SAMOAN AFFAIRS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 233, 2 October 1928, Page 8

SAMOAN AFFAIRS.

SIR THOMAS HENLEY'S VIEWS MATT SOLICITOR REPLIES. HEAD IN A HORNETS' NEST. When Sir Thomas Henley made up his mind to settle the Samoan question he little realised into what a hornets' nest he was thrusting his knightly head. Doubtless, he had the best of intentions and New Zealand would have been dulj grateful had he been able tc throw light on a situation which, even New Zealand statesmen have found too much for them, but nevertheless the fact remains that many people in Samoa consider it sheer presumption for a visitor of a few hours to interpret the situation and offer solutions. Probably by this time Sir Thomas will have received his copy of the "Samoa Guardian," which contains the reply to the "Most Outspoken Statement by Sir Thomas Henley," which appeared in the "Fiji Times" of August 7, 1928. The reply, which is written by Captain T. B. Slipper, solicitor to the Mau, gives a fuller version of the interviews the Australian knight had with various prominent residents of Samoa and upon which he bases his arguments. "The purpose of this article," commences Mr. Slipper, "is to show that in his statements concerning Samoa, Sir Thomas has proved himself to be ignorant, egotistical and an impudent intermeddler." Mr. Slipper then shows that Sir Thomas spent only 44 waking hours in Samoa and that although he professed to have secured introductions to persons of every political colour he did not call on Mr. Slipper until the last minute. "He indicated to me that he wished to inquire into Samoan affairs. Nevertheless, most of his brief visit to my office was devoted to his informing (?) me concerning these matters. I was at length obliged to remark, 'You appear to have a totally wrong conception of the position. May I ask whether you have come to roe to learn about Samoa or to teach me?' (, At about this juncture the noble knight bustled off to catch the boat. . . He scribbled his address on an envelope and asked me to write to him, indicating, if I could, 'the way out' of the present difficulty. . . He evidently did not wish to wait for his Sydney mail, in order to obtain from me or anyone else any idea as to 'the way out.' He rushed into print at the first port of call (Suva) with the 'solution.' . . Sir Thomas preferred to air his own platitudinous views. He certainly did not produce to me any 'list of questions to which he wanted answers.' If the noble knight's methods with other persons were of the same nature as the foregoing, one cannot but admire his impudence in implying that he made 'investigations' and 'intimate personal inquiries.' " Interview With Mrs. Nelson. According to Mr. Slipper's letter, Mrs. Nelson is not altogether pleased with the manner in which Sir Thomas uses her name and desires it to bfc known that neither she nor Mr. Nelson interfere with the affairs of the other and that their political views, though independent, are identical. Mrs. Nelson believes in Samoa for the Sanioans. During Sir Thomas Henley's interview with High Chief Tamasese, th-i Mau leader, it was inferred that the orators did most of the talking. In ;i personal interview with a high chief the orators are silent. A report of the interview with Tamasese makes interesting reading, throwing as it does some light —even if vague — on the Samoan viewpoint. Tamasese is "no man's fool," and it will be noticed that Sir Thomas Henley gained very little information from this wily chief, who by now knows the game of politics only too well. Indeed, it looks in one part as if the knight is being twitted — though, doubtless, Tamasese treated th, 1 visitor with all the usual Samoan courtesy. The remainder of Mr. Slipper's tirade deals with the points regarding revenue, etc., which Sir Thomas Henley discovered and in the main shows that the Australian knew a little, but not enough. Regarding the further deportations which Sir Thomas suggests, Mr. Slipper fairly lets himself go. '"Hie impudence of the thing is beyond measure. To ask the world to believe that it is right to proceed against Europeans without trial merely because they have political views and live in Samoa is monstrous. It cannot be calculated to teach the Samoans the sacredness of the British justice which every Britisher prides himself upon." The article by Mr. Slipper concludes with a little story which no doubt he hopes Sir Thomas Henley will find peculiarly apt. "Once upon a time a peripatetic 'writer' stayed for lunch for a whole hour at an inn in France. There occurred a commotion caused by the unprecedented advent of a mad dog, which happened to be tailless. The 'writer,' in his 'book,' stated that the village was peculiar in that most of the dogs there went mad, and when they did they lost their tails."