DESTINY OF SAMOA.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 102, 2 May 1911, Page 7

DESTINY OF SAMOA.

♦ RECENT PAN-GERMAN PRESS COMMENTS. MR. HUGHES SPEAKS. MISSIONARY CIRCLES SURPRISED. By Telegraph.— Preßs Assoclntion.—Copyright(Received May 2, 9.2S a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. Referring to the recent cabled panGerman newspaper comments, Mr. W. M. Hughes, Acting-Federal Prime Minister, declared : "No doubt the destiny of Samoa is of considerable interest) to us. It would be clearly n „'ource of continual danger in the pos- . session of a power strongly hostile to our interests, if it were to bo used as a naval base; but, subject to that, I have never heard any suggestion seriously put forward that Australia should annex it." Missionary circles are surprised at the statement that missionary enterprise in Samoa is strongly anti-German. An absolute denial is given to the statement; also to the assertion that) the missionaries had said or written anything in support of the assertion that it is the aspiration of every Englishman to see the group joined to Australia •or New Zealand. [The Morning Post's Berlin correspondent reports that the pan-German newspapers are complaining that the Germanising of Samoa is proceeding too slowly under the administration of Dr. Solf, the Governor of Samoa. One paper states that English missionary enterprise is dangerously anti-German, and asks whether Dr. Solf can dispute that tho aspiration of every Englishman in the group is to see it joined with Australia or New Zealand.]