INTERMARRIAGE OF RACES

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21867, 21 August 1936, Page 18

INTERMARRIAGE OF RACES

I A PROBLEM IN SAMOA

I DIFFICULTIES OF FINDING EMPLOYMENT . iji (By tfae Press Association Representa- :| tive with the New Zealand Mission ;|'| to Samoa) | ; WELLINGTON, August 20. 1 Keesing and other writers feature the j|,| problem' of the community of mixed I European, and Samoan descent which 1: has sprung up, chiefly about Apia, so ■ that perhaps an impression is created i that they may in the near future be comparable in numbers with full Samoans, as has already taken place among our Maoris. The figures, however, show that in Western Samoa there are approximately 596 pure Euro- | peans, 2447 half castes and 51,000 j Samoans. The problem of those that are of mixed parentage is principally. If not entirely, an economic one. The local law on the subject, somewhat ! peculiar in the Pacific, holds that all 1 legitimate issue of European fathers 1 are Europeans in law, so that a person i who is almost entirely Samoan may |. still be a European, i The Samoan himself has no cares i about earning a livelihood, for every ! native family is endowed with land | which produces the commodities of ! life in abundance. Legally, in Samoa j one is either a European or a Samoan, I so that this community of mixed dei scent has grown up owning little or no s land with the consequent need of I European employment. As a general f rule, they are disinclined to undertake plantation labour for others, and seek 1 to find—their livelihood as artisans, ;■ clerks and traders. With the coming S of education they find increasing numi bers of Samoans entering into comi petition with them in these pursuits. I To have an appreciation of'this section of’'the community it should be r realised that already many of them, • perhaps one third, are completely < Samoan in their language, thoughts i- and environment. Two years ago the | . law was amended, with the approval of all concerned, to allow any such i people to whom life as Samoans would t be more atfi -ctive, to obtain Samoan I status, and some have done so. Still S; larger numbers are living on Samoan il land and entirely as Samoans, because I the policy of the Administration is not ■i to disturb them or to insist that they I* legally acquire Samoan status; and ’ so they, remain absorbed in the family life of their Samoan relatives. Following European Standards The problem, however, is with those i: who seek to follow European standards of life. The employment available is I not nearly enough to go round, and, naturally, under these conditions the remuneration paid, is not high. Edun cation in Samoa is available only up to the New Zealand proficiency standard, so there are not many who are able to compete for the better paid positions to which Europeans from overseas are appointed. The banana trade with New Zealand offers some ’ amelioration to these people. Employment being unavailable, the only al--1 ternative is for them to take up land, but before the establishment of the banana -industry the principal forms of local agriculture were the growing of cocoa and coconuts, which needed considerable capital either to tide them over the. many years before new plantings firgt' came into bearing or to acquire properties already in production. Bananas, however, crop within a year, and monthly su-pments ensure regular returns, even if they are small To this end a scheme has been promoted to encourage land settlement by local ! youths, -and areas have been selected. ; , There is some doubt however, whether this section of the population will be completely catered for by land settlement, oecause most of them have , a strong preference for more sedentary employment. That is, for the present. There are indications that in the future successive generations will &X the majority of cases become more predominantly Samoan so that there will be a fusion with the Samoans and the red! benefits of native life, while « much-smaller percentage will retain European standards.