THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1878.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Issue 24, 16 March 1878, Page 2

THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1878.

PatieScr and perseverance has at last been rewarded. For several years past various attempts have been made by the natives, assisted and advised by Amori■cans to have these islands in some shape TO form Americanised, and they have at last succeeded, but whether it will be to their satisfaction remains yet to be seen. Thousands of dollars have from time to time been spent by tho Native Government for the purpose of attaining their ambition. Petitions and messages have been sent at various times, to all of which tho American Government have given no encouragement. Notwithstanding this the Samoons adopted nil despermdum as their motto, and determined to try tho effect of a truo born Samoan upon them. Behold tho result! That which tho renowned Steinbcrgcr and the illustrious Griffin, author of " My Danish Days," Minister Plenipotentiary to the Samoan Government, iic, &&, wore unable to accomplish has been effected by tho Secretary for State of the small kingdom of Samoa. By reference to another column tho text of the treaty between the United States and Samoa, which was ratified at Washington upon the 30th of January, will be found. It is very short; only containing two artiolcs, but in thoso two articles aro contained matters of great importanoo, Itoth to Amerieuns and Somoans. Previous to tho arrival of tho Ada May, it was currently reported (hat (In- United Stated fi.nl Mgued a treaty of protection with Samoa. This rrport wtl received with very gravo doubts. For it was thought that it would bo necessary io alter the Constitution of America beferi »uoh a

tUing coukl bo legally done. Be this kow . it may. we do not hesitate to jsay that; the I treaty is, as well as being one-of amity a ; commerce with the Samoans, one of i protection—to the Americans. Just take J a glance at it, and what do you find there I Naval vessels of the United States are to have the privilege of entering and using the port of Pago Pago, and establishing coaling stations, &<x, upon the shores, " and the Samoan Government will hereafter neither exercise nor authorize any jurisdiction within said port adverse to such rights of the United Mates restrictive thereof." And, further, there are to bo no import or export duties upon goods coming into or going out of Samoa in American vessels, and only one-half per cent, per ton is allowed to bo charged by the Samoans as tonnago duty upon American ship owners. Every concession is made to the Americans by the Samoans, but none the other way. Under these circumstances wo fail to see what benefit will accrue to this unfortunate country and its native inhabitants by the treaty that has just been signed, and which has cost them so much. We do' not believe for one moment that the natives bargained for this, and that as soon as they comprehend the full meaning of it they will very soon tire of it. Tlioy have so bored the United States that we are not at all surprised that they should have made a treaty which is all in their own favor, but we would much rather lira seen them make an offer to assist in the formation of a sound Government. They might very easily have done this and it would have been some sort of a set off for the very valuable concessions made to them by the natives. The "San Francisco Chronicle" of February Ist, evidently thinks that America is doing a great thing for Samoa, for it winds up an article on the recent war at Tutuila with :—" Hut happily the cruel butchery is ended and the Samoans are once more at peace. There is no doubt that the news of the passage of the treaty of commerce and friendship with the "United States will have the effect of harmonizing the animosities growing out of the late civil war, and that the natives will recognize the dignity to which they have "been raised through such a treaty. They certainly now have a good opportunity to show whether they are practically capable of benefitting themselves by the provisions of such a document by increasing their trade and commerce'. If so, they can soon recover from the disasters following their fratricidal strife." We must say that we fail to see how the Samoans are going to be benefitted by the provisions of the doucment, particularly in the matter of trade and commerce. llow are they to recover from the disasters following their fratricidal strife when, they have no chance of making any money out of the treaty ? They are debarred from imposing import or export duties, and bein<' thus debarred from obtaining revenue, how are they to keep their Government out of debt ? This being the case howare they benefitted > By the half per cent, per ton tonnage dues, which will enrich the coffers of the Samoan State to the enormous amount of about $3 per annum >. Why, it will nut pay the Government to keep an experienced accountant to audit the hooks ! But it is probably in the fact that the revenue of the country will not pay carpetbaggers to interfere with it that the Samoans will be benefitted by this treaty. Another set off for the advantage gained fro\n Samoa by Americans is the fact that America promises to use her good offices in settling disputes between Samoa and any other country with which the United States is at peace. Well that itself is worth something to be sure, particularly if it is a matter where the German or British authorities for instanco have a fine to collect from the Samoans, and to prevent any bother (he United States stop in and pay it. If the United States could do no more, they might at least have provided that the laws of Samoa be respected by the' citizens of the States living here, but this is not so, and we can come to no other conclusion but that America gets everything and Samoa nothing. In fact in the language of an American journal upon the subject this treaty gives us [Americans] important privileges over the islands. The only good thing for the Samoans is the sacing clause, which provides that either party can withdraw from the treaty by giving six months notice. It is probable that this will be made use of sooner than may be expected.