SAMOAN NEWS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 612, 14 March 1929, Page 14

SAMOAN NEWS

PUBLIC SERVICE UPSET HUNTING ELUSIVE TAXPAYERS (Special to THE SUE) APIA, February 28. The sensations of the month have been the findings of the three commissioners who were sent here last October at the request of the Administrator to inquire into the staff work and finances of the public service, and who spent two months probing deeply into every detail connected with the Administration. The “Big Three” were not very communicative, nor were they ' er y approachable; but, as reported at tho time, there was a distinct uneasiness in the service circles while thev were there, and but lightly-concealed apprehension of where “the axe” would fall after they had departed. PUBLIC SERVICE PERTURBED “The beach of a thousand tongues,” as R.L.S. once dubbed our waterfront became busier than ever with rumour and guesswork, but even then nothing so drastic as that now reported was anticipated. The very condensed references which have been wirelessed are sufficient to indicate the most sweeping changes and a severe indictment of our public service, and the full report by mail is eagerly awaited. When the Royal Commission reported, and when Geneva gave its verdict on the petition to the League of Nations the Government furnished a very full' summary free to the papers here but only fragments of the public service investigators’ report have filtered through. Still it has been more than sufficient to cause a flutter in the civil service dovecote and the normal torpor has given way to hurried preparations for a general exodus. In fact the whole administrative service is now in a state of flux, with a general demobilisation of the old staff and the early drafting in of a new one.

STATUS OF THE TERRITORY The decision of the Supreme Court in the Tamasese case has also been a topic of much discussion among the permanent residents, native and European, who are not so much worried about the woes of the civil servants. The finding of Mr. Justice Blair that New Zealand derives its authority to rule over Samoa directly from the League of Nations, and not from his Majesty the King, comes as somewhat of a shock to those who have studied the constitutional position here from the_ time when first the three big nations took control, then Germany, and now the League of Nations, with New Zealand acting as its mandatory and responsible only to Geneva for its administration. We had the impression that New Zealand was acting on behalf of the King, and that British subjects here could claim the fullest protection of the British Constitution. That idea has been strengthened by speeches from Administrators, Gov-ernor-Generals, visiting Cabinet Ministers, and others, until it became accepted as an undisputed fact, and if the decision in the Tamasese case is a sound one our status now becomes radically different from what has always been assumed. • HIDE AND SEEK ,announcement of Sir Joseph Yv ard that the Military [Police Force v/as to be reduced considerably and converted into a civil police was welcomed by the people, as the presence of a body of men armed to the teeth against the conscientious objectors and passive resisters evading the poll tax g-ave an impression of martial law, which was quite unwarranted. Inspector Lander, of the New Zealand police, has now arrived to take charge of the conversion process, and the 12 months’ term of the military force recruited last year in Mew Zealand expires next month. It is stated that one ol the conditions of appointment for the new civil force will be a ban on any of them marrying: “into the blood" while on service here. The disappearing- military police have been having a merry time to wind up with in pursuit of shy native taxpayers, and it has developed into a game of hide-and-seek with honours mostly with the wily Mau adherents, as arrests recently have been very few and far between. Both sides have developed an espionage system in anticipating each other’s manoeuvres. The Mau has organised outposts along the Vaimoso and Lepea Roads, and a vigilant watch keeps ceaseless guard night and day. At night a huge lali (a native wooden gong) is pounded at intervals to keep the sentries awake, and the approach of any raiding party is signalled by a ringing warning from a conch shell. There are many false alarms, but the raids to round up the poll tax defaulters have proved fruitless, as they soon lose themselves in the depths of the native bush nearby, where food can be found in abundance. HOPES OF A SETTLEMENT While this “cat-and-mouse” business has its amusing and lighter side, it is realised on all hands that it cannot go on indefinitely, and the present policy of trying to find out who will get tired first will never be settled. The promise of Sir Joseph Ward to give the Mau fair and generous treatment has created a good impression, but his reiterated demand that the Mau must first submit unconditionally to the present laws and ordinances finds no sign of any response. It would appear that an essential preliminary to restoring tranquillity is for the New Zealand Government to advise his Excellency exactly how far it is prepared to meet the demands of the Mau for a voice, as taxpayers, in the control of their country, and to what extent the harsh and oppressive ordinances complained of will be repealed. That would open the path for a big peace fono, where it would not be difficult to clear the whole disturbance right up and give us peace and harmony between the authorities and the Samoans. As it is the European members of tho quiescent Citizens’ Committee are claiming that the findings of the public service investigators prove far more in.the way of extravagance, incompetence, and waste m the Administrative service than was alleged by them when they drafted the reports which led up to the Royal Commission and the subsequent deportation of Messrs. Nelson, Smyth and Gurr. The pending general clean-up of the public service will remove some of the stumbling blocks to a peaceful settlement of past troubles, and a general amnesty for all political offenders would now be a welcome gesture, which would open the way to negotiations for the lasting peace which everyone desires, and which is essential for the success of our reorganised public service.