THE MELANESIAN MISSION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19261, 27 August 1924, Page 5

THE MELANESIAN MISSION.

PROSPECTS AHEAD. INADEQUACY OF MEDICAL SERVICE. “ PLENTY OF ROOM FOR US.” (From Ode Own Correspondent.) LONDON, July 19. At tho annual meeting of the Melanesian Mission Sir G. 1,0 Hunlo had something ! to say relative to Now Britain and New Ireland —two islands in which ho is particularly interested, and which have como into British possession under the Mandate to Australia* When in 1884- the Pacific was divided into certain spheres of influence, the Germans got Now Britain, New Ireland, and tho Northern Solomon Islands. Whatever tho Germans may have done for the well-being of tho native and his conversion to Christianity must be left to conjecture, but they made tho most excellent roads and excellent towns which put us quite to shame. It is some years since Sir George was there in a man-of-war, but ho remembered that in those days, although there were hardly any white men at Blanche Bay, there was a German Consul; there was no town, but under tho German regime a very flourishing town had grown up. Tho Germans had made excellent roads, as well as bountiful coffee and eocoamit plantations. “I have heard very little,” the speaker continued, ‘‘that tho Germans did for Christianity amongst the natives, except this (and it is an important thing to remember), that the German missionaries, tho Lutherans anti others, did do most excellent work. There has been a question, I believe —I am treading on (Finnish ice now — of the German missionaries, who have been working for 30"' or 40 years, being removed, and their places not being allowed to bo filled from the homeland, from Germany. It is not for me to say whether that was wise. Our cousins in that part of tho world are a little touchy if you criticise anything they do. But what I do feel is, that by this action they have assumed a tremendous responsibility for the native, and, if they have loft the mission ground vacant, for political reasons, it has only afforded us an opportunity of stepping in to fill tho vacant places. I am sure that when Australia realises that, they will be the first to come forward and say ‘We will help.’ They may say more; even, ‘Wo will unilertake to run that part of the mission.’ 1 believe that has now come within the bounds of possibility; perhaps with some conditions affixed to it; I ran believe it is within the bounds of possibility, almost of probability, that the Australians will take up that attitude. Their subscription is now some £2OOO a year, as against. Now Zealand's £800(1. I am sure they will do a great deal more than that when they realise that'we have a real claim on them if we take up that northern part of the mission.” Sir Gcorgo referred to the mission at Now Guineas and to the Wesleyan Mission at. New Britain, and ho continued: “There is plenty of room for us. It would be a very wise thing, before we attempt to take up any particular part of the work, to discuss tho matter with them and have an amicable arrangement; and say: ‘We do not wish to terspass on your hunting ground, and you won t interfere with us.’ Arrangements like that have been made in other places whore we have been, and it can easily be arranged there. If you take tho work of the Missions now, however well it is being done there, it only touches tho very fringe. There is room for 20 Missions, so there is no fear that, if we extend the episcopal and mission work up to those northern islands, wo cannot make it a great success without interfering with our brothers of other denominations who are working there, and who were there before us and have the greatest claim on our respect. I wish to impress very strongly upon you that we must push on to the northern part of those great islands. AVo must confidently look forward io setting the help of Australia, and I am sure our confidence will not bo misplaced. When tho Archdeacon of New' Zealand comes back to us in a year or two, ho will have a very different story to toll. Instead of saying ho feels ashamed, and that tho mission is not doing bo well as it ought, I am convinced ho will be bursting with pride.” Dr Manson Bahr, who spoke as a medical man having had practicaly experience in dealing with Melanesians and with Melanesian labour on those beautiful islands, remarked :

“The coming of the white man has not been an unmixod blessing to native races, and wo must understand that unwittingly, and perhaps unwillingly, contact with the white man has, from a medical point of view, been a disaster. I want to make myself clear on this point. 1 want you to realise the effect that these diseases had had, not only on the natve population, but on the native mind, lire white man has been responsible for the introduction of the following diseases into the Pacific: Opthalmia, dysentery, leprosy, tuberculosis, yaws, smallpox, venereal diseases, and of course alcohol, if you can call the latter a disease, it certainly predisposes to the development of other diseases. In addition wo have bronchitis, influenza., pneumonia, whooping cough, and, last but not least, measles. Wo all look upon measles in this country as au inevitable ailment which every baby rnusrt get through in childhood, but it is different when it is introduced into virgin soil. Measles was introduced in 187475 by a British man-of-war into the Pacific Islands and caused 40,000 deaths —a quarter of the population in the Fiji group—and in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands to-day measles is looked upon with the same horror ns is typhus in Europe. Indeed, measles in these places docs stimulate the worst features of typhus. The natives get very high fever from measles, rush into the sea to get cool, and then they get pneumonia, which causes death. And what took place in Fiji as regards measles is now taking place in New Britain and many of the Solomon Islands.”

“As to tuberculosis wo are not by any means certain that the white man can be held responsible for the introduction of this disease. We are probably right in assuming that tuberculosis has been endemic to native populations since the beginning of time. We have a certain amount of reason for supposing that it was rife among the ancient Egyptians, but wherever the white man is brought into contact with the dark man there tuberculosis begins to spread like wildfire. We have evidence of the introduction of tuberculosis in various Pacific Islands and of the high death rate it causes. 'Much of these statistics was obtained from the study of native contingents, brought to Franco to work as labour forces during the war, and the figures wore truly alarming. The whole of the Fijian contingent had to bo repatriated on account of tuberculosis. I first worked in Egypt with the Cook Islanders and saw those men dying by the hundreds of tuberculosis and all had to be repatriated. That means thar tuberculosis, like other diseases, is a disease of semicivilisation. Wherever you put those people Jito European clothes, make them sleep in nadly constructed, half-Europeanised houses an<%put mats on the floor on which they can expectorate, there you form a breeding ground for tuberculosis. If we are going to Christianise these peoples we ought to recognise this.” After referring to the scourge of leprosy and to epidemics of whooning cough and influenza. Dr Bahr spoke of the inadequacy of medical attention in the Solomon group, where there was only one Government medical officer in the whole of the group. “This state of affairs,” he said, “is absurd. How anv man can exceet to exert his influence 10J miles from his base passes comprehension. There is hardly one of these diseases for which we have not at the present time an efficient remedy. We can do. something for them all, including leprosy, and there is still a great deni more to be learnt. We are on the fringe of many more important discoveries, and the next. 20 years will eclipse the last 20 by some epoch-making discoveries in medicine. A man who goes to the Pacific to practise as

a medical man should not only possess the Knowledge wo now have but the spirit of investigation, because these problems are lying there like diamonds waiting to ho picked up, and it only requires the right

sort of trained man to make a discovery of inestimable value in a shorter time than , could bo done in the well-worn paths of the Old World. ’Therefore I have been asked to plead for funds to enable a medical man to go out and work as a medical missionary in the Pacific Wands. Not only will his influence be directed towards treating the members of the mission, who T know will have suffered severely from the diseases endemic to these areas, but ho will be able to make his influence felt among the native population.” “ I would suggest that if the right man l>e found he should bo properly trained for the work. We who have to train doctors in tropical methods know it is about as good to send a surgeon to operate without a knife as to send a_ medical man to these islands without making him aocpiainted with all that is known of the diseases of those islands before he goes out. That is the first consideration. The second is, that if a man is possessed with the devil or spirit oi research, he wants to find out

more. There ax© such men, and if the mission can pay h'lrn a certain .salary I think Unit some other institution will be willing to subsidise him for the original work ho would perform. That to my mind is the best way of solving this problem."