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THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1894.

While Samoa is attracting the attention of Europe owing to the proposal made by New Zealand, our latest advices from the group by the mail steamer show that the disturbances there are by no means allayed. The Consuls have commenced to mediate between the contending parties, and it is said that but for the intervention of the Consuls the fighting would long ago have been resumed. Our correspondent adds, that " there is a very general feeling here that the present trouble has sounded the knell of tripartite control." Whatever the Consuls may now do towards maintaining the peace, and keeping the fighting away from Apia, it is certain that the attempt to govern Samoa by three Powers has been the means of all the disturbance. Under one governing authority Samoa would have been at peace long ago. Under one rule the principal chiefs of Samoa would have been treated as they were in reality, that is, as being on a level, and all subordinate to the governing Power. But the tripartite Government necessitated the setting up of one of the chiefs as " king," a title unknown hitherto in Samoa, with a power to put down rivals. He is at once in the eyes of the Samoans a tyrant and a puppet. Those who know anything of the early history of New Zealand will realise what would have happened if we had set up one Maori chief as king, and then virtually left the country to its own devices. At the latest dates a German man-of-war had arrived at Apia, and no doubt by this time all the Powers are represented in the harbour. The report is that when all the warships are assembled they will seek to secure peace by a wholesale forcible disarmament of the natives. We doubt very much whether this could be carried out. Probably the attempt will irritate the natives and lead a greater proportion of them to oppose our rule than now do so. If one Power had the government of Samoa, it would probably find it best to divide the colony into districts, and recognise in a kind of magisterial capacity the principal chief of that district. New Zealand has two great interests in Samoa. First, that it should not pass under the exclusive dominion of any foreign Power. If, fifty years ago, Great Britain had had sufficient foresight, it would have forestalled any other Power, and have prevented the establishment in the Pacific of such depdts as New Caledonia and Tahiti. Sir Kobert Stout, in concluding the I series of articles he wrote for us lately on his trip to Samoa, said: —" I think New Zealand should be looked upon as the commercial, the missionary, and the educational centre of the whole of the Pacific. ... In fact, what New Zealand has to do is slowly but surely to look to the South Sea Islands as fields for her energy, for her commercial interests, and for her influence." Our second great interest in Samoa is that peace should there prevail. Our commerce with the group is already considerable, and might be indefinitely extended. We could not anticipate anything like extensive European colonisation, but large areas of land might be cultivated by native labour, yielding valuable products. The whole question

of Samoa has now been raised, and we hope that some arrangement will be made which will be permanent' arid which will secure the J prevalence of peace. l ''"

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18940427.2.20

Bibliographic details

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9496, 27 April 1894, Page 4

Word Count
586

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1894. New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9496, 27 April 1894, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1894. New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9496, 27 April 1894, Page 4