THE GERMANS IN SAMOA.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 280, 11 July 1888, Page 5

THE GERMANS IN SAMOA.

Auckland, July 9. I>. the course ot his lecture on Friday night at the V.M.C.A. Hall, the Key. Geo. Biown referred at &orae length to the Tongan natives, whom he considered as a good type of the eastern Polynesians, lie mentioned that they had now reached an advanced state ol eivili-ation. Tongans could play Haydn V selections on the oigan, and also take shorthand reports ot speeches'. Mr Brown devoted some time to describing the various groups of islands in the I'aciiic, \\h:ch was done in a remarkably graphic stylo. Speaking of the annexation of ti.imoa by Germany, the lecturer denominated King George ot Tonga as the Napoleon of the South Pacific. He was known to be about 90 years of age, as he was a grown lad in 1806, when the schooner Port-au-Princo was captured. He possessed great powu\ which lie had used wisely and well. That fact had saved Tonga from many of the evils which afilieted Samoa to-day. There was no chiet in Samoa who had the power to say that ho was king. The whole trouble was that the people ot Samoa had tried to set up laws on the basis of our English laws. But, unfortunately, they had no Napoleon amongst them, like King George of Tonya. The result was that pour Samoa was devastated by internecine wais. As to thp German annexation of Samoa, he thought that the English nation had no light to complain because another Power had taken that which the} would not themselves touch. The fact w is that the Samoans could not govern themselves unlesssupportedby some outside Power. Time after time the Government ot that group had been o tiered to England, and just as often had ifc been refused. In his opinion, the British Government ought to have accepted it. (Applause ) It ought to have taken all the islands of the South Pacific. Not that he wanted to grasp the la. d ; no, but bad as we were, he believed that the English nation were better than other nations to look after the interests of the natives of the South Pacific Is-land?. Now Germany had annexed the group, and he for one would say, better German i ule than the continued waif aro which had hitherto di'sti acted the land. The trouble was that Germany was simply keeping out other Powers without acceptingany responsibility itself. Much as he lespected the great German nation, he must say that their treatment of Malietoa was utterly unworthy ot such a great people. They first made it impossible for him to govern or raise taxes, and then ended by giving him 24 horns' notice in which to pay 13,000 dollars without even making any statement of claims. They simply said that damages to the extent ol 4,C00 dollars per annum had been done to German residents, and demanded instant restitution. It was singular thifc each year the damages had been just 4,000 dollais, neither more less. Of course Malietoa could not pay, and he v, as deposed. He could not help thinking that when the story of Samoa carno to bo written, people would recognise the magnanimity of that daik-skinned king, who, while safe amongst his mountain fastnesses in the interior, had voluntarily come in and given himself up to save his people suffering. And then the great German nation, which had made war upon him, transported him a a ay to another land to die in exile from his country. He repeated that he considered such conduct was unworthy of the German Empire. (Applause.) Still, it must be remembered that the German colonists had done much for the commerce of Samoa. He would not have the slightest objection if the Germans would pro perl j annex Samoa and hold themselves re-spon.-ibloforitsfufruregoodgoverninent. He thought that in New Zealand they should keep their eyes upon the commerce of the group. The Rev. J. S. Hill showed fifteen pictiues of the Islands bj r aid of the limelight. These were briefly described by the lecturer, who also devoted some time to describing the home life and peculiarities of the Polynesian race.