NEW GUINEA MANDATE

Otago Witness, Issue 3618, 17 July 1923, Page 21

NEW GUINEA MANDATE

CHARGES OF MALADMINISTRATION. GERMAN PROPAGANDA BLAMED. MELBOURNE, July 12. Tn the House of Representatives Mr Bruce announced that a Minister would visit New Guinea personally during the recess in order to investigate the charges against the administration of the Mandates Commission. A parliamentary delegation will also pay a visit to New Guinea. Referring to the newspaper criticsms (which appeared in the Sydney* Daily Telegraph), Mr Bruce added that he possessed definite information that wellorganised propaganda was being conducted by Germans interested in discrediting Australia as a mandatory Power. Continuing, Mr Bruce'stated that when the Australian delegates attended the Assembly of the League of Nations in September last they- discovered that pamphlets had been distributed to all but the Australian members, containing charges somewhat similar to those made latterly. These pamphlets were printed in very large numbers, 30,000 copies of one being distributed. They were signed by- the League of German Patriots. The Prime Minister claimed that the work of the Board of Administration had been much more satisfactory than the recent criticisms made it appear. Mr Bruce traversed and denied many of the charges. He said that the only important matters remaining to be dealt with were the completion of land transfers and the oil research ordinance. He admitted that there had been some loss on the copra plantations. He asked the House to view with the greatest caution criticisms of the Administration.

Mr Charlton (Labour Leader) urged that the charges should be fully probed. An official denial would not satisfy the League of Nations delegation. Members of the House should immediately be sent to New Guinea to make a complete investigation.