REPORTS FROM SAMOA.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16421, 23 April 1919, Page 5

REPORTS FROM SAMOA.

| A PETITION WITHDRAWN. Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, April 21. In the Samoa' limes or -iprn 5 Ooiouol Tate, Acting-Administrator, puolisiiod an official Biatcmcut which states mat on January 26 uo aitenuecl a native gathering at aiuimum, at wlucn a petition was presented asiaug; (ij ‘that colonel Logan 0c removed as aainuustrutor for masons connected witn tuo introduction oi influenza, into oamoa; that a census uo eaten ol orphans and provision wade lor them; to J that baiiiua mould do turned over to the United .States, out it tins wore not granted and h tuo rollers accrued on iiiitish administration that bamoa should be administered by the Colonial Oiuce and on no account uy the Government oi Now Zealand.

About 12/ cnieis irom various parts of western ibaniua signed tuo petition, which was presented by loieaioa and wluio presenting it he uesncu to amend one paragraph so as to delete the request lor American rule. Iho petition was amended accordingly. “On'February 11, ’ Colonel Tate continues, “my native advisors representing native people, and Tolcaioa representing the petitioners, appeared bolero me and requested that tho whole petition should oc withdrawn and that the incident should bo closed. 1 agreed to accept the withdrawal of the petition and to regard the incident as closed so far as the Samoans were concerned, but intimated that so far as the white people were concerned tho incident would not necessarily bo closed, as tha Government of New Zealand would not readily forgive any person who had committed wrung concerning tho introduction of influenza into Samoa. The present position is that there is now no petition, tho petition formerly existing having boon completely withdrawn. 1 in ay say that consideration had been given to the question of orphans before tho petition was presented and that as to tiio introduction of tho influenza epidemic 1 have no doubt tho Government of Now Zealand will see that any responsibilities aro placed upon tho proper shoulders.” There was a severo storm at Fiji on March 28 last and tho island of Kanaeca suffered considerably. Tho coconut trees in some gullies were wiped out and on the hill trees bearing heavily suffered severely. Tho crop that would have fallen about tho end of Juno and July is all down and the nuts are too young to make up for copra. Tho cutter Turagabui was totally wrecked at Moala. Tho Kataogo, a vessel of 12 tons, drifted from Wainyahia Lakcba with a crew of four and a native captain and has not been heard of since.