Raluana Scuffle

Significance of Recent Assault on New Guinea District Commissioner

From a Special Correspondent

Rabaul, June 2.

rE Raluana affair, wherein the District Commissioner and his officers were savagely assaulted on May 21, is the culmination of a long and bitter argument.

Most of the people in the Tolai tribal group (eastern end of New Britain) have accepted the village council system; but the Raluana village, and a couple of other com munities, have refused it. They be lieve they have the right to do so: the Administration has usually described it as a “voluntary” system.

The Raluana folk, energetic, aggressive and defiant of authority, have a reputation as “bigheads.”

They are led by some semi-educated natives. They have a communal Committee, and the latter has or ganised a Co-operative, and opened a native restaurant at Kokopo; and it has imposed and collected taxes.

In March, the Native Councils of this area complained to Mr. Cleland, when the Administrator visited them, that because they had carried out official wishes, and formed Councils, they had to tax them selves in order to pay for schools and medical posts; whereas the Raluana and other villagers, who defied authority, got schools, etc., without paying for them, and spent their illegally-raised taxes as they pleased.

Probably, that was why District Commissioner J. K. McCarthy went out officially to Raluana on the 21st.

With him were Messrs. D. M. Fien berg (Senior Native Authorities Officer); Ivan Champion (Chief Native Lands Commissioner), W. J.

Read (Native Lands Commissioner), Ken Williamson (Native Authorities Officer), J. F. White (ADO at Ko kopo). En route, they picked up Nason Kiala, former paramount Luluai of Raluana, and now presi dent of the Vunadadir-Toma Vil lage Council.

About 1,400 people had assembled at the Raluana school grounds.

They squatted, grouped closely around a large table, where the officials were seated.

MR. MCCARTHY said he had called them together to ex plain a proclamation which was about to be made, whereby the Raluana Village group would be come part of the area under the Vunamami Village Council. They would be asked to elect six mem bers of the Vunamami Council and they thus would have a voice in the making of the Council’s laws

including taxation laws, which they must obey. He emphasised the bene fits of the Council system, now adopted by the great majority of the Tolais. He thanked them for attending, and for their donation of £l2O towards the Park Fund in Rabaul.

There was complete silence as Mr. McCarthy sat down.

Then one of the Raluana leaders, a crippled school teacher named Tuvi, who was in the front row, stood up and shouted: “You are our father, but we will never enter a village council. We will not pay taxes.”

He then turned and faced the natives, many of whom were rising excitedly.

Six or seven natives rushed at Nason, who was seated on McCarthy’s right, and began to punch and kick him.

The District Commissioner sprang immediately to the old chief’s help, and himself received some of the punches. The other officials hurried to McCarthy’s aid, and the natives fell back.

Mr. McCarthy then led Nason to his car, and arranged that he be sent immediately to Kokopo. The younger natives now were circling around, waving their fists and threatening the party. The latter stood quietly in a group. Most of them, like McCarthy, have had very many years’ experience with natives, and they were not upset by the demonstration. The village elders were trying to calm the “bigheads.”

Mr. McCarthy naturally was very angry over the attack made, and the insult to Administration auth ority. After a word with his officers, he pushed his way through the yell ing crowd towards the leader, Tuvi.

Tuvi saw him coming, and waved him back.

McCarthy went up to him and said, sternly: “This must stop. Come with me to my car.”

Tuvi insolently waved him off.

The DC insisted, whereupon Tuvi took his crutch from under his arm, reversed it and, using both hands, aimed a blow at McCarthy.

McCarthy was struck on the left side of his head, and his ear was cut.

Other natives then attacked McCarthy, while the other officials came running to the aid of the DC.

Williamson was knocked down and kicked. Read was felled to the ground. Fienberg and others got alongside McCarthy, who was fight ing like the old soldier he is and, in a few minutes, the officials drove off the howling mob.

They were without weapons and in a difficult position. They kept close together and made it clear that any hoodlum who came near them would be rather roughly handled. The mob circled around them at a respectful distance.

Ninety minutes passed before the first police arrived, and they began to get the situation under control.

MEANWHILE, the bush telegraph worked swiftly. A wave of ex citement spread through the

Tahiti Politicians for France

Mayor Alfred poroi, of Papeete (top), head of the Centre and Right-Wing Coali tion parties of French Oceania; and (below) a political rival, Monsieur J. B. Ceran-Jerusalemy (right-hand

man to Pouvanaa a Oopa, who heads the Left-wing Tahitian People’s- Democratic Assembly) passed through Suva at the end of May, err route by air to Paris.

Neither was prepared to go into: details regarding his mission; butr it is understood that it is associated: with the political situation hr French Oceania, which is almost as disturbed in recent months as that in France itself.

Jllages. The Nangananga tribe iished to their trucks, and were ii their way to avenge the insult their District Commissioner and iieir chief, Nason, when the official jirty met them and Mr. McCarthy jrsuaded them to return to their illages and let the law take its mrse. ; But there is strong and bitter ►eling throughout the districts, and .ie police have had their hands full, i prevent inter-village fighting, he arrogant Raluana villagers are ;Dt loved, and the other villages :ould be very happy if allowed to iipe out some of their institutions, jpecially the Kokopo restaurant.

Police have been to Raluana and ave arrested most of the ring laders. All except Tuvi have been mtenced to imprisonment. Tuvi as been charged with assaulting !r. McCarthy, and has now form ily charged McCarthy with assault ig him; and the cases have gone > the higher court for trial.

It is an awkward situation for le Administration. Presumably, the reclamation bringing Raluana into le village council will be postponed util the district is calmer.

It is felt that Mr. McCarthy andled the affair itself with rength and courage. But most of le “old hands” are inclined to be ;ry critical of the post-war Ad linistration which, with its velvet love handling of native affairs as permitted and even encouraged le growth of insolent and disloyal immunities like that of Raluana.

Such things would have been im assible under the Wisdom and riffith regimes,” said one pre-war isident. “They opened the way to .1 this nonsense when they started leir new policies after the war.”

(See also article on page 127.)