TEACH NATIVES ENGLISH

Hokitika Guardian, 10 September 1929, Page 3

TEACH NATIVES ENGLISH

SIR A. aJATA’S ADVICE. BEST WAY TO GOVERN SAMOA. WELLINGTON, September 6. - A remarkably able speech was delivered in the House of Representatives to-day by the Aiinixter oi Native Affairs Sir Apirana -Again, when‘he outlined with ail the understanding of an educated Polynesian the policy which New Zealand should adopt in its administration of the mandated territory of Western Samoa. Sir Apirana deplored the fact that the conference of experts held in 1927, and presided over by Sir Alaui Pomare, had decided that in the lower classes no English should be taught in Samoan schools. It was laid down that English should he ah optional subject only in Government schools, which took the children from about the fourth standard. “You can’t fence off any Polynesian island from the .rest of the world unless Nature has fenced it off the- world because' the wliile man goes ever) where”' continued Sir Apirana. Difficulties had been experienced in Western Samoa because the mandate originated from the League of Nations. The whole tiling was involved with the World War and an international environment/ The trouble was that New Zealand had been trying Ifo key up the administration to the high tone of the League of Nations. Had .New Zealand bought Samoa from the Samoans there would not liaye been all this trouble, liecau.se the psychology of the thing would then have been more in keeping with the Samoan ideal. What was inevitable under the present system of education was a clash between the native Samoan and others. MEETING CLASH OF CULTURES.

From his experience of the Maori race Sir Apirana could say that the besb instrument to stand up to the welter of the clash of cultures was a sound knowledge of the English language. Geogrupny, untnmetic and everything else could be dropped so long a« the native was given English. Given English he would do his best and acquit himself well. No instrument compared witn rviglisn, opoawn and written. To deny English to the Samoan child was a mistaken policy, In the Cook Islands educated system other methods were to be adopted, as Sir Apirana had given instructions to the inspector that during his. n„ ; .spection of Jtarotongan schools the child not only! of to-day, but also ol to-niorrow, should be considered. Apparently what the experts haebin mind when they laid down that • English should not be; taught in Samoa was that Samoa should be preserved for its native race, and that therefore the English language was out of place. This was a mistaken policy, because if Samoa was to 'prosper shipping and trade facilities must increse. This meant that one must visualise increasing penetratioii* of Samoa by other races. For that reason the Sampan should be given the best possible education in English. It reemed to Sir Apirana that the view had been taken that if the Samoans were taught English the only possible future for them was a white-collar occupation perhaps the Civil Service. He did not agree with that point of view, although he conceded that educated Maoris showed a tendency to enter the Civil Service, where many of them had done splendidly in the spheres open to them, j

“The whole trouble with the pakeha,” said Sir Apirana, “is that after admonishing the native, be he Polynesian, from India ol from Africa, and after trying to eliminate tlie white man after he has finished, he moves away to a distance and tarts to throw bricks aV what his civilisation has produced.. I have always thought that was very fitnny, I could never understand the pakeha in that.” ,

SAMOA’S FUTURE GOVERNMENT. \ Dealing with a suggestion by tlie leader of the Opposition that young men should be sent abroad for Foreign Office training, Sir Apirana said there might be some sense in chat if tne future of Samoa was to be a Crown Colony. The question was: What is to be tlie future of the government of Samoa ? Is representauve government contemplated or should the Samoans be administered by a Department from New Zea-and and the positions filled by Civil servants from this country? “As a lolynesian, I believe that the ideal way would be to remove the bulk of those officials you have in Samoa, af the present time, if it were possible,” continued Sir Apirana. Mr Hpward : Hear, uey.

Sir Apirana: And I mean a good deal by the phrase, “if it were possible.” At the present theie i« .. good deal that precludes us from saying to the Samoan. “Run your own show.” I say that if Samoa is to be run for the Samoans, then it should be governed by Samoans,. with the best possible assistance New "ealaud can give. In this the of Quality rather than quality is concerned. Wha L Samoa has always wanted is fair reasonable, sympathetic, uderstanding, British adininistrat.oii. Mr Howard: Help, perhaps?

Sir Apirana: No. British adinistration in the early stages is what is required. You could have'picked from

this country just the type that was required. AVliat is wanted is that the Samoans should be dealt with in such a manner that it would appear we were lettmg them run tliemselves while in realuy we would be running them all tlie time.

Reform and Labour: ‘(Hear, hears.”

MUST RETAIN MANDATE,

“In the interests of the Samoans, -\cw Zealand must never give up the maiKiam/’ cont.nued the Minister. ■ >, e .nay have to alter the method, but .el the administration be British, it is the best administration, or, should U. say, from tne Polynesians’ point of view, the least harmful.” dir Apirana relieved that it had been ail for, the of the Muon branch oi bile x olynesuin people that they had come under British adm.msti uxion. ii oamoa were were a pane suitable to white settlement there would be no talk to-day of Samoa for the Samoans, iyiiat would have been said was that the beat thing for Samoa was that European settlement should be carried on. The land would have been acquired, we should have transported the whole of our p.oblems to Samoa, and we -should have had a little New Zealand in Samoa. Probably it would have been a good thing for them had that happened. Sir Apirana believed that in matters of administration New Ee.ilaiider.s v o3iild be relied upon, because among 'all' nations of the world 'tliel'e was no better type to be found. \Vlisit should have been done "at the outset of our administration was to conduct a complete ethnological study to ascertain what tlie Samoan culture was like, so that the best methods might lie applied. That had not been clone. Yv’e put in a military occupation. • hi the circumstances that could not be helped, hut an ethnological survey and inves.igation should have been made as soon as possible. “We sent down to Samoa a worthy general a man who was everything but an ethnologist,” said ,-ir Apirana. “All the things he recommended were worth doing in their proper lime and order. The trouble was that he tried to do too much in the time. He tried to hustle them in doing it to the satisfaction of somewhat of a martient of a general. What was achieved in two generations.” Sir Apirana said that the “taihoa” policy of the late Sir James Carroll would have been much more effective.