FUTURE OF SAMOA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12735, 3 September 1919, Page 4

FUTURE OF SAMOA.

■ .i—----iiW ZEALAND’S MANDATE. TLOBLLM6 FOR CONSIDERATION [Fnou Owe CoEnxeroynrsri.] WELLINGTON, September 2New Zealand's mandate over Samoa, ormed an interesting portion of the °rime Minister’s Peace' Treaty speech n The House today. He had, he said, a-xsn it for granted that -Samoa, would >s annexed by Britain, but the Peace Conference decided that there should 1® no annexation in the ordinary sense, .‘here was no option but to see thai samoa remained under Britain’s conrol and both naval and military au-horu-ies stressed the point that from t-rategical position the two most ireloitant points in th© Pacific were lamoa and Rahaul. Britain in past ears was foolish in refusing the Sanoan people’s request to take a proec ter ate. Sir George Grsv, Sii lobert Stout,j Dr Brown - 3 , nd Mr Sed ion had tried repeatedly to get Samoa nnexsd- He remembered chaffing Mi seddon for getting a steamer ready tc mnex Samoa., but it was the. rigid hing to do. He. could look back and ay that -• Mr Seddon was right- Fron: - financial viewpoint Samoa should balnee on the right side. Samoa would >ecome an integral part of New Zeaand and the Imperial Government laic mphasis on ths provision in the manlate that New Zealand would have ful lower of administration and legislat-ior iver Samoa a-s an integral part of thl dominionMr Glover; W© are losinsr its trade, Australia is getting it. Mr Massey; I know and regret- it lecause the trade of Samoa ought tc >e very important to this country. 1 iave approached the company con erned, asking them to provide a- het m service. The Prime Minister added iaat when he went Jbefore ths Connci )f Ten to explain New Zealand’s posi non regarding Samoa he mentioned none as a. matter of passing interestdiat the natives were the same rac< tnd spoke a dialect of the same language as the Maori. He was surprisec ■O find later that this was regardec is on© of the strongest arguments h< lad brought forward. Mr Isitt; Does Samoa involve costk lefenoe? Mr _ Massey; On© of the conditions n mat it must not be fortified. Mr Wilford: What about ths Suh Islands r They are a- modern Gißol S.T, Mr Massey; The Japanese have th« of the islands north of the Eqna -■° D including ths Marshall eroup. Mr Myers; If there is any >n the Samoan administration who wil naks it good? Mr Massey; I am afraid w© shouli iave to make it up for the time being iut it would mean a readjustment 0: the mandate and would bs put right. BETTER UNDER BRITAIN. Sir Joseph Ward said he had not ye ;©en the full terms of the Samoa man late. Mr Massey: I have not got then ret. Sir Jossph Ward: Well, while I sa; to this House that we must ratify th Treaty I am going to reserve for ttitur rears my decision respecting ths Same mandate and whether it was the bes thing for New Zealand to take it. ian foresee tremendous difficultic before our country- I am anxious t help the Prime Minister to the best o my ability, but my own opinion is t-ha it would have been better for Grea Britain to exercise the rights of man iatory Power over Satooa- New Zea Land could still have retained track a.; rights. We her© are legislating for th white race and there are difficultie jonfronting_ us in connection with th administration of Samoa with its na bive race. Britain had for many year dealt with identical conditions am squid meet various phases of the posi tion which would be cdflicalt for , young country. Members; Quite right. Sir Joseph Ward; This responsibilitr put upon New Zealand is a new am eery important one, and the position i fraught with delicacy and possible em barrassment. Sir Joseph Ward in stress ing the importance of Britain possessing SamoA, recalled his cablegram in Janu ary, 1900, to the then Premier, th late Mr Seddon, protesting against th, handing of Samoa over to Germihv placing in her hands a possession whio] he feared would become a menace it the_ British Empire in the Western Pacific.