THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1877.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Issue 13, 29 December 1877, Page 2

THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1877.

'''"' Y\ < ' I -i.rln hundrrd • :; I fin trill :: have to gi . i lac i ' that ol oni th m and < ight liuud. .J au'.l seventy-eight At the

fins.- of every year it is tin- prnctieo dI every tystwmatM nan of busirtwsto have a reckoning as to how his buwni ss baa succeeded during tin; past year, anil calculate his prospects fur the year to come. We propose, as far u wr knowledge will allow us, to review the proceedings of the past year in Samoa, so that we may be enabled to ascertain whether we have progressed or retrograded. At the beginning of tbr present year Samoa was politically in unite as bail, if not even a worse* state than it now is. Party feeling ran very high, ami various states hail raised the Puletua Hag in opposition to the Taimua and Faipule. The Puletua party then had their head quarters in Apia, the rival Bags were Hying within a mile and a half of one another, and active hostilities between the two parties were considered imminent. Shortly thereafter E. A. Liardet, Esq, 11. M. Consul arrived in Samoa, and as the result of negotiations which he initiated between the two parties both the rival flags were pulled down, and after various meetings had been "held, in which all the foreign Consuls took part, hopes were entertained that a united Government would be formed and the .scourge of civil war be avoided. About the month of April, the Taimua and Faipule, knowing no doubt their own weakness, desired a stronger power to throw its protecting wing over them. A deputation of t 'bid's was sent to Fiji with a very indefinite petition praying for Great Britain to grant them her protectorate, to prevent, civil war amongst themselves, and also to protect them against foreigners. This petition was presented to Sir Arthur Gordon, who, not being able to obtain any definite statement from the deputation as to what the Samoans really wanted, promised to forward it on to Great Britain, and the Chiefs returned home, arriving here about the 23rd of May. The next day the Taimua and Faipule again hoisted the old flag, but this time it was hoisted with the United States flag—the stars and stripes—Hying over the Samoan flag, presumably as a sign of the protection of the American eagle. Naturally, the Puletua flag was again raised in those states where opposition to the Taimua and Faipule ran highest, while some of the states which had flown the Puletua Hag before, preferred waiting the issue of the appeal winch had been sent to England, it does not appear that the American flag was hoisted with the authority of the United States Government, for it did not float long over Mulinuu Point, having been taken down on the declaration of war between the Taimua and Puletua. This war as will remembered was a short one. The ~l ' il, ' .t , u a P ar ty succumbed almost immediv l;-i us i'lctcViciia &dt:s, * "Fnc'wih'rinYparty have been carrying on the Government ever since, but without, so far as we can learn any head, or even the semblance of a Constitution. Then comes the Tutuila war, which is, as we write, still undecided. Thus, politically we can not be said to have improved our •condition since last New Year's dav. " Wars and rumors of wars " are still the order of the day, and, so far as the natives are 'concerned", we seem no nearer a settlod Government than at any period during the year just passing away.

Then as to our success from a commercial point of view, from the want of statistics, which, as a necessary consequence of the -state of the islands, we are unable to procure, we cannot by figures show whether we are in a better or worse state than we were when this year first commenced its course. But wo fear it must be admitted that, could statistics bo obtained, the present year would compare unfavourably with the preceding one. From the'fact that a great deal of the success of the merchant depends upon the peaceable state of the people, these wars cannot but tell against them. During war time, not only are a great number of the men, who would be preparing produce for the market, actively engaged therein, but numbers of the cocoanut trees, from the nut of which copra, the chief export .of these islands, is made, are destroyed. "'As it takes these trees some seven or eight years to grow to maturity, this must of necessity militate against our success commercially. Therefore we come reluctantly to the conclusion that both politically and commercially we are, to say the least, no better off now than we were at the commencement of the year.

But what are our prospects for the coming year? Are they any brighter than the latter Jays of tho present f We are afraid they are not, So long ils the natives liave togovorn themselves, unaided by some stronger Power who will keep them in check, we wil\ always have civil Avar. The power of the chiefs appears to be so equal, and jealousy so inherent in them, that, even were they to be unanimous to-day in tho election of a king for say five years, they would certainly tight over it before that time had expired. _ Then Avhere are' we to look for help ? The natives appear to tie most taken with America, but We fail to see any reason for their sanguine expectations in any official declaration which that Government lias made. In f m .| everything points tho other way, and unless she alters her policy vory much indeed, no help can lie expected from that quarter. We have not yet hoard of Cermany being desirous nf interfering in SamoMi polities, She has certainly "'• niosl lubjecl and tho tui t coui

"" rcittl intcn i hi n , but, notwith land in;: that, we doubt v iy much whether ■ he Could be induced to (nil V ' ' ; ■•

4cps iii getting the natives to establish t stable form of Government, then, the petition sent to Great Britain, wh.it of that ' Through tin- tungluh we

learn that the British Government .1" 11.it wish tn have anything to do with ik. We siiv informed tltat the official reply t i the petition is at present in the hands of the Governor of Fiji, who is t<> he here and let us know iU contents in the beginning of February. He wishes upon that occasion to have a large meeting with the chief*, but we are not very sanguine <>f much arising from that Unless Sir Arthur Gordon is prepared, either alone or in concert with the repre-

sentatives in these seas of the other gnat Powers, to follow up his advice by whole-

some forcible persuasion, we fear all that he will say to them will do no good. It will only be so much breath wasted and time lost. The cloud that at present envelopes our polities is so dense and dark that we cannot see a spec of light. We will hope, however, that as we enter upon the new year the silver lining will show itself, and that the present will prove to be the darkest hour before tin' dawn. That something may turn up which will enable us to give a better account of our reckoning at the end of next year than appeals to shadow forth at present, is our sincere desire. In that hope we trust that the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight will prove a happy one politically, commercially, and socially to us all, and as we will not have another opportunity before this year has passed away, we now wish our readers, one and all, A Happy New Year !