Samoan Natives in an Ugly Mood

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 166, 4 October 1927, Page 9

Samoan Natives in an Ugly Mood

VISITORS’ IMPRESSIONS STRONG GOVERNMENT WANTED “There is no doubt that the Hon. O. F. Nelson is the uncrowned king of Samoa.” This remark was made by both Mr. J. J. Dougall, the Christchurch solicitor, and ex-Mayor of Christchurch, and Mr. B. Falck, president of the Canterbury Automobile Association, who returned by the Tofua to-day. “The attitude of the natives is one of passive resistance. They refuse to work,” said Mr. Dougall. “It seemed to me that, as far as the natives are concerned, the Government has ceased to function. “A member of the Citizens’ Committee admitted to me that the natives are out of hand. The committee looked to Mr. Nelson to control them when he returned.” “It is impossible to carry on under the conditions at present existing in Samoa,” continued Mr. Dougall. “One of the parties wili

have to go. It will be months before the natives get back to nor-

mal.” “The situation is more difficult than New Zealand thinks,” was another of Mr. Dougall’s comments. “Personally, I think the administration has been too paternal and too lenient. It has done everything possible for the natives.” There must be a strong Government before the natives can be brought back to normal, he thought. When the Tofua arrived at Apia, the natives must have thought that Mr. Nelson was on board, as they had gathered in large numbers. All of them adopted a sullen attitude, and many were in their war paint, but by the next day the natives had returned to their villages. There was no demonstration when the commission sat. When Mr. Dougall left there was talk of keeping the commission in Samoa for three months. “I had a talk with Mr. Nelson and with Mr. Smyth,” said Mr. Dougall, “and they were both exceedingly confident of the result of the commission. Personally, I thought that they were over-confident.” Despite the present outlook in Samoa, Mr. Dougall found a great improvement since he was last there, both on the waterfront and on the plantations. Rubber is now a paying proposition, and also the cocoanut. Great credit, he says, is due to the Administrator, Sir George Richardson. Sanitary conditions in the native villages have improved, and fresh water is now laid on to them all. The comfort of the natives, has been cared for, particularly from a medical point of view. But the natives are in an ugly mood. For months they have refused to bring in any rhinoceros beetles. Mr. Falck made the same observations as Mr. Dougall. He said that on the day that the Tofua arrived many canoes came from the outlying islands, and that on the day Mf. Nelson was due to return to Samoa an assembly of from 10,000 to 12,000 natives was expected to welcome him.