172 president's address — section f. 



English. We came to this conclusion som© time ago in Papua, 

 and I was glad to see that the principle on which we acted was 

 confirmed by so' distinguished an anthropologist as the Reade'r in 

 Social Anthropology at Oxford, in his little book in the Home 

 University series (p. 151). 



y alive I 'st/ r ]) oh) iji/ . 



Dr. Rivers, in his book I have already mentioned, expresses his 

 opinion that " it is not necessary to dwell upon the value to a 

 ruler of a knowledge of the psychology of the people he is called 

 upon to govern " ; it certainly is not neceissary to do^ so in address- 

 ing an audience like the present, and it ought not to be necessary 

 to do so under any circumstances, for it should be oKvious to any 

 one that, if you are to govern a people justly and efficiently, the 

 more you know about them the better. Unfortunately, however, 

 it is a fact that, far from being obvious, this consideration never 

 occurs to the majority of those who write and talk about native 

 administration, and I take it that a knowledge of native 

 psychology is about the last qualification which the man in the 

 street, or the average elector, would ever seek in an administrator. 



" Thinlitig lilark " /.s^ a (riff. 



And perhaps the man in the street is not altogether to blame ; 

 perhaps he realizes that we know little of the psychology of native 

 races, and that what knowledge we have is largely intuitive and 

 confined to but a few individuals. Eventually, perhaps, we may 

 learn how to acquire this knowledge in the ordinary way, and to 

 impart it to one another ; and its practical value may then be made 

 more obvious. But at present the art of " thinking black " is a 

 gift, and a very rare one. 



Lessons from the Central Cuiirt for Papua — Apparent Insufficiency 



of Motive. 



Such opportunities as I have had of studying native psychology 

 have come toi me in connexion with the trial of cases in the Central 

 Court of Papua, and, as I can not pretend to possess the gift 

 which I have mentioned, I must confess that I have not formed 

 any conclusions which are likely to be of great value. But I have 

 at least seen enough to enable me to realize how valuabe a know- 

 ledge of the subject must be, and how great an assistance in 

 administration. One must, of course, take certain precautions; 

 one has to see that every one concerned, witnesses, prisoners, 

 interpreters, and so forth, get rid of all fear and nervousness, and, 

 above all, one must make them forget that horrible desire to please 

 which stultifies so much of what they say. This, of course, is part 

 of the ordinary duty of any magistrate or Judge who has to try 

 native cases, and when one has cleared the air of all unnecessary 

 complications introduced by courtesy, timidity, and other influ- 



