A PRIVATE OPINION

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 86, 8 October 1930, Page 12

A PRIVATE OPINION

SAMOA SITUATION

COMMODORE BLAKE'S VIEWS

BREACH. OF CONFIDENCE

The action of Commodore Blake, after his return from Samoa in H.M.S. Duuediu early last year, in handing to a newspaper reporter at Auckland a written statement of liis opinions in respect to the handling of the Samoa situation was criticised by members in the House of Representatives yesterday. The Minister of Defence explained that the Commodore never intended that the contents of the document should be published, but that he intended it as a confidential statement of his opinions. Speaking on tho annual report on Western Samoa, the Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. H. E. Holland) quoted sections of Commodore Blake's statement and submitted that he should have been reprimanded for his action. He had stated that there was no alternative but to treat the natives roughly, that force was the only thing which appealed to them, and that they should be starved into submission. What action had the Government taken, Mr. Holland asked, with respect to those statements? In one part of his statement the Commodore had said that the operations of the naval party had consisted of day and night raids of villages and excursions into the bush chasing the Mau natives. Beading his opinions, said .Mr. Holland, one could not help thinking of the Black and Tans in Ireland. The disturbances in Ireland were being repeated in Western Samoa. Mr.' Holland said he would be interested to hear what the Minister had to say in the matter. He knew the Minister would not stand for that sort of thing in Ireland, but he wanted to know whyj he stood for it in Western Samoa. CONFIDENTIAL OPINIONS. The Minister of Defence (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe) said that when he reached Samoa in order to look into the trouble then existing, he received a cablegram from New Zealand asking him to investigate the matter. When the Dunedin left for Samoa permission was given to a representative of an Auckland newspaper to go to Samoa specially for tho purpose of describing what was happening in Samoa. Before the Dunedin arrived back in New Zealand a reporter asked Commodore Blake to give him his impressions on tho.position in (Samoa, and the Commodore agreed to do so confidentially. He simply gave his opinions as a naval officer, but he made it very clear that they were not for^publieation. Subsequently his written opinions were published in extenso by the reporter in an Auckland newspaper. Mr. Cobbe said that when he returned from Samoa lie was waited on by the editor of the newspaper, who apologised for what had taken place, and said that the reporter had got himself into considerable trouble. A MATTER OF PEACTICE? Mr. P. Fraser- (Labour, "Wellington Central): "Does the Minister believe it is the custom of Commodore- Blake to typo out confidential,statements and hand them to reporters?" . Mr. Cobbe: "In this particular ease T have tho assurance/Of the editor that it was so. ■ Whether it is the practice or not I. don't know." ■Mr. Holland: "Did the Government take any action against Commodoro Blake for making the statement?',' ~ Mr. Cobbe: "No, tho explanation was so clear." Mr. Fraser contended that the statement was obviously intended for publication without the Commodore's iiamo being attached to it. That made the case even worse, and he should have been strongly reprimanded. Instead of taking action, the Government condoned the offence.

A similar view was taken by Mr. J, S. Fletcher'(lndependent; Grey Lynn)'