WESTERN SAMOA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20966, 4 March 1930, Page 10

WESTERN SAMOA.

TROUBLE WITH THE MAU. OPINIONS OF THE “BEACH.” GRIEVANCES MAGNIFIED. SIDELIGHTS ON NATIVE MENTALITY. (Special to Dailt Times.) AUCKLAND, Mark 3. ’ A special correspondent, writing from Apia on February 19, says: Having been ashore for 12 hours, I am in a position to assure the New Zealand public that anyone may obtain in that time a remarkable knowledge of the Samoan situation, entirely from unofficial and unreliable sources and voluntarily, too. Perhaps a few leading questions may help, but according to the experience of this. scorching day the “ beach ” is prepared to volunteer unlimited information without even knowing that the hearer is a newspaper representative who naturally has been sadly at sea over the whole affair. While fully alive to the seriousness and pathos of tbe situation, it is impossible to avoid succumbing now and then to the humour of the “ beach" opinion* The beach/ 3 individually, is not an unusual type. It is the circumstances of its life that are unusual —isolation, and a habit that, doubtless, had its origin at the dawn of authority in the great ocean. It is the common “bush lawyer 33 mental attitude and a laughable tendency to split hairs, “ argufy 33 -and promptly change ground in ihe face of an awkward question.

I sjid to one white man who supports the Map, doubtless in a passive manner; " aa it not an ill-advised thing for the Mau to parade. ‘ wanted' men through tiie He dismissed me in a word, ihey could nave got, them any time before,' he said.. I did not pursue the matter by reminding him of the fact that the Mau had taken charge of the roads ' a; e extent of barriers and examining officers. However, he proceeded to contend that a verbal message of warning, which, he admitted, had reached the Man, was inadequate and apparently disrespectful to the rebellious party. It should have been, written. Indeed, the written communication, should have been forwarded through the solicitors for the Mau. And so on, and so on, until one’s mental processes came to a standstill, ■■ bogged in a kind o'f mangrove swamp. , couwe, the whole trouble was due to Sir William Nos worthy! He was the villain of the piece! It will be remembered that Sir William did some straight talking to the Citizens’ Commitn xi? 19 i7 when it proposed to arrange a *l Jhe affairs of the mandated territory .1 And General Richardson, too. Oh yes! Of course, he had once been popular. Rut what of that, anyway? One of his outrageous offences against the well-being of Samoa was that he always" wore a uniform. . I hinted that his medical organisation had done wonders, but my friend merely said; “Do you know that mere was an epidemic of pneumonia only last year?” .Oh, yes, there was a hne hospital m Apia, but( what About , the people in the back country? What about them? I did not say that all the back-blocks people of New Zealand expnenced exactly the same difficulty and that pneumonia occurs in every country iet, my friend was a kindly, sociable i" 1- H V 3 merely, the victim 'of his environment. He ended by expressing great indignation that . Sir William NosTer Saiot en kmKhted for his efforts one met a friendly soul who now 7 nrfi ai H? d , beaC j . gossip, but every ”TMfril !2i apSed mto . tte dogmatic. lUs G lbrtan war against the Mau,” ' Ttey nev er catch f ver - Do you know where r,U . ? n % p ? sl H on in the hills, an annroanh oF +li ln c£ ’ a t has only one . . approach through, a narrow gully In thpl m^ dln " .P, os , itiona along this ravine ba ve pilled up stones,, and if the military police or sailors the Dunedm ever find it, down will roll the stones. I asked how he knew this >He said it came through a Samoan office boy Do you know that the beach reckons ” ■ he .continued, “that the aeroplane is trying to locate the Mau’s stronghold i wll T\ does . th “ t it will drop bombs filled with harmless tear gas • If fgj! Si if , island where it waa eusuectpr l • !? at Mau men came down Tor fond was P a srent mUed my inforln ant, “ Therfind th aFChed C ™^?elbut. P d?d r not b de f/ ° a *heeara 6 in 'fh e creek' 1 tory. and. becoming serious, he said purveyor 0 of*" Jw 16 ,? ras . , a WoD derful purveyor ot news on the island—simtilv .astonishing m its speed, and as uncanny Africa. comim,n]catl °n drums of Central r,w VaS farther informed that there was in the fnrm° d f ln the loughI ough bueh co «ntrv but f c 9 co ? u ts, yams, and taro, but that the majority of the men were aceustcmed t° doing themselves very well .’I .t a he , “ftter of food, and that S visits to the villages by the coast were due to their need for' a more varied diet the extra rations giving out. W ,aW had been Proclaimed—at Wo tdere w - as ? regulation which forbade anyone m Apia going more than a dart- 0Ut Th’ the Cent -a the pIa °e after (lark. this mau said that as it applied to Europeans as well as to the natives, tne nmropeans were very annoyed. The only members of the community who could so travel without a permit were doctors and missionaries. This liberty lor missionaries was a 'grave mistake. .Who knows,’ he said, “but that a missionary may not consider it his Christian |. y r° take out tucker to members of bis nock who are fugitives? ” And it was said in all seriousness. Then came another complaint. The officials formed a clique, the members of which held aloof from everyone else, and had established a social circle, and were very ridiculous indeed. I asked how this could affect the Mau. “Through the half-castes, ’ he said. ‘The half-castes are an important body in the community, and if the officials cold-shoulder them socially they will kick some way, and the kick will not hurt the Mau.” And had I heard the great joke about a mau who looked like a Mau chief, and was arrested and brought to Apia, onhr to. prove that he was a Government official? He had not enough English to let his captors know who he was, so had placidly accompanied them to Apia to allow them to discover the fact there. ! And so beach rumour, gay or glum, flashes back and forward, evidently with the speed of the coconut wireless. 1 am, , assured by one man that the “ beach ” is aware of everything before it happens and by another that the Administrator will not say a word and will not let them know what he is doing and makes the sad error of not giving the beach a chance to tell him how he should carry out his responsibilities. But I would hazard the guess that the beach has a great deal of respect for “ Silent Steve.’ 1 encouraged a young Samoan taxi driver to express his feelings. He was Mau without a doubt, but what he did saywas that as long as he could hold down | his job and get enough kaikai and lava- I lava he would not worry. But ray driver’s ■ simple philosophy did not prevent him from displaying a shrewd idea of how many beabs make eight when it came to the matter of fare. His talk suggested the inspiration that animated Rousseau. 1 but at the same time he displayed 1 Napoleonic attributes in the matter of 1 finance.

A _ Samoan of some standing in the boating world, volunteered a lot of information, only a little of which I could pick up, for his English was poor. But the < burden of his remarks was that the military police had shot down men for no other reason than that they had not paid their taxes and bad spoiled what would have_ been a groat day. I doubt very much if such a mentality—and certainly he was above the intellectual average—could appreciate the difference between neglect to pay taxes and a general defiance of the law and particularly a deliberate attempt to flout the law.

. As was inevitable, business in Apia is m a very bad way. The fact that 6000 oases of bananas for which the growers are assured five shillings a case are being loaded into the Maui Poraare is making the wharf and roadstead busy and giving an appearance of prosperity, but with so many Mau men in the hills the trade in the shops is languishing, and because of tbia the “ beach ” in loudly wailing, I ventured the remark that the section of the trading community which - had helped to put the Mau in motion might rue it when they counted up their diminishing returns, but the reply recalled the old excuse of the man who did not know that the gun was loaded. One of my friends said that the whole trouble might have been settled if_ Sir William Nos worthy had not been injudicious. I remarked that most settlements meant compromise, and asked if the Mau_ would have accepted a . c ? m P roln ‘ 3 ' ; - He dismissed the question a wave of the hand. Nothing easier. Yet the slogan of the Mau is ” Samoa for Samoans,” and its declared purpose is to get rid of the European administration lock, stock, and barrel, it always unjue:rstood. that the protection of the • Bnjish flag is to be provided. „ H J s not to be imagined that the whole beach is talking about the trouble. A lot of men are too busy, but it is a significant fact that the kind of comment hostile to the administration that was poured out to a stranger to-day is the kind of stuff that has been put forth as ° amoan opinion in New Zealand. At times, I could not avoid the feeling that the eagerness of some people to blame the Administration for the loss of life that occurred in December was evidence of the natural instinct to smother the remorse that part' of the “beach” might suffer over its former activities.

THE MAU LEADERS,

DISPOSITION IN THE HILLS. DIVIDED INTO EIGHT PARTIES. REFUSE TO MEET ADMINISTRATOR,

(From a local correspondent). ■ ’ , , APIA - February 20. Jlinorts have been made by at least one prominent official of one of the leading missions to induce the. Mau leaders to meet the Administrator. After spending several nights in the hills and employing a large number of students as messengers, he was able to arrange a meeting between the leaders and himself. A rendezvous was named and, accompanied by only one guide and moving with the utmost secrecy, he met a Mau guide and reached the place appointed. There he met a party consisting of 16 chiefs, and learned that the fugitive Samoans had organised themselves into eight districts, each occupying k certain defined area in the hill's. This distribution would have a twofold purpose. It would enable them to retain their Faa Samoa —political orgauisations—as each district would be under the_ control of its hereditary chiefs, thus avoiding jealousy, the most prolific cause of rupture in their ranks. It would also, in the event of active pursuit, necessitate the capture of eight parties instead of one. .Each distridjt had sent two delegates to meet the mediator. He pointed out to them- the hopelessness of their position, a J a <l them to come in and meet the Administrator. They expressed surprise that he could profess any desire to help them while offering such advice. Leaving his guide behind to bring -in "their final decision, he returned. Their reply in the.negative reached him five days later.

The regulations controlling the movement of coastal craft are being' strictly enforced. Further restrictions were imposed by ordinance upon inland traffic. No European or native mav now move between the hours of 6.30 p.m. and 5.30 a.m. .outside a radius of one mile from the centre of Apia unless by special pass issued by. a proper authority. Police pickets are posted upon the roads outside Apia, and the right of search is exercised at their discretion.

MAU SOLICITOR ARRESTED. ALLEGED DEFAMATORY STATE- , ’ MENTS. 0 United Pbbss Association.)

-- . AUCKLAND, March 3. , A radio message from Samoa received bjr.Mr HaH Skelton states that Mr T B Slipper, solicitor for the Mau, has been arrested on a charge of issuing a' defarha- , (V .letter containing a libel against the Administrator of Western Samoa (Mr o. 8. Allen). It is understood that the charge concerns statements alleged to have been published with reference to the recent raid on the village of Naunoad.

REMANDED IN CUSTODY. OFFICIAL STATEMENT ISSUED. (Per United Press Association.) , WELLINGTON, March 3. Following proceedings for defamatory libel, T. B. Slipper, solicitor, of Apia was remanded in custody in Western Samoa pending the written judgment of the court.

The following official report on the rnatter was issued to-day:—The Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) has been advised b { r th | A fimimstrator of Western Samoa (Mr S. S. Allen) that as a result of a communication, said to have been addressed by T B. _ Slipper, solicitor, of n l l e Ac ’ m ! nis trator, the commaf^l%l h % C - UOf 'lr- lg - e of Western Samoa, and the Prime Minister, proceedings for defamatory libel under section 153 of the Samoa Act, 1921. and for- insulting words under section 154 were taken against him. Ihe communication, said to have been addressed to the Prime Minister has not yet been received, and no information is as yet available here as to the terms of the document which is the subject ot the proceedings. The hearing, which was commenced before the Chief Judge on L eb T? n u y 26 ( o PIa time)._was concluded on February 27, and Slipper was remanded in custody until March 3 pending a written judgment.

THE MILITARY POLICE. QUESTION OF TRANSPORT. ATTITUDE OF SEAMEN’S UNION. (Special to Daily Times.) V\i ELLINGTON, March 3. A rumour became current to-day that the foice of 200 military police now in carnp at Trentham in readiness for despatch if necessary, to Samoa, was to leave on Thursday by the steamer Ngaio, and that in view of possible trouble in the handling of the vessel it had been decided that the men themselves should man her Inquiijee were made to-day, but no eonhrmation of the rumour could be obtained. '

Inquiries were made at the office of the Marine Engineers’ Institute and the Merchants’ Service Guild to-day ing the attitude likely, to be adopted by the ships officers in the event of the Seamen s Union carrying out its expressed intention not to man the vessel convevmg the police force to Samoa, but both declined to make any comments on the matter.

GOVERNMENT CRITICISED. LABOUR’S HOSTILITY. OTAGO COMMITTEE MEETING. At a recent meeting of the Otago Eabour Representation Committee a letter was received from the National Peace Council suggesting that a public demonstration should bo held to protest against the attitude taken up by the Government with regard to Western Samoa. There was not sufficient time for a demonstration to be organised, so it was decided to draft a resolution ’ for publication as follows:—“That we as

represetuative o£ the committee, anti also as citizens ot Dunedin, call for the immediate assembling of Parliament to discuss the grave situation that has developed in Western Samoa, and in the meantime urge that an amnestv be declared by the Government, that all the military police be withdrawn, that the despatch °. f all further drafts be cancelled, and that a • full and impartial judicial inquiry be held into the whole 01 the circumstances leading up { 0 the killing of a number of Samoans, including their high chief, Tamasose. on Dccember 2S, 1929.” j A reply was received from the Minister ot Justice (Sir Thomas Sidev) to a letter m which the committee had protested against the imprisonment in Wellington of four men on charges of bavin"in their possession for sale or distribution literature which was considered seditious.—The secretary was" instructed to write to the Minister pointing out that the committee considered that the present Administration in Samoa was advocating violence, and that the 'Government was consequently guilty of grave ineonsisteuev The recommendations of the Unemnloyment Committee were discussed and it was decided not to take any action until the full report has been published.