. The new New Guinea. timorously upand down beside the steamer. They were not angels,these Purari folk, and they did not look too lovely to begin with ; by the time theyhad painted and feathered themselves, thrust thehideous white tusk through their noses, and tilledtheir mouths with chewed betel-nut, that lookedexactly like blood, staining lips and teeth a hideouscrimson, they were as devilish-looking a set of gentryas you might find in a years wanderings. The captain came on board later in the day witha score or two of Maipuans, half-scared, half-excited,but quite determined to
. The new New Guinea. timorously upand down beside the steamer. They were not angels,these Purari folk, and they did not look too lovely to begin with ; by the time theyhad painted and feathered themselves, thrust thehideous white tusk through their noses, and tilledtheir mouths with chewed betel-nut, that lookedexactly like blood, staining lips and teeth a hideouscrimson, they were as devilish-looking a set of gentryas you might find in a years wanderings. The captain came on board later in the day witha score or two of Maipuans, half-scared, half-excited,but quite determined to go with the white men andearn the goods that were to make them so importantin their village. Not one of these untamed savagesbut would have to be signed on by a magistrate,according to the laws of the country, before he couldbe set to work. It sounded a little absurd, but allthe regulations of the Native Labour Ordinancehave been framed with the view of preventing in-justice between employer and employ^, and they are. PLANTATION WAGES 135 all based upon good reasons. The plantation handin Papua knows before he signs his agreement justwhat he is doing, how long his engagement is to last(it cannot in any case be more than three years), whatwages he is to get, and how and when he will reachhis home again. The employer is obliged to feed himon a liberal scale, give him blanket, mosquito net,tinware for his food, and a proper house to sleep employer or overseer is allowed to strike a boy inpunishment of any neglect of duty—nor on any otheroccasion, unless in self-defence. Punishment on aplantation means deprivation of some luxury, a littleextra work, or (if the labourer leaves before the endof his engagement) a compulsory visit to a magis-trate, who will look into the matter, and if he issatisfied that there has been no just cause of com-plaint on the boys part, will sentence him to a shortterm of imprisonment in jail. Wages are usually ten shillings a month, and arepaid at
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherphila, bookyear1911
