Macgregor Released On Bond

[?]st Goilala Case

To what extent does the law interfere with the work of the Papua- New Guinea patrol officer? Does he feel he can uphold the law, as it is his duty to do, and carry out his field work efficiently? Is he willingly prepared to forgo “on-the-spot justice” for the more cumbersome machinery of law enforcement, even though some native miscreants might as a result escape?

OME of these questions were dis • cussed in the Papua-New Guinea Supreme Court in Port oresby on September 30, at the al of Patrol Officer John William acGregor, 25, on a charge of hav l in a village in the Goilala area Papua on January 4, 1957, set e to a native house.

Irial judge was the Chief Jus e, Mr. Justice Mann, who earlier d dismissed two charges against icGregor of having assaulted tives, and convicted him, without Acting punishment, on another arge of having deprived a native his liberty by fastening him to flagpole. [ACGREGOR on September 30 pleaded guilty to the arson charge, and was placed on a I good behaviour bond, to come for sentence if called upon, evidence was that MacGregor d set fire to a village after the tives in it had refused to supply n with carriers. He had warned ;m to remove any of their be igings from the village before the i was started. h the box, MacGregor told Mr. >tice Mann that he had come to ; Territory at the age of three nths and his father had died ;re recently. He said he had ilied to join the Administration vice the day he had left school 1951, when he was 18. lac Gregor said that in January was returning to headquarters at pini after a seven month’s patrol Iding an airstrip. He had two three police and 20 carriers, but ided more carriers. When he at ipted to get them from a village natives had run away, le had set fire to the village be ise it was a “dance village” of type built by the Goilalas for emonies sometimes lasting nths. Normally they did not con gate together, and when these ages were finished with they ■e pulled down. If they were left y were a menace to health. lac Gregor said this particular 3mony appeared to be almost r when the patrol asked for riers.

Ir. Craig Kirke (For Mac

;gor) ; If your 20 carriers did not it to carry any farther could have controlled them with two

ice boys?

IacGREGOR: No, they can put ir packs down and dive over the untainsides, as they sometimes

do! In that country you can climb down 1,000 ft and climb up 2,000 ft and find you have only travelled a few hundred yards as the crow flies.

MR. JUSTICE MANN: Ever tried a conference with them? Told them you could conduct a court at Tapini and if they didn’t want to come in for it they would be arrested?

In other words, let them know you were an instrument of law and the law had to be obeyed?—l have in the past. But on this occasion I had three boys and I couldn’t catch them.

Mr. Justice Mann: You Had

to have carriers, and in law they had to supply them to you.

Wouldn’t they have taken any notice of you if you had explained that?—You would have to give them two weeks’ notice to get to Tapini and if they didn’t want to go in, you would have to chase them about the countryside.

Mr. Justice Mann: Would

they be impressed, though?—Some times yes, sometimes no. You don’t know, especially during these ceremonial dances. It’s a state of mind.

Mr. Justice Mann: You Had

your problems. However, this is im portant. Legal machinery is a bit cumbersome. People can evade it but the law can catch up. If two or three natives manage to evade it for a few weeks a force can go out and bring them in. Of course, you can’t do it for every native, I agree.

MR. KIRKE: Stiff sentences, leniency, everything has been tried without success so far.

Mr. Justice Mann: In The

native mind, the law seems to be synonomous with trouble. We have to get it into the native mind that the law is consistent, and that it will be more effective in the long run than a temporary solving of a problem. The law came to the people of the Middle Ages, who lived a hard life and would cut your throat.

MR. KIRKE: Not with the same facility as these people, Your Honour!

Mr. Justice Mann Later

agreed to hear evidence from Mr. Herbert Clarke, pre sent ADO at Tapini, in case he could supply information that would assist the court.

Mr. Justice Mann: Would It

not be practicable to deal with

these people in future another way?

Is there no way we can impress on them that the law will catch up with them?

CLARKE: They look on the law as a game—it’s a popular if not universal conception in Goilala. If they can tie you before you can tie them, then they win! Years ago when murderers were handcuffed they used to try and escape from the handcuffs because they felt once they were off they had no fur ther obligation.

Mr. Justice Mann: They De

cided they were out of reach of the law, did they? There is no doubt about it, we don’t want the native concept of law as handcuffs, flagpoles and flags!

CLARKE: Generally, Your Honour, they are aware there is protection from the Government.

But people tend to look to the in dividual officer as the Government.

It depends then on the man who is there for the native view of Government. Many do not realise that the magistrate is merely pass ing on the law.

The Chief Justice said it was in MacGregor’s favour that he hadn’t done anything in a fit of anger and had gone to a good deal of trouble to get the natives to remove their belongings. If he imposed a sus pended sentence on him it would emphasise that the offence was

not a technicality but one of sub stance—however, there was ther left the problem of MacGregor’i future employment.

MR. E. A. O’CONNELL (for the Crown): What the Crown wants to have impressed is that the law ii not there for the officer, but tin officer is there to administer tin law, and we want the natives to understand that. There has been n♦ case like this before, and the nativt must not be misled into believing the law is an officer’s prerogative., IN releasing MacGregor on hr own recognisance, Mr. Justic< Mann said if he had to impose any sentence in future he wouldn" be disposed to make it nominal.

While the burning of the villag: didn’t inflict any grave injury to anyone, MacGregor had been api plying an arbitary remedy in : situation where the law require' him to deliberate as a magistrate It was his duty to observe the lega side and he hadn’t done that.

It was our duty to do it in thi hope that the natives would soo: understand the law.

There were many things to b commended about MacGregor, in eluding his self control under diffi cult circumstances and his genuin regard for the native welfare, am he would be sorry to have to inflic a punishment making it impossibll for the Crown to continue to era ploy him.

Anderson Verdict The previous week, Mr. Justic Mann had heard evidence on fiv charges against Frederic Davii Anderson, an Assistant District Off; cer, formerly stationed at Tapin He sentenced Anderson to I months jail on each of two charge of having deprived natives of the:; liberty by fastening them to a flag pole, six months on each of tw? charges of having assaulted natives and 21 months for having unlaw fully confined a native to Tapir prison from December 24, 1956, t January 23, 1957. The sentence were to be served concurrently, thu giving Anderson a sentence of 2 months, which, if there is no ap peal, will be served in Australia.

Fund For Mrs. Anderson!

A public fund to collect a sum fo the wife of ADO Frederick Ande:; son, was started in Port Moresb in October. His wife is in Auii tralia, and is expecting a child.

Chairman of the fund is Mr. .

A. James, MLC, and members « the committee include a number < prominent Moresby people, incluoj ing Messrs. Vince Sanders, Is McDonald and Noel Malone The fund was started in responr to widespread public demand. It hoped to collect £4,000. (A survey of the Goilala cast will he made in a forthcoming issit of PIM. An appeal by Anderson being considered; documents are the hands of Australian counsel