Ng Native Labour

Policy

Will Not Be Abandoned

From Our Own Correspondent

Canberra, July 4.

THE Australian Government has no in tention of varying its policy in New Guinea, the Minister for External Territories (Mr. Ward) told Mr. H. L.

Anthony in the House to-day.

Mr. Anthony, calling attention to the Government’s action in terminating native labour contracts in the Territory, said plantation managers in New Guinea wanted Mr. Ward to stay his hand, be cause they had virtually no labour with which to produce copra.

Mr. Ward said it would be improper to force natives to continue working for private people when their contracts were originally made for work with the mili tary authorities.

“With the ending of military control it was decided to give the natives a chance to either re-sign their contracts or return to their villages. We thought it was only proper to extend that pri vilege to the natives.

“A number of planters in the area al ready taken over by civil administration, who complained in regard to the policy of the Government, are now finding— as shipping becomes available—that they are getting adequate native labour.

“By the results already achieved in the abolishment of the indenture system we believe the policy is the correct one and there is no intention on the part of the Government to depart from it.’’

An “Old Hand’S” Warning

BY way of comment upon the Minister’s statement that labour conditions in New Guinea are steadily improving, we publish the following extract from a letter written by an old resident of New Guinea to a friend in Sydney, dated July “If you intend to come up here with a view to re-establishing your plantation you had better wait until the labour prob lems have eased. I have just been in Manus—and the natives in Manus now receive £1 per week wages, smoke Yankee cigarettes, and live a really civilised (!) life. There is no such thing nowadays as a deserter. Even if the boy signs a con tract for one year, and decides to go away after two or three months’ work, nothing happens to him.

“I am all for casual labour myself, but I think that the way the system has been applied here is far too sudden, and the natives have got quite the wrong idea of the whole set-up.

“Even the Missions are hard pushed for labour nowadays—and that in itself says a lot.”