AFFAIRS IN SAMOA

Taranaki Daily News, 10 July 1929, Page 3

AFFAIRS IN SAMOA

MAU INFLUENCE ON WANE PRAISE FOR ADMINISTRATOR. EX-MEDICAL OFFICER’S VIEWS. An impression that the days of trouble in Samoa are now nearing their end was gained during a short visit to the Islands by Dr. S. G. Trail, once chief Government medical officer at Samoa, who returned to Auckland by the Tofua last evening. It appeared to him that the Mau movement was on the decline, and that the Administrator, Mr. S. S. Allen, had the situation well in hand. “He is the ideal man for the job,” Dr. Trail said. Although it was six years since he served in Samoa, Dr. Trail did not notice many changes on his visit. The influence of the Mau was apparent in some instances. A great demonstration, extraordinarily well organised, greeted Tamasese, the native leader, on his return from Auckland after serving his sentence of imprisonment. The natives seemed to set themselves out to impress the European visitors for propaganda purposes, and the whole ceremony took place just as the Tofua reached Apia, Tamasese having left the vessel at Suva and travelled on to Apia by a small coastal boat. Tamasese was very haughty in his bearing, Dr. Trail said, but the reception passed off without any untoward incident. WOMEN AGAINST THE MAU. Another indication that party feeling was still running on the island lay in the fact that chiefs who favoured the Administration and the Mau respectively would not recognise one another. Quite frequently he had been talking to a Mau chief, had hailed another chief who acknowledged the Administration, and the former wuold walk away. There was a strong feeling of suspicion between the two sides. “However, I gathered from those fully in touch with events that the influence of the Mau is definitely on the wane, and that the natives are beginning to question the use of the organisation,” Dr. Trail said. “The Mau natives are now voluntarily searching for beetles, a task which they refused at the time of the serious trouble. The native women appear to be 'fed up’ with the Mau. Their menfolk go away and attend meetings for days at a time, leaving the women to do all the work of the villages. If the women set themselves definitely against a movement its downfall seems more or less predestined.

NO SIGN OF INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC.

“My impression is that the Mau movement would not be serious at all if it were not for the influence of some Europeans behind the natives. The Administrator puzzles the Samoans, and this is the best way to gain their respect. He will listen to them and act, but he will not talk, and the result is that his authority is increasing all the time. Mr. Allen still has a hard task ahead of him, but his work up to Hie present has been splendid.”

There was not the slightest sign of an influenza epidemic on the island, Dr. Trail continued, and the reports that there had been a serious outbreak were utterly unfounded. The health of the natives was good, and he had been pleased to see the clear skins of the men at the reception to Tamasese. This was proof that the medical service was curing the skin diseases with which the Samoans had been afflicted.

“General conditions in Samoa appeared to be fairly quiet,” Dr. Trail said. “The market for copra is poor at present, t‘he prices being only about £l2 a ton, instead of £l6. The natives will probably blame the Administration for this, but it can remain safely in the possession of a clear conscience.” Dr. Trail will leave for Christchurch by train this evening.