BATTLESHIPS VERSUS BANANAS

Otaki Mail, 1 September 1930, Page 1

BATTLESHIPS VERSUS BANANAS

MATAURA MEMBER'S PICTURE*OF SAMOA. "The Reform Government sent men down to Samoa with a shooting iron "in each" hand a sword trailing on; the ground and all the poor native haj| to defend Himself with was a banana,'.' declared Mr D. McDougall in the House to-night when referring to the subject of the mandated territory.

He added that a battleship, with* an Admiral and a Colonel aboard wasTalso sent down "to frighten the poor old Samoans because they would notlpay the poll tax." "But," interjected Mr II .E. Holland, leader of the Labour Party, "have you forgotten the fatal riots of December last?"

Ignoring the interruption, Mr McDougall said the Reform Government had declared "W'e 'will make them stand up; if one battleship will not do we will send two." They had called for volunteers to go to Samoa and a hundred enlisted. Armed with implements of destruction they had chased the natives into the bush and behaved in such a way that on reading the accounts he had often wished that those tactics had been attempted in Ireland. In that country men knew how to use a -gun and the same policy could not have been carried out. All the Sarnoan had to defend himself with was a banana.

Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates then sought to put. a qurestiou to ilr McDougall, but was not heard.

Mr McDougall wound up with a statement that he did not know how Mr Coates "would be able to face the l>ar when the Angel Gabriel comes over the hill and he has to give an account of his actions." Mr C. B. Macmill.-in, the next speaker, said that Mr McDougall had work- ■ ed himself up considerably— Mr McDougall: There is no dangar of von doing that.

Mr Speaker; Order! Order! "Surely the member for Mataura has been asleep for the last 18 or 20 months," continued Mr Mac-millan. "All. the things he has referred to were don e by his own party. (Loud Berorin Hear," hears). I notice that the leader of the Labour Party several times attempted to interject and draw Mr MeDougall's attention to that fact. ' Mr W. E. Parry: That does not excuse the Reform Party for what it has done.

Mr Maeinillan: These things wero done by the United Party and by. his votes in this House Mr McDougall endorses as right and proper the things he condemns, because his party did them.