LANDS AND TITLES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22719, 4 November 1935, Page 7

LANDS AND TITLES

A SAMOAN COMMISSION JUDGE LUXFORD COMPLIMENTED (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 3. The Samoan correspondent of the Press Association writes .as follows: — One of the longest and most important sittings of the Native Land and Titles Commission ever held in Samoa has just been concluded. The commission is constituted a court of exclusive jurisdiction i. disputes between Samoans concerning their lands and chiefly titles. The president of the court is the Chief Judge, who sits with two European assessors anu at least four Samoan commissioners. On this occasion, Mr <!. M’Kay, Secretary of Native Affairs, and Mr R. Tattersall, Registrar of the High Court, were the European assessors and eight “ tulafalo ” (talking chiefs of high standing) were the Samoan commissioners. The proceedings were conducted as nearly as possible according to Samoan custom and consequently bear very little resemblance to those held before the High Court. Even members of the legal profession are not allowed to appear before the commission. Although the court sits in an open native meeting house only Samoans directly interested in a particular ease are present during its hearing. Samoan etiquette forbids that strangers should listen' to discussions concerning a matter in dispute, because inevitably the genealogical trees and family history of the parties in the dispute will be opened up. Such are sacred to the families con- . uTied. Constituent parts of the Samoan people, however, are family units or clans, each being under the control of a chief. In the course of centuries many families have become inter-related by marriage, which means that many chiefs are each members of several families. Thus, when a dispute occurs in a related family those chiefs take one side or the other. The comprehensive and extensive nature of the work of the commission at its last sitting is shown by the record of those who appeared before it. No fewer than 1360 Samoans, mostly of chiefly rank, were present in connection with the 23 cases that were called for hearing. A compliment was paid to the judge at the ceremony of closing the commission. When the spokesman of the Samoan commissioners replied to the Acting Administrator’s address he said: “On behalf of the commissioners present and all those entitled to be commissioners we wish to ask your Excellency to request the New Zealand Government to continue to send his Honor, Chief Judge Luxford, to Samoa. Other judges may know European law as well as he does, but we need a judge who understands the Samoan people and their customs and can guide us all in settlement of our disputes.”