WESTERN SAMOA

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20505, 25 August 1936, Page 4

WESTERN SAMOA

PRESERVING LAW AND ORDER SERIOUS CRIME RARE (Written by the Press Association’s representative with the New Zealand Mission to Samoa). WELLINGTON. August 24 The work of maintaining law and order in Western Samoa is carried out by nine European police and thirty native police, the force being under the control of an inspector. The Samoans, i on the whole, may be said to be a lawI abiding race, and by far the greatest number of prosecutions are for comparatively minor breaches of the bylaws. During the yea.- ended March 31 last there were 1.006 convictions. This is the highest number recorded for several years, but the type of offence committed does not call for any special comment. The increase is attributed to greater police activity and wider range of effectiveness. European police are recruited from the New Zealand Police Force, while the native police are chosen from applicants in the Territory possessing a good knowledge of English. In addition to their usum work, the police control the licensing of motor-vehicles, firearms and dogs, and perform a hundred and one other duties. The laws of the Territory are to a great extent the same as those of New Zealand, both being based on the law of England as it existed in 1840 (the date of the establishment of New Zealand as a colony). Freedom of conscience and personal liberty, being root principles of English law. are therefore assured tc the inhabitants of Western Samoa. To the groundwork of English law is added a*" number of enactments of the New Zealand Parliament which have been made applicable to Samoa in the same way as they are in New Zealand, and which deal with particular branches of the law—as, for instance, partnership, bankruptcy, marine insurance, bills of exchange, sale of goods, trustees, and the administration of estates. The Ordinances, made with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council of Western Samoa, generally deal with local government, minor matters of local import, and taxation. The laws make in general no distinction between the native inhabitants and the other residents of the islands. The marriage law presents no special feature except that the marriage of Chinese contract labourers with Samoan women is prohibited. The grounds for divorce are the same as in New Zealand. The laws are administered by the High Court of Western Samoa, which consists of a Chief Judge (at present not a permanent appointment, but filled as required by magistrates from New Zealand with experience of the Territory), a permanent commissioner of the High Court, a registrar, and clerks. Clashes After Sporfs Disorderly acts sometimes occur at cricket matches, church festivities and other public gatherings where natives from different villages mingle together. A wrong word is taken as an insult, words lead to blows, sides are taken, and a minor quarrel may develop into a serious affray. Much depends upon weapons, which are readily available. Chiefs invariably endeavour to suppress fighting, but sometimes they become involved themselves. The more serious fighting occurs as a result of disputes over land boundaries by the older men. The young men throw in their weight with their matai, or head of the family. A stolen sweetheart is often the cause of fierce fighting among youths. Suicide is rare in Samoa, although cases have occurred where young women jilted in love or in serious trouble with their family over love affairs have taken their own lives. The law does not permit a samoan go possess a rifle or a revolver. Nearly all the natives carry a long sharp knife, something like a Spanish machete. These are used for plantation work, and each native house has several. Axes are everywhere, also a shorter knife which is used for preparing food for cooking. There are two principal prisons in Samoa —Vaimea and Tafaigata. The former, taken over from the Germans in 1914. is situated in Apia, and occupies five acres. It has a large concrete building for the housing of the prisoners, and is up-to-date in most respects. The system of punishment is mucp the same as that followed in Ndw Zealand. Special accommodation is provided for mental cases. The daily average number of prisoners is 50, consistipg of natives, half castes, and Chinese. Most of them work in gangs on roads and other public undertakings in and around Apia. They are generally well-behaved, and it is very rarely that any attempt at escape is made. For disobedience they are placed in a dark cell, their diet is restricted, and good conduct marks are forfeited. Tafaigata prison which covers 120 acres, is seven miles inland from Apia, and was at one time the German Telefunken Wireless Station. The prisoners grow their own food —taro, bananas and other tropical fruit. Native food is supplied also to the public hospital. The daily average number of prisoners is 20. The native warders live in houses, or fales as the Samoan calls them, and each man is given a quarter of an acre of land to grow his own food. There has b e en only one execution in Samoan during the British occupation. A Chinese coolie was hanged at Vaimea prison for the murder of another coolie. His confederate, who was also sentenced to death, committed suicide in his cell.