THE-SOUTH SEA VOYAGE.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIIII, Issue 81, 7 April 1920, Page 5

THE-SOUTH SEA VOYAGE.

NEW ZEALAND AND SOME

POLYNESIAN PROBLEMS

[Specially written for The Express.] Samoa.") NO "JOY RIDE*'!

It would be idle to deny tho fact that the members of the Parliamentary party which recently visited the Ccok Islands, Samoa, and other groups in Western Polynesia have returned to the Dominion deeply im- ; pressed with tl\e extent and gravity of the new responsibilities cast upon the New Zealand Government and I the New Zealand Parliament by the Dominion's acceptance of what is gen-t-rally known as. the Sampan mandate. As to the trip itself, concerning which a vast amount of nonsense was talked and written in various quarters prior to the departure of the Mokoia, lot it be said at once that it was no mere pleasure jaunt or "joy ride" such as many good folk were pleased to term it. On the contrary, as the present writer, a, member of the party, and one able to regard the mission from a perfectly unprejudiced viewpoint, can testify, the members put in so Tie ' exceedingly strenuous work. Often a whole day, |rom nine in the morning till seven at night, would be occupied # in visiting plantations, and interviewing planters and laborers. Trudging through cocoanut, banana, or sugar cultivations under a biasing sua, .which the local European* themselves always dodge in the middle of tho day, does not spell comfort, still less mere pleasuremaking. The pace was set by Sir James Allen, whose unremitting industry was the subject of well-merit-ed encomiums even in quarters where as a rule tihis particular Minister is not exactly persona grata. At Rarotonga, Mangaia, Aikutaki, and Niue (.Savage Island), where many weary hours were spent in the investigation of various complaints, some of them quite unspeakably puerile in character, against the Island Admihistrartion, Sir James displayed a patience v,n& tact which went far to assure a fair hearing for the malcontents and justice alike for them and the officials. ■ THE LIQUOR PROBLEM. In not a few instances the complaints tcentred round the restrictions which have been placed upon the supply of liquor. Certain of these complaints had a decidedly humorous side. At one small island one of the traders—the closest approach, by the way,- to the old 'beachcomber" type, x nowadays almost extinct, who came under our notice—waxed quite pathetic over the alleged cruelty of ■the. Administrator in allowing the complainant—a, "sick man," as he said—only one dozen of stout per week! ■Without entering into the question of the individual, rights and w.rongs of the traders and planters with regard to the supply of liquor, it is only fair to say that most members of the' party must ha ve? returned to New Zealand holding, the opinion that in the interests of the native races concerned liquor must be kept away from them. 'It is/difficult to administer a i liquor .law which has one side for the European and another for the .native. Nowadays, when; democratic principles have evidently been grasped by the natives, who are far better! informed, as! to their rights and> more insistenj-ly tenacious of those rights,. being _ respected than many people in New Zealand might imagifie, cmc law ,'^or. the ivhite And another for the prown nian ife wellnigh impossible in such islands as Raro'tpnga, and Samoa, and I for one would': vote*. £Pr strict prohibition all round, such as' is now the rule in American Samoa. ''So; long as liquor is supplied, even in limited quantities, through the : Customs, to the Europeans, there must always Joe a dange#of some* of it getting to the brown people, arid for these latter, alcohol is simply poison. It might, perhaps, be desirable to allow, Under medical authority, some of the older whites to obtain small quantities of gin, which, in these tropical regions, acts-asa stimulus to the kidneys, and used in moderation is beneficial rather than harmful. THE AMERICAN EXAMPLE. Speaking generally, however, the ifJarid'l under our rule . should be "dry."* I spoke to' several American officers, at Pango Pango, and not one of them complained of the "dry" regime there in force. But if prohibition is to hold good, alike for whites and for browns, in the Cook Islands and the Samoa.n Group, it should be the duty of the Administration to provide an unlimited supply of ice, to be sold at cost price. Indeed, it is an open question whether it should not be supplied • free. . What the Americans can do in the way of concocting cheap, palatable, and thirstquenching iced drinks w,as very agreeably exemplified to the party on 't£eir visit to Pango Pango. .Anyone'who. visits Fiji and sees for himself what is the result of a too liberal licensing law in a tropical climate, and in an island where the population is so mixed,-' must at once acknowledge that a "dry" is preferable to a "wet" regime for the Polynesian islands under European control. Drink is the cause of much crime, some of it of a very serious nature, in Fiji, and the sooner the Imperial Government alters the present far too easy-going system under which-the drink traffic is conducted at Suva the better for shipmasters, the natives, and.all concerned. \ TRADE AND TRANSPORT QUESTIONS. All through the Cook Islands, more particularly at . the smaller and isolated islands of Mangaia and Aikutfiki, and again at the yet more isolated Nine or Savage Island, the visiting Parliamentarians heard grave complaint of the serious lack of transport facilities. AH these islands are splendidly fertile and capable of producing vast quantities of bananas,

I oranges, and other fruit. The trouble, however, is how to get this produce to a market. The Mokoia ; was the first vessel to touch at Mangaia and Aikiitaki since November, and pitiful stories were told of great quantities of fruit which had perforce been allowed to rot. At Mangaia and Niue the landing place*—save the mark!—are most dangerous. Iho landing is effected in small catamaran canoes, with rough log outriggers. The canoes are practically lifted over the reef wall by the ocean rollers, and even this is impossible when.the wind is blowing from a certain quarter. The expenditure of a few hundred pounds "on explosives would, it is contended, make the landing much less risky. But in any case, there should be some regular service by schooners equipped with oil engines wliich could tranship the fruit to the Union Company's traders which call regularly, at Rarotonga and Apia. At Rarotonga the party found the traders up in arms against the trading policy encouraged by the Adroinistrator, Mr Platts, who seems to have incurred the special hostility of the traders by arranging for the natives to ship fruit through the Administration's agency. It is claimed, however, that by this course a traders' "ring" has been broken up, and undoubtedly in certain instances the natives have benefited very considerably by the Administrator's action. With regard to the planters, their principal grievance appears to be their non-representation on the Islands Council. Sir James Allen, however, was successful in inducing the leading arikis, or native chiefs, to agree to the .Europeans* being represented upon the Council, and, speaking generally, although the drastic liquor regulations and certain new regulations regarding the cohabitation of Europeans with native women may remain a source of irritation against the Administration, Mr I'latts's official path should in the future be somewhat less liberally rock-strewn than was the case prior to the visit of tlie Parliamentary mission.

NEW ZEALAND'S TRADE WITH

THE ISLANDS

Throughout the islands one • could not help being struck by the way in which, so it would Beem to a visitor, New Zealand's manufacturers and merchants have neglected . and are still neglecting opportunities for pushing their business. How is it, for instance, that with the exception of the canned meats sold by an Auckland firm, Hellabys, nearly every kind of canned provision appears to come either from the United States or from Australia? Surely this should not be. And yet it is. Wherever one goes one sees foodstuffs of Yankee or Australian, prigin. One

cannot help thinking that at. Apia, where there is a substantially numerous white population, the erection and stocking (from New Zealand) of stoves where meat, butter, cheese, and other products could be kept in cool storage, and supplied as required to the European residents, would'bo a handsomely pay .able ■enterprise. New Zealand asricultural'implement leakers should also find good scope for their business, both in Rarotonga.— ■where practically every plough I saw was 0f.., American manufacture —and in' Samoa: American-made twine might; well be replaced ' by- the New Zealand article. Bitter complaints are. made by the traders as to tho allegedly excessive' freights^ both inwards and otyfcwards, 'charged by the Union Steam' Ship Co. These, and jfideed all matters concerning tpade an# '. transport, were, howe>er^ carefully investigated by the three New Zealand Trade Commissioners (Messrs Elliott,■ ~of Auckland; T. Wilson, of Wellington; and G. . , P.earsdh, of Tixnaru), who accompanied the party, and who sat as a Board pif Inquiry (quite "■ independent of the Minister) at.'each of the centres visited. The detailed report pi these gentlemen, which will, I presume, br> "made public, later on, should prove a document of much interest and value,

NEW ZEALAND'S FINANCIAL

■•RESPONSIBILITIES

Both in connection with the Cook Islands and the Samoan Group New Zealand is now pledged to' extensive, and, as the future may, I fear, prove, irksome financial responsibilities. Itairotonga will, I think, be able to pay its way .as regards the cost of administration. With regard to Sa,rooa the financial responsibility is a. much more ferious matter. Sir James Allen told the Citizens'. Committee at Apia that New Zealand will advance a sum of £60,000, without interest, for an indefinite period. This is an excellent arrangement, no doubt, for Samoa, but whore does the New Zealand taxpayer come in ? The Germans made Samoa pay all the cost of administration, and made, indeed, a handsome yearly profit out of the group. But their officials -were quite cynically indifferent as to the education, health, and morals of the Samoan people. That these things call for attention all must admit who visit' Samoa., but to carry out an altruistic policy such as acceptance of the mandate appears to imply will cost a good deal of money. The Europeans in Samoa, or some of them, appear to think that New Zealand should act as a sort of fairy godmother to the group, and they are also under the delusion that the fairy godmother has unlimited wealth Hi on which to draw for administrative expenses. This, however, is an opinion which is scarcely likely to be fhar«.d by the average New Zealand taxpayer, who may well be pardonsd if he considers, and declares, that Samoa should be made to pay its own way and not constitute a drain upon the New Zealand Treasury and the New Zealand taxpayer. Many Europeans at Apia expressed the opinion that New Zealand is stocking the group with_ far too extensive an- army of officials. Special exception was taken by many of those with whom the visitors came into contact to the despatch of the special -force of constabulary. Sir James Allen assured the critics of thjs particular action of the New Zealand Government that Samoa would not be charged with the cost of these constabulary. But sooner or later someone will" have to foot the bill, and if the Samoan revenues are not to i,e chargeable with the cost of maintaining this force, thei. it is palpable that the New Zealand taxpayers will eventually be called upon to pay it. [In a second and concluding article health, education, labor, and *>ther problems arising out of the- Samoan mandate will be dealt with, and a brief reference made to the Parliamentarians' visit- to Tonga and Fiji.]