UNKNOWN

Samoa Times and South Sea Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 22, 16 March 1889, Page 2

UNKNOWN

By Bxachcohbxb. Beeing by a, telegram that it was the intention of the Cooferenee at WashuigtoQon Batnoau4ainto have oonaidered the propriety ol the three r> warn to elect a new King for Samoa. ask wonldlhe Samoans accent such a rbliug P and who to (here in Samoa' as a chief—ehtef of.iDfluenoe and power, that would Mmmaad r the confidenoe, good- will and allegianeo of all Samoa f In such a ease as the three powers choosing a King the Samoans would not agree to it The Samoans are too much divided, and the two motions, -. nOw so long at variance, would still be at vananoo by their choosing a chief from either one of the rival parties.. At the very first beginning of the Samban chiefs to talk, and .to make up their minds to act a body to form a Government, the two iMurtiea oould to any one chief. I leave out the futile or aborUve aflair of the Vautiounga-Williams affair of making Malietoa Laupepa King, and having the capital at Ma- | tauta, causing Malietoa and his party eventually to flee to Atua for protection. The time I refer is when the! chiefs of Upblo and Savaii, and Tutuila had a dual kingship—one party chooaingMaiietoa Lanpepa;' the other: having Pulepule. The Samoans by this saved a war. Btetx.berger came here to form a Government, found two kings on the throne, but after a little while he got Pulepule to resign. This making of Lanpepa King split the Malietoa family in two, thus weakening this family in the after wars, of the Puietua. To show the division of the two factions at the dual hitigsiup —Maliftoa held the allegiance, of'the greater part of the similar to what it through the infinenoe of all the Ituofafine, except PaUylii, 5 all the! Itua o tano except the Asau district (the which in foitner years was one with the Ituotane for Malietoa); all ! the Faasalelenga. In (Jpolu quite half of Aana, all the Tuaumsuga, and part °' Afa* from Fasaloa westward. Tutuila had a small pkrt for tho' Malietoa family,. The other faojiiwu led by Lulumo«ga and LuHlufi consisted in Bavaii of Asau and part of Palauli. [ Both rehttions of the Tupea family, half of Aana, led by Leulumoexa chiefs and the greater part of Atua.! This last faction, then vailed Tumua,! afterwards Taimua and Faipule—now i the Tupua party—bad more energetic men in their ranks to push* forward th«ir opinions and their policy. In the number of men the Malietoa fam-! Uy had the greater number of adherents. The reason, as it U now stated r>y both the Itu a fafine and Uul o tane, of their leaving Malietoa to join Tama. aeseSi party in rtßfl was, they saw that Tamasese was undor the protection Of Germany, and they expected that by joining Tamasese and give him the preponderance of numbers and power a good end stable govern, ment would be established for the group, but sadly disappointed in this they have returned to. their former *B«g»»W to throw over the domineering govern, ment of TtUtrus thai In \m T*»Ssese had qolie six-eighthe of th* Sa- ! moan pomilatiea, but now he isa ion* waytothemiaoTity. IwiDnowdraw | your attention to the three most prominentehfofs cf/the presentHma, and will show their power and influence. ■> moan esfimatkm. By his mother he is a prominent shisf of Asaau dietriet fa Savaii. ■ln Asau itestt, there are other eHsfi who have 'mere influence than Tamasese, HsYJa also related fo partiiw in Vsjlfooasa and i tf«gCz*uß>^wkj" ; mrfMi Siitki^s.

• flsJs«s; are related to the I falalatd sad the Wage, to Ilia and Taisassaa flamilies of whole of ttotnssnaasga; to Mataafa . of AmeUt and ths Palsfo distrietof i Atas, Thelf fewer is in the number of men, wrtma of the family and > others, the adhe«nts of the family,a family in Samoan politics that can! raise an army without outside help! to uphold th«r cause. 3. Mataafa is of the Tapua family, \ ■>. though not making much use of his 1 Tapua blood; also related to the Ma. tietoa family. The fact is that Matsam, if he was of an ambitious dispositioh, is the most powerful chief in ' Samoa. 'Youmay.ask;why. does he not order the Atua people to leave \ Tamasese. He has seat them word todo as they like/ either to come to him or to atop with Tamasese. The Atua people with Tamasese cannot ' leave Tamasese without a great cause, for when Atua went to protect Tamasese against the Tuamasaga they haii no idea that, the Tuamasaga would bring up their Tama to be King of 'Samoa. They have been caught in a trap,-and are sorry lor it now. If it had been peace timo when Matafa was brought to Apia, very few Atuans would have joined Tamasese. The Mataafa family is of the female side of the Malietoa family, and foreigners who are used to the Samoan family customs, will know what that means in the relationship of one to the other. 4. Tui Manua family of the eastern , part of Samoan group (a small group of Islands called Manua), are the descendants of the first kings of Sa- ' moa. This family is small in number | and of little influence their group at the present day, although; acknowledged from one end of Samoa to the other to he the rightful, and proper kings of Samoa. ■ Manua or Tau was the first island inhabited by the new comers, and their chief took the name of Tui Manua. Prom this group the other islands of Samoa were peopled and in years long ago, before the Tonganj invasion, chiefs of Tutuila, of Upolu and Savaii used to make yearly journey to Manua to pay their respects, their alofa and their tribute to the Tui Manua. Even now the chiefs from the other islands on visiting Manua and its King have to go through certain formalities before admittance to an audience. ' It is not only the relationship of Mataafa to Malietoa and Tupua that makes him the most powerful chief in Samoa, but as an addition to that power, and which draxrs the Tuamas*ga, the best fighting people to him, is the name Mataafa. It is a Tuamasaga name for a high chief and given by a party of the Tuamasaga people to a high chief of another - political division of Samoa. Mataafa s Atua name is Lau ifi afa, but since obtaining the name of Mataafa, that title is recognised'all over Samoa. It will take years and years of good management to make a firm Government in Bamoa, for the two political -factions in the present generations of full-grown and young men must pass away ere the division will die out. The present boy generation must be taught, and their thoughts and minds must be directed into other channels than of this ohicf or that chief, or this faotion or that faction. The present generation is so ingrained with superstition, old 'thought ideas and old customs j too fond of the liberty Of the person end of action; do not ears to he baulked and overridden in this liberty, brooding ovw disappointments and injustice, and food and fnll of revenge far injuries done to them; no id»* of discipline or of looking forward to a future day, I know that in the present war the state of mind, and thsir object of driving Tamasese sad Brsadeis away from the government we* by the Tnemaaaga, Aana, Menonb and fosaafelcaga men, women end children, one and au, to die fighting for their liberty rather than to have to work hard from morning to night all the days of-their Uvea under task masters, or in other words'to beslaves—polofa. The ekiefli of the present day have not the influence and power over the mass of the people as they had is former years. The new regime of Government- having been introduced among them, of lift fir fffehes tmdermiaed the Influence of There are s few d foe Tuamasaga who woedd like Magstos Laapspa to eome faeefc and biK&gaf Ssaoa, but them are a fow. Tswtoseoe the Ba* 'pMM||jraswa ltaiat by foe late wars Mttmßtn llsnii fllisjll (il hi ilhliliil (a Usd is strength, so ?T , u m * B 2 ri s M w . to piapn||sßßa|ority.-

| atven thousesdsoWisn sad su war-1. I ships for Tiainiii's army-to fight fVrabmekkiag. MeJsj^Uths^^ man in Samoa that < nut of the Samoan people united aaoer guards to beflsed around the klngeWp and sde-gusrdjfbrifcspeopUtewsrds the Hag. As has been stated the chiefs up to laTOor even to 1873 were kings in their own districts—" sis." The then form of government was a sort of patriarchal or family government. The chiefs word was law. but before proclaiming those words he first con-' suited the head-men of the district or town, in a fono. In trivial affairs be bad as advisers, the chief speaker ef the district—failauga—and a petty sort of a chief—tuUfale sili—but in graver oases besides the two above be would have at the fo.no, all the head* men of families present; all these as a family giving their ideas upon the case. Afterwards when the chiefs agreed to assemble and unite so as to a gov* ernment, or try to form a government, great jealousy sprung up by the others against those who had appointments and were paid salaries. Each one of the Taimua and faipule who were sent to form a government also wanted appointments and salary. And why is he better than me to get an appointment? Too many cooks spoil the broth, so it was in this case of a government ; too many men were sent up to form the government,' and all wanted to be "cooks." This has been the greatest fault among the Samoans, for each town, not district, sent its two members to the " malo." Such was the case with the German Tamasese Uovernment at Lenluhioega. There were over three hundred men there as the Tamua faipule and faamasinoes. In a government to be formed at the present time a few chiefs and these to be high chief*, with a clever speaker, to a sort of a cabinet council to the king, to be chosen by the king and sanctioned by the people. If the one chosen is not fit to be one another one to be chosen, and if sanctioned by the people to sit in a privy council. The premier and judges also to be chosen by the king, and then to be sanctioned by the people; ' Have no governors; the principal judge of a political division to do the duties of a governor as well as the judgeship. Three Europeans to be. appointed -to advise and help the "malo"—one to help the premier; oue to help the treasurer, the other to have charge of policH aud inland affairs, as of roads, bridges, etc., and a European party as a judge, to sit as a court of appeal from the native judges, and as a judge in causes between whites and mttives. . A small revenue by customs,duties, ; licenses and poll tax—these |o| the I J>resent; other taxes to come ouj'in a ew years afterwards. Make as many governments as you like there will be always two factions till one conquers the other, and is toiklo. While Malietoa was King, and living seemingly under English and American help, Atua never openly went into rebellion .for fear of the two above powers, but then it was ready to break out if occasion required. The occasion arrived and Dr. Stnebol and Mr. Weber soon gut the other party (now with Tamasese)- in open rebellion under German influence. Mataafa'* army now together desire nothing more than the Europeans to withdraw from them for a month, so j that they can assault Tamasese's forts. I Let the Samoans fight the Samoans I without the interference of white man. I His army know s that it would scatter Tsmasese's party in no time, aud then there will be pesos and quietness for the other to reign end govern the group.