The Missionaries by Owen Stanley

Author:Owen Stanley
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9789527065945
Publisher: Castalia House
Published: 2016-06-24T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter IX

When the Prouts returned from their trip to Port Moresby, they were aghast at the fury of Fletcher’s reprisals. And when they saw his wanton destruction in the Mission houses, and heard of the brutal humiliations of the staff, Prout’s previous contempt was transformed into a vivid personal hatred.

His immediate reaction was to send a note to Fletcher, giving him a week to make arrangements to leave the island, but the day after sending it, Moncreif casually informed him of Fletcher’s legal impregnability. In a mood of baffled rage, he dismissed Fletcher from his post as Resident Magistrate, and all associated offices, and began the tedious proceedings to petition the Privy Council to also deprive Fletcher of his Wardenship of the Goldfields. It was also necessary to restore the morale of his staff, which had been notably depressed by the apparent impotence of the Mission to quell the irrepressible Fletcher.

“Whatever he thinks he can do with his private army of thugs, I want to reassure you that the days of police rule and gaols have gone for good,” he told his staff. “We won a notable victory last Saturday, in fact, by showing to all persons of good will that the true basis of his violent repression is not the welfare of the people, but his own self-interest.” It was apparent even to Prout that most of his listeners considered this to be a rather thin and unsatisfying sort of victory, so he decided that he should further inspire them by visions of future progress.

“We shall consolidate our moral position by sweeping hygienic, cultural, legal and technological reforms, of which the keystone will be independence in the middle of next year. So-called practical people would criticise us for granting independence so soon, but of course, they overlook the fact that all our reforms are hampered at present by our colonialist relationship with the people. We may talk of equality between ourselves and the indigenes, and I am sure that all of us in this room sincerely believe that they are our equals in everything that matters, but until their land is restored to them a dark shadow will be cast over all true co-operation between us. Independence will not mean the end of our mission here but, on the contrary, will lay the foundations for a new and deeper relationship between us and the people.”

This time he was warmly applauded. He also went on to explain that, since Fletcher obviously had every intention of staying on, there was no longer any need for secrecy in obtaining evidence about his murders. It was therefore with distinctly unacademic relish that Prout announced a reward for information on Fletcher’s crimes was to be circulated among the people.

But the major event of the moment was the arrival of the equipment for the gas works, and its installation on the site of the old fort. The tanks and ancillary apparatus were flown in during the course of a single week, and assembled by expatriates

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