THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1879.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 92, 5 July 1879, Page 2

THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1879.

The past week has been one of uo small iuierosit to our community. For som« weeks pnst, or, in-other words, since the party under the lead of Malietoa gave tlio late " Government" notice to guit and quietly took ]KjKseseiou of Mulinuu, the capital, speculation lias hu«u rife aH to what the issue of matters would-be. To judge from the. eagerness of natives of both.partios to sell their family land? in order to /purchase "needle-guns" and auinjimitioii,.oncwrtuld imagine we were on tlmeve of one of tho-bloodicst civil ware ever wi m t liit* orany land. 'But •aa week aftor week passed on and the triumphant march hack.to thr.c.i]»ital of the quondam " Government," so often declored to bo merely n question of hours, wub postponed ou account of the lack of the ' sinews of war," .wo brgan to hppe that ■things would settle down quietly,-und after a little, some compromise bet worm the two parties,.or othar.peaeoful solution of the difficulties, might bo arrived at. Up to the time of which we .speak the representatives of Foreign Powers und •the foreigners generally, with one notable

exception, had kept entirely neutral, leaving the natives to settle purely uative questions by themselves. It matters little to foreigners whether a Tupua or a Malietoabe on the-throne, no long as he conducts himself iu a kingly way, give* them the protection they desire, and is rtS]>eoted by his subjects. But any order of things was better than that to which we have been subjected for some months or even years back, ef being under a " Government" who ovoid not rule even their own people, *vho professed to hold to -a'constitution, almost every sectiou of which they havo broken, and who seemed entirely to forget that such things as honesty and good faith exist. Things were in this state when the U.S.S. Lackawanna reached our shores. Jt at once bocaino a matter of anxiety as to what was her errand, aud what action she would take regarding Samoan affairs. On Monday morning last Malictoapaid an official visit on board, was cordially received, but no salute was given to him on leaving the ship. Very shortly thereafter a deputation of the old " Government," who had como up during the previous night, and who had, under false pretences, claimed and obtained house room from their enemies, went ou board. They, too. were well received, but when they left a salute of seventeen guns was fired in their honour. As soon as they had received the salute they pulled outside tho harbour and, thanks to the strong trade wind which waß blowing, they were soon well on their way to carry the glad tidings of their reception to their colleagues in Aana. Well was it for them that they got such a good start, for the feeling roused among the natives of the Malietoa paity, by what they supposed was intended as a deliberate insult to their party, was so keen that had they been able to lay hold uf the boat's company it would certainly have fared badly with them By many who know Samoans best the tirst gun of the above-mentioned salute was looked upon as a declaration of war, not from the belief that Captain Chandler meant it as such, but because the effect it would have on the Samoan mind would be that the Lackawanna had como to aid one party, and would have nothing to do with the other. This would naturally cause all wavering districts to declare for the side on which were foreign guns and disciplined men. That the efi'eot of tho salute would Le what we have described is amply proved by (he fact that war messengers were sent out by the late "Government" on the same night on which they heard the news. These war messengers were to beg tho various districts to assemble immediately and with tho aid of their unexpected but very welcome allies from the United States forthwith to crush their opponents.

Tho effect of the salute on the mind of the foreign residents was scarcely less grave than on that of the natives, until the true state of the case came to be known. It then appeared that Captain Chandler had, naturally enough, misunderstood the real state of affairs, that tho said chiefs of the old "Government' had been represented to him as Cabinot officers and important members of both houses of the Samoan Government which had entered into treaty relations with the United States, while Malietoa was only the hereditary chief of one division of Samoa. It is even reported that one of them was introduced as " At-torney-General." Who the individual is who claimed to have been elevated to this important position is a mystery to us; for although we have all heard of a candidate for tho position, the general public aie in entire ignorance of anyoDo having been " gazottod " to that office ! Naturally enough Captain Chandler felt that, according to his instructions, he was bound to salute such an important deputation. But subsequently he discovered tho false position in wliich he had unwittingly placed himself, and, as we understand, frankly explained to Maliatoathat no sleight had been intended, and offered that, if ho would pay him a second visit, he would give him the compliment of a salute'of the same number of guns as he had given to his opponents, thus.putting them both on a perfectly equal footing, so far as he was concerned. This was done on Thursday last, and has had, we are glad to say, the good effect of quieting tho feelings of :the Malietoa party, and restoring the prospects of an amicable settlement of affairs.

But we have still further good news to record. Our renders will remember ■ that as soon as war seemed .inevitable it was agreed between our 'three Consuls and the chiefs of both native parties, that a.certain district surrounding and.including our town should bo declared noutml, and that until all fear of lighting bo removed, they assume control over thesaid ■neutral territory. This lias been done, and some very good.regulations have been issued by the Consuls, whioh havo the support of all the well-disposed of 'our community. At one of the Consular meetings, held in tho early part of the

week, it was prqpesed that the presence in our port of naval officers of Germany and the United States, and the visit of Mr. Acting Consul-General Maudslay made it appear appropriate that a meeting of all the representatives of the three nations be held, to take into consideration the position of affairs, and see what could be done to put things on a plain uninistakeablo basis.

This meeting «was held on Wednesday last, and tho issue of it is the manifesto which we print in -another column in Samoan and English. For this remarkably clear and straightforward declaration of tho position taken up by tho representatives of the three Powers, we have to heartily thank the gentlemen whose names are signed to the document. After this there will be no excuse for any misunderstnuding on the part of the natives, or for any interference with Sanioun ntt'airs on the pai t of any foreigner. If the Samoans are left to settle their ipurely native questions alone, and have it clearly before their minds that foreign powers having infinitely mora important •mutters to absorb their atte.-dioii, think very little about, and care still less for, these islands, we have very little doubt but that the question of which party is entitled to recognition as the rulers of Samoa will soon be settled.