NEW ZEALAND AND SAMOA

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6816, 21 September 1883, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND AND SAMOA

[by telegraph.correspondent.]

CuRiSTenoRCH, Thursday.' The Times is strongly opposed .to the Samoan annexation through Mr. " Tola's petition. It writes:'—"The guileless ,Sa-. moans are to pay for union with. New Zealand. Supposing they do this, they will show themselves to be either a vety daring or a very simple-minded race. . Is is only charitable to suppose that they are ignorant of the past history of our dealings with the Maoris from Waitara to Piirihaka. Sir G. Grey proposed in the House last session that, in the event of any Pacific Islands desiring union with New Zealand, this colony Bhould despatch commissioners to the island in question to examine and report upon it, and the state of public opinion there.. Would it not be well if the tt amoans themselves were to take a leaf out of Sir G. Grey's book, and despatch a Royal Commission to examine Now Zealand, and take evidence upon our past treatment of our natives. If ' the Samoan Commissioners examined Mr. Fitzgerald, Bishop Hadfield, "Mr. Swainson.j Mr. Matitell, Mr. Stout, Mr. Taiaroa, Te White, Rewi Maniapoto, the leading Maori chiefs, and the representatives "of William King, William Thompson, and other chiefs, they might be able to: tell a few interesting anecdotes to their countrymen on their return. The Samoans might then come to the conclusion that . the. path of the New Zealand natives is riot always smooth, and that the rule of Kins Malietoa, his predecessor and successor, bad as it might be, would be preferable to the parental descriptive of the Whitakora, Richmonds, and Bryces, Whether the Samoans would gain by annexation to New Zealand is one Bide ot the question; whether this colony, as a whole, would gain by union with Samoa, is another uot less important. How much has this Middle Island of ours gained through its union with the Northern? How much is it likely to gain by union with a croup of islands containing a warlike native population numbering some thousands more than the North Island natives ? Let the people of Canterbury and Otago ask themselves these two simple questions before looking at any of the other aspects of South Sea annexation." ./' . :