UNHAPPY RAROTONGA

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1171, 5 July 1911, Page 8

UNHAPPY RAROTONGA

.___ 9 ■ ■ AFFAIRS ON THE ISLANDS. THE EUROPEAN POPULATION DISCONTENTEb. SOME GRIEVANCES VOICED, (From Our Speqial Eeporter.)." : Althongh the general feoliiig in Earotunga is one of dissatisfaction that the % Chief Justice was not'empowered to hold . a public inquiry on'oath into the charges made against the administration, and so wipe out tho present differences which have so disturbed the island atmosphere, there is a feeling onj the island that some, very necessary minor reforms may. arise, ont of the visit of.Sir Robert Stout. As Mated previously, the charges whieh it ,was understood wero to be preferred against tho administration were riot gone on with; owing to the parties at the back of tho charges refusing to put their casebefore a private inquiry, arid insisting on a , public inquiry, on oath, before they .rt'on'id go on with'their charges or call their witnesses,- .-..•■' At the same tiiyie a'number of residents of the, island; took advantage of tho intimation given by Sir Robert Stout tlint

he was prepared to .near (in private).anything they might hayo to sajy but these ' opinions cannot by.. , any, means b« said to'reflect the opinion of tho island. There aro few Europeans in. the island who are in an independent position, and those who are strongest against the present administration, deliberately . refrained from putting their views before.tho Chief Justice, firstly,, ibecaiisc. as business - men in 60 small a community they could not lay" themselves'open' to the Government in an inquiry conducted'as proposed , ; and, secondly, because :■ the>v.feel-':ass'uied that the: position is so. grave that-a Royal, Commission' will ultimately .hav.p to be ect lip to go,into the matter. \As 'things etand -at present,' the prime movers, , as distinct from the moderates :in the - comnriinity who are anxious to .have matters cleared .up, say they are confident' that they can. quite justify thestand they have takeni when they are given the opportunity. The Government supporters, on the other hand, ■ profess to be equally- confi; dent that the administration is Safe fr'oni attack.' ■•■■ ' ' '■ ' '

.THE COMMISSIONER'S RESPONSI BILITIES.

Without doubt, a great deal, of the feeling against the- Resident;. Commissioner Jβ-. personal, but it,is. widespread and-in-creasing: in bitterness. Since Captain imith has undertaken the duties of li-esi-isnt Commissioner- he has done no more »nd no less than everybody who knew 'him expected, he! would do. .When the Government gave him the appointment, they made matters worse by also appointing him' Judge, or rather Chief Justice, of the High Court, a Court which has exclusive jurisdiction in rases of murder, 1 and powers of inflicting capital punisliment. Further,,, th-sre. is no appeal in . criminal,' cases to o.ny. Authority in New Zealand, and. yet Captain Smith has hau absolutely.no .training, in .legal matters and no experience in the administration of justice. The responsibility /for ' the. trouble .that has 'arisen;'. , \r.aul(l,. appear 'tp' ho with the Government^ratherjtha.li withthe man. Although, the Resident Commissioner, has; been.- in Itarotpnga. far two years, aml.has held the title,of Judge of the '-.Land- Titles Court almost since his arrival, ho has never attempted to seriously deal with the land-troubles-which are, in a measure, stagnating tho island. Jhe Teason must be obyiousr-Captain Smith,no doubt, feols-that k> has not the information and requisite knowledge to denl-.with this matter, even in Rarofonga. in a judicial way. In tlie other islands, in -which. theMand troubles' are alleged to bo more pressing, he has done absolutely nothing.; -It is a v.ery difficult inattor in fact to discover what, work the l>esi([ent;Commissioner■is' engaged in- for the pobey adopted by the administretion smeo his appointment appears to ha™ been to. allow, matters -to drift-certainly Dothmefof importaneehns b.een,done" ■ ■The High Court, of.'which the-Resident Oomimss.oner is Chief Justice, hw large little confidence in ihe power of the

A.GRAVE CRISIS. must of this, crisis, Captain Smith luff Earotonga-;. for Tahiti, an island outiil wa 5 nt,;the .scene of-danscr, and that that moment was-.np'f the. one-t> chooso for a holiday or'cyeii'a business trip

bungling' methods. .The bungling ..methods' in which the of the death ot the Maori in. question were earned out were so gross as to lei™ ins section, of the-community that justice might be thwarted. A ■ false storv was deliberately .trumped up ad wfl before the'assistant' medical 1 officer who conducted tho inquiry, and it-was suW quently proved that the men who told he story: were; .-engaged in a drinking bout at tUo-timo of the fatality. Although there-were a-number ot - Euro . peans on tho scene at the time of the latality^ ; and ,; although several Natives had made-statements to the Nativepolice immediately .nfler' the fatality, ?J one single Native; was called to give evidence tit that .inquiry, other than WHnoro's housekeeper-and three of l.is.laiCers who swore to a story which was later proved to bo untrue. Again, the inquin was conducted with closed doors ami hLTm V\?° nc]mh i «* verdict of accidental death was given in EnelMi' b v Rev. Bond James, who is in charge of Jhe Lonuon Missionary Societv, the matter would have been allowed to m*^l a false- verd.ct allowed to .stand. I was tho Rev. Mr. James who stood nn Jii the court and Publicly .protested that the matter had uot been' properly inrfW- ■»•"■ ,VaS a «o'- t'lil protest, that action was taken, h> the Admineaute of death. '«Ie relatives of the deceased iNatiye stated freely that. - they would not give evidence at any trial 'unless they were represented by the Rev. Mr. James and Mr; Reynold,*, tho latter being formerly Inspector of Police at Earofonga. Both of these gentlemen were present in the court during the recent trial; Mr. James taking no part except to check the translation of the interpreter. On the suggestion of the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) tho Crown Pro«ocu or, availed himself, of tho services of the two gentlemen named.

UTTERLY DISSATISFIED. The greater portion of Tho whito community ik utterly dissatisfied with tho present administration/of the islands; but the majority are so tied in business that they would only give evidence before a, properly constituted inquiry, with tho safeguards publicity would entail. Tno reason for tho opposition to the administration is undoubtedly in tho man tho Government has appointed as chief administrator. Tho general feeling is that in nlmost every puhlic action he has shown how far short ho falls of the necessnry (nullifications'for the lii«h'" office he hold 3. "It is freely stated nmdngst tile residents that , the Commissioner has shown an uiiduo reluctance 'to lake- any step's likely • to' offend tho Natives, and no is reported-to have said' qb moio tjiac,

one-occasion that he could not be as firm as ho would wish beeiiuso he hadno show of force -uehiud:.him. The .method of government'adopted by the Resident Commissioner is such-ns to nrouso grave un■easiness,.. The laws are in so chaotic u condition that no one-knows exactly how the! I'edcral Council stands, or even when it meets. The truth'of the situation is that for several years, there has been no valid council in existence, and every ordinance passed duriiiif tho past five years is, according to tho opinion of 'those'with a , knowledge of tho position, invalid. Tho- council consists of fivo Arikis and .tho Resident -.Commissioner. The latter cannot speak Maori, nml the Arikis. can only spenk very little English..'- The Commissioner, .however, has the assistance of nu interpreter, and ho undoubtedly passes .tho laws.. As one Native put it: "The l<evident Commissioner explains tho thing to tho Arikis. They don't understand it, arid they arc afraid to opposb the Commissioner as lift gets dnffi-y, aud it makes them, look like children. Sooner than hrivo to pose in this position all agree.".. '~.. Tho commercial prosperity of the island—arid it' is-.undoubtedly prosperous— has been brought about by.the fact that tho white population have combined and sunk their capital in the island. The whites pay tho greater part;of tho direct taxation, and • through them only is it possible for. tho Government to derive the Toyeriuo from' Customs duties, but yet they have absolutely no representation in making the laws under.which they havo to live, not control of the expenditure of the money. Tho position appears to bo that the Resident Commissioner is the solo law-maker, and he has not the confidence of the bulk of the white- population. It has been a grievance of-tho white inhabitants for years past that they have no representation on the council, and until .quite recently, at all events, the Natives werp fnvonrablo to the proposal. Olio white man in the island, and oup -.white mail only, 'appears to be opposed te the white representation, and that is the Resident Commissioner. It there were efficient white representation on the '"osancir the Resident Commissioner would no longer be. the sole lawmaker. '' I

MR'! WA.LDEGRAVE'S POSITION. The attitude of Mr.'lVW.' Waldegrave, Uhder-Secretary' ■for Justice, during his stay ou the island was the cause' of a good deal of comment, and it.was certainly most irioxplicable. ....Whatever -Sir. Waldegrav'e's intention may have been, his a,ttitudo generally was such, that impartial' observers xonld only come to the conclusion, that' he" visited Rarotonga ni a particular, capacity, as representative oi the Cook Islands Department. Mr. Waldegrave denies this,, but the one public utterance .which, indicated the feelings with which hc/approached the inquiry was on the. occasion ot general speech-making, tliree or.'lour days after arrival iu the island. At this time ho could not possibly have had time to make full inquiry into matters as they stood, but he took it upon himself .to tell the assembled Mtives not to liften to those opposed to the Government or it would do them no good. ....

THE LICLUOR QUESTION. Another burning question-is the supply of liquor. Bush ■ beer drinking by the Natives is a source of much trouble ana the Kc3ident (Jqminissioner appears to have made. lio-.effort Jo-combat the evil. Two suggestions are commonly-offered lor this,apathy,oh. the part-of tho-Commis-sioner; -First,. it> is. alleged that. he. fears to lose tlie friendship of'the Natives, ami secondly, ■ thai , , he is concerned as to whether the Natives might not show active resentment. . During, the stay of the Government .party at Itarotonga it was not'a : very uncommon thing to seo. a iSative . under, tho' influence , of. liquor, but drunkenness was not rife. ■ However, sufficient light..was'-thrown on .this matter during thehearing-ot'asharge'of murder against n. planter named • Wigmore .to indicate the dimensions to which the bush-beer drinking'has grown.' It is true that a- section of tho white population se,t.s the Natives a. bad example in the matter of tompcrance. As things stand thero is' no regular liquor license.on the island,-"but residents'are enabled to import liquor and store it in flic Government bond whence- it is handed out in quantities as required onpresentation of a permit'signed by the Commissioner who has legal power to issue permits. The actual distribution of the liquor is in the hands of the Collector, of Customs, a capable and .independent official;' but despite his care • the system is abused by the -"pooling" system with its consequent weak-end orgiesi- More - than one application was. made to the Chief Justice during Jiis stay .on the island that absolute prohibition should be enforced.

THE MEDICAL OFFICE. One other gre.at.cause, of .discontent on thi) .island is thp, dilTercncc botwcpii the late medical officer, Dr. Dawson and Captain' Smith;-which led to the resignation cf the. doctor. As matters stand Dr; Dawson: is. hi. private practice in the island and-.there are.two doctors at the hospital, a new ..building, qt which every Native'on the .island can, if ho desires, get medicel attention free. The Natives have so much confidence in Dr; JJawson, however, that they turn up rit. his surgery, to the number, of between 20 and 30 every morning, in spite of. the'fact that they have to pay for his services. The tally at the hospital is probably less than half that at Dr. Dmvsou's. The Europeans generally, take the same stand as the Natives.- Dry Dawson is a, capable officer and his. popularity. with, all sections of •the community is undoubted.

PETITION TO PARLIAMENT, . ;The petition for presentation to Parliament asking, for the removal of the Resident Commissioner; which was circulated, immediately after tho Chief Justice intimated 'that he was not able to ifold- a public inquiry on oath, has been signed by the three gentlemen most intimately connected with the charges made against the. Administration, viz., Drs lloskinjf and Dawson, and Mr. Reynolds. Hie original intention of circulating the petition amongst the European and Native population was' not persevered with as it wns found after twelve signatures had-.been promised that a number' of those who were most strongly, opposed to Oapfain ismith would not sign until thev were assured that a Eoyal .Commission would not be granted. They prefer a Koyal Commission rather than an inquiry by a Parliamentary.Committee.

PECULIAR.PROCEEDINGS. TREATMENT OP THE WIGMORE CASE.. As a result of the apparently lackadaisical methods adopted by the authorities, as displayed during the hearing of the recent clHirge.of murder of a Native preferred against a planter named Wigniore at Rarotonga, your representative made some inquiries during -tbe recent trip to the island! and was given tho following information from parties who had taken a closo interest in the case from tho outset:— On the Sunday night on which the Nativo was shot the Resident Commissioner (Captain .T.Eman Smith), the Registrar of,the : .Court (Air. Blaine), the Commissioners secretary (Mr. T. Twiss), and the interpreter (Mr. Savage)'drove out to tho plantation-ot which the fatality occurred The. party did not callfor tho Native policeman in charge of the district, nor did they send for him, although l|o was the first -to.notify them officially of what had happened. Xo statements." it is stated, were taken 1 that nght from any of those concerned, and tho firOanns said to ■have been used in the shooting were not taken charge of. Again, Wigmore was not arrested, but was merely told to consider himself under arrest, and although he saw the Resident Commissioner ngnin on the Monday morning, no statement was taken from him.

On the Tuesday a Court of Inquiry sat, this being held under the Medical Officers' Inquiry Act, which relates 'to tohiingaism. Thoilrearms were not produced, and up statement'had apparently been taken previous to. this inquiry, or, at least, none was produced. Dr. Story, who conducted the inquiry, had a number of questions which he asked each witness, and the only witnesses who gave evidence were Wgmore, Barclay, Taylor, Connal, Pcyroux, Woonto'n, Keck, 'i'nta, Cowan, Pun, Tangi Mcttia, Ma; and Tenrikt. On the Wednesday these witnesses came in to sign their depositions, and. having done so, Dr. Story announced that Ins-finding was "accidental death," At this stage the Rev. 11. Bond James, who is in. charce of the London 'Missionary Society in Rarqtonga, and Mr.'AV. R. Reynolds", ex-Tnspector of Police at Rarotqngai took a hand, on.behalf of the relatives of 'the deceased (a Native named -More).

Tho Rev. Mr. James- .iskcd if Iliis closed the lirocci'dings; and was told that it might or might not. The Registrar then left the Coiirt, and came .back, mid announced thut if- anyone had any other evidence to bring forward they could put it iu writing, and hand it in to Hie Resident Commissioner, who would "consider it." On Hie Wednesday it came out, through a-Native policeman, at the regular" sittings of the local Court, that two Natives charged with drunkenness had got drunk "on Wigmorc's plantation on the Sunday the fatality occurred. Whilst tilings were in 1 (his condition the' Resident Commissioner left for Tahiti. In the liitantime the relatives of the deceased Native brought corroborative evidence of certain statements before the Rev. Mr. James and Mr. Reynolds, and on the Saturday (March 18) they met in the Courtroom, where Uka, the. Native constable for the district, produced a statement made to him by two witnesses on the liiuht of tho fatality. This was Uka's first official appearance in the matter. The Registrar of the Court would not allow this evidence to bo read except in front of tho relatives, and the Court doors, were accordingly closed. Wigmore At Large, Subsequently the Registrar announced that he would be prepared to Uehr.anjfuither evidence on March 23. At this gathering the men who-had'made tlio statement to Constable Uka again repeated 'tho statements, and certain , other witnesses were brought. ' forward. On March it. further evidence was. taken, and it was then that.Ben Smith was called on behalf of Wigmore. This witness, it will he noted, was not called for the, defence at tlie trial by Sir Robert Stout. Up. to March IS, Uka, the Native policeman,' had riot apparently been notified of any inquiry. Uuring all 'this'time Wignioro was allowed to bn at large, and tho Native mind could naturally not tccoiicilo this with the treatment meted oiit to the Native who got drunk or was brought up for assault. On the Wednesday after the shooting, the Resident Commissioner formally charged Wigmore with manslaughter,' and, later still, the major charge of murder was laid, as a result of a direction from New Zealand. All fhis in the face of a finding of accidental death by the coroner. In the meantime the relatives of the deceased wrote to the Commissioner, asking that a New Zealand Judge arid Crown Prosecutor bo sent down to the island, and this was done, with the result that AVigniore- was charged with murder, and, as already reported, convicted of manslaughter.

STATEMENT BY A MISSIONARY. AN IMPARTIAL REVIEW. - • During the course of a conversation with the Rev. H. Bond James, who is ill charge of the London Missionary Society at llarotonga, some interesting information was gleaned. Referring to the li([iior traffic, the l'ev. Mr. .lames, remarked that as far as the drinking was concerned no real attempt was being made at present to stop it. By this ho did not mean .to indicate that Mr. Stevenson, Collector of Customs, did not exercise care in-ad-ministering the law, but that cases of drunkenness were often not brought up at all. As far as bush beer was concerned, it used to be coniined to tho bush, but now it was brought into the villages freolv. One thing those in authority should do was to find out those who were brewing tho beer and punish them more severely than was the custom at present. They should also get the police to bring up the cases that they do detect. At present they brought' tho men who disturbed the peace on the roads. Those who drank away from the roads were allowed to do so in 'peace. To his mind the police .did not seem, to have, the encouragement they should..have to bring these men in. There .seemed-to be an impression amongst the natives that they could drink, and that" so long as they did it f(iiietly no one would interfere. The leading men of the settlement said tho , drinking was on the increase, and that it was not dealt with as it should be.

A WHITE MAN ON THE COUNCIL, "I certainly think there should be a white man on the council," continued-Mr. James. At present, lie said, there is no Federal Council....and., Federa.l laws: appear to be paisedb'y the liarotonga Council. "I should say," he added, ''that the expenditure of-the money should not be allowed to be controlled by any one man whoever--he might.be." Taxation should, he added, mean representation here as in New Zealand.

THE GENERAL DISSATISFACTION. In reply to a question as to whether lie thought there was any foundation for tho general dissatisfaction thnt appeared to exist on the.island, the liev. Mr. James said that.there were grievances, ti lo onc most keenly and- universally felt being the refusal to reappoint Dr. Dawson oii the. medical staff. As to the right, oi. wrong of-the quarrel be was not going, to set himself up as a'judge. People should' be ablo to form their own opinions as to the justice of that matter. To his mind the- positions of Judge of the Hi»h Court and Judge of the Land Court, and, that of Resident Commissioner should bt separate, for the sake, of the Commissioner and everybody else. ■ Asked as to whether it was possible that the Resident Commissioner would advise a native or European in his posi-tion-as' Commissioner and then havo to eit in judgment of the case in the CoiirN Mr. James gave an instance to show that this was so. During Colonel. Gudgeon's term of office as Resident Coinmissionet a farmer engaged a boy. who entered into an agreement for six months. • For some reason the boy broke the agreement, and the farmer applied to Colonel Gudgeon for advice, which was given. Subsequently, the matter was' brought up in the High Court before Colonel Gudgeon as High Court Judge. Tho anomalous position was evident. ' ■ ' ■ • ■

DRUNENNESS AND IMMORALITY, The Rev. Jlr. James referred to the. following statements he had made before the appearance of any of tho recent troubles on Iho island. In ■• these hu said the two great evils which the j\li 3 . sionary Society had to fight were drunkenness and immorality. The unfoftiinato part was thnt these evils were not confined to the natives of the islands but were prevalent amongst members or the superior races. - Drunkenness amongst Europeans was not ■ general, but occasionally there were fierce and dangerous outbursts. A great deal of liquor was issued to old -men of the native i ace ns medicine, and sometimes .through thb old men to younger and stronger men. A praiseworthy effort had been niadoby tho responsible Customs officer to administer the licensing law fairly. There rnaj not havo been a rigid adherence to tin. letter of the law, but there had been no thoughtless laxity. Tim Missionary Society, however, was in favour-of tho inflexible, application of tho letter of tlu, law, and would like to see the medical permit system cancelled, and all liquor needed as medicine issued in small rniat--hties under. medical authority and delated to the hospital account." Referrinto tho lax morality of many of the Euro" pean residents, the ■ society fears thnt the attempt made in 1908 to deal with this matter must be regarded as a complete failure. In the first place charts of immoral cohabitation ' cannot , be hrought against Europeans without the , cohsent of a European Judge of the HHi Court or a European Resident Agent J'.tironeans who , are above suspicion, it is urged, do not need this protection. Another weak point in the law is (he nunli- ■>■"<* phrase "within the limits of i- e , O, ~ Theft and murder committed outside the village are criminal offena-9 and why, it is asked, is there this nicetv in dealing with immorality? <.

GENERAL REMARKS. Another point urged by the Rev. Mr James was-that married men only should be appointed, to the positions of' Resident Agent in the various islands. A good suggestion to .his mind was that if possible doctors should bo appointed resident agents at the island?, or means devised for one of the doctors on ; Rarotbnga to iWt the other islands frequently. [Further interviews with residents will appear in a later issue.]