GERMAN PROPERTY IN SAMOA.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 251, 22 October 1926, Page 11

GERMAN PROPERTY IN SAMOA.

(To the Editor.i Sir,— ln reply to the communication published in the "Samoa. Times" of September 24, headed "A Samoan Matter," H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition in New Zealand House of Representatives, has been making inquiries into the matter of German estates. The Hon. W. Noeworthy, Minister of External Affairs, in a letter to the Leader of the Opposition, dated 31st August, states: "That on inquiry I find that' matters in connection with the valuing of the properties in question and the accounting for them through'the Clearing Office, has not yet been finalised, and that it is not possible therefore -to furnish ■ the information requested this session.- I anticipate being in a position to do i ep. next session. The value of these, pror perties when . fixed . will .' appear in . the Reparation Account as a credit-to. Germany and as a debit against New Zealand, etc/ As far as I understand the procedure in.England took the form of a request from the Foreign Office that all persons • and companies who were creditors to German nationals at the outbreak of war supply the Foreign Office with complete details of the indebtedness of German nationals.. The procedure that followed was the seizure of all German properties in the territories captured from Germany, by .Great Britain. Almost immediately upon the termination of the war, all seized properties were auctioned hTLondon, and the proceede 'were set', apart to repay British' nationals for debts owing by German nationals. What has New Zealand done with the properties seized by them, and the revenues'from these same properties ?. Apparently they have hung on to. both properties, buildings and even furniture. Would it not have been an all round better policy to adopt the British method of disposing of all eeized properties immediately on the termination of the war, and thereby enabling Samoa's plantations to become active by private capital and enterprise? This procedure, would not have interfered in the least with any credits accruing to Germany, for obviously the balance of the proceeds of the sales of German properties, after the payment of debts due by . German nationale, would still have been credited to Germany. Aβ it stands, the Minister of External Affairs informs.the Leader of the Opposition (eight years after the war) that he is not able to let him know what is the position to-day regarding the German reparations. Iβ it not remarkable that jrinee the New Zealand occupation of Samoa probably a quarter of a million (£330,000) invested profitably by British planters during the German administration, was compelled to go into liquidation after seizure of Samoa, due primarily to a blundering policy pursued by the Administration in New Zealand and the Administration here? Meanwhile the seized properties owned by the New Zealand Government were losing heavily, obviously at public expense, but private enterprise could jnot of course, do thie, and had to liquidate. The Administration, after considerable loss, were enabled to. work profitably only after s return to modified labour conditions* which had been denied a few years before to the British interests. Probably the bursting tip of the British planting companies was caused more by bringing Samoa into New Zealand party politics than anything else. Aβ far as the writer can ascertain, New Zealand w the only country in the British Empire? that; Jβ still holding on to and making no effort to dispose of private properties seized from the German nationals.—l am, etc.

G. E. L. WESTBBOOK.

Apia, September 26.