CONDITIONS IN SAMOA

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18758, 15 July 1935, Page 8

CONDITIONS IN SAMOA

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT .SATISFIED NATIVES A FINANCIAL SURPLUS (Ter Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. 'l’lie Samoa correspondent of ihe United. Press Association wrote from Apia, on July T> that the Administrator, Sir 'Herbert Jinrt, had returned to Apia from his annual tour of the group. Early in June lie visited eight centres in ITpolu and Manono, and during last week three centres in ‘Savaii. The attendances at the various receptions throughout were much larger than in previous years, interest, being added by reason of these being His Excellency’s farewell visits to the outer districts. In native speeches, repeated reference was made to the improved and peaceful state of affairs now obtaining •it the end of tln* Administrator's term, or, as a native idiom expresses it, “not a banana leaf has been split,” die banana being a plant very susceptible to damage under stormy eotuii--1 ions. The Queen of Tonga is a through passenger to Suva on the Monowai, arriving on July 14. During her stay in Samoa she will be the guest of the Administrator and Lady Hart. The Methodist mission will celebrate the centenary of the arrival of the first European Methodist missionary in Samoa. The festivities will be held on the Island of Manono. The Rev. J. AY. Burton, general secretary of the Methodist Missionary Society of Australia, has arrived to attend the centenary and inspect the different branches of the mission’s activities here.

The Samoan budget for 1034-35 shows that tiie revenue collected was C7S.SOB, and the expenditure A 76,500, leaving a surplus of £2303. A deficit was fully expected. The advance in the price of copra enabled the Administrator to again impose the export tax, which had been taken off when the price fell to around <J) a, ton.

Sir Herbert and Lady Hart leave by the Muni Pomnre on July ‘Jo. Mb A. C. Turnbull, secretary to the Administration, will net as Administrator until a new appointment is made.