DISQUIETING DISCLOSURES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 948, 15 October 1910, Page 6

DISQUIETING DISCLOSURES.

COOK ISLANDS ADMINISTBATHML

{ STRANGE TALES FROM RAROTONGA.

. BESIDEMT COMHISSKHIER GSIITKISED.

- » NATIVES IN A FERBENT."

f.;,-. : From the lips of Mr. Ruport V. Hosking, dentist at Rarotonga, a represen- ■ of The Dominion; sitting at the j:' v / speakers bedside in the private hossjisiv pital;, ; i where-He; had ijebentlyv,been sue-, j ."••-• cossfiilly operated upon'for appendicitis,;heafd?some strange'tales Jconcerning the ' administration of the Cook; Islands, jwv. whose'vdestinies are at.the present moment '. presided over .by . .Captain J. j- ■ Eman Smith,' N.Z.M., - sometime Regisj.•; //trar of Old; Ago Pensions at- Wellington, i ■ andnowvßesident Commissioner at Rain ,-rotonga. ;/• Mr. '.- Hosting,- lying ' back ' : ~among the pillows, with a mass of dooaI mentary. evidence within, easy reach, dei • ■ livered a categorical criticism of : tho | Cook Islands administration, of the most t;;// striking character/' and' stated that at j/o/.: the proper time proofs .would be forth- |;/// coming.; f The Two Commissioners, Past and 1 , Present. L . k: . - Captain Eman Smith's predecessor as Resident Commissioner of the Cook Islands was .Lieutenant-Colonel Gudgeon, ■•'?;/: who' ;is/now diving-/.inv retirement:/ at .-. 'Auckland.; "During: the whole of the thirteen yeaTs of Lieutenant-Colonel />/;. Gudgeon's administration, at : Raroto- ' Bga," began Mr. Hosking, "he never bad any serious trouble with the natives. >' • They respected him and t-rusted'him as ' a fair-minded manj of broad exporience, from'whom they could/be. certain of just /-/;#hd equitable treatment: ' Captain ' Smith' has .been something like thirteen months at .Rarotonga, and during that ' ' •hort. space of time . has failed to. win ;;//;4Ke;corifideri<&:pf thenatives,. because of' his dalliance: with- the urgert "question •-/; the" settlement 'of ; native/land., titles'/ . and has . weakened their respect for . the law by the weakness of his: authority '.. as a .magistrate. By'tho' same tokens ; . he has estranged himself/ fromi■ a; large; . /.section of the whito population, of .which .there are; about.ono liundred.. -If things jSKy- go on as. they have -been< doing for the !*/. last few. months there, is a probability K:. : .of serious 'trouble, mark rn'y words/ . I [ iknow !\"A Dangerous State of Forment." . . "It is a'matter. for .'regret'," continued. • Mr. Hosking, "that sinco the lato'Resi- •••'• dent left,, his successor does not appear rt*;/to .'havfl''-m'ado'-;any..mdre'; v in'vthe..dirMtibn:' . of maliing-hin^ '.. either the.language or the. ancient cusE^''^^.ms>'of : i : is in the position of'a square peg in a round [••«. ' hole in this as in other.matters,'and re-

' sponsible in no small degree for a good ; (peal of-Hhd turbulence and :ilWeeling ' that liow oxists in the island. ; The |J.;Maoris' say:;that;the.Resident is: ; afraid': '■;f ; :,to..;.tMkle';;;the.v.land.y6uestion; ! Y.tliat's ; 'ho ;:'Kifears|.;the \teniper ■of the' Maoris. ; '.. Tho

fe.i ; nativ€s:are. in a dangerous stato of fer-sTV-v ,inent at present,- owing to certain 'aci ; >.-,.iaons on .the. part of white people who' i:-. ought to know bettor, and it will take I \ ibut a very-little more to precipitato a I • :: (disturbance which may have serious results, in; spite of all wo■ may do and i .-say to; prevent them from taking any i. • 'action''of a foolish nature. : • i . ;;. "When- the lato Mr. Scddon entered

"upon a sohemo.-for.extending the boiinr : daries of -New .Zealand by taking over [,- v ..the Group, ho ,did'better than most peo- : (Pie' realised at tho timo,' but' the' pre- . .sent -Government - has. so far' mado noL... thing but a gorgeous mess of- the whole • .business, and: created a state of affairs [ which nothing short of a public exposure will relievo; and," added the I speaker,' significantly, 'T am quite prepared to fire the first shot. " -

Nativo Land Titles. _ "First and foremost," continued Mr. : B°sking, "is the' native land quess main . cause .of trouble.; - i-lno natives are anxious to secure ; for . ; jthemselves' those pieces of ' land they ... have, been - tilling tor years, and when ; ' '<>a e considers that i all lands' belong., to ihe tribe, and not .to - the individual, -the vast importance of the question' .-••becomes;: easily - apparent:.: "At. present . thero is a good .deal of land in dispute, and there lias been a decided move on ' . the_ part of certain individuals to use their influence to. obtaihNpossession of .' to ivhich they have absolutely no Tight. The only way in which-to .solve . . . the question of absolute; * ownership' • 'would be to delve into the past, and trace the lmeage, of-.. the • various con- ;:: ;;.;:iteridirig: parties;irom: some agreed: point, with proper regard to ancient customs '' and usages. This: would entail an enor:mons amount' of work, but. it has'been .."done -.before^... and ..can -be; done; again. • Such a task could' only be - successfully v 'and thoroughly; accomplished by a man .who had a special knowledge of nativo customs and 'traditions. It is no use ; shelving-the problem, and.it is no good v, sending; a Government supporter : . down there to fool with' the solution- of- it .T-tho island- has put up with enough ;-; ,-of that-already. /What is wanted, and : . .that speedily, is the appointment of a ■ 'Judge of the . Nativo. Land Court of . ,"N«v Zealand to settle the land question .".for all.Him'e, land; so" remove at least one .serious causo of . the discontent and ferment- wdiich -exist at present. It is almost impossible, tei. get the natives to. make any concerted move in tho ..•matter. An illustration: On one occa■sion, when I suggested to a native that all theii;^ou.bles:,.could be dispoesd,. of ■by. a. - petition* to. the. Speaker and. members . : of the New Zealand: House ■ of • J{epresentatives,'l was met with' the remark: 'Yes,: but'Tvill','they: put us .in fjaol if we do that?-' That.remark inado it. fairly clear, to. me. that some unscrupulous individual had/been- at' his nefarious -games,;> and. I promptly asked questions. All I could elicit was that . some-white , man had told him that, hut I could not find ont his name. Intimidation of- this : kind is not a thing that.; appeals Mo; tlio average' Britjsher,: :but'. that' is what seems to be ' ; ;in vogue in theso islands, coupled with : . a system , of espionage and eavesdropping,:^"whose.'■ chief exponent is. pretty well known to a small section of the community, and' who : will probably'receive . his... deserts, in the , near future ;, - iif he is "not careful. . My own private papers have: been gone through no fewer than fivo times. . ' Medical Service Condemned. "Another sore' point with the natives is the administration of the 'department of the principal medical officer, ■ Dr.. Chesson. Through some unfortu- .: - nate trouble, the. valuable services of Dr. ;Dawson, who' preceeded Dr. Ches- : ; son as Medical and Health Officer to : the Administration, were lost to the : '; islands. i"What/the trouble "wais.'in the first/place, no one_ seems to have; any idea, but information from one source and other is: beginning to filter through,

and it is highly probable, that interesting . developments will; come' to light before; long. Coupled with'this as yet undiscovered -trouble, there is the" fact that in spite of promises by the New Zealand Health 'Department, no .'assist--' 'ance'.'ij'as .'sent down twheh, Dr.' Dawson was fighting a bad epidemic of dengue fever, to- which"'.}!© himself became a victim when- in a;' low . condition. His friends advised him to chuck up . the iwhole-business,' and' go', to New Zealand and endeavour . to get ;some ■ common sense:, out 'of; the Minister - in - .- Charge (Hon: : James Carroll)., He threw it up, and Dr. Buok was left. in charge, and. made an excellent.showing, pending the arrival of .Dr. "Dawson's .successor. .Then.'Dr.. Chesson was sent down from Hanme'r-' Sanatorium, aid the natives., have • been olf tho , handle ever since., - .Apparently unaccustomed to handling' natives, he has not;' been able to/secure 'their confidence' >and sympathy. He ' appears' to / have scared themby- his' manner, : and tho ' attendar.ee at the;ihospital; and"', dispensary has droppod from between 30 and 40 per day '-in - Dr: Dawson's and.Dr.' Buck's time ix)" anything Sunder 10 per day. The Maoris say. that 'it would bo good if he, went.' .-'But he goeth 'not, arid, being a Government appointee, receiving £400 _a.,year.. with the right of private practice,- .will proba,bly-.beoome. the same sort' of permanency . as tho .: Resident Commissioner,' : ;wh'o.' was. fished 'out' of the: Old Age. ; : Pensions i Departmentj - Dr. Chesson, it:> is. but ;fair to: say, is admittedly ,an s able man in; his-.profes-' sion; * bjit he' 1 does not : know how.' to 1 haMle ..the.; natives,' aind . so . win their cphfidencei.' . himselfl would be ; as,., unsatisfactory a proposition if he adopted "the same manner and.methods.. ; :'; '' Dread for the Future. "Now," continued ;. tho . speaker, 'Svhat is the' result?' ' Syphilis and other ; loathsome .diseases ,are rampant; flourishing in .several places. Tho outlying islands are supposed to, be'visited twice ' a year. They are '.not; > visited once in..twelye,;months. The net result of all this is that; the. ancient man' of medicine, ':the.:tohun'ga ) ;; : is''..bhceJ again to the ;fore;';. dosing' all :and, sundry; with' nauseous compounds. Tho work accomplished by Dr. Dawson in stomping out these gentry lias been utterly lost, and the . houses' ■ are "once again hot-beds of disease. What the. state of , theso natives will-be when' the'hot weather comes again, and .dengue V fever gets about its deadly work, 1 dread to contemplate, but it is: a:'sure, thing '.that if the' Government of New; .Zealand wants to. decimate 'these. .islands^-. .they ■have'' ';takenV: the.; .right,. past few months! Try as you cannot get a Maori .to. worry.; himself, to come in for treatment in. the early stages of .his illness, and. still less '.will;' hei; puthimself,' about to bring anyone else. It is only by.going into the villages; and; poking round. into, the,-huts .'and houses that ono;can hope ;ttvcope with; their manifold diseases in' their early stages, andjit is;just, this, .'departs ment <)f tho medical officer's work that iS'-'noV'being/p^ -be. , The ; problem '■ is adifficult, one. Tov ; pc)yer-, : ; the'Crpgiilar-; inspection of. all i'sliuids. is' morß' man.'caii, do.. Tlioro is Vno, steamer.; available*, .and siieh.. an' -inspection'j as'.'is ; laid; down ' by the Health regulations—twice a year—' would, necessitate an absence from the seat. of. Government and the' base: hospital of',three, even, four .'months, for the;, trading' schooner is at tho mercy ofcalms and; adverse weather.'' During', this." absence,. what .would .'become / of tho base hospital? . -' • --, ; "I' -. ; ."Mention of the : base hospital reminds ,me ;of. certain : matters which should be made public.A. number of Freiich windows, recommended for. the hospital- by . the i then medical. officer (Dr. Dawson) arrived" by tho schooner' Alice..towards the end of last. year. Contrary to .the doctor's wishes, ordinary sash windows- were put' in, the contractor pleading. that he did riot know what a French window was.' It was .subsequently discovered that: some Fronch windows were' sold to' a. privato citizen, who was building a' house. : Up till two_ montis' ago the dxainago for the hospital was not completed, and then the verandah. floors had. to; . bo chiselled out . to . allow - of. a water-pipe entrance .to .the dispensary and operating loom. -The dirty water ran but via this rough-cut channel. This new hospitaL eost some '£1300: '. Some, of; tho .'.'was 'taken' into; the new' bulling without any: pretence of disiniecting. En passant, the audit or the accounts . of the -. Cook Islands. Administration is conducted by the clerk'to the Administration (salary £210, I think), who received £25. for'ythe; 'service.ls | ». good business proposition ? : , About two * months ago, whooping-', cough . was imported ..into' Rarotonga .from' Tahiti, through tho medical officer ■ either not noticing that the 'children were. bad, 'or. lacking the -authority: to stop them from landing owing to. some flaw in the Quarantine, Act." Control of Liquor Traffic. • Mr. Hosking then touched on the. liquor traffic;in the. Islands. "Under; the law, no liquor can be sold in Rarotoriga, but here we have a Government Bond retailing the: liquor and storing it for tho personal consumption of the whites/ and showing, a profit for the financial year. As the number of whites in,the. island js so small as'to be'practically negligible, especially in so far as the actual consumers of liquor is concerned, and iri view, further, of tho fact that a good many of, them are in the habit of supplying a good deal more whisky to the'natives than is'right or needful,' why not shut down on the liquor altogether, and' bar its importation except as medical supplies? - "Until this question. is tackled, no decisive stand can be made against the consumpr tion of 'bush beer.' —fermented juice of oranges, pineapples, or bananas—which leads to appalling debauches and orgies among the young native bucks. Nor will any headway be made against the smuggling in of rum from:.Tahiti, an. enterprise which is assuming serious proportions. Commissioner Smith on the Bench. . "Turbulence, larrikinism, and cheelciness on the part of tho younger natives have shown a marked increase under the magisterial discipline of Commissioner Smith," said Mr. Hosking, touching on i another :question of law .and order. : "The humours of an island Court aro ■ too fine .to be' tackled by any novice, i A native who is fined £1 or a 'worth' > on the roads, willingly does the 'worth ' i for labour on the roads is 'hard' by ' courtesy only, and brings with it the i solace of one square meal a day at the i Government's expense. Again, case-

hardened offenders are frequently'warned, noisily warned, that the next appearance ivill.be visited with dire results. These rosults liover materialise, whereat the Rarotongan smiles'and''ob-serves:-'He talk; ho not do.' Of his capacity in legal questions it must bo obvious .that his'lack of legal ■ training must .oftentimes lead him into awkward situations. A case which has caused much comment was. his refusal point blank to allow a French Tahitian the assistance of an English adviser—the law gives him discretionary powers in a case like this—and how: far his peculiar sense of justico has brought tho Administration under tho " notice of the. French Republic I. am not fully aware, but I understand that a protest has been lodged with the French Consul. .

"To conclude," said the speaker, "here ;we have the spectacle of a generous, kindly, and warm-hearted people under the sway of a Resident, whom, in his, official capacity, they do. not regard with any. feelings of/respect, and a doctor who does not understand them, and is in consequence unable to win their , trust.- Yet the natives dare not open their mouths for.fear of: prejudicing the Resident, who is also the Land Court Judge, in the matter of their land titles and claims; and all this under , the' nose of. a native of their own race;who sits in the Ministerial benches of'the New Zealand; Parlia-. ment and.makes: loud statements about what he has'done, is doing, and is going to' 'do, in the interests of the Slaori— Taihoa! That's it." /.,