WESTERN AUSTRALIAN SLAVERY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1273, 23 July 1886, Page 3

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN SLAVERY.

HORRIBLEjJREVELATIONH.

The Rev. Mr Gribble, a Church of England missionary in Western Australia, makes a long statement to the Melbourne * Telegraph ’ re ill-treatment of the Natives. He says : A system obtains which is unique, under which Natives are secured by the white settlers professedly under the Masters and Servants Act, which is a reflux of the Imperial statute ; but its provisions are practically ignored. In fact, the eottleffi have established among themselves au assignment system, which has no foundation whatever in law. Under that system every species of abuse is perpetrated upon the Natives. The whites depend chiefly upon Native labor in pearling and on their settlements, and in order to secure tiie ; hi ative laborers permantly they enslave them. They “ recruit them from the islands, hunting them down just like emus or kangaroos, aud many of them when captured are joined neck to neon, like so many cattle and arc thus driven to the settlers homesteads. There they are compelled to put their hand to a pen and to make a cross on an assignment paper, which, in reality makes them perpetual slaves of the white men. The Natives in all this are perfectly ignorant of what they are doing. They do not understand the white man’s language, aud the white man understands about ns little of theirs. They are led to believe, however, that they are engaged for six months, and they count the moons patiently while waiting for their discharge or freedom. Finding that when the time is up they are never set at liberty, they run away. Then the police are sent after them to hunt them down. When captured, they are sent to the nearest police station. In many eases they get sentenced to six or twelve months’ punishment at Rotncst Island. In some cases they are sentenced to a period in chains, which means they are coupled neck to neck and chained to a gum tree. In this plight they are kept day after day and week after week, perhaps for two months at a time. The object is to intimidate them from running away again. In some cases at an inconvenient distance from any police station, the settlers take the law into their own hands, la one case I know of, seven Natives were chained to each other and to a cart wheel; and then flogged with a stockwhip until the blood was flowing in streams from their naked hacks. The same kind of treatment is inflicted for other offences, such as stealing rations or killing sheep, which,they are frequently driven to do by hunger, in consequence of the white men having taken possession of their country aud driven away their game. There aie other sad associations in connection with the assignment system, such as, for example the enslavement of Native women and girls for the worst of purposes. This is done all through the north-west. There are hundreds of Native females who are lying in the meshes of the assignment system without any power to release themselveslo may bo wondered at why this state of things is allowed under British rule, but it has to ba explained that the government of the country is in the hands of a few families who are more or less interested in all matters relating to pearling atd settlement in the North, and therefore it is very hard work to get justice either for blacks or for t hose who seek to befriend them. I could fill a page of your paper with instances of cruelty, which 1 have either witnessed myself or have learned on good authority, Mr Gribido adds that when he tried to shield the Natives he was boycotted, and that after he had exposed this ill treatment he was assaulted and threatened with death. He is appealing to the Australian Board of Missions for assistance.