SAMOA AND THE PROFESSORS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20851, 18 April 1931, Page 14

SAMOA AND THE PROFESSORS.

Sir.—Some time ago a number of the professors of the Auckland University College signed a potition praying for- inquiry into the Samoan Administration, it being self-evident that these gentlemen -were of the opinion that grave wrongs existed. Since then there has been silence from the professors. Perhaps they considered they had done their duty. But it occurs to me that- such an occasion as the return from Samoa of the Administrator who, they inferred, had been gravely at fault, might have been used by them to develop their argument in the interests of justice. When intellectuals enter the realm of politics, or shall we say statecraft, ons expects that they desire to give a lead in a question that really matters and that force of character, experience and wisdom which they possess would compel them to "Irive their petition forward. Not so, however. They fired their shot and retired to Olympus. Perhaps they now wonder :if they were right. I suggest that when they are convinced that- they were wrong they should say so. If they still support the petition they should go on with it. Our intellectuals cannot allow themselves to.fade into the mists of uncertainty in this way. That is allowed only to the common herd. Bucephalus.