OUR BROWN BROTHER

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 231, 23 June 1908, Page 7

OUR BROWN BROTHER

FORCED lABDBR.

THE NEW GUINEA ORDINANCE.

*' ANGLICAN VIEWS.

or TEi/KflßAPn—rnsfis association— coVtruht.

(ReC. Juno 22, 10.30 p.m.)

London, June 22.

Tho Bishop of New Guinea (Dr. M. J. Stono relfitivo to the new labour ordinance in New Guinea, said that

if forced labour was only insisted on for necessary Govcrnmont frork, thero would be no objection to it, but the Government had tw right to inaugurate compulsion for tho interests of a handful of white settlers. Sinco tho natives are not ropresonted m the Papuan-Legislative Council, it is impossible to say that the Government represents tho native viewsi The Bishop of Waiapu, New Zealand (Right Rev. W. L. Williams), the Bishop Grafton, New South Wales (Dr. H. E. Cooper), and Canon Groser spoke of the Church's responsibility towards nlwrigines. Tho Bishop of Bath and Wolls (Dr. Geo. W. Kounion, formerly of South Australia) remarked that ono reason why conversions of natives in North Australia were not more successful was bccauso tho language was in a constant state of flux, and a convert was only able to instruct his own tribo. Tho Bishop of North Queensland, Dr, Frodsham, pleaded for more Christian work among Australian aborigines.

NEW GUINEA—AND THE CONGO. | A'Svdney Press Association cablegram dated June '13 stated:—'"Tho Papuan (New Guinea) Legislative Counoil h.-vs adopted an ordinaAeo making overy malo native of a proscribed ago li.iblo to work one month out of overy twelve for tho Government without pay. Iho object is (o oncourago in tho natives habits or mcablegram dated .Tuno 10 tells of tlio indictment of Belgium's practices in the Congo by tho British Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Sir E. Grov), who, it seems, doscribed the system of taxation by labour (forced labour in lien of taxes) as slavery.