Samoa.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 87, 15 April 1915, Page 5

Samoa.

THE SPIRIT OF WAR. The Sydney Daily Telegraph's correspondent at Samoa writes:— "It is quite impossible to say whether the natives sympathise with the Allies or with the Germans. One hears various reports, and none are reliable. For 14 years the Germans administered these islands—on the whole in an exemplary manner—and without doubt the natives came to deeply respect many of the officials. A good many Germans are now scattered among the native people, and no doubt they quietly encourage proGerman feeling. If any disturbance arose it woidd be hard to predict what action the native people would take. There is no doubt that those living close to the German trading stations or plantations are led to believe that the present repulse of Germany is merely a temporary set-back, and that she will recover and retake and re-ad-minister Samoa. "Xone of the German residents believe that Germany will go down. They think that Britain and the Allies will lie decisively beaten, and that they will have to pay immense indemnities to the victors. This is not bluff or braggadocio. It is the firm and unalterable belief of many apparently capable and intelligent Germans living in Samoa. All the able-bodied men are restrained from departing, otherwise at their own expense most of them would start for the war. "The general health of the troops is excellent. There has not been one death amongst the Expeditionary Force from New Zealand. Five hundred men were sent away last week by the Talune, and about an equal number still remain, all anxious to get to the front."