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LABOR IN SAMOA.

NOT A WHITE MAN'S LAND. THE INDENTURING SYSTEM. (By Wire.—Own Correspondent.) Wellington, Last Night. Indentured labor was discussed in the House to-night after Sir James Allen had said that the New Zealand Government did not intend to prohibit the use of indentured labor in Samoa. It would be quite impossible to rely on the labor of the Samoan people for the development of Samoa, he said. Mr. Holland: Indentured labor is slavery. Sir James Allen: I hope no member will seriously talk about slavery in this connection. We are prohibited from that by the mandate itself, and we should not be allowed to indenture labor if there was to be any suggestion of slavery about it. Those who think that. this country can be run without labor from outside are looking at a shadow. The Samoan natives will not labor iu Samoa except to provide the food which they require to live upon, and this they can provide very easily.' If the country is to be developed some provision has to be made to secure labor from outside. We have to accept responsibility for these Islands going back to nature, or something worse than nature, or we have to let labor come in from outside. Sir Joseph Ward said that the labor question in Samoa was a very difficult one. Outside labor was a necessity on the Island, and they imist make up their minds and calmly and deliberately face legislation for the carrying on of .development work in these tropical i islands: The Prime Minister said indentured ■■\abor might be slavery, but it had never been slavery. The Germans had employed indentured Chinese labor at Samoa, and many of the workers were still on the Island. Their terms had expired long ago, and if the Germans had remained at Samoa the laborers probably would have returned home, but under British rule the men had asked that their terms should be extended. They were being paid better, fed better, and made more comfortable than ever hit their lives before, and he believed tlmt many of them would never leave Samoa. If the climate of Samoa were temperate there would be no need of indentured labor, but Samoa was not a white man's country. If the plantations were to be kept in cultivation colored labor must be employed. The alternative was to let the land go out of cultivation and revert to jungle. The necessary labor might be got from the West" Indies. That had been suggested at the time the British took possession. The colored workers, in any case, had perfect freedom. There was no case of slavery about the system. Mr. Fraser: Why not have free labor, colored or otherwise? Mr. Massey: Exactly. I have not the slightest doubt that when the natives understand the position they .will go to Samoa without indentures. I believe it will be possible to do away with the indenturing system, but we have not yet arrived at that stage.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19191018.2.46

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1919, Page 5

Word count
Tapeke kupu
499

LABOR IN SAMOA. Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1919, Page 5

LABOR IN SAMOA. Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1919, Page 5

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