RULE BY MANDATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20075, 12 October 1928, Page 16

RULE BY MANDATE.

NEW ZEALAND AND SAMOA.

DISCUSSION AT GENEVA. ADMINISTRATION VINDICATED. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] LONDON, Sept. 7. A veiy important question which came bofoie the Council of the League, at Geneva on August 31, was the report of tho Mandates Commission dealing with the recent trouble in Samoa. In June ilie news reached London that tho mernbei;. were unanimous in agreeing that ilic Royal Commission's report was a true and impartial statement of the facts, that tin- ex-Administrator of Samoa, Gen era! Richardson, had acted all along in the interests ot the population, and that the administration of tho mandate had been entirely satisfactory. The Council last Saturday endorsed the observations of the Mandates Commission and instructed the Secretary-General to communicate them to the Nev Zealand Government.

The Marquis Theodoli, president of the Mandates Commission, m summarising the report, san, that the existence of the com mission should not hamper local authorities ii. theii efforts to maintain order and respect for authority, for such a situation would constitute an unfortunate example foi oitiei' ten itoiies. He would think it most 'unfortunate if 300 or 400 persons who ban been arrested could believe thai the;, had been able to avoid their sen tcnce of six months' imprisonment simply liy reference to Geneva. '• Intriguing " Half-caste 3. The comm.ssion wished the New Zea land Government to know (hat it was stiongly supported by the commission in its effort 'o maintain order and respect foi the authorities. The (itst duty of a Mandatory Cower was to maintain order und proven, any unjust and illegal as sumption ot authority by anybody. With ieg,ml tn the natives the eomnus Sinn said 11 lad no ground to believe that, left to themselves, they would have thouii serious discontent. How, tlieiefore. Lao ia!t castes been able to stir up the natives? It should be realised that some of these half-castes were rich, intriguing and active in political affairs, that (in had no fear of employing all mean* ol action, and that they had even gone so t.ir as (o endeavour to cieate a movement toward independence. Ii w.is possible, the commission ro marked, thut the Administration itself had uneonsciou.'.ly provided a weapon for these agitators on account of certain imprudent spueenes that had been made in Parliament by representatives of the Government concerning the election ol natives in representative councils. A tribute should, however, tie rendered to the disinterestedness an-t to tho reforming zeal of the exAdministrator, while recognising that this zenl had, perhaps, sought to achieve certain reforms too hastily. Deportation of Mr. Nelson. In regard to public health it was romaiked that the Administration had done excellent work, which its adversaries had presented to the natives in a false light, as was '•"■ifr also in the case of land ten iite. i he Mandates Commission approved Ihe deportation of Mr O. F. Nelson, which it thought should bo maintained as long as he refused to give, securities for sub-im.-.Mon. The conclusion is that the whole trouble in Samoa was raised by three agitators. led by Mr. Nelson. The Dutch Rapporteur to the. Council, in cornmenjing on the importance of the report, said that it should be clearly understood that a Mandatory Power remained alone responsible for maintaining Jaw and order.