TRIBAL LAWS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 451, 8 February 1933, Page 2

TRIBAL LAWS

IN NEW BRITAIN DESIRE FOR REYENQE LEADS TO WHITE MAN'S MURDER. RECRUITING DIFFICULTIES Sydney, Saturday. Why did a tribe of natives in the wilds of the hinterland of W ewak, New Britain, decide to murcler the ' next white recruiter Who entered their territory? The victim was T. Exton, and the story of the murder was told by District Officer E. C. McDonald, of Rabaul, on his.arrival in Sydney the other day. In the opinion "of Mr. E. Gallet, a surveyor wh£ recently returned to Sydney and who knows the locality well, the murder inyolves the old question of tribal law and psychology. Exton was personally acquainted with Mr\ Gallet, who has worked in some of the wildest parts of the Mandated Territory. Mr. Gallet's theory of the murder is this: Three years ago a band of native boys was recruited from the region in which the murder was committed. During their three years' employment with the whites, some or perhaps only one, were ill-treated. On returning to their tribes they told their chief, who decided that the next white recruiter, no matter who, to enter their territory should pay the penalty. Thus Exton was the unlucky yictiinMore Hostilei Than New Guinea. "The natives of New Britain," said Mr. Gallet, "are more hostile than the New Guinea tribes. But they do not kill for th'e fun of it. Generally a white man has caused some trouble somewhere." Taken all round the natives of the Mandated Territory were not a bad lot, but tact -was needed in handling them. Mr. Gallet has come face to face with many seemingly hostile tribes, and the fact that he^is ■an amateur juggler has saved him trouble on many occasions. When he has faced the tribal chief he has often juggled three balls and pretended to swallow a knife. That immediately captured the interest of the ljatives, and their hostility faded. When in a tight corner he has also produced a mouth organ and given it to the chief, who on blowing it gave a yell of delight. From that moment white and black were firm friends and the chief would order tlnat food should be laid at the feet of the white miracle worker. Th'e offerings consisted of yams, bananas, sugar cane, ete., and perhaps as much as two tons of food were stacked for the white man, for whose exclusive use a hut was provided. "But there is one time when none of these tricks will succeed," says Mr. Gallet. "That is when the tribes go head-hunting. There is only one thing to do then— to get out of the road as quickly as possible. The more heads the chief colleets the stronger he becomes in the eyes of the tribe. I have seen 60 or 70 heads hanging in the chiefs hut. But there is not so much! head-hunting nowadays. In some parts of the Islands the natives are entitled to more than one wife. The young native girls are fine types, but they quickly go off after marriage. The husband can then marry another, and the first wife then simply hangs around the house, so to speak. Most of the natives, however, stick to one wife." System Quite a Gooff One. Mr. Gallet thinks that the recruiting system is quite a good one. All recruiters are licensed. by the Government, and have to be approved. A recruiter may take 1000 "boys" from one area. For a native to work three years the recruiter gets |5, and for a two years' boy, £3. The natives are paid 10s a month with keep and after their term of employment is Up — m0st of them work on the plqntations — they return to their tribe. In order to prevent too many natives from leaving one area, the Government occasionally closes Wn certain recruiting areas for three years. Other sections of the country are then made available for the purpose of securing native labour. The indications were that the native population of the Islands was rapidly increasing. Every male native has to' pa,y a tax of 10s a year to the Government. If he has four children or more by the one wife he is exempt. But no matter how many children he h'as he must still pay the full tax if he has more than one wife. Perhaps that is why most of the natives prefer to have one wife only.