SAMOAN AFFAIRS

Southland Times, Issue 22729, 4 November 1935, Page 6

SAMOAN AFFAIRS

LAND COMMISSION CONCLUSION OF LONG SITTING TRIBUTE TO JUDGE (Per United Press Association.) Wellington, October 3. The Samoan correspondent of the United Press Association writes: One of the longest and most important sittings of the Native Lifend and Titles Commission ever held in Samoa has just concluded. The commission is constituted a court of exclusive jurisdiction in disputes between Samoans concerning their lands and chiefly their titles. The president of the court is the Chief Judge, who sits with two European assessors and at least four Samoan commissioners. On this occasion Mr C. McKay, Secretary for Native Affairs, and Mr M. Tattersail, the Registrar of the High Court, were the European assessors and eight “tulafale” (talking chiefs of high standing) were the Samoan commissioners. Proceedings are 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 the case are present during the hearing. Samoan etiquette forbids that strangers should listen to discussions concerning a matter in dispute, because inevitably the geneological trees and family history of the parties in the dispute will be opened up. Such are sacred to the families concerned.

The constituent parts of the Samoan people, however, are the family units or clans, each 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, so when a dispute occurs in a related family these chiefs will 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 chief rank, were present in connection with the 23 cases that were called for hearing. A compliment was paid to the Chief 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 commissioner,s, we wish to ask your Excellency to request'the New Zealand Government to continue to send his Honour, 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 the settlement of our disputes.”