"Incident" In New

Guinea Dangers of a Hush-Hush Attitude

IT is notified in the Territories Gazette that Mr. Ivan Champion, Acting As sistant Director of District Services, has been appointed to act ‘Tor the time being” as District Officer in the Central Highlands of New Guinea.

This is the important Territory held until recently by a senior District Officer, the well-known and esteemed Mr. J. L.

Taylor, who was formerly Director of Native Labour; and this re-arrangement of offices gives substance to a series of apparently garbled renorts which have reached Australia.

There appears to have been some un pleasant incident in the Highlands area, in the course of which a number of “wild” natives were shot bv native police in charge of a junior officer. It is stated that Mr. Taylor, as officer in charge of the district, tried to protect the junior official, and did not immediately report the incident; with the result that Mr. Taylor was suspended from duty, pending inquiries. The shooting occurred over three months ago.

It does not appear to have been a very serious incident; but it is unfortunate that the Port Moresby authorities did not immediately make an announcement concerning it. In the hands of an ir responsible newspaper, it could be given an ugly complexion, and might even have UNO repercussions.

Imagine the Russian delegate, at the Council, howling and thump ing the table, and declaiming about Aus tralia’s attempt to conceal her murderous attacks on natives in New Guinea!