SAMOAN PARTY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 157, 29 March 1920, Page 6

SAMOAN PARTY

T| JPBERS RETURN IMPRESSIONS OF THE ri.r...r. ~.,- ISLANDS "indentured labour problem , Members of the Sdmonn party reached Wellington ,on Saturday by train from 4ugjc!and.: ; : ; . Tho South Island members •caught the feny steamer in the evening. Sir James Allen, who-was head of the. party, i$ -paying a visit to eoino of the and will not return to .Wellington' before Thursday next. The" members of Parliament who made the trip are unanimous in saying that the information they have been able to gather haß given them a new conception qf-.Pacific problems. They will bo able to" appreciate th 9 social, political and industrial difficulties that face the New Zealand Parliament in its dealings with . tropical dependencies. The members aahrrally devoted a great deal of attention to the question of indentured labour, and it appears that a largo niajority'of them regard the continued use of this labour, with proper safeguards, as essential to the development of the ' islands. The mombers are impressed with the productive capabilities of the islands and with the importance of maintaining and developing production. They saw that enormous damage was being' caused by lack of labour. Once productive plantations have become wildernesses, choked with tropical undergrowth. Other plantations are barely be'in* saved from this fate, and are depreciating, seriously.. ' -The' Labour Members. The Labour members who accompanied the party are preparing a joint report, which they intend to issue within a few days., It will deal particularly with the' indentured labour problem.' The Labour group, i which left New Zealand with a 6trong prejudice' against indentured labour, has not changed its opinions during the trip, and its members are prepared to', urge the desirability of putting an enl to'the indenture system at once. They consider that it would be better to r let tho plantations' go out of cultivation than to retain the services of even jf small number of indentured Chinese. ' Mr. H. Holland, M.P., chairman of the •Labour- Party, stated on Saturday that, he was not yet ready to make a statement regarding his impressions of . the'trip; ... . Indenture System Necessary. • .Mr. J. P. Luke, M;P., speaking to a ■Dominion reporter,, said that the:trip had proved, both interesting and instructive. The members of the party had been able to study at first hand the prob'liims' that faced tho New Zealand Parliament, as the governing authority in Samoa, and other islands,'and he felt that their considered opinions • ought to have weight with the people of the Dominion and with those members of the Legislature who had been unable to wake the 'iourncy. The "problems of the Pacific had assumed new importance for this •"■country since the'war, and it was most important that they should be bandied in the right way, with primary regard to tho welfare of tho native populations.. . '" ' , After referring to the 6plendid work of the missionaries in the Pacific, Mr. Luke said!that what might be called tho industrial conditions'wore peculiar, The ; needs of the Samoan natives were amply provided for by bountiful Nature. Iho natives,-lived-in comfort and plenty with scarcely any work at all, and thev would not undertake continuous labour, Iho question! 'then; was how to develop the undoubted resources of the islands and Tjroduco the sugar, copra, and other articles needed by the world, while at the same .time-giving proper; protection to the native peoples,.. ■ • ■ . ■ "I am convinced after looking into tho situation that wo cannot rely upon the Samoans themselves for any ••■productive effort beyond'the needs of their own families," said Mr. Luke. "Increased payment does not'stimulate the Samoan, who merW reduces his ■effort to the level of "his"'simple needs. If Samoa' is to■ be productive, the necessary labour must be found .elsewhere. Three, classes of labour are''available: how-indentured. Chinese, indentured-Solomoh Islanders,.and Indian coolies,, The difficulty about the Chinese 'and Solomon' Islanders is that they mix with the Samoans and tend to produce a half-caste;'population, which might ; .prove- a serious danger . in tho future. ' The' Indian does not mix, but he has not satisfactory in Fiji. , Worcanjwksliut our eyes to the fact.that if" iir'ported labour, which seeius to bo essential, is not controlled in some way, the islands will be overun in the future with a half-'ciste population. That would be a lamentable state of affairs. . "I say frankly that,"l believe indentured labour'to be essential for the de.^fel6pnion.t!: of 'thp resources , of the ''islands. It is impossible for white men to perform-.-.coutinuous manual labour under the tropical conditions. I am of opinion that 'indentured, Chinese should ■liß.taken, to .Samoa, each man's indentures to bo for a period, not exceeding three • Years.,:, :The. high'value of the. island produce, 'an'd.'lhe ready response of. the Bo'il to cultivation should "make it possible Jo employ well-selected Chinese imder;good- conditions. They should be married''uieti'if. possible, 'so as to avoid tne-.miiirig'of races. Under these conditions, tho uso of Chinese labour, would :b»' ; safo-and profitable,' enabling the planters to keep their plantations in cultivation:"','"". . ■ •' ■ ■, . .. ..Jlr^uko,added that the plantation fork'-was .not ■■ highly skilled; and -the limiting of the indenture period to three years would not reduce efficiency materially '-Foremen could', be retained for Kjflger 'periods. It was not expected that,, Solomon Islanders would be nvailable'in . large numbers, even, if .'they were required. - Tho Indian' coolie had already created a most difficult problem in' Fiji. TWabour-problem admittedly was d ; ffiBut New Zealand would not bo justified in evading the responsibility of securing the development of the territories under its control. Samoa and Hie other islands-were capable of producing in profusion articles of which tho world sood in need. ' Their possibilities ought not to be neglected. ~...,. ANOTHER SUGGESTION. OF PLANTATIONS.' Mr. 11. A. Wright, M.P., referring to the labour problem, said it had been jasyto see that tho islands of Samoa were capable of great development. They were highly productive and they could ' be made more so. It was equally easy to see that some of tho large plantations were going to Tack and ruin for lack of labour. Tho Samoans would not work at all for wages. Their simple needß were satisfied practically without work. Tha indentured Chinese on the islands worked well, but their number was not nearly sufficient to keep tho plantations in production. The system of indentured labour, said M:\ Wright, seemed to have been conducted in Samoa on good lines. The Chinese workers were paid 2s. 6d. per day, nominally of ten hours, with a ration allowance of 12s. per month. This wage seemed low, but the men admitted it was more than they wero accustomed to >in their own country. Their com- . plaint was that it had become insufficient owing to the riso in prices in .recent times. Some of the Chinese sent money home to their relatives, and others were maintaining Samoan women, married to them according to native fashion. Iho indentured labourers did not usually work the full ten hours. Tho custom was for the planter to set a task for the day and the men frequently wero iiniahed in six hours. They worked woll and seemed to be unaffected by the htftt and humidity, which made manual 'labour almost out of tho question for white men. . Tho Chinese'workers, answering quesiions, said that they wished to return •to China when they had earned a certain amount of money, 'lhey mentioned a thousand shillings as the sum a man would.like to tako back to China Wfch iim ( , r ,They .were, aggneved.by the SSnihe i»r /y,fita P™" ' visions, particularly rice. They ■ sjnil that they were willing, to-marry tho Samoan women according to their own custom and take their wives to China when, they returned. . "'Mf : Wright said lie was inclined to look" for'a solution of the labour prob. " J»jn in. th? subdivision of the plantations J

and tho encouragement of Samoans to tako up small lots and produce on their own account. Tho Samoans wero a fino race physically, and they were quito capable of working if.tho conditions attracted them. A system of this kind could not be introduced in a. day, but it would be worth an effort, since it seemed to offer the only satisfactory altirnativo to the uso of indentured labour imported from outside Samoa. A suggestion had • been made that New Zealand should allow some returned soldiers to tako updand in Samoa. Settlement of this kind might succeed, but there would be great difficulties in the way. White men could not do manual work during the heat of the day, but they might bo able to cultivate small holdings in tho mornings and cvenwgn, if tho attempt was considered worth Indentured labour would be required for pome time to come in any case, added Mr. Wright. If a plantation went out of cultivatioh for fiwelvo months, years of labour would bo required to restore it. His own feeling was that the period of the indentures should be strictly limited, and that the men should be encouraged to bring thei'' own wives from China. The mixin" of the' Chinese and the ■ Sninoann ought to lio prevented as far as possible, for obvious reasons. New Zealand did not want to see a half-caste population established in Samoa. .