SAMOAN CONDITIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20282, 17 April 1934, Page 6

SAMOAN CONDITIONS.

Budget Balanced Despite Low Prices. Notwithstanding difficult times, the Administration of Western Samoa had been able to balance its Budget, said the Administrator, Brigadier-General H. E. Hart, who was in Christchurch yesterday in the course of a holiday visit to New Zealand. The decline in prices for copra and cocoa had made economic conditions difficult, but the position had been offset to some extent by the remission or reduction of taxation in the form of export duties on cocoa and copra. He could not comment on political or native affairs. The decline in prices for the two main products had accounted for a shortage of money in the territory. It was for- ' tunate, however, that the natives could live almost entirely without money. They had no rent or interest to pay and no rates or taxes. With the Europeans, unfortunately, conditions were different. However, the total European population was less than 3000, so that the number affected was not large. The Administration had endeavoured to meet these conditions by making concessions in export duties. In November last it remitted the whole of the export duty on cocoa, and reduced the export duty on copra by 33 1-3 per cent. At the beginning of the present month a further concession was made, the remaining export tax on copra being reduced by 50 per cent. The banana trade constituted the brightest spot on the economic horizon of the mandated territory, and bananas were realising a payable price at present. In that respect the people of Niue and of Western Samoa were much indebted to the New Zealand Government providing a steamer service by the Maui Pomare, without which the banana trade would not be possible.