THE CRISIS IN SAMOA

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 943, 9 April 1930, Page 10

THE CRISIS IN SAMOA

FROM OCCUPATION ] TO ADMINISTRATION By O. F. XBLSOy (Published by Arrangement) [ln this series of articles, the Hon. O. ! F. Nelson will write on the situation in Samoa from the Samoans’ point of view, and will trace the causes of the unrest in the Territory as seen through Samoan *:es.) IV SHORTLY after the New Zealand j ° Military Expedition had estab lished itself in Western Samoa in 1914, j Colonel Logan revived the system of native government which was in force under the Germans. The Fono of Faipules was convened twice a year; the' Land and Titles Commission met when ( necessary; the Faamasinos and Pule- r nuus took up their functions. And * whether it was owing to Colonel Logan ' \ being too much occupied with the ex- j \ igencies of the military forces, or ‘ whether he considered the German.- ; ! had done well, he certainly copied . their methods and gave as little j trouble to the Samoans as possible. He ' left them to carry on :heir local govern-! ( meat in the villages and districts j , under their own old system with a' , paternal supervision by the Govern- \ ment, as did the Germans. In Savaii. he had the able assistance of Mr. It. Williams, who continued in ihe office he held under the Germans for many years, that of Deputy Administrator of §>avaii. There was also Resident Commissioner on the south coast of Upolu. To the natives in the outside districts very little was known \ of the Great World War then raging, j * xcept when they visited Apia to find j there a large army of occupation. | Native complaints were settled with- ; out much trouble, and had it not been lor the introduction of the influenza, epidemic, and the terrible toll of lives; which resulted therefrom, as well as’ >he unfortunate mishandling of the < tTer of help from American Samoa, j <‘olonel Logan’s administration xnigh* i ■ell have been considered as success-; ml as could be expected in the circumcances. It must be remembered that < olonel Logan was sent to Samoa prim- ; rily as the Commandant of the Military Forces occupying the territory until the termination of the war. THE FIRST “CIVIL" ADMINISTRATOR Colonel Tate followed, but he had a j legacy left him in that the Samoans, j or those of them who did not succumb j to the malady, were just recovering! from the catastrophe, and looked to: New- Zealand with vengeful eyes. Col- ] onel Tate was criticised for his inactivity during his term of four years, but he had no course open to him but to mark time until the smouldering flames of discontent and hatred had simmered down. In addition to the grievous complaints of the Samoans put to him by the Faipules, who had then formed the Mau, he had a hard task in the winding up of the Tuufaatasi Company, a Samoan native cooperative company, the charter for which had been granted by Colonel Logan. The Europeans, especially those of part-Samoan blood, had also lost heavily in the epidemic, and were more than greatly dissatisfied with New Zealand administration. Petitions 1 ; io the King and Prince of Wales i against the continuance of New Zealand control were signed by the Sa-j moans, and complaints from both the 1 Europeans and Samoans were handed j to the New Zealand, Parliamentary j Party which visited Samoa in 1920. Following the usual New Zealand procedure in its dealings with Samoa, the Parliamentary Party and the Ministers who visited Samoa during Colonel Tate’s time admitted no mistakes j on the part of the Administration, but blamed “agitators” for the trouble. A DIFFICULT PERIOD Colonel Tate had, on the whole, a very trying time during the whole of his regime, endeavouring to restore 1 confidence and goodwill of both the j natives and the whites. He could not be said to have been a strong or firm administrator, but the situation required tact and diplomacy more than anything else, and although his supply of these qualities might even be questioned he was successful in pacifying the Faipules before he left Samoa, and the farewell addresses presented to him by the Europeans on his departure prove that they all appreciated the manner in which he handled a very difficult situation which was not altogether of his making. Rumblings were still heard, hut the volcano which was threatening to burst had definitely declined in its activity, so Colonel Tate left to his successor a field almost completely ploughed for the sowing of seeds of cofidence and goodwill.

-WANTED—AN ADMINISTRATOR” When Colonel Tate was about to leave Samoa, the Government advertised in the New Zealand papers for an Administrator to take his place. The advertisement appeared in the same manner as one calling for applications for a master butcher or any other tradesman. It is not for a moment suggested that General Sir George Richardson did apply for the position in answer to this advertisement, but he secured the job, and the very fact that the advertisement appeared showed the absence of any recognition of the prestige attached to the office in the minds of those responsible for the appointment and for the general conduct of affairs in Samoa as controlled from Wellington. Sir George Richardson arrived in Samoa in March, 1923, and was well received by the whole of the people. He had everything in his favour to make a good start adn gain the confidence of the natives and whites. The “Faipule System.” as described by • Papalagi,” is not the one introduced by General Richardson but almost true of the old Samoan system, interference with which is partly responsible for the present unrest. Had General Richardson closely followed the Samoan social system, and even restored one or two points suspended by his predecessors, instead of enlarging the powers of the native government officials at the expense of the prerogatives of the Pulemau (the permanent local councils in the villages and districts), one of the chief complaints of the natives might then have been avoided. The attempt to individualise the communal lands of the Samoans did not tend to make General Richardson popular with the natives. It is true that he submitted to pressure at least to postpone the cutting up of native property when it was found that he struck at the very foundations of the Samoan social system. Meanwhile, some bad feeling had been created among the natives themselves as was described in evidence before the Royal Commission. The wanton extravagance of public moneys, and the inefficiency of the public service dur-

ing General Richardson's administration, are fully detailed in the Verschaffelt - Park - Berendsen Report, which more than substantiates the complaints set out, on these matters, in the reports prepared and handed to the Minister of External Affairs, Mr. (now Sir William) Noswortliy by the Citizens’ Committee of Europeans and Samoans in 1927. The ill-treat-ment of the highest of Samoa’s chiefs by banishment, etc., and the other causes which brought about the present crisis, will be dealt with in the next article. t’fo be Continued.)