‘Marching Rule’

Police Raids on Fortified Villages In Solomons

Prom Our Own Correspondent

Honiara, Nov. 11.

CARRYING on with the enforcement of the Government order against Marching Rule villages on Malaita to remove their fortifying fences, a day light raid by armed native constabulary in charge of the District Commissioner was made on Iranunu and Alailala, two large villages in the Koio area, on Oc tober 26.

The fences here were ambitious palli sades, complete with look-out towers. They were successfully destroyed without active resistance, many of the Marching Rule addicts taking to the bush and a number of others being arrested.

In Iranunu village, the Government was interested in the Marching Rule gaol, apparently currently in use. in which the so-called Marching Rule chiefs summarily imprisoned anybody opposing Marching Rule demands with barracks for the Marching Rule “duties”—a private police force to carry out Marching Rule methods of bullying the underdog.

Chief feeling in the affected areas appeared to be indignation against March ing Rule leaders (who skipped out the back way a few days before the raid), dis illusionment that Marching Rule hasn’t carried out its promises of a better way of life, and resentment that the Govern ment called everybody’s bluff.

Meanwhile, Malaita’s rehabilitation is gradually getting under way to revive Malaitamen’s interest in progress arrested by the war. One of Marching Rule’s original demands, before it went off the rails, was for better education—which will be met, as a'beginning, with the opening in November of the Government admin istrative experimental school at Auki.

This will eventually take 72 students and aims to train picked Malaitamen to act, under minimum Government supervision, in the Government-sponsored native councils and courts.

The building of roads and bridges and the fostering of the practically extinct copra industry are other rehabilitation measures.

Elsewhere in the Group, Marching Rule seems to have died a natural death.

Malaitamen, traditionally hot-headed and pugnacious, are expected to relinquish it gradually as they discover it is not bring ing them anything but disorder and dis sension among themselves.

The term “Marching Rule” is supposed to represent the native attempt to pro nounce the words “Marxian Law.” The movement swept over the big island of Malaita, and some of the adjoining ter ritory. immediately after the war. It was apparently an anti-white nationalist plan; and the-various communities set up their own governments, took the law into their own hands, and encouraged the growth of dictatorships. The British officials, making allowance for the pro found disturbance of the war period, were patient, and left the natives very much alone for a couple of years; but, a year ago, when Marching Rule bosses began to arrest and punish natives who had offended them, the authorities finally moved, with strength and purpose. A couple of score of ML leaders were arrested and gaoled, and Marching Rule was practically outlawed. The movement is slow in dying, however —there have been some signs of recrudescence —and activ ities by Communist agents have been suspected, occasionally.