The Marching Rule
pp. 79-81 · Read in the full issue
Delusion
IN a recent broadcast in New
* Zealand, the Bishop of Melanesia,
the Rt. Rev. S. G. Caulton, had this to say about the Marching Rule move ment in the Solomon Islands : A GOOD deal of publicity has been given in recent years to the political movement that goes by the name of “Marching Rule.” This movement is a local agitation against the British Ad ministration in the Solomons. It shows in somewhat different forms in different areas —sometimes it is a desire for in dependence and a return to the days be fore the white man came; sometimes it embodies a firm belief in the return of the Americans, whom the natives con sider would make far better rulers than the British. But in every case there is a desire to be rid of the present admini stration.
It is not easy to get at the root causes for the movement is, to a large extent, a sort of secret society, and outsiders know little of what is going on, but there can be no doubt that the seeds of dis sension were sown by individuals among the overseas troops during the war. It is possible that the agitation in the Solo mons is linked up with similar and more serious disorders in other parts of the Pacific and the Far East. That is not easy to prove, but Marching Rule is cer tainly symptomatic of the world-wide unrest of the present day.
The lavish spending and comparatively luxurious living of the United States troops in the Pacific no doubt of itself made a great impression on the natives, apart from any deliberate propaganda, and it is not difficult to see how they have come to look upon the Americans as more desirable rulers than the British —a really good time would be had by all.
The Melanesian is a very impression able person, and it only needed some one to start the idea and the movement spread like wildfire. In an astonishingly short time the people created an organi sation. They appointed their own leaders and councils; they built fences round their villages and erected watch-towers, presumably to signify their resistance against the official administration; and they ostracised any of their own folk who would not join them.
In the early days of the movement these defences were taken seriously, but of late, many village fences have fallen into disrepair and sentries have become weary of keeping their watch, so that walls and towers are now more sym bolic than actual means of resistance.
Their belief in the return of the Ameri cans is, of course, fanciful, though no doubt someone gave them the idea in the first place. It is pathetic to see how they persist in clinging to this illusion; pathetic, because it is the tenacity of ig norance; and their leaders resort to the most childish methods in order to keep alive this hope—and it always works.
The other day I visited an island which was passing through a sort of revivalist period when enthusiasm for the move ment was being fanned by the leaders.
Among other things, these leaders had gone by night and drawn crude imita tions of horses’ hoofmarks (horses, if you please!) in the sand, and lit fires m the bush, and then next day had shown them to the people and said “See! The Americans have come! Here are the marks of their horses and the remains of their fires!”
The pitiful thing is that such crude methods convince the people, for they are only too ready to be persuaded of what they want to believe. And it is extraordinarily difficult to argue them out of such foolishness. I have many times tried to show the Melanesians how mistaken they are in thinking they can be left to govern themselves, and how they would only come under the sway of some other Power if the present Government were to leave, but though they express
agreement with me, I am sure they re main unconvinced, rpHE movement presents a problem of J. no little difficulty and delicacy to the Government. A wrong step in the situation would almost certainly pre cipitate a clash, but fortunately the people have adopted only passive measures. There has been no violence and one is hopeful that with sympa thetic handling they will come to see
that they have been the victims of fool ish suggestions, and that loyalty to the present administration is the best security for their future development.
The Government has always shown it self ready to grant the people as much control of their affairs as they can pro fitably use. Native councils to admini ster local government have been in opera tion since before the war. but their re cord only shows that/ the Melanesian generally has much to learn in the right use of authority. It is, however, a lesson they must learn if they are to develop at all, and they can only learn by tneir mistakes. But they will need the guid ance of external government for many years to come.