The Daily News. WEDNESDAY. JULY 24, 1901. THE PACIFIC ISLANDS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 153, 24 July 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY. JULY 24, 1901. THE PACIFIC ISLANDS.

Amongst a number of interacting despatches kid on the table of the House is one relating to Samoa and islacd annexation, Mr. Chamberlain, writing on the settlement ef the Samoan difficulty, refers to the failure of the joint administration. At first sight, he says, the natural direction in which 10 seek for a solution of the question appeared to be that of a partitian of the islands, but the obstacles to thin I course proved insuperable. The possession of rights over the harbour of Pango Pango gave the Unit«d Stat* an indisputable claim to the island of Tutuila, but, to say nothing of the intimate relations subsisting between the neighbouring island of TJpolu and Savaii, which would have caused gnat difficulty in any attempt te administer them separately, neither Great Britain nor Germany had any preponderating right to the more important and valuable island of TJpolu, and neither Power could be expected to surrender it to the other without receiving adequate compensation elsewhere. Every effort was made by Her Majes'y's Government, in view of the great interest felt in Samoa by the Australasian colonies to secure the possession of TJpolu by important sacrifices of valuable territory in other parts of the Empire. It should be remembered that tbe country has no separate righ's in Samoa, and that her position in the group was both territorially and polili cally identical with that of Germany, and that while Great Britain enjoyed perhaps the larger share of the external commerce of tho group, German interests inland, and in the internal trade, were largely preponderant. The same observation applies to the territorial and political situation Jn Tonga, though the material interests of Great Britain there largely exceed those of Germany, and the withdraw A of Germany from Tonga is parallel to that of Great Britain from Samoi, so that the only actual cession of territoiy in the Western Pacific which has taken place under the convention is that of the islands in the Solomon Group which Germany has handed over to this country. In reference to Island annexation, Mr Chamberlain says, regjrding certain groups of island's, in so far as they are British possessions or protectoratss, His Majesty's Government is of opinion that the existing arrangements for the Government of these islands are not such as should be permanently maintained, and they believn that it will ba found desirable in tbefutme to come to some arrangements under which the great self-governing colonies in whose interests they Lave been brought under British control may relieve His Majesty's Government of the responsibility for their administration. However, the matter is one requiring great nutiou in view ef the important and powerful native and other interests involved, aDd His Majesty's Government would not he justified in tiking any decisive steps in regard to it without the most careful examination and consideration.