Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1699. THE SAMOAN CRISIS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 8419, 19 January 1899, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1699. THE SAMOAN CRISIS.

Trouhms has been simmering at Samoa ever since the return of Mataaf.i from exile in October last, and there lias now hurst upon the islands a storm, causing internal and international complications, distress to the natives, devastation of their properties, and a complete upset of all the arrangements that have hitherto been working with fair success for the peaceful administration of affairs in the group. It does seem a most unfortunate thing that this chief lain, who has in the past caused ■so much disturbance, resulting in many bloody conilicts, should have been returned to Siimo.i at a time when there was no lung and the conditions were favorable for him to again make mischief, King Malietou, it, will be remembered, died in August last year, and Mataafa was brought bv:k to Samoa in October, being received with great demonstrations of joy by his followers. Although before being released he gave a promise to live quietly, his return g.ive fclic opportunity to again assert his claims to the kingship,"and in consequence of the disputes which arose the Chief Justice, who with three Consuls bad carried on the administration since Malietoa's death, was deputed to decide the title to the sovereignty. The Chief Justice appears to have carried out his task manfully under the most disturbing circumstances. Constant threats have been held ovev his head that his life wrulct he taken if he decided against Mataufa, and one of the latter's chiefs took a solemn oath before his family that he would assassinate the Chief Justice and Malietoa's counsel. It was only by joint action being taken that they were protected from molestation, but all the elements of disorder were again in the air, and upon the announcement of the decision in favor of the late king's son, Malietoa Tanu, the crisis came with the disastrous results reported in our messages of yesterday and to-day. The situation at the present moment, it will be seen, is an exceedingly critical one. It was only by the firmness and gallantry of the captain of a British warship that the lives of the Chief Justice and the chosen king were preserved. The action of the German Consul in protesting against the decision must have helped' to inllnuie the angry passions of Mataaf.Vs followers, and his refusal to send help to protect the chief civil authority was most extraordinary, and will make it difficult to restore harmony in the tri-partitc control. Probably Germany's game is to force the situation and nijaiii secure supreme authority in the islands, but by countenancing Mataafa's revolutionary outburst she is no more likely to be successful than in her unwarranted annexation of the islands and deposing of King Malietoa in ISSB. It is calculated rather to harden English opposition and inflame American passions against any acknowledgment of the superior interests of Germany, which the preponderance of German capital might give. The Germans in fact have "got our hacks up," and they have made tile settlement of Samoa once more a- disturbing feature of international politics. It will be fortunate, after what lias occurred, if a settlement is come to as peacefully as in ISS9, but whatever arrangement is now made it is bound not to be one of tri-partite control, for with Germany acting in such an inexplicable manner, opposing and not supporting the highest civil authority, that form of Government cannot be classed as a success. As to the rights of the rival claimants to the kingship, it is an old story, and no one outside the islands can have sufficient information to form a. judgment, but the Chief Justice may he depended upon to have weighed matters carefully and given v decision in perfect equity. Mutaafa, it is said, has by far the largest number of supporters in the native population, having some 30,000 on his side, against 4000 loyal adherents to Malietoa. But might is not always right, and it would often be disastrous to civilisation and good govornment were it allowed to prevail.