SAMOA

Southland Times, Issue 18936, 24 September 1920, Page 5

SAMOA

ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS. AN AMENDING BILL. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, September 23 The Hon, E. P. Lee moved the second reading of the Treaties of Peace Amendment Bill. He explained that at present New Zealand wax not administering Samoa under the League of Nations, but under the principal Allied and associated Powers, from whom the mandate, had not, yet been received. In the meantime Samoa was be. ing administered) by Orders-in-C-ouncil. If. when the mandate was issued it was found that any of these Orders-in-Council wa? not in conformity with the mandate, then they could be altered if this bill was passed, because under it it. was proposed to extend the time under which the Orders-in-Council could be issued to twelve months. At the. present time there were many Orders-in-Council in force in Samoa, and he did not anticipate that any of these would have to be amended, bur powers should he given to the Government to do so if occasion and necessity should ante Mr W. D. Stcw-irf (Dunedin West' raised the question whether New Zealand was not creating for herself a position of sovereign power In - accepting the mandate over Samoa not through Britain but, direct from f he .Mims. He thought that in all our foreign relations we should act not ir,. depeudently but as part of the British Empire, and he thought, ihc Premier should make a clear and explicit- statement on the point. The Premier said he largely agreed with Mr Stewart, hut before he made a statement on the. point he would like time to think 'he matter out, because no more important subject could be discussed. He did not consider that New Zealand was a sovereign power in the ordinary sense of the term, but we were a self-governing nation within the British Empire. Bo far as Samoa was concerned the position was quite clear. The territory was surrendered not to the league of Nation? hut to the principal Allied Powers, who in turn transferred it to Britain, by whom it. was handed to us. The dominion delegates did not sign the Peace Treaty r.s representatives of sovereign Powers, but as agents for the King of Great Britain and as representing their various dominions Mr McCombs strongly attacked the system of indentured labour which, he said, was being continued against the wishes of the Samoan people, the policy of the Imperial authorities, and the conscience of New Zealanders. Mr Isiu defended indentured labour as the only means of the carrying on of industry in Samoa. Mr McCallum declared that the Bill was a breach of faith, breaking the promise made by Sir .lames Allen that indentured labour would be ended in twelve months. The debate was carried on by Messrs Howard. Lysnar, Mitchell, Fraser. Holland, McNicoll and Hawken, who discussed the problem of indentured labour. At 1 o’clock the Minister rose to reply, maintaining that no fault could be found with labour conditions in Samoa, which were superior to those in Fiji. At 1.25 the division wa.s taken, and the second reading was agreed to by 33 to 12.