who has probably given trouble in previous cases, outdoes his comrades by insulting the overseer, by dumb insolence, nothing can be done. It is the fact that he knows
he has the Government on his side that encourages him to be troublesome.
If one white man insults another, and both are of the good old British type, there is a fight. In most cases, the com batants finish up good friends. If the Government did the same with a native when he had provoked a white man to the extent of hitting him the result would generally be the same. Then why don’t they?
I am, etc., • W.
Misima, Papua, 31/10/1939.
Mrs. Nancy Mack, wife of Mr. D. Mack, of Fiji, died in the Colonial War Mem orial Hospital, Suva, on November 10, after an operation. Born in Dunedin.
N.Z., she qualified for the degree of Bachelor of Arts and went to Fiji in 1928 as an assistant mistress at the Suva Girls’ Grammar School. She resigned two years later to be married; but since had filled several vacancies as relieving mistress. Last June, she was appointed by the Fiji Government to be supervisor of the correspondence classes.