THE ISLANDS TOUR.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 1912, 31 March 1920, Page 6

THE ISLANDS TOUR.

CONDITIONS AT SAMOA. INDENTURED LABOUR A NECESSITY. No. 111. [Written for The Sun by L. M. ißitt, M.P.] Before we left New Zealand the opponents of indentured labour were strong on American Pago Pago. "No indentured labour there," said they, so I suppose the necessary hint was given to the American Governor. The necessary invitation came along and our next place of call was this lovely island. No risky landing, we steamed into a perfect harbour, and from the steamer's deck surveyed one of the prettiest scenes imaginable. It is a military station, and everything is as spick and span and trim as labour can make it. Green swards, concrete walks backed by bungalow residences, and imposing Government buildings set in all the luxuriance of tropical foliage, constitute a veritable Eden. We were received with a salute .of 17 guns, military evolutions, inspection of barracks, hospitals, etc. Then ices and all sorts of soft drinks—Pago Pago is strictly Prohibitionist. Then reception and dancing—very quiet, dignified dancing, as befitted the thermometer. At Government House there was an elaborate lunch at one. After that native dances, and "afternoon tea in the officers' homes. At seven we entertained the Governor and party to dinner on the Mokoia and gave them a picture show of New Zealand scenery that did credit alike to Mr Taylor and the taker of the films and New Zealand, and as we weighed anchor the universal verdict was, The most enjoyable day yet. Disappointed Labourites. Our Extreme Labourites, though, suffered extreme disappointment. There are no rubber or cocoa plantations at Pago Pago, and only two or three small cocoanut plantations other than those owned by the natives. Moreover, the island is so mountainous and rugged that a comparatively small area is fit for plantations and yet, small as that area is, it would be impossible to develop it without imported labour. The Germans while there tried their best, but found that they could not induce the Samoans to work regularly for white men, and had to abandon the attempt. To appreciate the Extremists' further discomfiture it is necessary that your readers should understand their attitude to the question in dispute. They did not enter upon their investigations with either the hope or intention of finding any solution that would render indentured labour possible. From their point of view indentured labour per se is evil. Said one of them: "Nothing would justify it to me. lam against it on principle, but I am glad that a Labour Government has not to deal with the question." Said another: "The New Zealand Government has determined that we will have no indentured labour in the Dominion. Are we n6w to make one law for the black and another for the white?" When reminded that he himself stood for a white New Zealand, he replied that that was quite different, and seemed irritated by the loud smile of the bystanders and their failure to recognise the difference. Now it was as in agreement with their view and a righteous example to the wicked indenting Britisher that our United States cousins at Pago Pago were loudly proclaimed on the Labour election platforms. Lo you! The whole of Pago Pago, from the Governor down to the assistants in the stores and the men on the wharves, is run by indentured labour. Every man and woman is engaged at a fixed salary for a fixed term, and save in one or two exceptional cases is willy-nilly shipped back to the States at the end of his or her term. It is not probable that we shall hear much of the Pago Pago argument in the discussion to come. Visit to Plantations. With our arrival the following day at Apia we reached our main objective, for it was here we were to study this labour system in question, the initial cause of the whole trip. No time was lost in familiarising us as far as was possible with the conditions on which in the coming session we must base and pronounce our judgment. Visits to cocoa, rubber, cocoanut, banana and orange plantations were organised and the fullest opportunity given for questions to be asked and close investigations made, but Sir James Allen very rightly stipulated that all this must be done in the hearing and presence of each other. He would not allow any member to go off on his own. as he pointed out that unsupported testimony would be utterly valueless and leading questions might easily secure from natives the answer they thought they were wanted to give as evidence. We were, therefore, broken up into parties, each party with an appointed leader and interpreter. Each party could go anywhere on the different plantations and any member could ask any questions that he liked. We were taken through several plantations that had been either wholly abandoned or were only partially manned, as the result of the shortness of indentured labour and the