SAMOAN MANDATE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 February 1921, Page 7

SAMOAN MANDATE.

PROVISIONS OF THE DOCUMENT. WHAT NEW ZEALAND HAS PROMISED. Th© Prime Minister has received a cablegram from the High Commissioner for New Zealand (Sir James Allen) stating that the mandate for Western Samoa has now been issued by the Council for the League of Nations. A certified copy will be posted to the Prime Minister this week by the Secre-tary-General of the League. An uncertified copy received by Sir James Allen will be posted from London. The text of the mandate under which New Zealand holds Western Samoa is now in the possession of the Government. The plenipotentiaries of the British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan agree that a mandate shall be conferred upon His Britannic Majesty, to be exercised on his behalf by the Government of the Dominion of New Zealand, to administer German Samoa. The United States will have power to adhere to the declaration on ratifying the Treaty of Versailles. The principal pal articles of the mandate are as follow: His Britannic Majesty, for and on be. half of the Government, accepts the mandate hereby conferred upon him and undertakes to execute the same on behalf of the League of Nations, in accordance with the following provisions: In case of any dispute arising as to whether any island is or is not included in the above mandate, the question shall be referred to the Council, of the League of Nations, whose decision shall be final.

The mandatory shall have full power of administration and of legislation over the territory subject to the present mandate as an integral portion of the Dorninios of New Zealand, and may apply the laws of the Dominion of New Zealand to the territory, subject to such local modifications as circumstances may require. The mandatory undertakes to promote to the utmost the material and moral well-being and the social progress of the inhabitants of the territory. The mandatory undertakes that the slave trade shall be prohibited and that no forced labor shall be permitted, except for essential public works and services, and then only for adequate remuneration. The mandatory further undertakes that the traffic in arms and ammunition shall be controlled in accordance with principles analogous to those laid down in the Convention relating to the control of the arms traffic. The supply of intoxicating spirits and beverages to the natives shall be '.prohibited. The military training of the natives, otherwise than for purposes of internal police and the local defence, of the territory shall be prohibited. Furthermore no military or naval bases shall be established or fortifications erected in the territory. Subject to the provisions of any local law for the maintenance of public order and public morals, the mandatory guarantees in the territory freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, and undertakes to allow all missionaries (nationals of any State member of the League of Nations') tn ente/ into, travel and i eside in the territory for the purpose of prosecuting their calling. The mandatory shall make to the Council of the League of Nations an annual report to the satisfaction of the Council, containing full information with regard to the territory, and indicating the measures taken to carry out the obligations assumed. The mandate cannot be modified except by consent of the Council of the League of Nations. If any dispute as to interpretation arises, which cannot be settled by negotiation, it is to be submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice provided for by the Covenant of the League of Nations.