PUSSER TORTURES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15234, 22 February 1913, Page 2 (Supplement)

PUSSER TORTURES.

■ . ——<>■ ~ ■ -. _ . ,;....■., 30,000 MURDERS. ■-. '„ '■ ■ ' . ■ ; ■' ' : ; ' MAN-HUNTS AND BURNING 03?, ( ' WOMEN, £ i*o.. J. R. GuiJBJW, chuirifvJi of the Peru- :, 7590,.vimssoxi.?'\W swjxjj.- was subjected to j •{y| : ,X:™g- : r.^.ii' ; keti». before the Select■ Combv4<e':. «>! the House' of Commons appointed to _;<jui?o into the responsibility of the .British directors of the company for the atrocities perpetrated on the natives in connection with rubber-collect-ing in the region of Peru. . ' Mr. Gnbbina $M.\ that 3t),':i>o Ir-dians had been marde.re?'J in 12 years,.which was &£- the rate' of-'2&;0 i year, Tho atrocities had consistently diminished since tt,,s end of 1809. Ho joined the company at tha j invitation of Mr. Reid, an old; .and 1 esteemed friend, .';,. "W-sat was good enough for. Mr. Reid wa gjod enough for. him. He had resided i i Peru for 38 years. . The chairman (Mr. Charles ; Roberts, M.P.), referring to a book which was published giving details of the atrocities, asked' the witness *? .he had seen it. Mr. Gubbins 'replied ,i>t he had hurriedly looked through it, but he had not a copy of his own. There is a descriptioa of an Indian feast, at which the natives recalled their lost liberty and formulated against the whites terrible vows of vengeance. ! *4; possible J, re;';' *kkl- : ," '■'.' :f, '" ■'■■ ~, ,] ! ('.'Did you ,s'e.»'(-.;;.'.' «... pression, 1 '"'. the In'liana must bo ;^-itiUedld*.'/ and nijf.Sfc with ,*;ms in hand?' —-I do not remember that, - Did you know ths,t in '<908 tie brother-in-law of Senor Arana (the liquidator of the company) had been shot by an Indian? — knew that, in July or .'■ August, : 1909.-'-Did that look as if everything was in order? No. Why did you trust' Avana?—Very strange to say he makes a. very favourableimpression upon all who come into contact with him. "Even though he hides material facts from them," commented the chairman. ; 111-treatment and Torture. i Do you know that between September 22, 1909, and the time your commission got into operation, at least 25 murders occurred— men, women, young girls, and children? Thero were cases of ill-treat-ment—torture of Indians by holding them under water and flogging to death? Was not that a most . astonishing proceeding from a company during those mouths when you' were fighting with the Foreign Office? —I do not call it fighting. ♦ Well, fencing. Are you not at least responsible ,for these outrages which took place from the time you had warning of. these disclosures? The witness replied that it was the duty of the Peruvian Government to punish the criminal. V Supposing you had knowledge of what was being dono during these months, what would your position be in English law?— That is a. legal point I am not competent to decide. :' - <.-.-'< You might, in that case, if you had known, have been guilty of being accessory to murder.— were under the impression that things were steadily improving. The Chairman:. Anyhow, "I cannot see the faintest sign of improvement'in these months. Mr. Gubbins said he did not see how local accounts could give any evidence of atrocities. He had gone through the local accounts received by the company in 1912. \. Did you find a list of armaments, stating that there was a rifle in the hands of each: one of your employees? cannot be sure of any particular item. -' But, after all, here is an inventory— rages of it.'= It is not an item. You must have seen it. , There are 20 pages of it.-— The larger, the inventory the< less likely would I be to examine it; Here you have under October 30, 1909, the payment of £10 for four days spent in hunting fugitive Indians.The witness said he might have overlooked it very easily. "■ : ......',, ~ "/ i? ~-,, . The Chairman':/ There are some very grave specific instances, such as the burning of women with kerosene oil;. Mr. Gubbins said Indians who ' were hunted were in debt to the company for goods : received. " , , ' What right have yon to hunt for- Indians who owe you money ? ■'~. British law would not sanction your hunting for Indians in that sense?— wore under Peruvian law. '. :-..'.-: : .;.;-' - You would also be liable to British law, so I am advised, and the penalty would be 14 years' penal servitude. It amounts to slavery, M