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[Page 36]
Terms submitted by Governor - WH 17.9.4
Conditions under which the acting governor of German New Guinea agrees to abstain from official business in view of the military occupation by Great Britain:
1. The governor has no authority to surrender any portion of the german possessions under his administration.
2. In view of the military occupation of the principal centres of the country by an over-whelming force he is prepared to give an assurance that any further military resistance to such occupation in German New Guinea shall cease immediately.
3. (a) The governor asks that the officers of the military forces now in the field be permitted to return to Germany on parole. The Brigadier cannot agree to this condition; the usual practice must be followed and officers surrender as prisoners of war. Military honours will be granted. The Brigadier will recommend that special consideration be given to officers, who do not belong to the regular army and whose main occupation is civil, such as planters etc.
(b) The white noncomissioned officers and men now in the field are people who in civil life are planters etc. The governor asks that they be permitted on surrender and the taking of the oath of neutrality to resume their civil avocations. This is agreed to by the Brigadier.
(c) The governor asks what will be done with the armed coloured troops now in the field. The Brigadier agrees to transfer these to the military administration if they are found satisfactory, as it is understood that the safety of the white population depends to an extent on there being coloured constables to keep the natives in order. The governor asks that the coloured soldiers be discharged