AMP’s Fined for Drinking

Law Discriminates Against Transitional Natives, Says Dr.

From Our Own Correspondent MORESBY, April 23.

AN interesting comment on native drinking was made in the Port Moresby Court of Petty Sessions on April 21.

The man who made it was the Territory’s Director of Health, Dr.

J. Gunther, and his remarks were prompted by the arrest of four natives, including two Assistant Medical Practitioners, Callis Cain and Frank Aisi.

They were drinking in a house at Hanuabada and, having no per mit to do so, they were arrested and pleaded guilty before Magistrate W. E. Sansom.

Both Cain, who is 31, and Aisi, 26, are attached to the Ela Beach Native Hospital at Port Moresby.

Cain is a Nauruan and Aisi a Papuan and both spent some years at the Fiji Central Medical School.

Dr. Gunther, in the absence of any counsel appearing for the Assistant Medical Practitioners, said he would like to point out some

mitigating circumstances.

Dr. Gunther said that the con sumption of alcohol should, be the privilege of only the enlightened person, the person who could re alise its evils. Nobody in his right senses would condone drinking by primitive, unsophisticated natives, and the unlicensed introduction of alcohol to primitives had been worse than the introduction of tuberculosis; history had too many examples, some very close to home, to allow that statement to be chal lenged.

However, said Dr. Gunther, many laws in the Statute book were archaic and they remained there, to be used on specific occasions, only for the general good of the com munity.

THE Territory, Dr. Gunther con tinued, was slowly changing by evolution and education. Educa tion was slow, and the odd in dividual found himself in a trans itionary stage between a primitive nast and an enlightened future.

“It is during this early stage we will make —and correct —our mis takes,” he said. “The Administra tion has seen fit to educate, still further, certain natives who already had, when compared with their fellows, a higher standard of educa tion.

“On the completion of this higher education, a few have been absorbed into the public service of the Terri tory with the rights of the public service—salary, housing and standard of living—but we, by other laws, deny them certain other privileges enjoyed by the public

servant. It is a discrimination, but the right or wrong of it I do not now argue.”

Dr. Gunther said Aisi and Cain were two persons in transition and the future behaviour of such persons could make or mar P-NG evolutionary procedure.

In the South Pacific, many peoples for generations made their own toddy, and most other Territories had a permit system which allowed approved natives to drink liquor, and one, at least, openly allows alcohol of a certain percentage.

He said that at the first South Pacific Conference, at which he was an adviser to the native Papua-New Guinea delegates, only the Papua-

New Guinea delegates (except two people of mixed descent from New Guinea who had their own permits) were not allowed to drink, although alcohol was the refreshment at the many entertainments provided for the native delegates. Some of the P-NG delegates had felt belittled because of this, T\R. GUNTHER said Frank Aisi U spent seven years in Suva in an atmosphere free from dis crimination, where native people who had passed the test were per mitted to drink. He became a first-rate Rugby footballer, touring as footballers do, and no doubt occasionally drank beer after the match. During his time in Fiji, he

was an official Papuan delegate at the first South Pacific Conference.

“Callis Cain is a Nauruan, where coconut toddy is an actual food,” said Dr. Gunther, adding that when it was denied, widespread beriberi developed.

He continued, ‘‘These two men are members of our Public Service, liv ing in fhe house previously set aside for the supervisor of the native hospital at Ela Beach, and they are required to live completely after the manner of Europeans.

“They are in the extremely un fortunate position, being pioneers, of occupying an intervening stratum of society, given the physical con ditions of the European strata, yet denied, perhaps rightly, some other privileges.

“I can assure Your Worship It is a lonely position; it is not an enviable one; but, then, pioneering is lonely.”

Dr. Gunther said that the two men would be charged under Public Service Ordinance with a breach of discipline and, if found guilty, punished still further. By their arrest they had already had a salutary lesson.

He asked that the magistrate give them the least possible penalty, in view of the circumstances. “They are enlightened people,” he added, “they are not primitive unsophis ticates who can be tragically harmed by alcohol.”

The magistrate, Mr. Sansom, said he agreed with many of Dr.

Gunther’s points. However, the law was clear.

He fined them £1 each. (The maximum penalty is £3O).

Editorial Note

And now, as a fair test, let us see what the Top Brass of Port Moresby and Canberra does about It. Dr. Gunther has made a well reasoned plea. Mr. Sansom, by im posing a nominal fine, has accepted the justice of that plea. Both Dr.

Gunther and Mr. Sansom are senior administrative officials of the highest reputation and their opinion (and recommendation) is that the law be amended, in view of experience. But —will anything be done?