MANDATED TERRITORY OF WESTERN SAMOA (REPORT OF VISIT BY HON. W. NOSWORTHY, MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS TO), TOGETHER WITH REPRESENTATIONS OF CITIZENS' COMMITTEE AND REPLIES THERETO, NOTES OF INTERVIEW WITH CITIZENS' COMMITTEE, AND ADDRESSES OF FONO OF FAIPULES AND FAIPULE CHIEFS AND ORATORS OF FAGAMALO, SAVAI'I. PREPARED BY DIRECTION OF THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1927 Session I, A-04b

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1927. NEW ZEALAND.

MANDATED TERRITORY OF WESTERN SAMOA (REPORT OF VISIT BY HON. W. NOSWORTHY, MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS TO), TOGETHER WITH REPRESENTATIONS OF CITIZENS' COMMITTEE AND REPLIES THERETO, NOTES OF INTERVIEW WITH CITIZENS' COMMITTEE, AND ADDRESSES OF FONO OF FAIPULES AND FAIPULE CHIEFS AND ORATORS OF FAGAMALO, SAVAI'I. PREPARED BY DIRECTION OF THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

CONTENTS. PAGE. 1. Address presented to Minister by Fautuas and Faipules of Western Samoa at Fono House, Mulinu'u, Apia, on 2nd June, 1927 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 2. Address presented to Minister by Faipule, Chiefs, and Orators of Fagamalo District, Savai'i, at Fono House, Fagamalo, on 9th June, 1927 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 3. Representations of Citizens' Committee addressed to Minister and forwarded by Chairman through the Administrator of Samoa .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 4. Notes of Interview between Minister and Citizens' Committee at Administration Offices, Apia, on 11th June, 1927 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 21 5. Detailed reply of Minister to Representations of Citizens' Committee .. .. .. .. .. 32 6. Petition addressed by certain Residents of Samoa to the High President of the German Parliament in Berlin, dated 4th February, 1910 .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. 44

ADDRESS PRESENTED TO HON. MR. NOSWORTHY, MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS BY FAUTUAS AND FAIPULES OF WESTERN SAMOA. Fono House, Mulinu'u, Samoa, Ist June, 1927. To the Hon. the Minister of External Affairs, New Zealand Government. Sib, — We, the undersigned, are the Fautua and Faipule of Samoa and Tokelau Islands, representing this Native country. We are now in session, and working faithfully to help our Administrator, His Excellency Sir George S. Richardson. We have assurance of his real love and his untiring zeal for the well-being and prosperity of this our country. His heart is full of love for Samoa. We are persuaded that he is the right man to govern us in these days when Samoa's understanding in all matters is not complete.

I—A. 48.

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At the present time there is our enemy working against us, and trying to continually hinder all the splendid instructions which we are trying to carry out together with His Excellency the Administrator in order that Samoa may make rapid progress towards the light. But there are some who are making themselves our enemies, and are setting up opposition and wishing to undermine these good instructions issued for the prosperity of Samoa. It would, no doubt, be an easy matter for us to settle among our own countrymen so that we. could all happily work under this Administration in harmony, but it is rendered difficult by the fact that some European merchants in Apia, whose ambition is their own wealth, together with some half-castes, are interfering in matters which are not their concern. They are contimially hindering our Samoan Government about subjects which concern Samoans only. We wish now to express our hope, we the representatives of Samoa and Tokelau, the Fautua and Faipule of the Government, that this interference by these Europeans and half-castes in matters concerning only true Samoans shall be made to cease. We are under the care of Great Britain and His Majesty King George V, by the Mandate of the Great Powers given to the Government of New Zealand to mother our country until we are strong enough and capable enough in accordance with the will of His Majesty the King and His Government. We beg to point out that— (1) The shrewdness of some Europeans in this country has really given Samoa the name of being a divided country at the present time. (2) The strained relationship between some Europeans in Samoa has been the means of dividing the Samoan people. (3) By his wisdom, His Excellency the Administrator unites Samoa in one people. (4) The cleverness of the European who desires power scatters Samoa that she may not become a united people. (5) Hence some Europeans and half-castes have set up opposition against a European who is the responsible power, His Excellency the Administrator, and for no cause at all as far as Samoans were concerned their people are now divided as to these two : (a) He who is the appointed authority; (b) he who seeks appointment for himself. Therefore we humbly beg and pray, with hearts full of hope in the loving will of His Majesty the King of Great Britain, that he will lovingly accept our plea that the Government may do something or issue a command to forbid these Europeans and half-castes to cause trouble in inciting Samoans to oppose our Government. We earnestly beg you to receive our plea in this matter, as this will greatly assist our Administrator at all times. Moreover, we certify that had it not been for these Europeans and their misleading of some of our fellow-countrymen there would have been no division in our country to-day, for all instructions issued by our Administrator carry with them the uplifting and prosperity of all Samoa, as well as the working in truth and harmony. Our villages are healthier and more beautiful places to live in because of regulations for sanitation and beautifying; we have good roads and water-supplies; plantations are prosperous; the establishment of hospitals, dispensaries, and schools, and many other improvements, clearly indicate the love of our Governor for us, and his aim for the future prosperity of our country. We are aware that you, sir, received an appeal that certain Samoans should be permitted to go to New Zealand and present to the New Zealand Government certain matters. We are certain that these Samoans would only make known to you things that were put into their minds by these Europeans in Apia who selected them to make known these things. They would not be able to speak for Samoa. If there are any matters with which they are not satisfied, let them put these matters before us and the Administrator. If the New Zealand Government receives these men in New Zealand, we beg permission that some of our number also, who represent Samoa, may go at the same time so that you may hear both sides of these matters. This is our plea and our statement. Soifua. Malietoa Tanu \p autua Fuamatu R. Vaai ~ Tuimalealtifano / Tuisalega Seiuli Mataafa ) Seumanutafa Sagapolu Atono Nanai Tupuola Tainau Seanoa Seinafo Su'a Sua Toelupe J>Faipule. Tuilaepa Faipule. Tafua Suisala Leilua Pei Salanoa Malupo Alo Sua Tapusoa Fonoti Tuataga Logo Nikotemo Ama Unasa J Asi Mama J T. Laupu'e (Failautusi).

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ADDRESS PRESENTED TO HON. W. NOSWORTHY, MINISTER OP EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, BY FAIPULE, CHIEFS, AND ORATORS, AT FAGAMALO, SAVAI'I, ON 9th JUNE, 1927. To-the Hon. Mr. W. Nosworthy, Minister of External Affairs, and His Excellency the Governor of Western Samoa, and the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Ministerial Party visiting Savai'i. We greatly rejoice that the party has reached this island in safety by the kindness of our Heavenly Father, and we thank God Almighty that we have met and seen each other in good cheer on this very nice day. This is our thanksgiving to our Father in Heaven. To-day is indeed beautiful, and it is different from all other days. The Hon. Minister from New Zealand, His Excellency the Governor of Western Samoa, I 'also the ladies and gentlemen of the party, the father of Savai'i the Resident Commissioner (Captain W. M. Bell), and all the chiefs and royalties of Samoa are here. It is likened to the meeting of a father with his children—the children are very pleased to meet the father. We are being called the children in accordance with our relations with New Zealand. Therefore, this day is indeed beautiful, as the father has met his children. You, the Hon. Minister, Your Excellency the Governor of Samoa, who are the representatives of that big Government which now protects Samoa, which is our father and we the children, as you now see the chiefs and orators of Samoa—we wish to convey to you and all our hearty greetings. With hearts overflowing with pleasure we welcome you this day. We solemnly wish and most earnestly desire to remain loyal to the King, to be true and obedient to the Government of New Zealand ; to be loyal, obedient, and. humble to our kind and loving leader, Sir George S. Richardson, the Governor and father of Samoa. We recollect within our hearts our dear friend who assisted Sir George S. Richardson—the Secretary of Native Affairs; also the Resident Commissioner of Savai'i. These are the ones who are working most loyally and with love for Samoa and its people. ' We are loyal and respectful to them. Although we have now expressed before you our loyalty to the Government in every respect, yet it is undoubtedly not hidden from your view that there are unsettled conditions nowadays. We deeply regret within our hearts that there are a few Europeans who are leading Samoa in wicked paths. We now wish and implore from the King in heaven that the present false ideas of some of the people of Samoa do come to an end, and that peace and harmony be restored, and that each one and all return to their own homes to live there happily, as in the past. It is not long since the death of one of Samoa's dear friends —Mr. Griffin. This was felt in every one's heart. He was the greatest helper to the Samoans in all their trouble. But so it is in this life—the will of God shall always be done. We only trust, as we are here now assembled with you in great joy—the Hon. Minister, Your Excellency the Governor of Savai'i, the ladies and gentlemen of the party, and also the father of Savai'i, that we may again some day meet and see each other in happiness in God's presence. As to the return voyage, may God protect you, that you may arrive back home safely. These are the few words with which we now convey to you, the Hon. Minister from New Zealand, Your Excellency the Governor of Samoa, our most hearty welcome. Our hearts are filled with gladness to meet and see the ladies and gentlemen of the party. Good luck to the Hon. Minister and to the difficulties of the position now held. Good luck to General Sir George Richardson in the hazardous task now being dealt with. May the Holy Spirit enlighten his mind and guide him to lead these islands. Good luck to the rest of the party —the ladies and gentlemen present—so also may God bless Samoa and its people. GOD SAVE THE KING ! Galuvao. Mauigoa Loto. Tauava. Polutea. Letutjga. Tuu. Galuvao. Seu Kopo. Poloa M. Fepuleai. Leota. Itamua. Pi li. Sou. Siapo. Tuu. Pili. Toa. Sao. Faamoe. Tiatea M. Pili. Ta.noaj . Fili. Toa. Nafo'i. Teti. Ala. loane. Vaa. Tauui. Sao. Mataia Lama. Pili. Fiaiu. Loto T. Aufa'i. Tulia. Kalolo. Loto Samoa. Folaunoa. Mauigoa. Itamua. Pule. Maiava T. Loto Fuaamu. Faavalu. VArFALE. Lesa. Uele. Semau. Apelu. Mauili. Maiava (Pulenu'u.) Pelu. Mataia (Komisi). Lauago T. Manogi. Polutea. x Moto. Aloaina. Nafo'i. Loto Tui. Aloaina (ii). Tiatia T. Avia. Fiapu'e. Nafo'i (hi). Suisala (Faipule). Vaifale (Pulenu'u). Salausa. Fepuleai.

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REPRESENTATIONS OF CITIZENS' COMMITTEE ADDRESSED TO HON. W. NOSWORTHY, MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS. Sydney, N.S.W., 28th June, 1927. The Chairman, Citizens' Committee, Apia, Samoa. Dear Sir, — I have to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, with which you forwarded me copy of the letter you addressed to the Administrator on the 7th December last, together with a complete file of the reports which were prepared by your committee for my consideration. These were forwarded to me at Wellington by Excellency the Administrator, and, as I indicated to you and the members of your committee at Apia on the 11th idem, having now visited the Territory and acquired first-hand knowledge of its affairs, I will send you a detailed reply on these matters in due course. I will also include this correspondence in the report of my visit to Western Samoa which I propose to lay before Parliament. Yours faithfully, W. Nosworthy, Minister of External Affairs. (Forwarded through His Excellency the Administrator.) Apia, Samoa, 10th June, 1927. Hon. W. Nosworthy, Minister of External Affairs, Apia. Sir, — On behalf of the Citizens' Committee I have the honour to present you herewith a complete file of the reports which were prepared by the Citizens' Committee and approved of by the people of Samoa, to be presented to you on their behalf for your consideration. I may mention that the attached file is the original of that which was handed to the Administrator on the 7th December, 1926, by your request. Copy of letter to the Administrator is also enclosed. I have, &c., 0. F. Nelson, Chairman Citizens' Committee. Apia, Samoa, 7th December, 1926. His Excellency The Administrator, Apia. Your Excellency,— In compliance with telegram received from the Hon. Minister of External Affairs of the 16th November, I no w have the honour to hand you herewith copies of the reports which have been prepared by the Citizens' Committee for presentation to the Minister. Your Excellency will kindly submit to the Fono of Faipule such reports as may be deemed by Your Excellency to affect Native affairs. A list of the reports is attached hereto, by which you will note that English translations of the Samoan reports and Samoan translations of the European reports have been made, except in respect to the Samoan translation of the European planters' report on labour and agriculture, and the European report on finances, which cannot be ready in time for the Fono of Faipule, as they have just come to hand. Should, however, these reports be required in Samoa, I feel sure the Official interpreter would be asked to make them. Some of the reports are addressed to the committee by the sub-committees, but at a committee meeting held yesterday the whole of the reports were accepted by the committee to be presented to the Minister with the exception of the report on labour and agriculture, to which the following reservation was made : " The report comes from the Planters' Association and must be taken as such. The committee as a whole cannot endorse in full the report, but it is forwarded for the information of the Hon. Minister of External Affairs by request." I have, &c., 0. F. Nelson, Chairman. REPORTS. 1. Legislative Council: (a) European report, (6) Samoan Report (English translation). 2. Finances : (a) European report, (b) Samoan report (English translation). 3. Medical Department: (a) European report, (b) Samoan report (English translation). 4. Native Affairs : (a) European report, (b) Samoan report (English translation). 5. Prohibition : («) European report, (6) Samoan report (English translation). 6. Labour and Agriculture : European planters' report. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.—EUROPEAN REPORT. The Legislative Council of Western Samoa came into being on the Ist May, 1920. It then provided for a minimum, of four official members and some non-official members, who were not to exceed in number the official members. These were all to be appointed by the Governor-General of New Zealand on the nomination of the Administrator. The Administrator to preside and have a casting-vote.

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The citizens felt a wholly nominated Council would not be representative of the people, and the provision was not at all appreciated. The first three non-official citizens nominated respectively declined to accept office. Ultimately two gentlemen accepted the nomination, and they continued in office until the end of 1923. Meanwhile the Government, recognizing the unpopularity of the Council as it was, amended the Act to allow for three members to be elected by the Europeans, and provision was made for the inclusion of .Native members. The residents, knowing of the success of the Legislative Council in Fiji on somewhat similar conditions, proved their appreciation of the amendment by the very keen interest taken in the first elections three years ago. There were, however, no Native members allowed. The second elections are now due, but meanwhile the people and their representatives have had three years' experience of the working of the Council, and the results are most disappointing and disheartening. Perhaps the superficial results might have appeared much more satisfactory had the elected members calmly submitted to the Government majority. But that does not make for good government in any democracy, more especially where the Government majority is not representative of the people, but have to act according to a policy made for them. The Council, for the sake of all concerned, needs urgent revision. The Samoans should be represented by members of their own choice. The total of the non-official members should not be less than six, or as many as the official members. The Administrator's casting-vote may always decide in favour of the Government, but in all matters where the elected members vote en bloc for or against any measure in opposition to the Government members, such measure should be subject to review and revision by the Minister. In Fiji there are ten official and ten unofficial members in the Legislative Council. The latter are made up of seven elected Europeans, two Fijians, and one Indian. Where the elected members vote en bloc in opposition to the Government members, the matter is referred to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, even though the Governor's casting-vote gives the Government a majority. We respectfully pray for these conditions to be applied in Samoa. (Since the above was typed, the elections have been held, and, despite great opposition, the same three members were returned with an overwhelming majority, thus showing the confidence of the people of Samoa in the policy set out in these reports as advocated by the elected members during their first term of office.) [Tbanslation.] LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.— SAMOAN REPORT. 1. The Samoans should be represented in the Legislative Council. These representatives should be selected by the Samoans themselves in an equitable manner. 2. So long as the Faipule is in existence they should be selected by the districts, as was done in former Governments. 3. There are too many laws altogether in this country, and the first duty of the Legislature is to repeal all the unnecessary and superfluous laws. These laws make criminals of people for committing acts which are not offences in other countries. Some of the penalties, especially to the Samoans, are unheard-of in other countries except where there is serfdom. 4. When the Samoans are represented in the Legislative Council the time should soon arrive when that Council might suffice as the one Legislature for the whole of Samoa. Apia, Samoa, December, 1926. REPORT OF SUB-COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. Population. The population of Samoa is 40,231, as stated in the report of the New Zealand Government on the Mandated Territory of Western Samoa published this year, 1926 (see page 9). The committee ask the attention of the citizens to a comparison of the statistics of Samoa with, the Islands of Fiji as taken from the Fiji Blue-book, 1925, and of the Tongan Islands, taken from the estimates for Tonga, 1926-27. The populations of the three Governments are respectively — Fiji, 169,431; Samoa, 40,231; Tonga, 27,000 (estimated by committee). These populations are comprised of the different peoples as here set forth :— Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. Polynesians or Fijians . . .. .. .. 36,688 90,209 25,000* Indians .. .. .. .. .. .. 68,136 Chinese .. .. .. .. .. .. 890 969 Other labourers .. . . .. .. .. 155 Solomon islanders and Rotuma boys .. .. .. .. 2,235 Fijian labourers .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,041 European and other nationalities .. .. .. 2,498 7,077 2,000* Total population .. .. ..40,231 169,667 27,000* * Estimated. These relative populations are to be kept in mind in the consideration of the relative revenues and expenditure.

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Revenues and Expenditures op the same Three Governments. Samoa. Revenue. < Expenditure. Direct — £ g. d. £ s. d. Native taxes .. .. .. 12,840 0 0 Direct to Samoans .. .. .. 19,388 0 0 Medical tax .. .. .. 9,186 0 0 Indirect payments to Samoans .. 44,912 0 0* •— Salaries and public workg .. .. 81,387 17 4 Total direct tax from Samoans .. 20,032 0 0 Surplus .. .. .. .. 4,350 2 8 Indirect tax from Samoans and Europeans— Customs and licenses, &c. .. .. 109,006 0 0 New Zealand subsidy (saved deficit) .. 21,400 0 0 £150,038 0 0 £150,038 0 0 * See pp. 35, 36 of New Zealand Report of Mandate. The figures in the statement of revenue and expenditure for Samoa have been obtained from the New Zealand Report of the Mandated Territory (1926) and from the estimates, 1926-27. From the latter we obtained the further information that of the combined amount for salaries and public works there is the sum of £52,952 paid for the salaries, emoluments, and perquisites of the European officials employed in the Administration. The sum total under the head of " Salaries and public works "is £81,387 17s. 4d. Deduct £52,952, salaries, &c., of Europeans, and we have £28,435 17s. 4d., for public works and divers expenses other than salaries paid out in connection with the various departments and officials. So that out of a revenue of £150,000 there is about £25,000, or one-sixth of the revenue, or less, disbursed for the actual development of public works. The committee feel that an accurate audit of the disbursements will show a less sum than one-sixth of the total revenue appropriated for such improvements that would become substantial and valuable assets of the Government. The committee refer for a comparison to the revenue and expenditure in the Government of Fiji and in the Kingdom of Tonga, leaving the citizens to draw their own conclusions :— Fiji. Revenue. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. Direct Native taxes .. .. .. 15,592 15 6 Direct through District Administration Customs and other sources .. .. 534,643 16 5 (Native).. .. .. .. 23,087 11 9 Salaries, &c., and public works .. 455,087 3 5 Surplus .. .. .. .. 72,236 16 8 £550,236 11 10 £550,236 J1 10 Tonga. Revenue. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. £ s. d. Direct Native taxes .. .. .. 12,950 0 0 Direct to Tongans —Royal Customs .. .. .. .. 72,170 0 0 Family .. .. 3,960 0 0 Legislative Assembly .. 645 0 0 Premier's Office .. .. 1,991 0 0 Governors .. .. 1,026 0 0 Audit .. .. 1,129 0 0 Treasury .. .. 1,004 0 0 9,755 0 0 Public Works—Salaries of both Europeans and Tongans .. .. .. 61,629 0 0 Surplus .. .. .. .. 13,636 0 0 £85,120 0 0 £85,120 0 0 The revenue (exclusive of the New Zealand subsidy) and expenditure per head of population of the three Island Governments having British administration and protection are, — Revenue per Expenditure Head. per Head. £ s. d. £ s. d. Samoa .. .. .. .. .. ..340 3 12 0 Fiji .. .. .. .. .. ..350 240 Tonga .. .. .. .. .. ..330 2 12 0 In both Fiji and Tonga there is a substantial surplus, but in Samoa, although the expenditure per head of population is greater than in Fiji and in Tonga, there is no surplus, but a deficit when the New Zealand subsidy is deducted. The excess of expenditure per head is not visible in the substantial development of the country, such as roads and other means of communication to remote parts. Neither can this expenditure be attributed to an increase in the assets of the Territory. The excess of assets over liabilities has decreased from £28,029 in the year 1920 to £14,957 in 1926, as shown in the Surplus and Deficit Account of the Territory : — Excess of Assets over Liabilities (otherwise called Surplus and Deficit Account). £ £ 31/3/19 .. .. 26,615 31/3/23 .. .. 24,308 31/3/20 .. .. 28,029 31/3/24 .. .. 15,215 31/3/21 .. .. 27,829 31/3/25 .. .. 10,606 31/3/22 .. .. 25,717 31/3/26 .. .. 14,957

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In 1924 and 1925 the revenues and expenditure were —- Revenue. Expenditure. £ £ 31/3/24 .. .. .. .. .. .. 133,917 143,010 31/3/25 .. .. .. .. .. .. 130,915 135,524 The surplus of £14,957 on 31/3/26 includes advances amounting to £6,523, and included in the assets are — Unallocated Stores Department, Public Works Department, and Engineering £ Department .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 37,131 Plant, buildings, and machinery .. .. .. .. .. 6,215 £43,346 It is to be doubted, if these assets are again valued, the full value would amount to the sum of £43,000. The committee does not overlook the investments of assets in the New Zealand Government and inscribed stock amounting to £56,790. And the committee is also aware of the public debt of the Territory due to New Zealand of over £100,000, for which provision is "made in the permanent charges for the gradual liquidation of this debt and the payment of interest thereon. Special attention is invited to expenditure in the Territory, which is about to be enumerated. At Vailima (Government House), in addition to the salary of the Administrator, — Per Annum. £ £ Chauffeur .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 170 Domestic servants (Chinese) .. .. .. . . .. 350 Rations .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 Overhead charges .. .. .. .. . . .. 185 635 Outdoor labour (Chinese) .. .. .. .. .. 550 Maintenance Government House grounds .. .. .. 250 Repairs to drive .. .. .. .. .-. .. 100 900 Upkeep of motor-cars and. horses .. .. .. .. .. 350 Lighting .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 150 £2,205 In addition to the above, prisoners are frequently employed at Vailima (see report of Mandate). The upkeep of Vailima House and grounds may be compared with the labour required to maintain another Government institution—viz., the Casino—where from ten to fifteen Chinese are deemed sufficient for the maintenance and service of this hostel. The cost of these Chinese is estimated at about £800 per annum. The actual expenditure for year ended 31st March, 1925, at Vailima was — £ £ Wages for Chinese staff .. .. .. .. ... 1,020 Rations .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 140 Chinese overhead charges .. .. .. .. .. 258 1,418 Maintenance of grounds .. .. .. .. .. .. 764 Upkeep of motor-cars and grounds .. .. .. .. .. 258 £2,577 The following comparison of the expenses of the Secretariat is made :— Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Secretary .. .. .. .. .. .. 950 I,ooo* 750 48f 798 Assistant Secretary .. .. .. .. .. 505 700J 405 Also A.D.C. .. .. .. .. .. 150 £655 (* Colonial.) (tHouse.) (t Chief Clerk),

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And of the Department of Native Affairs — Samoa. Fiji. £ £ Secretary, Native Affairs .. .. .. .. .. 850 475 Resident Commissioner of Savai'i .. .. .. .. 590 £1,440 Assistant Secretary, Native Affairs— Apia .. .. .. .. .. .. 515 Savai'i .. .. .. .. .. .. 400 £915 £300 Tonga : two Governors at £332 per annum. Totals : Samoa, £2,355 ; Fiji, £775 (Secretary, Native Affairs). (It is understood that this year a larger salary is appropriated for the Secretary of Native Affairs in Fiji.) In addition to the above there are further salaries in the Department of Native Affairs in Samoa which may be mentioned: — Apia. Savai'i. £ £ Inspectors .. .. .. .. .. .. 485 860 Thirteen clerks and four messengers .. .. .. 1,395 1,319 Samoan officials .. .. .. .. .. 3,661 2,315 Other charges .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,634 1,266 £9,900 £6,750 Comparing the Native population of Samoa with that of Fiji, it will be observed that the cost of the Native administration in Fiji is much lower (about half) per head of Native population than in Samoa. Samoa. Fiji. Native population .. .. .. .. .. 36,688 90,209 Fijian labourers .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,041 91,250 Cost of Native administration .. .. .. .. £19,388 £23,087 Cost per head .. .. .. .. .. 10s. 7d. ss. Reference is made to the expenditure in connection with the Treasury Departments of the three island Governments: — Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Treasurer .. .. .. .. .. 680 1,000(a) 575(b) Chief Clerk .. .. .. .. .. 470 390 Cashier ... .. .. .. .. 340 Typiste .. .. . . .. . . 155 Messenger .. .. .. .. .. 80 £1,725 Other expenses .. .. .. .. 475 Total .. .. .. .. £2,200 (a) This salary is paid to the Colonial Treasurer. (b) The Treasurer in Tonga is allowed house-rent, but the full emolument must not exceed £600. It is not known if the Samoan Treasurer is allowed house-rent or not. In Tonga the Auditor-General receives £600 and quarters. The cost of auditing in Samoa is not known. Auditors arrive from New Zealand annually, and it is not known by the committee if the cost of auditing Treasury Accounts in the Mandated Territory is defrayed by the New Zealand Government or is disbursed from local revenues. Customs Department. Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Collector .. .. .. .. 665 550 (Chief) 425 (Haapai). 400 (Levuka) 395 (Vavau). 380 (Lautoka) 388 (Chief). Other officers .. ~ ~ 1,816 3,690 940 £2,481 £5,020 £2,148

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The Collector of Customs in each, port of the Tongan Islands has to perform the duties of Postmaster as well. Quarters are allowed the Tongan officials. It will be noted that in both Fiji and in Tonga there are three ports of entry, whilst in Samoa there is one. The relative approximate amount of money collected by the Customs Departments in the three Governments, including the class of taxes and licenses, which are included in the Samoan amount, is :— Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. Customs— £ £ £ Import and export .. .. .. .. .. 76,700 286,500 40,000 Licenses .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 10,000 2,100 Business profits .. .. .. .. .. .. 34,100 Residential tax .. .. .. .. .. .. 21,700 £76,700 £352,300 £42,200 Compare with cost of collecting, as stated above .. .. £2,481 £5,020 £2,148* * This disbursement covers also the cost of the Post Office Department in Tonga. Harbour Department. Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Harbourmaster .. .. .. .. 590 400 (Suva) 290 (Nukualofa). 340 (Levuka) 276 (Haapai). 230 (Vavau). Assistant Harbourmaster .. .. .. 200 Clerk .. .. .. .. .. 114 904 780 796 Launches .. .. .. .. .. 910 Maintenance .. .. .. .. .. 1,000 250* £2,814 £1,030 £796 The Harbourmasters in Tonga act as boarding officers for Customs. * Includes the wages of twenty-five lighthouse-keepers, signal-station keeper, and Inspectors of lighthouses. The revenues of the respective Harbour Departments are — Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. Port and wharfage, pilot fees, &c. .. .. .. £2,487 15s. 9d. £16,116 £3,720 No wharfage revenue is obtained in Samoa, as in Fiji and Tonga. Department of Justice. It is the opinion of the committee that this Department is conducted with economy, but owing to the holder of the appointment of Registrar being called to fulfil the duties of other officials in the Administration who have been granted leave of absence the service of his division of the Department of Justice is hampered unnecessarily. A comparison of the cost is here shown Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Chief Justice .. .. .. .. .. I,ooo* 1,000 750 Crown Prosecutor and Registrar .. ... . . . 750* 900f Deputy Registrar .. .. .. .. .. .. 420 Samoan staff .. .. .. .. .. .. 374 Registrar Supreme Court ........ .. . . 575 Police Magistrate ........ .. .. .. 575 415J Titles Clerk .. .. .. .. «.. .. .. 400 Other charges .. .. .. .. .. .. 196 1,950 1,260 £2,730 £5,400 £2,425 * House allowance. f Attorney-General. f Two holders. Police Department. Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Inspector .. .. .. .. .. .. 650 600(«) 480(6) District Inspectors .. .. .. .. .. .. 460 250 350 345 345 330 300 Senior Sergeant .. .. .. .. .. 455 .. 700* Mounted police .. .. .. .. .. 400 Foot police .. .. .. .. .. .. 330 .. 157f Clerk and Accounting Officer .. .. .. .. 350 230 All others .. 4,652 7,097 1,976 Totals .. .. .. .. .. £6,837 £10,057 £3,563 * Six holders. f Two holders.

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Department of Agriculture. Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Director .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 680 (Vacant) 460* Produce Inspector .. .. .. .. .. .. 420 300 Chief Clerk .. .. .. .. .. .. 400 300 Inspectors .. .. .. .. .. .. 710(2) 900(4) 384f Native Staff .. .. .. .. .. .. 418 Other charges .. .. .. .. .. .. 622 495 822 Entomologist .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 600 Chemist .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 525 Veterinary Officer .. .. . . .. .. . . .. 500 Mycelogist .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 575 £3,250 £4,195 £1,666 * House allowance. t Not known how many. Chinese Department. Samoa. Fiji. £ £ Commissioner .. .. .. .. .. .. 590 600f Interpreter .. .. .. .. .. .. 360* Clerk .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 300 220f Police .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 320 Other charges .. ~ .. .. .. .. 220 £1,790 for coolies. * A Chinese. f Indian section. The number of coolies in Samoa is 890 (Chinese) ; in Fiji the coolies number 969 (Chinese) ; Indian coolies, 68,136 : total, 69,105 (Indian and Chinese). Post Office and Telegraph and Telephone. Samoa. Fiji. £ £ Postmaster.. .. .. .. .. 515 700 Superintendent of Telegraphs .. .. .. 600 Clerk .. .. .. .. .. 410 400 Clerk .. .. .. .. .. 400 300 Lineman .. .. .. .. .. 400 250 Sub-Postmasters .. .. .. .. 100 658 (Provincial). Overtime .. .. .. .. .. 50 286 Samoan Staff .. .. .. .. 644 Other charges .. .. .. .. 1,101 7,470 (includes radio and telephone). Postmaster.. .. .. .. .. .. 300 (Levuka). Radio .. .. .. .. .. 4,450 280 (Lautoka —free quarters). 250 (Ba —free quarters). £8,050 £11,494 Tonga: The duties are performed by the.Customs Department. The Postmaster and clerks perform the duties in connection with telegraphs and telephone. The committee consider that no further economy is required in Samoa in connection with these Departments. The officials have responsible duties to perform. Public Works Department. £ i The total salaries paid in this Department amount to .. .. .. 4,622 0 0 Transport and travelling allowance .. .. .. .. .. .. 340 0 0 4,962 0 0 The appropriations as per estimates, 1926-27, for public improvements are .. 9,398 0 0 Printing, &c. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. 40 0 0 £14,400 0 0 From this it appears that a maintenance and improvement account of £9,398 (estimated) requires an expenditure in salaries for the administration of the Public Works Department of £4,962, or approximately about half the estimated sum of maintenance and improvements. The Engineer in Charge of the Public Works Department receives also the sum of££22o per annum as Chief Surveyor and Commissioner of Lands in|the Lands and Survey Department. The cost of this Department to the administration of the mandate is £2,400. The committee believe this to be a necessary expenditure in the islands.

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Education Department. The appropriations of public revenue for the Department of Education should in any country be liberal. In Samoa it is essential to support the efforts of the several missionary denominations in the education of the people. These denominations were doing good work in the education of the Samoans, and with the assistance of the Government greater progress can be made. The sub-committee, however, desire to point out some of the items expended for educational purposes which they are of the opinion could be better applied to educational purposes in other ways than at present. The salaries paid to European teachers appear higher than in the other islands in the tropics, under British rule, and, moreover, they are paid in some instances to teachers who have not the qualifications to receive similar pay in these places. The committee ascertain that the headmaster at Avele, who receives £440 per annum, is a single man, and uncertificated, and that the Vaipouli School will be conducted by a gentleman who gained his certificate of the lowest grade last year, and he will receive a salary of £500 per annum and free house. Both these gentlemen teach a grade up to and including Standard 11. The attendance at the Vaipouli School and at Avele and the Malifa Native Schools does not exceed an average of seventy pupils in each school. The following table gives relative salaries paid in the three groups of islands :— Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Superintendent .. .. .. .. .. 700* 600 520f (1) Headmasters— Ifiifi .. .. .. .. .. .. 545 415 (Grammar School). Malifa .. .. .. .. .. 515 400 (Levuka Public School). Vaipouli .. .. .. .. .. 515 500$ (Queen Victoria School). Avele .. .. .. .. .. .. 450 500J (Lau Provincial School). Organizing teachers .. .. .. .. 400 500$ (Northern Provincial). 400 500$ (Eastern Provincial). 400 400$ (Kadavu Provincial). Technical .. .. .. .. .. 460 Assistants for Ifiifi .. .. .. ..1,110 Office staff .. . . .. . . .. 105 Native teachers .. .. .. .. .. 2,211 Other charges .. .. .. .. .. 1,889 £9,700 * Transport allowance. f The Tongan Director of Education is also headmaster or Principal of the Tongan College, and he also is editor of the Tongan newspaper without increase of salary. J These teachers are University men holding degrees. Tropical allowance of £40 is allowed teachers in Fiji. They are also allowed quarters. The salaries stated are the maximum. Medical Department. Samoa. Fiji. Tonga. £ £ £ Chief Medical Officer .. .. .. .. .. 1,000 (1) 950* 900* (1) Resident M.C. .. .. .. .. .. .. 850 700f 604 District Medical Officer .. . . .. .. .. 940 400 (2) Levuka. District Medical Officer .. .. .. .. .. 940 600 (2) Lautoka. Assistant Medical Officer .. .. .. .. .. 888 600 (2) Suva. £604 888 600 (2) 888 Health Inspectors— Senior .. .. .. .. .. .. 500 250 Suva. Junior .. .. .. .. .. .. 380 Secretary .. .. .. . . .. .. .. 310 200 Dispenser .. .. .. .. .. .. 435 300 (3) Medical Superintendent at Leper Station .. .. .. .. 625* Storekeeper .. .. .. .. .. .. 320 * Quarters allowed (1) Transportation allowed; (2) has private practice; (3) is also Analyst, Pharmacist, and Medical Storekeeper. f Suva Hospital. The full appropriation for the Medical Department is £25,000, of which sum are —Person emoluments, £13,690; other charges, £11,310. The appropriation for the Medical Department in Fiji, not including the Leper Station, is about £16,000, and in Tonga the appropriation is about £7,400. In addition to the expenditure already enumerated, there are other charges of a public nature which, from their respective amounts and objects, induce an inquiry by the citizens. (1) Pares and allowances and expenses to and from overseas appropriation, £1,800. (2) Cleaning Government property and care of grounds on waterfront and Malifa bathing-pool, £500. (3) Subsidy to Malololelei, £300.

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(4) Trading concerns : (a) Central Hotel, which cost the Government the sum of £9,000 and upon which interest is paid at the rate of 6 per cent., £540 ; (b) laundry which cost the Government the sum of £6,000 upon which interest is paid, £360. (This is believed to be rented out at £4 per month —£48 per year.) (5) New wharf : An expenditure of £10,000 has been appropriated for this public work. Up to the present time interruptions have occurred in the construction of the wharf owing to incomplete surveys of the harbour bed, or the failure to be guided by early surveys, and a secrecy is being preserved as to the responsibility for a gross blunder which will cause a heavier outlay of public money than was at first anticipated. (5) Electric light: There is a poor service with thisjpublic utility. An obsolete plant was installed. (6) Proposed hydro-electric scheme : Before entering upon this work the public may well ask for information as to the cost which will fall upon the public Treasury. (7) Alcazar : The public has an interest in this property. It was purchased|by the Board of Control of the New Zealand Reparation Estates for a sum under £1,700, which is much below its real value. It is a good investment, and is a good asset for either the Mandated Territory or the New Zealand Reparation Estates, whichever may eventually own it. Contrasted with the large sums of money paid by the Administration out of the Samoan Treasury for the Central Hotel and the Tulaele property, the purchase of the Alcazar stands out as one sound investment in property. The public is interested in the use to which this property is now applied. Recently expensive buildings have been erected, presumably for His Majesty the King, in which is run a transportation service and an engineering concern on behalf of the New Zealand Reparation Estates, which is chiefly a planting concern. The people are concerned in that private enterprise is crippled and handicapped by the action of officials whose interests they should serve financing through New Zealand Reparation Estates a business to the injury of private enterprise. It has been announced that the New Zealand Government has generously offered to permit the Administrator to apply all profits of the Mew Zealand Reparation Estates to the general improvement of the country. The citizens are interested to know if the recent heavy expenditure on the Alcazar is classified as an " improvement of the country." They are of opinion the money thus spent out of the generous offer of the New Zealand Government could have been applied to the building and repairing of roads, which are much needed at the present time. (8) Inspector's residence at Fagamalo, £1,000. (9) School Extension at Yaipouli, £1,400. It is considered with a growing depletion of Treasury funds that these works may well be postponed, and, further, the citizens, through their representatives, should exercise some control over this expenditure as well as all other expenditure of the Government funds. Expenditure generally. The expenditure of the country has jumped from £66,765 in 1915-16 to the sum of £133,500 in 1926-27 as from the estimates 1926-27, which means an increase in public expenditure of £66,735, and therefore double the amount only eleven years ago. (See Appendices A and B.) The figures which the committee present to you must impel the Administration of the Mandated Territory of Western Samoa to take into serious consideration the question of retrenchment— retrenchment in those Departments which, when compa.red with the neighbouring island Governments, will permit considerable reductions being made in the amounts of salaries and allowances, or a reduction in the number of officials. A more careful drafting of specifications of the cost of public works is absolutely necessary. These specifications should also be submitted to a competent board composed of citizens before being acted upon. The committee consider the proportion of expenditure in emoluments to the actual revenues too great for the future solvency of the Territory. Loans. It is not desirable to borrow money when the actual necessity for borrowing does not exist It is not necessary to contract loans for the purpose of paying salaries. If the salaries were reduced or the number of officials reduced in certain departments, there would be no occasion to ask for any loan. Public improvements of an ordinary nature can be effected from the local revenues if the retrenchment is carried out as suggested. Loans should only be raised for public utilities of a nature beyond the present means of revenue, but such public utilities must be revenue-producing sufficient to liquidate the loan in course of time and to pay the yearly interest due. In addition to the present permanent charges of £7,700 there will be other charges to be met, such as —Interest on No. 2a loan of £32,000, for Native water-supplies, £20,000; new wharf and shed, £12,000. The interest on this loan will be £600 per annum. No. 2b loan of £16,000 for public works, roads, and bridges, and new telephone system. The interest on this loan will be £500 per annum. Control of Public Money. Under the Samoa Act (section 32), the Administrator of the Mandated Territory of Western Samoa, subject' to the control of the Minister of External Affairs in New Zealand, directs expenditure from the Samoan Treasury. Where, the committee ask, do the taxpayers and contributors of the revenue come in ? Is there any provision made in the law of the Territory enabling the taxpayers to control any of the expenditure ? Prior to the year 1900 the people of Samoa exercised the right both in the Samoan Government and in the Municipality of Apia to control the revenues. That right was granted to

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the people by the three protecting Powers : why, when one of the protecting Powers exercises the control of the three should the people be deprived of the right already conceded to them ? In the report of the New Zealand Government to the League of Nations on the Mandated Territory we find on page 41, under the head of "Labour," " As to those employed in the Public Service, the rates of pay are open to criticism by the Legislative Council when estimates for the financial year are considered." The impression is here given that the people, through the elected members of the Samoan Legislative Council, have a voice in controlling the expenditure. That impression is delusive, for whatever check there may be in possessing the right to criticize any public expenditure has so far been of no avail. The committee is of the opinion that the people who are the contributors to the revenues (except the loans and subsidy from New Zealand) do not actually participate in the expenditure of those revenues. The so-called participation is a mere chimera. It is recommended that measures be adopted to enable the people —through representatives appointed by them —to exercise that fundamental right conceded by British institutions of Government —the right to make grants of their revenue for the Departments of Government. We realize that so long as the present Samoa Act is not amended we must submit to the present system, and we respectfully recommend for the earnest consideration of the Administration and for the approval of the New Zealand Government the creation of a Financial Board, whose members will be elected by the people. This Board may first take into consideration all proposals of public expenditure and the collection of revenues and make recommendations to the Legislative Council on revenue and expenditure. Re Public Debt op £100,000. The committee understand that the public debt of £100,000 was originally incurred for public improvements in the Mandated Territory, and the money was loaned by the New Zealand Government on the security of the Samoa Crown Estates. The committee may be in error, and if so we are prepared for correction. The New Zealand Government, we are informed (probably erroneously), has now taken over the Samoan Crown Estates, and they are held by the New Zealand Government under the title of the New Zealand Reparation Estates. The property which was pledged for the repayment of this loan of £100,000, upon which the New Zealand Government has already received interest and part sinking fund, amounting to the sum of £28,997, is now, by the action of the New Zealand Government, the property of that Government. The New Zealand Government has, in plain language, foreclosed on the secured property. It is submitted that the loan now should be wiped out, and we recommend that the Administration be requested to apply to the New Zealand Government for a release of the loan or mortgage debt. A mortgagee, having foreclosed on a property which was secured by a loan of £100,000, and having become the owner of the property without further payment, appears to be in an anomalous position when he continues to carry on the loan whilst he possesses the property which was secured for the repayment of the loan. This last paragraph is not, probably, in accordance with facts, but the committee is seeking certain information which at present is not disclosed to the committee, and this paragraph has been inserted with the particular view for putting the committee right where it may be in error. Explicit information concerning all public funds is sought for when the public is directly interested, and even in cases of indirect interest such as the revenues of the New Zealand Reparation Estates|in Samoa. The foregoing is respectfully submitted to the Citizens' Committee. [Translation.] FINANCES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF WESTERN SAMOA.—SAMOAN REPORT. 1. The estimates should be printed in the Samoan language (as well as in English), such as is done in American Samoa, so Samoans may learn of the finances. 2. The Legislative Council should have the right to decide on the estimates. 3. No Government loans should be allowed without the unanimous decision of the Legislative Council. 4. An investigation should be made on the national debt, so the causes for the same may be removed. 5. Every effort should be made to eliminate the national debt, including the disposal and sale of buildings and other properties purchased with loan-moneys, and the proceeds of such sale to go towards the payment of the debt. 6. Government officials from overseas should be reduced in numbers, so that their high salaries and the heavy expenditure incidental to their leaving their homes and return thereto may thus be saved. 7. Most of the Government positions should be available to native Samoans, Europeans born in Samoa, and Europeans who have settled in Samoa. The reasons for this are-- (a) They are able to fill most of these positions ; (b) they will undoubtedly work for lower salaries ; (c) a great saving will thus be derived ; (d) the native Samoan will thus have made a real advance, insomuch that he will be able to serve the Government of his country and at a lower scale of salaries to that which now obtains. MEDICAL.—EUROPEAN REPORT. C.M.O. TO BE EXPERT SURGEON AND GENERAL ALL-ROUND PRACTITIONER. The ability of any professional man may be safely measured by the amount of confidence placed in him by the public. Just as confidence is the basis of trade, so is it also the foundation of practically all fields of human endeavour. That the public of Western Samoa have little faith in the local doctors

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is more than proved by the fact that from time to time citizens find it necessary to go to Pago Pago to undergo operations in our local doctors, would be performed here. There is a reason for everything, and probably the reason in this case may be found in the very small number of serious operations which are performed in Apia, and not in the inability to perform such operations. If we are to believe reports, they have a very competent surgeon in Pago Pago, a much smaller territory than this. If they can support a first-class surgeon there is no apparent reason why we should not be able to do the same. We want a Medical Department that commands respect and confidence, not one which creates more or less ridicule. To bring about this happy state of things we maintain that the chief essential is the appointment of an expert surgeon as Chief Medical Officer, whose past records as a surgeon will be on the closest investigation. To obtain the services of such a man may cost more than at the present, but we do not think there would be the slightest objection to this by one single individual, provided we received the right man. Private Practitioners. What Western Samoa is badly in need of to-day is one or more private practitioners. The argument may be put forward that there would not be sufficient work to support a private doctor, and for one to carry on it would be necessary for him to receive a Government subsidy ; but this is contrary to facts. Many of you will remember that some years ago we had Drs. Thieme, Schwesinger, Zieschank, Punk, and Ross in Western Samoa as private practitioners, and they did very well indeed. A private doctor could also visit the hospital in an honorary capacity, the same as is done in other countries. When the spirit of competition is absent there is very little incentive for a person to do his best, and what is needed in Samoa to-day is competition, which would go a long way towards removing that casualness which appears to be the outstanding characteristic of our medical men. Native Dissatisfaction. The Native community is dissatisfied with the services rendered by the Medical Department, more so since the introduction of the medical tax, which they claim has had the opposite effect to that intended, which was to ensure proper medical attention. Before its introduction they claim they received more or less proper attention whilst inmates of the hospital, whereas to-day they feel that they do not receive that care and attention to which they are entitled, feeling that the Department, being sure of their tax-money, is not concerned with the health of the Natives to the same extent as it was before the introduction of the tax. Greater encouragement should be given to the Native medical practitioners, who, when all is said and done, probably know a great deal more about the successful treatment of tropical diseases than they are given credit for. The medical tax is a most unjust one to those Natives who are so remotely situated that when they are taken ill they have to fall back on their own " medicine-man," as no doctor of the regular school is within miles, and yet they are called upon to pay this tax in the absence of services rendered. We strongly advocate a revision of the Native medical tax, greater liberty for the Native practitioner, bearing in mind the more remote districts where no European doctors are available. European Nurses. There are no less than nine European nurses at the Government Hospital. Local conditions do not warrant this number, taking into consideration that, with a population of 169,667, Fiji has six at the Suva Hospital in 1926 ; Tonga, with a population of 24,000, has one in 1926. Are all these nurses necessary ? In 1925-26 the number of in-patients admitted to hospital was 144, which works out at an average of sixteen patients to each nurse per year, which is certainly ridiculous. Immediate steps should be taken to extend the period of engagement of nurses from eighteen months, as at the present, to, say, three years. The majority of nurses who come to Western Samoa have had very little tropical experience, and just when they begin to understand something about the treatment of tropical diseases their term expires, and they are returned to New Zealand at the Government expense. On the other hand, if the term were extended, their services during the remaining eighteen months would be very valuable. The shorter the engagement the greater the expense, for it must be remembered that the Administration pays passages both to and from New Zealand. What is wanted is a smaller number of nurses to be engaged for three years instead of eighteen months. Sanitary Inspectors. We have two sanitary inspectors, one at £500 and one at £380 per annum, whereas in Fiji they only have one at £250. The senior sanitary inspector receives £500 and a free motor-cycle and side-car. Compare this with the much more responsible position of Postmaster, who also has the Government savings-bank under his care, yet this head of an important Department receives £515 and no allowances. Secretary to Hospital. Another case worth mentioning is the " lady Secretary " at the hospital, at a salary of £310 and free conveyance. There are many cases where men are filling much more responsible positions, and many of these are locally born, at salaries not exceeding this one, and in many cases far less. There is no need to send overseas for people to fill positions such as these—they could be filled by our local young men.

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[Translation.] MEDICAL.—SAMOAN REPORT. 1. A really competent doctor is required to take charge of the Department which has the care of the health of the people of Western Samoa. 2. The medical-tax should be abolished, and the people be called upon only to pay for medical treatment as received. 3. Private doctors should be encouraged to practise in Samoa, so they may be of great assistance to the Medical Department, thus inspiring the necessary confidence in the people, so they may cease to go to Pago Pago for treatment. 4. Samoan people who have already acquired some knowledge in medicine, such as Atimalala, Taimalie, and lelu, should be sent to New Zealand or Australia to complete their studies and to obtain the necessary diplomas to become doctors. SAMOAN NATIVE AFFAIRS.—EUROPEAN REPORT. It does not require a student of Native affairs in Samoa to note and be struck by the inconsistency of the Government's Native policy. Nor does it need the experience of an old resident to know that such a proud and highly-intelligent race as the Samoan, would tolerate the existing anomalies without resentment. The Faipule, which were elected, or selected, by the districts in the Samoan way in former Samoan Governments, are now, after twenty-six years of colonial rule, still nominated by the Administrator in such a way that not one of them could offer any actual opposition to Government policy without the fear of losing his job. The two Fautuas representing the High Chiefs of Samoa, have never been called upon to perform the functions of the office which their designation implies— viz., " Adviser " ; thus the office has become a sinecure when valuable service might have been obtained from it. The Legislative Council now operates the limited legislative powers granted to the Territory, and three representatives of the Europeans are elected to it; but though the matter of Native representatives has been introduced in the Council by the elected members on more than one occasion, it has been turned down on every occasion by the Government majority, on the plea that the Faipule claim the Samoans prefer to be represented only in the Faipule. For a nominated Council, such as the Faipule, to be asked to decide on such a momentous question as the political advancement of the Natives is a question which may well excite resentment in the Natives and needs no further comment. It may, however, be mentioned here that the Faipule are not only Government officials or Civil servants, but are looked upon as such by the Natives. The Faipule have lately been vested with a large amount of administrative and executive powers in the districts, which they have exercised in a manner only worthy of the feudal system. Since the inauguration of mandatory rule the slogan almost shouted from the housetops has been that " The primary duties of the mandatory Power are the welfare and political advancement of the indigenous population "; yet one has no difficulty in finding measures to the contrary. Offences which would have satisfied the High Court in the issue of a warning or at most the payment of a monetary fine by a European, have on several occasions caused the loss to a Native (including some of the highest chiefs) of his citizen's rights, the removal of his hereditary family name, and the banishment from his native village. The village to which such a Native is banished is alleged to be the one which he belongs on another branch of his genealogical tree. As the genealogy of a Samoan chief is a sacred matter which may not be referred to by any one else with impunity, and the fact that the Administrator could not have even made the allegation without obtaining the information from a Samoan source, insult is indeed added to injury. A tax of £1 per annum per adult male is imposed on the Samoan Native for medical service. This has been objected to and protested against from its very inception. With the exception of a few districts who have access to a Medical Officer, the most of the Natives can only bring serious cases to the hospital, and that is often fraught with danger in transportation. The proof of the unpopularity of the medical tax is the fact that the strongest protests against it come from the Natives of the Apia district, who live in the vicinity of the main hospital in the Territory. The Natives prefer, and rightly so, to pay for medical comforts as they receive them. They still pay for the same from chemists and others in spite of the medical tax. The campaign against yaws, hookworm, and other endemic diseases can well be a charge on the general revenue of the country. The cost of such a campaign is, however, more than exceeded by the generous contribution by the New Zealand Government to the Medical Department of Samoa. The Natives themselves would even be prepared to pay a reasonable charge for treatment if such were necessary. The medical tax is arbitrary, and should be repealed. The abolition of time-honoured customs of the Samoan. Natives has resulted in utter disregard of the law : This is the natural outcome of all laws imposed arbitrarily or prematurely on my people. Through the Faipule, the " fine mat" custom—one which Samoans still honour and respect — has been disallowed. The celebration of marriages, the ceremony of the installation of chiefs, and even the honour paid to the dead, have all been controlled and curtailed. These restrictions, if adhered to, would cut so vitally into the prestige of the chiefs, not to say anything of the liberty of the subject, that they are being disobeyed on every hand. The trade in fine mats particularly is going on to such an extent that if the biblical test of the guiltless casting the first stone were again made, not even the most law-abiding Faipule, who are said to be responsible for the restriction, could conscientiously cast one stone. Nevertheless, these uncalled-for measures are an usurpation of the rights of the Samoan people, and they recognize the danger of the opportunities thus given all and sundry to break the law.

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By a stroke of the pen, or the emanation of a brain-wave, yet another very grave injustice was perpetrated on the long-suffering Samoan Native. An order was given that all Samoans living in and around Apia, other than those who were born in the district, must return forthwith to their own villages. This was followed by imprisonments and other harsh acts, which practically no other but the docile Samoan would have tolerated. The undertaking by New Zealand of the mandate over Samoa placed upon her a solemn obligation to conduct the affairs of the Territory in a- manner conductive to the best interests of the inhabitants as a whole, and more especially of the indigenous population. Settlers and residents (and especially the British) who have made their homes in these islands must find it their sacred duty to at least protest against these injustices to the Samoan Natives, whose welfare and advancement are identical with their own best interests as well as to their ideas of democratic government. [Translation.] SAMOAN NATIVE AFFAIRS.—SAMOAN REPORT. The Samoan sub-committee who have been entrusted with the report on the administration of Native affairs keenly feel the sense of the great responsibility placed upon them. They, with all due deference and respect, hand in to the general committee the following report to be embodied in their representations to the New Zealand Government. In framing this report we have taken only into consideration those points which we feel confident are expressive of the feelings of the Samoan people as a whole, and we have left out all matters which we consider are of a personal nature, while on such as may possibly contain an element of doubt we have refrained from stressing the point. The Samoan people recognize the advantages of stable government, and they fully appreciate the terms of the mandate under which they are to learn to participate in the government of their own country. They have also been told the benefits of British administration. The various phases of government which we have experienced for many years, and our own natural development, have enabled us to compare the good and bad points of each as they appear to us, and as they appeal to our intelligence and according to our customs and mode of living. 1. From time immemorial we have selected our own Faipule or representatives in the Government. At no time in our history have our Faipule interfered or been allowed to interfere with our hereditary family names or our civic privileges by banishing chiefs from one village to another. 2. Neither the Faipule nor any other body of Samoans have ever barred our entrance into or resident in Apia or anywhere else in Samoa except in time of war. 3. Despite the many attempts in the past to abolish the fine mats, not one has prevailed, thus proving that the Samoans are not prepared to forgo an old custom which means so much to their prestige and pride of race, and associated with so much of what they still hold dear. 4. Samoans have been very averse to paying taxes. They have, however, submitted to the necessary taxation for the general conduct of the Government. They have never agreed, and never will agree, to taxation for a special institution or department, not even for the Medical Department. While the campaign against yaws and hookworm is appreciated, the Samoans feel that if the Administration does not consider it due to the Samoans out of the general revenue to get these treatments, they are quite prepared to pay for them as received. 5. The new land law which the Administrator is endeavouring to bring into effect is fraught with much danger, and is undoubtedly causing much trouble. Protests are heard on every side, and it is well worth the while of the authors of it to seriously consider the pros and cons of the measure before putting it into operation. In respect to the above points, we can safely say that Samoan Governments in times gone by have foundered on very much less. The Samoans bitterly resent them to-day. If they lead the way to real stable government, then we pray that they be enforced in stages. The Samoan people are not ripe for these sudden changes. If, however, they are not essential to good government we ask that they be removed. We consider them very harsh and oppressive. If an open vote were taken on them, it is doubtful if one Samoan would vote in their favour. They do not tend to advance the development of the Native mind towards self-government. On the contrary, they retard its progress in those lines. What we do want is a little more recognition of our sense of what is due to us as a people. We require sympathy and encouragement in our aspirations. High-minded action will not produce the best in us. The Faipule, to whom most of the points we complain of are attributed, would never think of doing these things without the influence and authority of a higher power. They, as Samoans, must feel with us in all our aspirations, and we are satisfied, had the very same Faipule held their seats from the people instead of from the Government, they would not for an instant have considered imposing these hardships on us. We view with great sorrow the manner in which the two High Chiefs representing our kings of the past are being set aside. The office which they hold is called the " Fautua," which means that of adviser to the Governor or Government. We are of the firm opinion that they should be consulted in all matters, and thus Samoa will get the benefits of their views, as well as perpetuate a status for the most honoured families of Samoa in the councils of Government. It is very difficult for us to understand why the statement has been made that the Samoans do not wish to be represented in the Legislative Council. No intelligent Samoan can be but aware of the fact that the Legislative Council deals with all important matters affecting the Territory and the Samoans should be represented. They should be represented by members of their own choosing in the same way as the European members.

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In respect to medical attention, as mentioned in point No. 4, we should like to see more of our own people taught the knowledge of medicine, and more confidence of the Medical Department placed on those who have already acquired the knowledge of medicine. We know of the wonderful genius of Sagato in the past, and there are several to-day who are doing good work among us which has inspired in us more confidence than in the certificated doctors, yet very little encouragement is given them by the Medical Department. We feel that for the health of the Samoans there should be private doctors such as in the past, but this is the subject of another report, so we will not go into the advantages here. PROHIBITION.—EUROPEAN REPORT. The prohibition of the free indulgence of alcoholic liquor by Europeans in Samoa will ever remain a grievance which nothing will remove except the restoration of the rights of the Europeans in this respect. Protests, representations, and petitions have been made to the New Zealand Government against this most unconstitutional measure since its very inception. All the attempts to justify this arbitrary law have been far from convincing. On the contrary, they have only established the fact more than ever that drastic regulations enforced in spite of the expressed will of the large majority of the people concerned only tend to breed discontent and disaffection, more especially when the powers enforcing such regulations are based on the strength and might of a State or nation outside of, or wholly detached from, the territory affected, and the people of such territory have no representation whatever in the government of such State or nation. The manner in which this law was brought in, and the methods used to carry the law into effect, have seriously affected the faith of those who had pride in that very noble institution known as British justice. The doubts of others in this institution have been confirmed, while those who had no faith in it have been added to in numbers. The Mandate does not provide for prohibition to Europeans. This was admitted by the Minister who led the parliamentary visit to Samoa in 1920, when he informed the citizens that prohibition for Samoa was brought in by the National Government of New Zealand, and it would be unpopular in New Zealand to upset any measure, introduced by the National Government. The same Minister also informed the European citizens of Samoa that the Mandate provided for prohibition of liquor to Samoans, and it was considered by the New Zealand Government that to make the provision of the Mandate effective, it was advisable to impose prohibition on the Europeans as well. This is most unjust to the Europeans in Samoa, as the same condition has not been imposed in any other mandated territory. As for the effect on the Samoans, only the most prejudiced would attempt to gainsay the fact that the law has had the most adverse effect on the Samoans, who have nearly all learnt to make and drink " home brew." The restoration of liquor privileges to Europeans would alone make any regulations to counteract this evil effective, as the knowledge by the Samoans to make " home brew " is gained from the Europeans, who, incensed against the unjust law, made liquor of some kind with the assistance of Native boys. As for the Europeans, the result has been most deplorable. Hardly one who has any taste for beer, wine, or spirits at all has not broken the law in some way. Most, if not all, make and/or consume locally manufactured liquor in some form or another. It is doubtful if any one would resist a chance to smuggle liquor when the occasion arises. This is all despite the vigilance of the police, who are doing everything possible to uphold the law under existing circumstances. The words of no less eminent a man than Abraham Lincoln have come true in? Samoa. He is quoted, as far back as 1840, to have said, " Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a specimen of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason, in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes at the very principle on which our Government was founded." There can now be no obstacle to the repeal of the prohibition law for Europeans in Samoa, except that of sentiment in New Zealand. Some explanation may be required by the Permanent Mandates Commission. There can be no disgrace in the admission of a mistake or the righting of a wrong. The point which should be of paramount importance to New Zealand is the fact that the prohibition law and similar arbitrary measures have sadly shaken the faith of the people in " British justice and in the British interpretation of the liberty of the subject." The dole of one to four bottlesfper month at the pleasure of the Medical Officers smacks too much of that paternal system tending of which our late enemies have been accused. The Europeans in Samoa have every confidence in that the New Zealand Government will give this matter their early and favourable consideration. [Translation.] PROHIBITION.—SAMOAN REPORT. 1. As we value our own old customs and resent their summary abolition, so do we appreciate the resentment felt by the Europeans in of their'free'indulgence in""spirituous liquors, which is an old custom with them. 2. It is urgent that regulations be made to allow Europeans their liquor so that the making of the more harmful " home brew " may ultimately pass away. 3. The satisfactory solution of the prohibition law against Europeans will undoubtedly reflect favourably on the Samoan, insomuch that they will be saved the temptation of brewing for sale to Europeans, now resulting in many heavy punishments against them.

3—A. 48.

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4. The Native health has been impaired seriously owing to having learnt to make and drink '* home brew," as a result of the liquor prohibition to Europeans. LABOUR AND AGRICULTURE.—EUROPEAN PLANTERS' REPORT. We have the honour to submit a report on " Labour and Agriculture," prepared by representatives of the European planters of Western Samoa, for your consideration. The immediate seriousness of the European planters' position in the Mandated Territory of Western Samoa cannot possibly be exaggerated or underestimated. Notwithstanding we have been unremitting in our efforts and have practised the most rigid economy in the management of our plantations, the more fortunate of us are barely clearing expenses. We are unable to build up a reserve fund to tide us over bad seasons and unforeseen contingencies, and as a consequence a bad blow or a poor harvest bring us heavily into debt. The greater number of us, despite our most strenuous efforts, are steadily losing ground and accumulating debts, which under favourable conditions will take us years to pay off. The outlook is most discouraging, and unless steps are taken to relieve the situation we fear it will be a matter of the greatest difficulty for many of us to carry on. The majority of the planters have been farming in Samoa since before the War ; some of us have been in the Territory for over twenty years. We are thoroughly familiar with every phase of our work, and are farming our holdings as economically as it is consistent with good management, and we can honestly assure you that the position we find ourselves in to-day is through no mismanagement or negligence upon our part. Surely our Mandatory must grasp the fact that the time is over-ripe when the planter and his investments are worthy of sympathy and protection. It is not conceivable that the Government will allow our agricultural industries to languish and die out for want of the necessary nourishment they require in the form of economic labour. The planter must be ensured a reasonable income for his effort; he has a right to assert his right to a fair reward. We petition you most humbly and earnestly to impress upon the Government you represent the urgency and the vital necessity of securing labour for us whose rate of pay will reduce our cost of production to compare with that of similar industries in other tropical countries. It cannot be claimed by the Government that they were not conversant with the economic effect of labour in relation to agriculture in Samoa, as, in a report on " Labour and Agriculture " prepared by the Citizens' Committee for presentation to Sir James Allen, Hon. Minister of Defence, and honourable members of the parliamentary party who visited Samoa in 1920, every argument that could be brought to bear was propounded in an endeavour to impress them with the seriousness of the position. We quote from that report:— " We hope to prove to you that upon your deliberations depends the future of the colony, whether it is to be an asset to the Government you represent or a useless burden on the New Zealand taxpayers ; we hope to prove to you that without an adequate supply of economic labour it will be impossible for the planters to carry on, with the inevitable result that the plantations will be forced to close down. By dint of never relaxing industry and sheer perseverence some of us have managed to keep our heads above water, but we can honestly assure you it has been a most strenuous fight, carried on with but little assistance from the Government, and none from the bank." Again, " Chinese indentured labour was first introduced to Samoa in 1902 by the Planters' Association, it having even at that early stage been found by costly experience impossible to depend upon the local labour supply, and that in order to be in a position to compete with other tropical countries more favourably situated an adequate supply of cheap labour was essential." The above opinions were those of experienced planters, thoroughly acquainted with every aspect of the situation, and as such should most decidedly have been treated with the utmost consideration and respect. The planter can truly be represented only by the planter. The public official may be a wise guide and counsellor, and if so his word ought to be listened to and heeded, but no public official, not even the Director of Agriculture, has the power to speak in the same fashion about the needs and wants and demands of the planters as has the working planter, or the representative designated by the Planters' Association to speak for it. Economic labour whose all-in cost would compare with that of labourers in other tropical countries, and has not been supplied, with the result that, as anticipated, many private planters, pioneers of the planting industry in Samoa, men who have invested all their hard-earned capital in Samoa and struggled on always hoping for better conditions, were at last forced to lay down their tools and surrender the plantations they had won from the virgin bush, burdened down by debts that, despite their great and untiring efforts, increased yearly. A number of the old planters have gone, broken in health and spirit from their great fight against insurmountable difficulties. The Crown Estates, unable to farm their cacao plantations, profitably leased them out, together with other properties that had come under their control through the Public Trustee, to private individuals and ex-employees at a nominal rent. In this manner a new group of planters have sprung up in Samoa, and these new planters find themselves to-day in an identical position and faced with the same problems as the planters were in 1920, and pray you to strain every effort to secure for them a reduction of labour costs to meet the immediate necessities of the industry. The points'we'have been instructed to bring to your notice are :— 1. Labour. It is contended by the planters that the present high cost of labour is killing the planting industry in Samoa and driving away potential investors; that the margin between the cost of production and the price realized for our products is barely sufficient to pay working-expenses ; that unless our cost of production can be reduced it is feared many of us will have to close down.

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The all-in cost of labour in Samoa to-day is £54 15s. 6d. per annum; before the War it was approximately £30. The all-in cost of labour in New Guinea is £17 10s. ; in Noumea the all-in cost is approximately £30; in Ceylon, £17 10s. ; in Trinidad, £30. We feel confident labour could be secured from China at an all-in cost of £30 per annum. We would suggest a daily wage of 2s. 6d., out of which the labourer would have to purchase his food and pay his own overhead charges. If you could secure labour for Samoa at that rate it would have a tremendously stimulating effect; land would appreciate in value, nfew capital would come into the country, fresh areas would be brought into cultivation, and the Government revenue would benefit appreciably as a result. 2. Overhead Charges. The Government recruit all labour from China, provide for their medical treatment whilst they are employed in Samoa, and for their repatriation when they elect to return to China. To recover the cost of these undertakings the Government have stipulated that every Chinese labourer in Samoa, irrespective of the time he has been here, shall carry with his employment an obligation by his employer to pay to the Government 6d. per day for every day he is in his employ. The following schedule gives particulars of the men who have been recruited and repatriated since 1920:— Recruited. Repatriated. Year 1920.. .. .. .. .. .. ..502 13 „ 1921.. .. .. .. .. .. ..923 743 „ 1922.. .. .. .. .. .. .... 24 „ 1922.. .. .. .. .. .. .. - 149 „ 1923.. 77 „ 1923.. .. .. .. .. .. .... 352 „ 1924.. .. .. .. .. .. .... 205 „ 1925.. .. .. .. .. .. ..280 133 „ 1926.. .. .. .. .. .. ..180 111 1,885 1,807 The new terms of service came into operation in 1923—i.e., 35.-a-day wage plus an overhead charge of 6d., making a total of 3s. 6d. per day. There have been approximately an average of 850 labourers in Samoa since December, 1922, so it would appear the Government should, for the four years ending 31st December, 1926, have recovered by means of overhead charges some £27,540; and as for all we know to the contrary the charge is a permanent one, it would seem that the cost of repatriation of the 878 labourers and bringing in the 460 labourers not being covered by this sum is excessive. Estimating the cost of repatriation at £10 per head this would be £8,780; the cost of medical attention over the four years (say) £3,400 ; leaving a balance of £15,360 : Total, £27,540 : which would apparently be insufficient to cover the cost of recruiting and bringing to Samoa and repatriating 460 labourers, equal to approximately £33 Bs. per boy. We trust you will take this matter up on our behalf. • 3. Optional Purchase Clauses. We have been requested to petition to you, if not incompatible with the policy of your Government, to have a purchasing clause inserted in all Government plantation leases, and we suggest 15 per cent, of the capital value down, the balance of the purchase-money and interest thereon at the rate of £5 per centum per annum, calculated quarterly, to be paid in eighty equal quarterly instalments, We are of the opinion that ownership of the land they are cultivating would tend to make the planters feel more contented and settled, especially in the knowledge that they were providing homes for their families and occupation for their children, who, with the training and information that would be imparted to them by their parents, would become capable planters and useful citizens. One of the greatest problems the Administration will have to face in the immediate future will be to find work for the rising generation, and the most profitable channel into which their energies can be directed, both for themselves and the country, is undoubtedly agriculture. 4. Improvement Clause . We have been requested by the lessees of the Government plantations to petition you to have the improvement clause in the present lease altered from " The amount of compensation shall not constitute a debt payable by the lessor to the lessee, but shall constitute a charge on the land demised and upon all revenue received therefrom by the Board of Control, Samoa Crown Estates, after the termination of the said term or renewed term," to read, " The lessor agrees to compensate the lessee for all approved improvements or a permanent character after the termination of the said term or renewed term, at a valuation to be agreed upon by independent valuers." 5. Export Duty. We ask that the value of the export duty on all cacao that passes as standard should be returned to the producers proportionately to the amount of cacao exported, in the form of an approved artificial manure, as we realize the only possible way we can reduce our cost of production is by increasing our output per acre. This would also prove an incentive to improve the quality of our cacao.

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What was right and fair at one time may not be right and fair at another time, oil account of changing conditions. We most respectfully submit that the present high labour cost has very materially altered the position of the cacao industry from the time when the export duty was first imposed—that our profit was considerably greater then than it is now. 6. Marketing of Produce. The marketing of our produce to the best advantage has always been—and still continues to be — one of our greatest problems. In view of the high cost of production it is very necessary we should secure the best possible price for our produce. Unfortunately, owing to lack of capital, many of us are unable to hold out for better prices when the market is unfavourable, being compelled to sell in order to secure the wherewithal to carry on. We are paying the strictest attention to the curing and grading of our cacao in order to put on the market a clean, graded, and well-prepared product which will command a high price and turn out to the satisfaction of the manufacturer. We have approached the Farmers' Union of New Zealand with a view to affiliating with them, and if we are successful we hope to be able to sell and buy through them. We would appreciate anything you could do to further our aims in this respect. It is unfortunate we have not the necessary capital to start a co-operative, factory in New Zealand for the manufacture of chocolates, &c., as we would then absorb all our cacao and distribute the manufactured goods to other countries, and in this way obtain the maximum results for our labour. We would be very grateful if you could arrange to have samples of our cacao, together with the prices we would be prepared to accept, which could be changed from time to time, exhibited at the High Commissioner's Office in England, and also in New Zealand. |7. Transport. Good roads are essential to the economic working of our plantations. Situated inland to the south-west of Apia are some twenty-two plantations, having a total area of over 4,000 acres. From this district an amount of cacao equal to over 60 per cent, of the total output for the Territory is produced. These estates are connected with Apia by the main Government road to the Wireless Station. Nothing has been done towards the maintenance of this road for the past eight or nine years, and as a consequence it resembles a tumbled succession of ruts and ridges, over which transport is of necessity both costly and slow. In view of the fact that the various interests dependant upon this road contribute something like £3,000 per annum in direct and indirect taxation to the Government revenue, we feel justified in asking that it may be put and kept in reasonable order. 8. Disease. We are at a disadvantage in Samoa in not having attached to our Agricultural Department a qualified entomologist, although we thoroughly appreciate the fact that at the present juncture the country possibly cannot afford to maintain one. We are of the opinion, however, that the prevalence of disease among our cacao calls for some action, and we most respectfully suggest that the Samoan Administration might possibly be able to make arrangements with the Fijian Government to have their entomologist visit Samoa periodically to inspect our plantations and advise us on the best methods to be employed to combat our pests and diseases. In conclusion we wish you to understand that the Government Administration have been sympathetic and have assisted us in many ways. In the first place, the Board of leased out several of their estates at nominal rentals. They have been most patient in the matter of moneys owing to them by the planters for overhead charges and rent. They have guaranteed some planters bank overdrafts, and have advanced moneys for dryers. We wish to assure you the planters feel very keenly their inability to meet their debts, and fully appreciate the Government's attitude towards them. It is because we are unable to make sufficient out of our plantations to meet these obligations that we have prepared this report of our position for you, and we sincerely trust you will appreciate our difficulties and assist us in finding a solution. The fact that when the Crown Estates controlled their cacao estates they were unable to farm them profitably should not be lost sight of. If the Board of Control had to pay reasonable rents for their coconut properties it is problematical whether they would show a profit on the year's working. - If nothing is done to relieve the position the Government may have these estates back on their hands again, and it hardly seems possible that they would succeed where we had failed.

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NOTES 01? INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE HON. W. NOSWORTHY, MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, AND THE CITIZENS' COMMITTEE, AT APIA, 11th JUNE, 1927. Present: Hon. Mr. Nelson, Hon. Mr. Mr. Westbrook, and Messrs. Smyth, Gurr, Meredith, and Baxter ; Tofaeono, Ainu'u, Tuisila, Alipia, Lagolago, and Faumuina ; Two Fautuas and eight Faipules. Mr. J. D. Gray, Secretary, Department of External Affairs, New Zealand ; Hon. A. McCarthy ; Hon. F. Lewis ; Colonel Hutchen, Secretary, Samoan Administration ; Mr. A. B. Ross. The proceedings were opened by the presentation by the deputation of a kava-root to the Hon. Minister and his party. The Minister thanked the deputation for their presentation. Hon. Minister: Mr. Nelson, and members of the Citizens' Committee, as you have placed before me, through the Administrator, the questions that you desire me to answer, and as there has been no reply from you to the letter from the Administrator asking you to be good enough to furnish me with any further questions that you might have, in order that I could deal with them at the same time. I think the best procedure will be for me to make my reply which I have promised to give you, and then Mr. Nelson and other gentlemen of the Citizens' Committee can speak, if they deem it necessary, in connection with any remarks that I make. Mr. Nelson : We have a few remarks to make in presenting you with the reports. Hon. Minister: Would that mean a speech from each individual ? Mr. Nelson : No, just from myself. Hon. Minister : I think the best thing isjjfor me to dealjwithjtheJquestions which I have already promised to deal with, and then for you to say anything you may like to say afterwards. Is that acceptable ? Mr. Smyth: Mr. Nelson has further remarks to make. Hon. Minister : I have no wish to stifle any discussion or criticism ; but Ijhave come to give my reply, as representing the New Zealand Government, to what has been represented to me. (The Hon. Minister's opening remarks as above were interpreted to the Natives present.) The Hon. Minister then read his reply to the representations of the Citizens' Committee, as follows :— " Gentlemen, I welcome this opportunity of meeting you members of the European Citizens' Committee, as well as those members of the Samoan race who have joined with you in submitting various matters for my consideration. I have prepared my reply in writing to avoid any possibility of misunderstanding in the future as to my opinion and attitude as Minister of External Affairs, representing the Government of New Zealand; and I will also express myself in the plainest terms and most definite manner, so that neither you, gentlemen, nor the rest of the Samoan community — Native and European —nor the public of New Zealand, may have the least doubt as to what I think of the forces which appear to be deliberately working to-day in an endeavour to sow seeds of discord in and upset the tranquillity of this territory. First, let me say I am here in fulfilment of a promise made to honourable members of the House of Representatives of New Zealand last session that I would pay an official visit to Samoa before I again met them in Parliament this year ; and, emphatically, that I am not here because of any representations, criticisms, or complaints made either to myself or to any member of the New Zealand Cabinet, by the chairman of this committee or any one else. There is absolutely no truth in the statement which has been circulated here, and throughout New Zealand and elsewhere, that I have come at the behest or because of the representations of Mr. Nelson, and the personal references made in the pamphlet, issued over the name of Mr. S. H. Meredith, about my visit are, therefore, an impertinence and an insult. I was under no obligation to come to Samoa except at my own time and in my own way. The members of this deputation, both European and Native, have subscribed their names to reports dealing with various aspects of the administration, and I have considered these most carefully, in conjunction with the comments and facts in respect thereto - submitted by His Excellency the Administrator and heads of Departments. In addition, I have had the pleasure and privilege of meeting the accredited leaders —Fautuas and^Faipules—of the Samoan people, and of spending a busy week mixing freely with all classes of the community in Upolu and Savai'i, inspecting the principal Administration activities, and visiting the New Zealand Government, private, and Native plantations. I believe I am entitled to assert that in the short period of my stay I have seen as much, or more, of the real work that is being done in this group outside Apia than some of this committee, who claim to speak as old residents. My study of Samoan events convinces me that it is very necessary at this stage to refer to past history in order particularly that the public, both in and beyond this Territory, may be given a proper perspective of the situation of to-day. History has a strange way of repeating itself, and it certainly has done so here. I see not only an exact similarity between the criticism, charges, and allegations of to-day and those of past years, but also the same critics. Let me give you instances. Since New Zealand assumed responsibility for the mandate administration; many comparisons have been directly made by some of you gentlemen between the previous German and New Zealand Administrations, in praise of the former-and to the detriment of the latter. You seem to have forgotten that this same perfect German Government when you had it, was apparently so distasteful to you and other citizens of Apia of that day that on the 4th February, 1910, you addressed a petition to the " High President of the German Parliament in Berlin " expressing yourselves to the extent of eight and a half pages of typewritten foolscap, and, inter alia, asserting, " Unfortunately, most of the foreign inhabitants now

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living in Samoa believe that most unsound conditions rule in these Islands, and that measures taken by the Administration are, and have been, oppressive and unprofitable, and have retarded the advancement and the happiness of the colony. The majority of the white residents believe that many of the ordinances issued by the Administration have been useless and oppressive." This petition, which covers in almost identical language the same grounds of attack so familiar to us on New Zealand's administration, was signed by five European residents, and the two signatories of non-German nationality were G. E. L. Westbrook and 0. F. Nelson, who are here to-day. Why, then, have you gentlemen so persistently endeavoured to glorify the former German administration, to the disparagement of New Zealand's government, when on your own testimony it was subject to the same defects and failings ? Do you think that line of conduct is honest or truthful 1 Just eleven years later a citizens' committee, with which most of the Europeans present were prominently associated, declined to meet the Hon. E. P. Lee during his first official visit to Samoa as Minister of External Affairs ; and in a letter, dated the sth July, 1921, and signed by sixty-six British nationals or half-castes, and sixty-three American, German, Chinese, Danish, French, Portuguese, Swiss, Norwegian, Russian, and Belgian nationals or half-castes, they gave their reasons, stating, amongst other things, that New Zealand's control of Samoa had been a hopeless failure, that the country was steadily drifting towards bankruptcy, and that the only solution of this lamentable state of affairs was to relieve New Zealand of the responsibility of government, which she had proved herself incapable to cope with. Mr. Lee replied, under date 19th August, 1921, entirely disproving every allegation and charge made in that letter, and in acknowledging it on the 30th of the same month, the late Mr. Charles Roberts said that it had been passed on to the signatories and that they would probably answer it at a later date. The Minister of External Affairs is still waiting for that answer. My predecessor, on that occasion, also met the Fono of Faipules in their Fono House at Mulinu'u, and received from them a petition, addressed to His Majesty the King, asking, for reasons set forth therein, that the mandate to administer Samoa should be taken from the New Zealand Government. We have it directly from the Faipules who were ostensibly concerned with the preparation and presentation of that petition that they were dupes and unwitting instruments of others, and that they realize they were then deceived into acting against the true interests of their people. On this occasion I, too, have received a petition, signed not only by the whole of the Faipules, but also by the two Fautuas, Malietoa Tanu and Tuimalealiifano, and, inter alia, they tell me, " Our villages are healthier and more beautiful places to live in because of regulations for sanitation and beautifying ; we have good roads and water-supplies ; plantations are prosperous ; the establishment of hospitals, dispensaries, and schools, and many other improvements clearly indicate the love of our Governor for us, and bis aim for the future prosperity of our country." Their unanimous and only request to me as Minister of External Affairs, representing the New Zealand Government, is " that some European merchants in Apia, together with some half-castes," who are endeavouring to foment dissatisfaction, and to cause disunion between the Samoan people, should be made to cease their interference. Thus does history repeat itself, because every record of Samoa tells the same sorry tale of European intrigue, and of the unfortunate Samoan Natives paying the penalty when the day of reckoning arrived. I give you my word that, so far as lies in my power, I do not propose to let history repeat itself in this latter respect. This brings me to what I regard as the'serious phase ofthe recent trouble—namely, the deliberate attempt of you members of the European committee not only to undermine the confidence of the Samoan people in the administration by their own legally and properly constituted Native leaders and authorities, but, even worse, to sow the seeds of discord and disunion amongst the Samoan people. It was my good fortune to reach Apia in time to witness the celebrations and sports in connection with His Majesty's birthday. I saw great throngs of healthy and obviously happy and contented Natives from all parts of the Territory. I could not help noticing a small, and, I repeat deliberately, a very small, section of the assembled Natives—many of whom were children who have not yet reached years of understanding —not only holding aloof from these joyous meetings of loyal demonstration and of friendly rivalry in sports and pastimes, but actually instigated to mar the harmony of the celebrations of His Majesty's birthday by a meeting of their own. I have every reason to believe that this interference was carried so far as to prevent eager and innocent children of some of the Native parents under your influence from joining their school or Fetu companions in the day's contests. I cannot too strongly condemn such conduct, and I am prepared to take the most drastic steps to stop it. I am satisfied from my investigations and from my own observations that the steps which have been taken by the Administration to invest the Native people, through the Fono of Faipules and other Native authorities, with power to deal with their own Native affairs are entirely in the best interests of the Samoan people, and that by this means, and by this means alone, will they be taught the principles and arts of government, so that in the years to come they may grow in knowledge and understanding, and take an increasing share ill the administration and control of their own Territory. lam equally satisfied that the attempts which have been made to undermine the faith of certain sections of the Natives in their own institutions have not been prompted by any regard for the real interests of the Natives; and also that any success which has attended these attempts has been partly due to misrepresentations, half-truths, and untruths, and partly to inducements of a more material nature. I speak plainly because I regard these efforts to disunite and upset a fine race like the Samoans as nothing less than criminal, and deserving only to be dealt with as a crime. When the well-being of the physical body is threatened with a sore, the surgeon's knife is

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used to excise the trouble ; and I firmly believe that every right-thinking European in this community, and in the Dominion of New Zealand and elsewhere, will whole-heartedly support me in any steps I may deem it necessary to take to remove what might easily become a festering wound on the body politic of Samoa. I will not hesitate to ask Parliament for the widest power to deal with agitators in this Territory who attempt to disaffect the Native people for their own ends. You have questioned the method of appointment of the Fono of Faipules, and you have challenged the bona fides of the Faipules as honest, right-thinking, and independent Samoan chiefs and leaders anxious to do their utmost for the welfare of their own people. You have accused them of being puppets of the Administrator. I say to you frankly and plainly that your accusations are based either on lack of knowledge or misrepresentation. A study of the method of appointment and of the work the Faipules are carrying out will convince any impartial judge that their institution is a most righteous and potent force working for the good of the Native people, and training them in the very best way to take an ever-increasing share in the management and government of their own affairs as the years go by. You have asserted in various ways the right of the Natives to self-government, entirely ignoring the underlying principle of the mandate, that " these are people not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world." Here again you evidently wish history to repeat itself ; and you ask that the Samoan people should now be given the privilege of self-government in order that, as in the past, certain European elements might usurp the duties and prerogatives of the present Mandatory. Could there be any other result, having regard to the present social and political development of the Samoan people ; and do you think you could convince other than the most unthinking or credulous person that the future state of the Samoan people would, in that event, be any better than it was forty or fifty years ago ? I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the New Zealand Government and its Administration in these islands are entirely disinterested, and are working solely for the betterment and welfare of the Samoan people. You can make no such claim, because, to mention two matters only, your attitude with respect to the Administration's medical and educational activities must outrage the feelings of any European who has a true regard for the preservation and well-being of the indigenous population of Samoa. You have also made many disparaging references to the constitution of the Legislative Council of Samoa. You had an Advisory Council under the German Administration, and in your petition of 1910 you told the High President of the German Parliament what you thought of it. The New Zealand Government has given the European residents of Samoa, of whatever nationality, a larger participation in their own government than exists in any other " B " or " C " mandated territory ; yet in the pamphlet issued over the name of Mr. S. H. Meredith, to which I have already referred, you refer to the Legislative Council "as an institution which " a Lenin or a Mussolini would envy." I am being forced to the conclusion that you do not want, nor could you appreciate, good government, because for years you clamoured for the right to form a municipality in Apia and run your local affairs, and then when the right to do so was given to you in the Act of 1923 you promptly refused to exercise it. But you have asked that the constitution of the Council should be amended, and I propose seriously to consider that request. Subject to the necessary adjustment, perhaps you would like a constitution similar to that granted to the Mandated Territory of South West Africa in 1925, of which the Assembly consists of twenty members, eight of whom are appointed by the Administrator and twelve are elected' by electors, who must be British nationals—a very restricted franchise compared to yours ; but, in that event, I should feel impelled to recommend that the powers of the Samoan Legislative Council should be the same as those of the South West Africa Assembly, in which case you would have no authority to make Ordinances relating to (1) Native affairs or any matters especially affecting Natives; (2) mining ; (3) railways or harbours ; (4) Public Service ; (5) justice, whether superior or inferior ; (6) postal, telegraph, and telephone services ; (7) defence ; (8) immigration ; (9) Customs tariffs and excise duties ; (10) currency and banking ; nor, except with the consent of the Governor-General, (1) Police Force ; (2) Civil aviation ; (3) education ; (4) land or agricultural banking; (5) State lands: nor, except with the consent of the Administrator, (1) expenditure of public revenue ; (2) taxation. Do you think that will be more satisfactory to you than the present constitution of the Samoan Legislative Council ? Finally, I desire most clearly to say that the New Zealand Government accepted the mandate of Western Samoa as a sacred trust, to be exercised primarily in the interests of the indigenous inhabitants. We regard these interests as paramount. We are proud and happy in the knowledge that under our care the Samoan people, as well as all the other branches of the great Polynesian race under our protection, are steadily increasing in numbers, enlightenment, and prosperity. These are facts which must give the utmost satisfaction to every person who has a sincere desire for the welfare of the Native races, because in the Pacific around us we see too many fine peoples sinking slowly but surely to oblivion. In your criticisms and allegations you have been pleased to make certain comparisons with neighbouring territories ; but Ido not propose to follow that line of argument. I content myself by saying that I have seen what I have seen ; and I assert most emphatically, and without the slightest fear of contradiction, that neither with respect to the work of the Administration, the health, progress, and prosperity of the Native people, and conditions of trade—both commercial and planting —need Samoa fear comparison with any other territory in the Pacific. It will be my privilege and duty to assist His Excellency the Administrator and the officials of the Administration to in every way carry on workjand maintain this proud record, and to support them to the uttermost limit in any action deem necessary in the fulfilment of this purpose. If you so desire, I will submit a detailed reply to each point you have submitted to me through the Administrator ; and I will see that such reply is not only communicated to you, but is also laid

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before the Parliament of New Zealand for the information of honourable members and the public of the Dominion. I will undertake to do this, although your statements are so inaccurate and misleading as to be totally undeserving of so much consideration. I will not deal in this reply with the report on labour and agriculture because yesterday the representatives of the Planters' Association, for whom you purported to speak, met me, and, in answer to my direct inquiry, they assured me they did not associate themselves with your committee either in respect to the reports you have submitted nor in respect to the recent and persisting attempt to disaffect the Native people. In a word, these planters entirely repudiated your committee. You have associated with you to-day certain members of the Native race. I have made it clear that I will not listen to any European members of the committee on Native affairs. Neither am I prepared to receive your Samoan associates as accredited representatives of the Samoan people, nor will I hear anything from them in that capacity. I must regard them as individual members of the Samoan community, and as such I am ready to listen to any opinion that they may care to express and to give their individual views my full consideration. A signed copy of this speech was handed to the Hon. Mr. Nelson. A. short summary of the Minister's reply' was then read by the Native interpreter in the Samoan language. Mr. Nelson : When the report was prepared by the Committee it was understood that the procedure would be that it would be given before your reply, therefore I submit it as it was prepared, as follows : — " Hon. Mr. Nosworthy,—The citizens whom you have consented to meet to-day have all been " elected by the people of Western Samoa for the purpose of making certain representations to " the New Zealand Government, through the Minister of External Affairs, in respect to the " administration of this Territory by New Zealand. Those representations are contained in the " file which is now before you. A complete copy of that file was handed to the Administrator " early last December by your request, and he was to place before the Fono of Faipules such " matters as he deemed were Native affairs. A summary of the reports now contained in the " file was related by me to you personally in the presence of the Prime Minister of New " Zealand, the Right Honourable Mr. Coates, and the Minister for the Cook Islands, Sir Maui " Pomare, on or about the Ist September last year, over nine months ago. The Prime Minister " did not then hesitate to express his sympathy with the people of Samoa, and stated that the " conditions which I related would not be tolerated in New Zealand and will not be allowed in " Samoa by his Government." Hon. Minister: That is, if they were true. Mr. Nelson: They are true. Hon. Minister: I am here to protect the Prime Minister of New Zealand, as well as my colleagues in the Cabinet, and only want to see that they will get a fair spin ; and they will get it from me. Mr. Nelson : " Sir Maui Pomare and you agreed with the Prime Minister." Hon. Minister: I dispute that. I agreed that I was coming to Samoa when I could look into affairs for myself ; as Minister of External Affairs it was my duty to come when I could. Mr. Nelson : "It was there and then arranged that you would visit Samoa on the following " month (October) to investigate." Hon. Minister: As Minister of External Affairs, it is for me to come and go as I think fit. The Prime Minister suggested that I should come to Samoa and I told him I would come. I said I thought I would come before next session of Parliament. Mr. Nelson: Then you admit that the Prime Minister did mention there in that room that you should come. Hon. Minister : It was a suggestion. Ido not remember all that took place there. Mr. Nelson: I do. Hon. Minister: Ido not. However, it is only a detail. I have not been told when to come and when to go. Mr. Nelson (continuing his written speech): "The Prime Minister remarked that he was shortly " to leave for the Imperial Conference in London, and the New Zealand Government could ill " afford to have the External Minister absent as well, but he felt the situation at Samoa needed " urgent attention, and I left the Prime Minister's room with the assurance that the Minister of " External Affairs would not fail to visit Samoa in October. Other remarks were made to me " then which perhaps would not be politic to repeat just now. I, however, assured the Prime " Minister that I was preparedftoTrepeat before the Administrator, at any time, every word I then " expressed. " On my return to "Samoa late in September, I consulted the other elected members of the " Legislative Council''and some r of the leading citizens, and it was felt that if the Minister were " to arrive in October?no was to be lost to prepare the necessary reports on the points " which I had raised.*! As there was no objection raised in Wellington at my reference to " Native affairs, there was no question of the Samoans being barred from the meetings. The " first public meeting was held on the 15th October, and it was found that the points raised by "me in Wellington practically embodied all that were at issue. There was not one dissenting " voice from the hundreds who were present, among whom were representative planters, merchants, " tradesmen, Government officials, and many leading Samoan chiefs. A committee of fifteen " were then "elected, ?? and several meetings were held by them before the two planter members " resigned, followed some time after by the resignation of Mr. Baxter, for business reasons. The " two first named did not agree with the inclusion of Native affairs, and were the ones to which

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" the Administrator referred in his message last March as having responded to his appeal. They, " however, with the approval of the Planters' Association, handed us their report on labour and " agriculture for us to put before you, thus signifying their confidence in the Citizens' Committee " now present." Only this morning I received a letter from the chairman of that committee to say that they had already attended to that matter. Prior to that it was intended for us to present it to the Administrator with their full consent. Hon. Minister : Did not you repudiate that in a letter to the Administrator ? Mr. Nelson: We handed it in as a request of the Planters' Association because it had been prepared by them. Hon. Minister : Your committee did not accept it, I understand. Mr. Williams : I think we did not quite endorse that. We put it in as coming from them. Mr. Nelson : " The last who resigned his position in the committee offered to remain on as " honorary legal adviser, and he now attends as such. No further proof can be needed to show that " the confidence of the people of Samoa in the original committee has not been shaken, despite all " that has been said to the contrary. If a further demonstration of this were required, then the over- " whelming victory of the people's representatives at the elections of the Legislative Council last " November should furnish it. So much for the European side of the committee. Of the thirty- " three Faipule districts, the committee is supported by an overwhelming majority in thirty-one " districts and a substantial minority in the other two. Altogether over 90 per cent, of the Natives " support the committee, and we are prepared to demonstrate this to you at any time if the demon- " strations already given you since your arrival here have not sufficed. This may all seem ancient " history, as we have not failed to acquaint you of the real position in more ways than one, but you " and your Government have refused to admit it. Even the results of the last elections have not " been published in the New Zealand press, which proves to us that the public of New Zealand will " never learn of the true state of affairs in Samoa, so far as the New Zealand Government is concerned." Hon. Minister: They will hear every word when I return. I know everything that is going on in Samoa : the Government did not send a fool here. Mr. Westbrook: You have not come to deal with fools. Mr. Nelson : Certainly the New Zealand press must have got information from somewhere about our last meeting —about Europeans walking out. There are some untruths published : I do not know the source of them. " Sir, the representations of the Citizens' Committee, as contained in the reports now before " you, have been prepared by the wish of the people of Samoa; they have been approved by them; " they were submitted to the Administrator last December with their knowledge and consent, and " they are now handed to you on their behalf. Since they were prepared many events have taken " place ; much correspondence by post and radio has been exchanged ; threats have been issued ; " intimidation and coercion have held sway ; wild rumours have been circulated ; more oppres- " sive legislation has been promulgated ; bad feeling has been incited, resulting in the whole " country being dissatisfied, and all because the New Zealand Government have failed in their duty "by the people of Samoa. You have broken faith with them. (1) You did not visit Samoa in " October last, as promised by the Prime Minister, to investigate into the matters complained of. " (2) You turned down their appeal for you to come in November. (3) You agreed to receive the " delegation in January and then refused to meet the Native representatives. (4) You disregarded " all representations made to you by post and radio, preferring to be guided by the Administrator " and his nominated Council of Faipules. (5) You even stated that you were satisfied by official advices " received from Samoa that an investigation was not required. (6) You heeded not the plea of the " Citizens' Committee in favour of leading Samoan chiefs against oppressive and arbitrary acts " exercised against them by the Administrator. (7) The Fono of Faipules made insulting speeches " against all sections of the people of Samoa. (8) The Administrator issued drastic and arbitrary " orders to all and sundry in his official communiques, yet not a hand was turned by the New Zealand " Government on behalf of the long-suffering people of Samoa. The Prime Minister, forgetting his " sympathetic reception of myself, and later of Mr. Meredith, turned right against us and now leads " the campaign to suppress the free expression of the wishes of the people of this country. Even the " Governor-General, a non-party officer and representative in New Zealand of His Most Gracious " Majesty the King " Hon. Minister : You have no right to refer to the Governor-General. I will not allow you to put that into the Native language. The same remarks apply to anything said against the Prime Minister and myself. Mr. Westbrook: That is collusion. Hon. Minister : I will get a straight run this time. I|demand power to have a fair deal; lam going to get it. Mr. Nelson: Is it a fair thing that a statement should be made about the merchants paying £8 for copra and then selling for £20 ? Hon. Minister: If it is true, anything is fair. Mr. Nelson : Do you say that is true ? Hon. Minister : I do not know that, it is the first I have heard of it. Mr. Nelson : May I ask in what way we can defend ourselves in respect of the GovernorGeneral's speeches ? Have we to submit to the Governor-General's charges ? Is that your ruling ? The Governor-General for New Zealand is responsible for what he says, and yet we must not answer direct charges made by him. Hon. Minister: You are not going to pass strictures on the Governor-General in my presence.

4 —A. 4b.

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Mr. Nelson : I would like, on behalf of the committee, to make ourselves quite clear as to where we stand in respect to criticisms, charges, and propaganda levelled against the people here. We have to deal with the Administrator, and through you, and then to the Prime Minister, and then to the Governor-General. Is that right ? If he continues to make further charges against the people, that is our only redress. Hon. Minister: No one in the New Zealand Parliament is allowed to refer to the GovernorGeneral. You must not pass comment on the Governor-General. Mr. Nelson : The Governor-General is not allowed to go into the political arena in New Zealand. Hon. Minister : Pass your criticisms through the Administrator, and the Administrator will pass them through me, and I will pass them on to the Prime, Minister, and then they will be passed to His Excellency the Governor-General. That is the correct procedure. Mr. Nelson: " Whatever may have become of your subsequent policy, the Prime Minister " certainly assured me that your visit here would be to investigate into the complaints of the " people enumerated by me to you last September, and any other complaints which may be made. " You have now been in Samoa ten days and it is said that you will be leaving in a day or two, and " you elect to meet the people's representatives on the eve of your departure. By the programme " I have before me for the first five days, I note several ceremonies and receptions at Mulinu'u and " central office, ball at Government House, sports, races, church parade, Vailele and Vaitele planta- " tions, New Zealand Reparation Estates, Central Group, Falefa, Malua, and Malifa School. You " are quoted to have stated at Mulinu'u that the New Zealand administration of Samoa was favour- " ably commented on by the League of Nations, so why visit the centres controlled by the Administra- " tion, instead of visiting the representatives of the Mau (League) who were congregated in Lepea "in thousands every day to await your pleasure ? ' Surely they who are whole need not a physician, " ' but they who are ill do.' You have visited a few miles along the east coast. Have you inter- " viewed the representatives of the most populous part of that coast —viz., the villages of Apia, " Matautu, and Vaiala ? If you have driven along the west coast of Apia, have you been told that " within that 26-mile coast there reside a very large proportion of the population of Samoa, and, " outside of the Government officials, practically all of the people support the Citizens' Committee " and are members of the Mau ? " You visited Fagamalo, the seat of the Central Government in Savai'i. Have you been " informed that half of Matautu, wherein reside the Resident Commissioner and the Faipide, the " whole of Saleaula (the capital town of that district), and Lealatele belong to the Mau ? Do you " know that the rest of the large island of Savai'i belongs to the Mau ? The same is true of the " Island of Upolu. The school-children who have been ordered to meet you are mostly, if not all, " sons and daughters of parents who are in the Mau. Sir, if a, secret ballot were taken, you would " find that those who are not in the Mau would hardly fill the room. And what is meant by the Mau ? " The word Mau means an opinion, and also represents anything that is firm or solid. In this case " the Mau represents that very large majority of the people of these islands who are of the firm " opinion that drastic changes are necessary in the Administration and in the method of government " in Samoa. " The people have pa.ssed through a very trying time since the Committee's reports were " prepared. It has been a terrible ordeal, but the reports remain as they stand, and they are now " submitted to you in their original form, just as they were handed to the Administrator last December. " they emanate from the very hearts of the people, and were only put into legible form by the " Citizens' Committee whom they elected for the purpose. Most of the subjects now contained in the " reports have been represented to the New Zealand Government several times before. They will " be found in the pamphlet prepared by a former Citizens' Committee which was presented to the " New Zealand parliamentary party as far back as 1920. Very little redress has ever been obtained. " The advent of the present Administrator early in 1923 was thought to be the dawn of a new " era for the people of this country. Through New Zealand sources we learnt he would be a great " Administrator. This acted as a soothing balm, and almost every man, woman, and child gave a " sigh of relief and joy. A Messiah had arrived. The first message he delivered and the doctrines "he laid down all fitted the occasion. Deliverance had come. The voice of the people was really "to guide legislation and Government policy. The expenditure was to be reduced to the financial " capacity of the Territory, while a useful public-works programme was being maintained ; the " Medical Department would be made more efficient at less cost; the Natives were to be allowed a " say in the government without interfering with their time-honoured customs ; drastic laws, such "as ' prohibition,' would be repealed or modified ; private enterprise encouraged in every way so as " to bring new capital into the country, and the Administration retire from every field which was " occupied by private enterprise. Never was an Administrator or Governor better received anywhere. " Never did a man have a better start; never was a man greeted with more approbation by a people, " nor could the universal confidence of any nation have ever been placed more fully on any individual " than it was by the people of Samoa on General Richardson. A people who are capable of such " sentiments could hardly be a disgruntled community. Had the Administrator endeavoured to " carry out his original policy, and ever keep in mind that this was not a regimental camp, he would " have gone down to posterity as the saviour of this little country, and the New Zealand reports to " the League of Nations might have been confirmed by the people. " Alas ! none of the said policy has been followed. The Legislative Council is a farce : one man " controls it and directs all legislation. The annual expenditure and national debt are increasing " without satisfactory reason ; the Natives object to the newly levied medical tax—with very good " reason ; the Natives have been deprived of all their hereditary and time-honoured rights, privileges, " and customs. Instead of drastic laws being repealed or modified, they have been tightened up and

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" more laws added ; the Administration have not retired from fields occupied by private enterprise, " but have made further encroachments into them ; the heavy export duties and Chinese overhead " charges still remain a heavy burden on the private planters, so new capital finds no scope. " The New Zealand Government stands by and allows these conditions to come about, tlras " signifying its endorsement of them. The New Zealand Government continues to send glowing " reports to the League of Nations, thus soliciting world praise, when the people of Samoa are " crying for deliverance. The Administrator sets up a small band of Samoan chiefs and Tulafale, " whom he ennobles and upon whom he confers much honour and power, so as to ensure their " loyalty to him in his campaign against the free utterance of the Natives' aspirations. The Minister " responsible for the welfare of the people of Samoa, before coming to Samoa, openly expresses his " confidence in the Administrator and his Faipules. On his arrival here he lives as the guest of the " Administrator, and allows himself to be taken to such places and to interview such people as the " Administrator directs." Hon. Minister: That is absolutely untrue. I have been free. I have stayed at Government House, but I have been free to come and go as I liked, and have gone where I wished on my own, without the Administrator. I have been able to see things for myself without any instigation from him in any shape or form. lam not a puppet. That is a very incorrect statement.J| |y Mr. Nelson : I made that statement because before your arrival the programme for five days was published. Hon. Minister : A programme was outlined of what I would do. Naturally I would go to the residence of the Administrator of the islands if he invited me ; but I have been a free man and able to go where I liked. When I did arrive in Samoa Ido not think there was one of the committee even called on me, which they might have done : everybody just treated me as if I had not come at all. When I arrived here it was the King's birthday, and I attended sports and a ball at Government House. You all profess to be such loyal supporters of His Majesty, and yet I found, without asking, that there was an opposition ball and opposition sports. Mr. Williams : We were not invited. Hon. Minister: There is only one thing for a citizen to do in a British community with an Administrator or Governor-General: any citizen who likes to go to Government House and write his name in the book as a caller is then in a position to be invited by the Administrator or His Excellency the Governor-General. In New Zealand nobody expects to be asked to Government House who does not first call and put his name in the visitors' book. Mr. Williams : That has been done scores of times. Hon. Minister : You have to do it within twelve months. Twenty or ten years ago is not a call in an official sense. Mr. Nelson : The opposition ball was arranged at the last moment to show that in spite of the people not being asked to " Vailima" we were just as loyal to the King; everything was conducted with the respect due to the birthday of His Majesty the King. Hon. Minister: I have my own opinion about that. One birthday celebration was quite sufficient for the occasion : there may be other occasions when that sort of thing would be all right. There is an Administrator on behalf of the Government of New Zealand in Samoa at the present time. In the natural course of events somebody else will be appointed when his time expires. It is quite evident to me from what I have seen since I came to Samoa that there is room for only one Administrator on behalf of the Government, and there is no room for anybody else who is trying to take upon himself the function of government or leadership of the people. In other words, there can be no Governor and no Mr. Nelson acting at the same time. Mr. Nelson : It seems that you do not want the people to have any organization. Hon. Minister : I like things done in a proper way. There is a wrong way of doing them. Mr. Nelson : lam entitled to know in which way I have aped the Government. Is it because I happen to have a big house and spend my money on myself ? Hon. Minister : What I am referring to is the functions clashing. Mr. Nelson : One can have a function on the King's Birthday in one's own house. I ask, concerning myself, is it just because that function was held for others to show their respect to the King, that I am charged by you with posing as Governor ? Hon. Minister : I have no comments to make outside the statement I have already made. Mr. Nelson: Are we here to listen to you make charges against us without any right of reply ? Hon. Minister: lam not stopping you ; but we do not need to continue these personal aspects. Mr. Nelson: Charges may be made as much as you like against us by the Administration, but whenever we reply or make representations or criticisms we are told we are trying to fement trouble, trying to usurp authority, or trying to ape the Government. Is that the position ? Hon. Minister: No, I did not say that. What I said was the causing of political unrest. Mr. Nelson : In respect to political unrest, had the Administrator given the people a fair chance to air their views and to outline any suggestions made by the people, and had he recognized the rights of the people, there would have been no unrest: "He allows the inspired Faipules to tell him that ' all is well' when within a mile away there " were thousands of representative Samoans who were waiting to tell him that the Administrator and " the Faipules, through their own deliberate acts, have been utterly discredited by the people. His " speeches to the Faipule only encourage them to further resist the whole of the people whom they " are supposed to represent, thus setting up the few against the many. The programme which he " follows throughout does not inspire the confidence of the people that he is conducting an impartial " investigation. Nevertheless, we have every confidence in the cause of the people, for surely ' there " is a higher law than the Constitution,' as Seward reminds us.

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" Now, Sir, the people of Samoa await your decision on the representations contained in the " reports. Because the people have submitted to the conditions complained of, from year to year, " and. your Government has turned a deaf ear to their plea, it does not mean that they have lost all " sense of their rights and privileges, nor of their being entitled to liberty, freedom, and justice. What " ever your decision may be, the grievances represented in the reports have become very deep-rooted, " and the people will continue to represent them along constitutional lines until each and every one " of them has been set right. " Practically all the leading Matais of Samoa are now in Apia to await the results of your " deliberations. Despite intimidation, coercion, and arbitrary measures by the Administration, which " have taxed them to the utmost, they have kept the peace, and will keep the peace no matter what " your decision may be, but without prejudice to pressing their complaints until redress has been " obtained. They have come to Apia of their own free will, and have lived here at great cost to their " friends and themselves. The least consideration of them might have prompted the Administrator "to advise you to hold this meeting earlier. For this and all the conditions enumerated to you to-day, " which alone have brought matters in Samoa to the. present state, neither you nor your Government " can escape responsibility. " With your permission, Chief Faumuina would like to address you on behalf of the committee " and in the name of the people." Mr. Nelson here asked for permission to translate his address to the Samoans present, which was agreed to by the Minister on condition that all references to the Governor-General and to himself should be omitted. Hon. Minister : We will now ask the Natives to speak individually. Mr. Nelson : They would like to have Chief Faumuina speak on their behalf on general matters. Hon. Minister: I want to hear from each one individually what they have to say against the Administration, and I will take a record of it. Hon. Minister : Have you, Tofaeono, any complaint to make against the Government ? Tofaeono : I have 110 complaint against the Government, except the points already laid before the Minister. Hon. Minister: Why do-you belong to the Mau ? What do you want to get through it ?—I object to the taking-away of titles from the chiefs by force, without deliberation or discussion. Will you state a case ?—There are already cases in the report where chiefs have been banished and their titles taken away by force. It has been the Samoan custom for each family to have the right to deal with its own titles ; but at the present time they have not this right: it has been given to the Faipules. Whose titles ?—Many Samoan chiefs have been banished and their titles have been taken away. Who told you that the Faipules took the titles away ?—I know. They have never taken the titles away, so apparently you know something that is quite wrong ? — I refer to the case of Lagolago. That is incorrect. Do you know why Lagolago's title was taken away ?— I only heard that the title was taken away, 1 was not present. I would advise you to make inquiries. Ainu'u was the next Native member of the Committee to rise. Hon. Minister : I will ask Mr. McCarthy to put a question or two to Ainu'u. Mr. McCarthy: Have you, yourself, any complaints against the Government ? —I have something against the Government and against the white people. Is it not true that just recently you told a Government official that you had no complaint whatever against the Government and against the white people ; and will you say now what your real complaint is ? —I agree with what the committee put before the Minister, and want to mention one or two things. lam pleased to see Toelupe present. Will the Department get the file of my case against Toelupe ? He put up a house on my land and cut down my trees without my consent. The case is now before the Administrator; I have not yet received his decision. Is it right, under British law, to put up a house on land without the permission of the owner ? Hon. Minister : The law will defend you if you have any legal complaint. Colonel Hutchen : Is that your only complaint ? —lf you want any more I will give more. Colonel Hutchen : Go ahead. Ainu'u : The Government took a piece of my land to widen the road without my consent. I made a complaint in August last and have not received an answer yet. Hon. Minister : That is nothing to do with the principles of government; that is a private thing. Put the matter before the Government in accordance with the law. Ainu'u read the following extract from the Samoan Guardian " (1) There is no objection to the functions of the Council of Faipules as constituted under the Samoan Amendment Act, 1923. A. large number of people, however, are dissatisfied with the executive authority granted to members of the Faipule in the districts. It is desired to return to the original practice of the people to nominate and appoint their own representatives for a fixed period of years. " (2) It is a desire to place 210 restrictions on customs concerning ' fine mats,' because these customs assist to preserve the dignity and honour of the country. " (3) Nothing has been said or done by the committee to justify these remarks of His Excellency the Administrator. The committee has petitioned that laws imposing punishment upon offenders without trial before the constituted courts should be repealed.

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" (4) The discontent concerning the medical-tax did not originate with the committee. Doubts as to its application were first expressed in the Council of Faipules, and the village Matais (Councillors) declared against it at the outset. People were reminded that the medical-tax was an experiment for a fixed period. Any person acquainted with the Samoan custom is well aware that such a condition as inferred by His Excellency could not exist in Samoa. The devotion to each other of the members of a family is so strong that even the fatherless receive help in time of sickness and distress, and many are willing to help the infirm and sick in obtaining medical assistance from a hospital. The committee expressly reported the desire that young men and maidens should be trained in the medical profession, to enable them to qualify for doctors and nurses. " (5) No one disregards gifts and kindness from New Zealand ; but the people look with grave concern on any financial liability due from them to New Zealand. " (6) It is doubtful if the people of Apia Village desire strangers to dwell continually in Apia if they have no good reason for so doing, but it is the expressed desire of the committee not to restrain Samoans from travelling or dwelling in any village if there is no good cause for prohibiting them. " (7) It is well understood that laws for the preservation of peace, good order, and the protection of the people are necessary and useful, but no one understands or approves of laws which impose punishments upon Samoans without proper trial in a Court of law. At all meetings the committee advise strict obedience to all laws, respect to Government and authority, and to submit peacefully to all punishments. Exhortations have been made to the people to bear patiently false accusations, and to rely upon their faith in the truth or justice of all matters which the committee is striving for in a constitutional manner. " (Note. —The numbers of each paragraph refer to the numbers of the paragraphs in the speech of His Excellency the Administrator to the Faipule, as printed in the Government newspaper ' 0 le Savali Hon. Minister : Is that your own view or somebody else's I—lt1 —It is my own view. Have you any individual case to place before me ? —No, I have nothing for myself. Tuisila : I support all that Mr. Nelson has said, and in addition there is another point. I remember when His Excellency called me before him. He spoke to me and I was prepared to answer, but he said I could not make a statement. I obeyed and returned home, although I was not satisfied. My wife was very ill in Leulumoega. I went to the late Mr. Griffin and said to him that I would obey the order, but I asked for permission to go to Leulumoega and get my wife. His reply was that her illness was not so important as the order. 1 returned without saying anything more. I wish to add that I support everything that is in the reports. Alipia: I complain of the tyranny of the Faipules. The first matter is the taking-away of Samoan titles. The second matter is the restriction placed on Samoan customs, which lowers the dignity of the Samoans. Colonel Hutchen : Will you specify the customs ? Alipia: The death feast; customs in connection with the marriage ceremony; parties travelling with fine mats. The Faipules have brought about a medical levy without getting the consent of the Samoans. Amongst other things, I complain against the Administrator. On one occasion when our district went to see the Administrator the Faipules were representing us. They held conversation in the office at Mulinu'u. I explained to His Excellency that we were there to see him about the medical tax, and I put before him two requests —first, to postpone the time for the payment of the medical tax ; and, secondly, we asked him not to make that tax a permanent yearly tax. We suggested to the Governor that a time may come when the Medical Department has not sufficient money to carry out the medical services, and to let the whole of the Samoan people pay a subscription for the Medical Department. We suggested 2s. or 4s. per head. This was his answer : " I agree to your request for postponement of payment of the tax, and I will give you another month. I will not give my answer to the second request now, because the Fono of Faipules has already dispersed : wait for the next Fono and we will discuss the matter with the Faipules, and will notify you of the decision later." We waited and waited, but received no answer. The only reply was to continue paying the taxes. Those are all my complaints. Hon. Minister : Who told you that the Faipules put up the medical tax without consulting the Samoans ?—[No answer.] Alipia : There a-re many Samoans who have had their titles taken away : Ulualofaiga, Lelafa of Falefa, Molio'o of Faleapuna, Afamasaga, Tamasese. These decisions were given against these people without consulting the Samoans. At the end of last year we had a meeting at Leulumoega with the Administrator and Mr. Griffin. I told them why the Samoans were not satisfied with the Administration in Samoa : firstly, the titles ; secondly, fine mats ; thirdly, the medical tax. These were the answers. The Administrator told us he was not responsible for any of the matters we complained of, but the Faipules were responsible. Speaking for myself, I was treated unfairly : I was ordered to go away from Apia and remain in my village for three months. I tried to make a statement and was not allowed to do so. I obeyed the order, although I was dissatisfied in my own mind. Tli tis all I have to say. Lagolago : I thank you, Sir, for having the opportunity to speak. We were told that we would not be given an opportunity of making a statement as representing the Samoan people. It was our wish that you should come and ask us about these matters. We were afraid during the meeting this morning that you were angry with us ; now we find you are acting as a father and listening to all we have to say. You are a good father. Samoans dance, and people who dance do not know whether the dance is good or not, but when people watch they can judge whether it is good. The Administrator and his Government officials are the people who are making the dance in Samoa. We are very pleased to see that you ask us whether the dance is good or not, because we are watching the dance.

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The foundation on which watchers base their decision is loyalty to His Majesty the King and the Governor. Every Samoan family has a Matai. If the members of the family have any complaints or are dissatisfied against their Matai they will make the complaint to him. The wise Matai is very pleased to hear the complaints that will help him to control his family properly and to right any mistakes. You are here now as the representative of the Matai of Samoa, which is Samoa. Although we were told that the Faipules always asked the father to punish, we relied on our father not to do any wrong to us. It seems that the honourable Minister wants to know if we can speak for ourselves without being guided by these others here. It is nearly twenty-seven years since the European Powers took charge of Samoa, to try and teach young Samoa. Now our knowledge is growing, and we now think we are entitled to speak for ourselves. We also know it is the wish of His Majesty the King, and that the British flag stands for justice. We are satisfied with the control of Samoa by New •Zealand, and therefore we are not afraid and will not hide anything. We will show all our cards. All that our chairman said regarding the Native question was fully discussed and fully considered by us. We have also done as our Administrator, General Richardson, said when he advised us to fight for others and not for ourselves. We made up our minds to help others and work for others, because the majority of the Samoans are foolish and do not know how to express their complaints ; therefore we have put them in order and bring them up to you. "Regarding the progress and prosperity which is reported in New Zealand papers and throughout the world, we do not agree with that. It is true that you can see some improvement and good work here, but it is no use if we, the people who belong to this country, are not satisfied ; therefore we have set up this committee to forward any complaints or matters for consideration by you. We know the good work that has been done, and the wisdom of His Excellency the Administrator and his officials ; but we wish to say something, because no one in the world is without fault. We make our petition that some things in the Government should be changed. Let the Samoan do something, because he is becoming able to do something for himself. We wish to see the Faipules put in such a position that they would convey to the Administrator the views of the people. They are appointed by the Governor and will not do anything that will bring about their dismissal. Hon. Minister: I would remind you that you are not bringing forward your own individual views, but speaking as a representative of the people. Lagolago : That is my individual opinion, and not from any one else. Hon. Minister : Are you dissatisfied with the Faipules ? Will you quote to me the names of the Faipules with whom you are dissatisfied ? Lagolago : Aiono, Logo, Salanoa. Lagolago : I am not satisfied with the status of the Faipules. Hon. Minister : Have you anything to say against any individual Faipule ? Ijagolago : There are many things, but what I am referring to is the position—they should be free to speak. There is one other matter : lam worried myself because the debt of Samoa is increasing. I also feel that the power given to the Faipules by the Government is too strong. I am also dissatisfied with some of the punishments meted out, and with some of the laws enforced. We support the wish of our people to make these complaints in the hope of having things put right. There are other things, but they may take too much time. I will answer any questions that may be asked. 1 wish the Government to consider these petitions and make some change in the present methods. Hon. Minister : Are you quite satisfied with the Faipules individually ? Lagolago : I thought my first answer was sufficient. lam not satisfied with their status, but I am quite satisfied with the majority of the Faipules. lam not satisfied with all the Faipules ; but if you will agree to let us vote and select the Faipules you will see some new members. The districts would select those with whom they were satisfied. Hon. Minister : Have you, Faumuina, any personal complaints ? Faumuina : I am not satisfied myself, neither are the people of my district whom I represent, There is no proper status for the Fautuas, and that causes dissatisfaction to the Samoans. European officials cost too much, and there is not much money left for the Native officials. Why not let the Samoans select their own representative to sit on the Legislative Council ? lam also not satisfied with the present status of the Faipules, because they cannot speak and cannot fight for the districts, each one having been appointed by the Governor. The Governor has power to dismiss them if he is not satisfied with what they do. What I really want is for the district to select the Faipule, and then he can fight for the district which selects him. Another point is that the Faipule cannot resist the Governor's wish when he orders means of punishing Samoans. Why does not the Administrator consult with the Faipule and let the Faipule consult with his district when he wants anything done ? Why are we not allowed to select our own Faipules ? How can they fight for us when they are appointed by the Governor for himself ? They do what he wants, not what we wish. We do not like the expense of European officials and the small pay given to our Native officials. Where is our money going to ? We were told by the Governor that the number of European officials would be reduced, but we see every year new officials brought in. I will finish now in accordance with your wish ; but I will state our real opinion, and that is that- we want you, as representative of the Government of New Zealand, to consider our requests and grant them ; if not, we would rather you buried us all in our graves and not let us go back to our former position. Mr. Nelson: I would like to ask if the Hon. Minister would take means to find out the real standing and rank of each of the chiefs on our committee. Hon. Minister: Yes, I will do that. Mr. Nelson: We have tried to bring before you and stress the fact that the Citizens' Committee whom you are meeting to-day are the representatives of the people. Before we leave this room we would like to hear from the Hon. Minister what his decision is in respect of the

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subjects that have been represented to him in our reports. They were handed to the Administrator last December at the' Minister's request. It is now seven months, and these reports should have had by now all the consideration that is necessary. The Hon. Minister should be in a position to tell us what the position is with regard to each of the reports. We have represented to the Hon. Minister the fact, as we know it, that we have the confidence of the people of Samoa—Europeans and Natives —by the fact that the whole of this committee have been elected at public meetings. In the European section of the committee are three elected members who were brought in last election by an overwhelming majority. Despite what the Minister has told us as to the people who are said to support this committee, I wish to say that had the Minister decided to prove for himself, there are ample proofs right here that a very large majority of the people of Samoa support this committee. If the Minister elects to continue stating and accepting what he has said —that he is satisfied that the bulk of the Samoans are satisfied with the present methods, and that there are no complaints—then the responsibility rests on the Minister. The people of Samoa are anxiously awaiting the result of this meeting, and, as I have said before, having been elected by them, and entrusted with their confidence, our duty is to inform them of the result of this meeting. Till now the Minister has not given us any reply to the subjects raised in the representations raised in the reports. The Minister has consulted the Faipules on Native matters. Both the Minister and the Faipules must realize that there is great dissatisfaction among the people. If in spite of this knowledge, which present-day events must convince them of, they still continue to say that things are in order and that no change is necessary, then the Minister has included the Faipules in that responsibility. The attempt to throw the responsibility and blame for the present conditions on the Citizens' Committee is an attempt to keep the Samoans ever in subordination. The Samoans have had their own elected representation in the past, and they are entitled to elected representation to-day. Furthermore, they are entitled to be represented in the Legislative Council, because Samoans are the Natives of this country, and they will always be, in numbers, the dominating people here. Until that time when Samoans are represented in the Legislative Council the elected representatives of the European population must assume representation on behalf of the Samoan Natives. That being so, and they being not only the elected representatives of prominent European residents of Samoa, and realizing that the welfare of the Samoan people is identical with their own, they must also assume the position of treating Samoans as their constituents, and thus they should be able to make representations for them in respect of matters which tend for the advancement of this country. If, therefore, in the elected members making such representations to the Natives and getting their support, and also putting in proper form those conditions that they know the Natives are dissatisfied with, they meet with the stubborn resistance of the Administrator and thus bring about dissatisfaction here in Samoa, then the responsibility rests with the Administrator, and not with the Citizens' Committee. The Administrator has often repeated the statement that the Government of Western Samoa must always bear in mind that the first duty is to the Samoan people. It has also been stated that, whatever may have been the policy of the previous Samoan Governments, it is certainly the policy of the New Zealand Government of Samoa that the status of Samoans shall be equal to that of Europeans. If, therefore, the status of the Samoans and the Europeans is to be equal, and the Europeans recognize their duty to the Samoans and also appreciate the fact that the advancement of the Samoan people is their interest, and the Samoan people appreciate the fact that the prominent residents of Samoa have the same interest in the welfare of Samoa as the Samoans, then, their interests being identical, they must be allowed to deliberate together and to act together, not only in the Legislative Council, but in the discussion of things generally that tend to bring about a better understanding between the races, so that they may collectively and unitedly work for the good government of this country. If the Administrator is allowed to meet the Samoan people and discuss with them European affairs, condemning certain portions of the European residents, he is not only carrying out a dangerous policy, and an unwise one, but it should then be allowed for the European race to put their case before the Samoans, more especially in view of the conditions that have been brought about whereby the two races should have equal status. If a law such as the one that was lately passed through the Legislative Council is necessary for the maintenance of authority in Native affairs, to protect the Faipules and other Samoan officials from criticism or any acts which are likely, or considered likely, to undermine the authority of the Government officials, then it is also necessary to make a law to protect the people of Samoa —Europeans and Natives—from the calumnies, abuse, and slander that have been availed of by the Faipules of late. In conclusion, I must again point out that a very large majority of the people of Samoa have placed their confidence in us, and, say what you will, they are awaiting your deliberation with keen interest. If you insist on treating the majority of the people in Samoa as an insignificant number, then you are doing so fully aware of that fact. Hon. Minister : Mr. Nelson, and gentlemen of the Citizens' Committee, I have nothing to add or take away from the statement that I delivered earlier this forenoon. As Mr. Nelson has said, the responsibility, after hearing what you have had to say, rests upon me as Minister in charge of External Affairs ; and I may say here and now, as I said in that statement, that the management of the Native affairs of Samoa is not going to be entrusted to the Citizens' Committee. If there is any further agitation amongst the Natives in Samoa the Citizens' Committee will be held directly responsible to the Government of New Zealand, which is responsible, as the Mandatory Power, to the League of Nations, [ will give you a reasonable and fair time to undo the trouble that has

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been created, and after that time has expired I will take what action on behalf of the Government of New Zealand I think necessary for good government and for the administration of such. lam not going to have wool pulled over my eyes. I am not afraid of responsibility, and I am giving the Citizens' Committee the first, the last, and a reasonable chance to undo the intrigue that has gone on among the Natives in Samoa ; and after that reasonable time has expired I shall act according to the instructions and with the will and the backing of the Government of New Zealand. That is all I have to say to the Citizens' Committee. I might add that out of respect to you, and in accordance with my statement delivered this morning, I will put in writing my replies to the questions which the Citizens' Committee have asked me. I will make a parliamentary paper of it and lay it before the Parliament of New Zealand, to whose hands the government of Samoa has been entrusted, to see for themselves and know every detail of what has transpired here —what you have said and what I have said in reply to the requests you have made. I thank you. Mr. Nelson : Will the deputation not be received in New Zealand ? Hon. Minister: I will consider any request put through the proper channel, and will reserve to myself the right to take what action I think fit on any request made to me by the committee as events develop. Detailed Reply of Minister of External Affairs to Representations of Citizens' Committee. The Chairman, Citizens' Committee, Apia, Western Samoa. Dear Sir, — Wellington, N.Z., 12th July, 1927. As indicated to you and the members of your committee when they interviewed me at Apia on the 11th June, I will now reply in detail to the various statements concerning the Administration of Western Samoa contained in the file of reports prepared by your committee and handed to His Excellency the Administrator for transmission to me on the 7th December last. As intimated in the letter 1 addressed to you from Sydney on the 28th June, my consideration of these representations has been deferred until the conclusion of my visit to the Territory. I propose to include this correspondence in the report of my visit to Western Samoa to be laid before Parliament this session. But, before dealing with the several reports under their respective headings, I must indicate that your committee's views cannot be accepted as representative of those held by a majority of Europeans or Native Samoans in the Territory. The repudiation of your views and tactics by a large majority of the Europeans of Samoa in a message specially sent by them to the New Zealand Government: the fact that the Fautuas and Eaipules at the Fono House, Mulinu'u, and the Faipules, chiefs, and orators at Fagamalo presented me with addresses expressing confidence in and loyalty to the New Zealand Government and the Samoan Administration, together with the manifestations of confidence and loyalty to His Excellency the Administrator on his recent malaga around Upolu, are clear evidence that your committee and their representations lack the confidence and support of the people of Samoa itself. Further, I must repeat my condemnation of the means by which you have endeavoured to secure a display of. sympathy with your agitation on the part of sections of the Native race. The formation of the " Mau " society or league, the purple badge of which was worn by many Samoans during my visit, without, in most cases, I am reliably informed, any semblance of an idea what it meant; the exhortations which certain districts of Samoa have received to refrain from payment of taxes and to resist the authority of the Government; and the general incitement to dissatisfaction amongst the Native people organized by your committee are not only resented by the leaders and the majority of the Samoan people themselves, but show a deplorable departure from the principle recognized in all British territories where Native interests preponderate, that matters of Native affairs rest entirely between the Administration and the Native people themselves. As I have already pointed out to you, this principle is strikingly shown in the Constitution granted in 1925 to the Mandated Territory of South-west Africa. I will now deal with your reports seriatim. Legislative Council. The requests appear to be for— (1) The selection of Faipules by the people of their Districts. (2) Samoans to be members of the Legislative Council. (3) An increase in the elected members representing the European community to a number equal to that of the official members. (4) The ultimate abolition of the Fono of Faipules. (5) The repeal of certain laws. (1) The inference that Faipules are not selected by the people of their districts is quite incorrect. Although the Samoan Amendment Act of 1923 gives His Excellency the Administrator the power to appoint a Faipule, every such appointment must have regard to " existing Samoan usage and custom." In actual effect, upon every vacancy for the appointment of a Faipule the Administrator has invited the people of the district concerned to discuss and nominate an appointee in their own Native manner, and the fact that there has never yet been a decision submitted in which a district Has been unable to decide upon its Faipule conclusively proves that every appointment of a Faipule made by the Administrator has been of a chosen representative of the people's wishes. You must also know that at the moment the people of one district in Savai'i have had the Administrator's request to nominate a new Faipule to fill the existing vacancy under consideration for over twelve months and have not yet reached agreement. I must therefore regard the considered opinions of the Fono of Faipules as truly representative of Native opinions in Western

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Samoa, and to be accepted in preference to that of the individuals who have attached themselves to your movement. All remarks which follow bearing upon Native affairs must be considered in this light. (2) There is no justification whatever for the appointment of Native members to a Legislative Council having a majority of European members. I am supported in this view by one of the greatest living authorities on British colonial administration, Sir Frederick Lugard, himself a member of the Permanent Mandates Commission, who, addressing the Royal Colonial Institute in London as late as February of this year, said, — " It is by the training of Village and District Councils, not by placing a few denationalized Natives on the Legislative Council of the colony, that a backward people can be taught to think for themselves and that England's great task in the tropics can be accomplished." The present Fono is a body having statutory recognition, and the Natives themselves have expressed themselves as entirely satisfied with it. They view your proposal with disfavour, and it is indeed difficult to imagine any direction in which good to the Native race could result by superseding the present Fono, which has individual representation of each of the thirty-three political districts of Samoa, by a system in which the Fono would be subjected to the actions of some Native representatives acting as a minority in another body. I have already told you in my written general reply that this request of your committee suggests itself as a proposal to facilitate interference in Native matters by European representatives having interests entirely apart from those of the Samoan people, and what the inevitable result of the adoption of the proposal would be. (3) You ask that the elected members representing the European community should be equal in number to the nominated official members. In making this demand you ignore both the underlying principle of the mandate and the accepted principle of government of Native territories such as that of Western Samoa. The necessity for maintaining an official majority in the Legislative Council cannot be better expressed than in the words of that very distinguished and experienced British Empire statesman, the late Lord Milner, as follows : — " The only justification for keeping an official majority in any colony is that we are convinced that we are better judges, for the time being, of the interests of the Native population than they are themselves. Unless we thought that, we should not be justified in keeping our official majority. If that is the case, then I think that the argument that the unofficial vote was against you is not an argument which possesses any force. The responsibility rests with us. It is not as if we departed from the principle of trusteeship ; on the contrary, on the principle of trusteeship we keep the authority in the hands which we think for the time being most-competent to use it, and we must not be fearful about making use of that reserve power." 1 have previously told you that the Europeans resident in Western Samoa have already a larger participation in their own Government, as to both franchise and representation, than exists in any other "B" or "C" mandated territory, and the New Zealand Government do not see in the manner in which the present agitation is conducted any ground for further advancement in the political status of the Territory. We do, however, propose to consider the introduction of legislation this session to restrict the exercise of the franchise to British nationals. The Europeans of Samoa (or, at least, the six primarily concerned in your movement) are mainly resident in Apia, and many of the subjects on which you now express dissatisfaction would have come within the province of a municipality for Apia, which you demanded so insistently for many years preceding 1923, when authority for the establishment of a municipality was made available to you by Act and then declined. lam sure that the present agitation has no more real support of the population of Samoa than your demand for the right to form a municipality until that right was conceded. (4) I have dealt under heading (2) with the suggestion for the abolition of the Fono of Faipules in favour of a minority of Native representation in the Legislative Council. That would be a very backward step, which has not the support of the New Zealand Government or of the Samoan people. It is significant that you have not always advocated the abolition of the Fono of Faipules. I would remind you that in 1921, when you and your European associates exercised very great influence with certain of the leading Faipules, even to the extent of persuading them against their own interests (as they now realize and admit) to present the petition to His Majesty the King asking that the mandate should be taken away from New Zealand, you wrote a letter, under date 21st November, 1921, to a prominent resident of Apia, from which I quote as follows :— " Despite repeated announcements that the New Zealand Government is here for the benefit of the indigenous population, the Natives do not see any progress in that regard. They claim that whereas the predecessors of the present Administration made no such declaration, they recognized certain priviliges and aspirations of the Natives and were slowly but surely establishing them. They claim that (1) the time was ripe for the recognition of the Native representatives, or Faipules, but the New Zealand made Constitution did not provide for same." The New Zealand Government and Parliament have given statutory recognition to the Fono of Faipules, and now your committee condemn us for doing so. (5) The statement purporting to be made by the Samoan committee that " there are too many laws altogether "is completely lacking in specific instances. Certain measures are referred to by the committee under the heading of " Native Affairs," and I will deal with them under that heading. Finance. Your committee's report is based almost entirely upon comparisons with neighbouring territories. This method of criticism is distasteful, in that answer to it cannot be given without reference to those activities of other territories which are not so advanced as in Samoa, or to direction in which the expenditure of other Administrations exceeds that in our Territory. Any reply of the New Zealand Government or Samoan Administration must, of necessity be in the nature of a critical review of the methods of neighbouring friendly Administrations. Moreover, there are usually such differences in the manner in which the financial statements of various Administrations are set out that it would

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be no difficult matter, by the employment of incomplete information, to compare the activities of any two Administrations with a result favourable to either one or the other at will. Ido not, therefore, propose to follow your line of argument; but there are certain comments which I think I am entitled to make without drawing any invidious comparisons with other territories. The Kingdom of Tonga is not only a Native country with a Native Government, but its area is small and scattered, and it has little more than half the population of Western Samoa. It is a Group which is periodically visited by hurricanes, and so the finances of the country must be affected by the reserve provision which it is necessary to make against these occurrences. Fiji, on the other hand, is many times larger than Samoa. Its incidence of taxation is entirely different from that of Samoa in that it has an income-tax, the imposition of which in Samoa would perhaps create a more equitable system of taxation than exists at present. Further, the finances and taxes of Fiji are considerably affected by the fact that its two main towns are separate municipalities with taxing authority. Tlie revenue and expenditure of the three territories given in the committee's report are inaccurate as regards Samoa, the true revenue or money paid per capita by the people of this Territory being, Samoa —Revenue, £2 16s. 5d.; expenditure, £3 12s. By the committee's report the revenue for Fiji equals £3 ss. and for Tonga £3 3s. per head, so that, while we are spending £3 12s. per head in Samoa, we only ask the people to pay £2 16s. sd.—i.e., Bs. 7d. less per head than in Fiji. Expenditure on Public Works. —The Committee refer to expenditure on public works, and ask citizens to compare this with Fiji. The annual expenditure for works in Fiji equals 14 per cent, of the revenue, whereas in Samoa it is just under 20 per cent, of the revenue raised in the Territory. Expenditure.- -The statement that the excess of expenditure per head is not visible in the development of the country is not correct, because the improvement or provision of roads, schools, water-supplies, wireless stations, the healthy and increased population, and increased production of exports are all evidences of the benefits which Samoa has derived from this expenditure, which has certainly been used more for Native development than for Apia. This town ought to be supported by a municipality, and so relieve the Administration of some of its expenditure, in the same way that the municipalities of Suva and Levuka relieve the Government of Fiji, by controlling their own local affairs. But citizens will not accept their responsibility in this matter ; they apparently prefer to let the Administration do everything for them. Their attention is perhaps focused more on Apia than on bridges, roads, water-tanks, hospitals, schools, and other needs of the Natives in out-districts. I made the assertion at our interview, and now repeat it, that in the short period of my stay in the Territory I saw as much as, or more, of the real work that is being done in the Group outside Apia, than some of the committee who claim to speak as old residents. I say you do not know what is going on outside Apia. Loan of £100,000. —This loan was granted in 1921. It was authorized by New Zealand to help Samoa, and to carry out work for the Natives which might well have been done previous to British occupation ; also to instal water-supplies for Apia and improve roads and other works which in other countries would have been carried out by the European population through a Municipal Council. A second loan of £48,000 was also authorized in 1926-27. I append particulars of expenditure of these loan-moneys, as follows : — First loan, £100,000, plus £25,000 as a free gift from New Zealand Reparation Estates Account. Expended as follows (1921 to 31st March, 1925) : — Productive — £ s. d. £ s. d. Apia Hospital .. .. .. 15,810 15 8 Tuasivi Hospital .. .. .. 3,285 6 4 Aleipata Hospital .. .. .. 4,687 0 3 Post-office —additions ..' ' .. 996 6 8 Steam-laundry .. .. .. 6,169 17 7 Customs building .. .. .. 1,016142 Public-works plant .. .. .. 2,419 0 2 Central Hotel—purchase .. .. 10,000 0 0 Apia drainage and water-supply .. 22,136 4 8 66,521 5 6 Partly Productive— Central Hotel —equipment and improvements .. .. .. .. 3,520 11 8 Harbour-dredging .. .. .. 377 3 4 Native water-supplies .. .. 9,747 1710 13,645 12 10 Revenue-saving— Leper station, Fiji .. .. .. 1,051 19 1 Electric light, " Vailima " .. .. 767 18 0 Motor-transport .. .. .. 1,945 0 1 Sea Road-protection .. .. .. 1,486 11 1 Roads and Bridges .. .. .. 22,182 11 1 27,433 19 4 Essential Works — Wireless quarters .. .. .. 2,616 11 I Renovations—Various quarters .. 3.945 14 4 Construction .. .. .. 5,266 0 8 Police headquarters .. .. .. 400 0 0 Central Office —alterations .. .. 750 14 5 District schools .. .. .. 4,420 110 17,399 2 4 £125,000 0 0

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Second loan, 1926-27 —£48,000 :— Estimated Cost. Productive — £ s. d. New wharf and shed .. .. .. .. 12,000 0 0 Native water-supplies .. .. .. .. 20,000 0 0 Partly productive and revenue-saving— New roads, new bridges, telephone system, &c. .. .. 16,000 0 0 £48,000 0 0 Amount expended to 31st March, 1927 .. .. .. £31,000 0 0 I must refer to the comments of your sub-committee under this heading, which comments you adoj)ted and sent on to me. You apparently realized the weakness of the position, for you say, " The Committee may be in error, and, if so, we are prepared for correction. . . . This last paragraph is not, probably, in accordance with facts, but the committee is seeking certain information which at present is not disclosed to the committee." Why have your committee said this in view of the facts (1) that you have had a legal adviser to assist you, and (2) that your reports frequently refer to and show a familiarity with the provisions of the Samoa Act ? The only security for loans by the New Zealand Treasury to the Samoan Treasury is that contained in section 33, subsection (4), of the Samoa Act, 1921, viz.:—- " All moneys payable by the Samoan Treasury in pursuance of this section shall be a first charge on the Samoan revenues after payment of the salaries and allowances of the Samoan Public Service." Even if you did not know the provisions of the statute, why did not your sub-committee or your committee cross the road to the Treasurer's office and seek the truth, instead of proceeding to allege fraud on the part of the New Zealand Government ? The gravity of this offence lies in the fact that your comments have been translated into the Samoan language. " Vailima ". —You criticize the cost of upkeep of " Yailima " and call " special attention " to it. Government House happens to be "Vailima," which has treasured literary associations, and is for that reason alone visited by great numbers of tourists from all over the world. In my opinion, the property is a credit to New Zealand and Samoa. The grounds have been beautified and vastly improved to provide recreation for visitors, and they are freely used by citizens and tourists. The paddocks are used as an adjunct to the Agriculture Department for the purpose of cattle breeding for the improvement of native stock. I am confident that the majority of the Europeans and Natives of Samoa regard "Vailima" with pride, and resent your criticism of it. lam equally certain that any neglect of the property would arouse world-wide resentment. I do not know what the upkeep of Government House and grounds in Fiji costs, and therefore cannot make comparisons. But I believe the grounds are kept in order entirely by prison labour, a system we could adopt in Samoa, except that we prefer to use prisoners for farm-development in order to educate them in the better use of their own lands after discharge from prison. Secretariat.—ln comparing the salaries of the Secretariat in Samoa with that of Fiji it might be mentioned that the staff of the Secretariat in Fiji consists of twelve officials, while in Samoa there are only five, and that in Fiji officials receive an addition of 15 per cent, on their emoluments, plus £22 10s. per annum, so that all officers in Fiji are better paid than they appear to be from estimates. Furthermore, nearly all officials in Fiji get free quarters, whereas nearly every officer in Samoa has to pay for quarters. Pensions are also awarded to Colonial Office officials, whereas Samoan officials have only recently been admitted to a superannuation scheme, to which they personally contribute. Native Affairs. —I merely say that the remarks of the committee on this Department display an utter lack of appreciation of the importance of the Department. My predecessor in office, the Right Hon. Sir Francis Bell, gave as a policy for this Department that the Secretary for Native Affairs could be treated as a Special Class official, who should be paid well, as he requires to have special qualifications for his appointment. The conditions of the mandate demand that we pay special attention to the Native Department and have the very best officials for it, regardless of opinions of local European residents, who do not appear to understand New Zealand's obligations in regard to the Native race. To compare the cost of administration of Natives as between Savai'i and Apia from the figures given in the estimates is misleading. All the Native administration is worked from Native headquarters in Apia : it could not be efficiently carried out otherwise. A limited amount of decentralization is, however, arranged for, but Upolu and Savai'i cannot be administered as two separate units in Native matters. Treasury. —Comparison is made between expense of the Treasury in Fiji and in Samoa (I omit Tonga, for reasons previously mentioned). As Treasury deals with expenditure of public moneys, it would have been more reasonable for the committee to compare the costs of each Treasury and Audit to the total expenditure of the Territory —viz., Fiji, 2-6 per cent. ; Samoa, 1-7 per cent. Customs Department. —The Customs Department in Samoa has, in addition to the ordinary duties pertaining to Customs at Fiji, to deal with inland revenue, licenses, salary and other taxes, water-rates, and issue of liquor under permit from Medical Officers —duties which are not carried out by the Customs Department in Fiji. For these reasons comparisons are impossible. Harbour Department. —Comparison of expenditure cannot be fairly made by reference to the estimates shown under this heading. In Samoa the whole expenditure in connection with the activities of this Department are shown under the one heading, whereas in Fiji this is not the case. Furthermore, Fijian and Indian labourers are paid at much lower rates than Samoans. The cost of Indian labour in Fiji is about two-thirds that of Samoan labour. This lower cost of labour operates in the expenditure of all Government Departments. Justice Department. —The criticism that the Registrar is called away to take the place of officers on leave is proof that the Samoan Public Service has no surplus staff. This is a compliment to the economical system of staffing the Administration.

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Police Department. —The figures here given by the committee are not fairly shown. The Police and Prisons Department in Samoa costs £7,750. For the same services in Fiji the cost is £26,484, not £10,057 as shown in the report. Department of Agriculture.—ln view of the importance of agriculture to the Samoan people, it is regretted that we do not spend more in this Department. One elected member previously recommended in the Legislative Council that this Department was practically unnecessary, and that the head of the police should control the Police, Chinese, and Agricultural Departments, thus showing how little the work of this Department is appreciated. Its efforts in connection with Native agricultural education alone justify the expenditure shown. Here again the figures are mis-stated : — Fiji. Samoa. £ £ Committee's figures .. .. .. .. .. 4,195 3,250 True figures .. .. .. .. .. .. 40,320 3,250 Chinese Department. —To show that the cost of administration in Fiji for 69,000 Indians is less than in Samoa for 890 Chinese coolies is an easy matter, but the reason for this appears to have been omitted by the committee. The Chinese coolies in this Territory are each and all actually administered, their employments arranged, and individual interests watched and protected by a Commissioner of Labour, who also does the same work for the few remaining Solomon Island labourers. In Fiji the Indians are free settlers, and are at liberty to undertake any private occupation as farmers, storekeepers, or any other business in competition with the rest of the community, and therefore no administration machinery exists in Fiji such as the Chinese Department in Samoa, nor is it necessary. The difficulties of obtaining labour from China are appreciated by very few outside the Administration, but these difficulties are chiefly overcome by the fact that the authorities in China are aware of the protection afforded to Chinese labourers engaged for work in Samoa. This is a protection which can only be given by a Department such as that we have in Western Samoa, and which is very economically administered. Post, Telegraph, and Radio.—The committee consider that " noSfurther economy is required in connection with these Departments." I differ from them in this matter. We are losing £1,000 per annum on the radio station, and proposals have been made to utilize the|hydro-electric scheme for Apia, when completed, to instal a new and more economical and equally efficient station in the town in order not only to cut out this loss, but to place the radio on a paying basis. Public Works Department.—The statement that £4,962, or half the sum of the Public Works vote, is spent in wages is another misleading statement, which ignores the fact that the emoluments for officials of the Works Department cover the cost of the extraordinary public works also, and, instead of representing half the expenditure, are equal for the year under review to only about one-eleventh. In none of the many estimates of other colonies I have examined can I find such a small expenditure for wages in proportion to the total spent on public works. Education Department.—The criticisms made against this Department are that— (1) Salaries are too high. (2) Headmaster of Avele is not certificated. (3) Next year Vaipouli School will be conducted by a master who only got his certificate last year. (4) Attendance at these schools is small, and does not warrant the expenditure. The salaries in Samoa differ very little from those in Fiji, where teachers other than those appointed in New Zealand all receive the annual bonus of 15 per cent., plus £22 10s. With reference to the criticism against the headmaster of Avele, the facts are that Mr. Williams has been in Samoa four years, and is one of our most successful teachers in dealing with Native boys. His work in making a really fine Native school with beautiful playgrounds and plantations where three years ago there was virgin bush is a model of good work which influences every school in Samoa. It has been my privilege to inspect the really wonderful transformation that has taken place at the Avele Agricultural School. 1 ask you this direct question : Have you or any one European on your committee taken the trouble to visit Avele to see what has been done before giving expression to this criticism ? As you know, the property is only 100 yards from the gates of " Vailima." We have one teacher with University degrees, but they are of little use to him in teaching Samoans, whose education is based on Samoan life, and not on conditions in New Zealand. How the committee know who is to be headmaster at Vaipouli next year I am unable to say, as the appointment has not yet been made. The average attendance at these schools is as under: Vaipouli, Avele, Malifa, 222; but these figures are no argument in favour of reducing the salaries of the teachers, who, in addition to school-work, have charge of plantations for growing food, and in two cases a small coconutplantation as well. These teachers are also used as Inspectors for certain areas where secondgrade Native schools are established. The Education Department in Fiji is shown as costing £28,462 ; the cost of education in Samoa is £9,700; pupils in Government schools in Fiji, 684 ; pupils in Government schools or schools with Government teachers in Samoa, 1,900. In any case, the cost to the taxpayers of Samoa is very small, for £8,000 of the New Zealand subsidy is allocated to education, leaving £1,700 to be borne by Samoa. On the committee's own estimate of population the comparative cost of education is therefore, per head—Fiji, 3s. sd. ; Samoa, lOd.

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Furthermore, a special Commission has recently been investigating education in Fiji, and has recommended increasing salaries and enlarging the scheme of education in jTthat country. The effect of that scheme will be felt in Samoa, for it is not an easy matter to get good teachers from New Zealand at the present time, and when Fiji pays higher salaries we shall probably be compelled to do the same. Medical Department. —The cost of hospitals and medical services (including lepers) in Fiji is £48,520 per annum. (Lepers from other islands are maintained |by the respective Administrations.) In Samoa it is £25,000, of which the New Zealand Government contribute £12,000, leaving £13,000 to be borne by local taxation. Of this amount the Natives contribute by a direct levy £8,000, and for this latter payment nearly 40,000 Samoans receive free treatment and medicines. Our personal emoluments bear a slightly higher proportion to the total expenditure than in Fiji because of the relatively greater amount of work done in Samoa in treating the Natives and establishing dispensaries, with nurses, in out-districts, and also because a number of Medical Officers in Fiji are only part-time officers, not on full salary, owing to their being allowed to .participate in private practice, which Medical Officers in Samoa are not permitted to do. Miscellaneous Expenditure.—(l) Fares and allowances and expenses to and from overseas, £1,800 : This is an indispensable expenditure. Samoan Government officials get less leave than officials in Fiji. (2) Cleaning Government property and care of grounds on waterfront and Malifa Bathingpool : If the citizens of Apia would form their own municipality, as in Suva, those expenses in connection with waterfront and Malifa Bathing-pool would be borne by the local ratepayers. Two years ago citizens promised to be responsible for the care of the bathing-pool but neglected to do so, thus this recurring expenditure from public funds. (3) Subsidy to Malololelei, £300 : This mountain rest-house is maintained for the benefit of the health of local citizens, who, however, do not patronize it sufficiently to make the place pay. (4) Trading concerns (Central Hotel, £540; laundry, £360): The former was purchased for the benefit of the travelling public in order to provide the accommodation, which private enterprise refused to do. It would have continued to be used as such but for the generosity of New Zealand in allowing the more suitable building, known as the " Casino " (the property of New Zealand), to be used for this purpose. The laundry was built to meet the needs of the public at a time when all costs were very high. It does not pay, owing to lack of support by the public. (5) New wharf : No secrecy is being observed in regard to this wharf. In the first instance a local committee was set up to advise on the necessity for a wharf, and type and site. Their advice was accepted. The wharf is being built under contract. The contractor, after commencing the work, had doubts about being able to comply with the large excess of loading-strain in the specifications of the contract, and in order to avoid any risk of failure or waste of money the work of construction was temporarily stopped to enable complete borings to be made and so ascertain the resistance or holding-power of the coral bed. The work is now proceeding satisfactorily. (6) Electric light in Apia : Complaints in- regard to this service—which, however, has been vastly improved during the past three years —necessitate a more modern system, which the committee seems doubtful about, although it has already been announced that the Government will instal a hydro-electric scheme which will probably be more than self-supporting, and will add greatly to the comfort and convenience of European residents, who are not being asked to provide the money and will not be taxed to provide interest and sinking fund. -It is to all intents and purposes a private enterprise authorized by New Zealand, to be financed as such under the Board of Control of the New Zealand Reparation Estates. (7) Alcazar : This property was put up for public auction. If the public or any individual needed it they could have bought it. Your complaint appears to be that the Administration gave too little for it —an extraordinary criticism. New Zealand moneys, not the public funds of Samoa, were used both in this purchase and in the subsequent erection of a workshop and technical school to help the half-caste boys of Apia to learn trades. (8) Inspector's residence at Fagamalo, £1,000 : This money has not been spent. (9) School-extension at Vaipouli: I do not consider your committee competent to express opinions on the needs of this Native school in Savai'i. The expenditure is absolutely necessary. Expenditure generally.—lt is surely absurd to compare the expenditure with that of eleven years ago without having regard to, (1) reduced purchasing-power of money and increase in cost of all commodities ; (2) increased trade of the Territory ; (3) New Zealand Government policy in regard to developing the Natives and the country. If local business firms made similar comparisons in their own expenditure and revenue, they would also have to admit they had been equally affected by (1), and had materially benefited by (2) and (3), and at the same time that they were in the most fortunate position of having no increase in taxation for that period, and actually paid no income-tax. Nor do merchants pay income-tax at the present time. I know of no place where merchants carry on their commercial business under such favourable conditions. The New Zealand Government are not prepared to submit Samoan financial matters to a " competent board composed of citizens." Loans and Control of Public Money.—l have sufficiently dealt with these matters earlier, and have only to add that the committee speak of these loans as if Samoa were heavily in debt. No comparison is made with Fiji, where the indebtedness is about £750,000.

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Also you state that " prior to 1900 the people of Samoa exercised the right, both in the Samoan Government and in the Municipality of Apia, to control the revenues : that right was granted to the people by the three protecting Powers." Apart from the absurdity of comparing the conditions existing in Samoa during the period referred to, with those of to-day, no one knows better than one of the compilers of the committee's report on finance, that this right was not only not exercised, but was a continuous source of trouble and friction between the representatives of the three Powers and the European citizens of Apia, owing to the latter wishing to control all funds, whether raised in the municipality or otherwise. What rights the citizens had during the German regime are well expressed by Messrs. Nelson, Westbrook, and others in their petition to the High Parliament of Berlin, a copy of which is in the possession of the New Zealand Government. The final clause in the committee's report, suggesting that because the New Zealand Government have been generous and unselfish enough to declare that they do not wish to benefit by the profits earned from the New Zealand Reparation Estates, but desire that they be used to the extent required in the interests of the Mandated Territory, therefore your committee can demand this, that, and the other information, is not tenable. If such a suggestion were made by a citizens' committee to a private individual who had intimated his intention of devoting the profits of his business to the welfare of the community, I am afraid he would be sorely tempted to change his mind and utilize his money where it would be appreciated without question. Finance (Samoan Reports). (1) The suggestion as to the printing of the Financial Statement in the Samoan language will be referred to His Excellency the Administrator. I would point out this course is not followed in New Zealand, nor in any of its Pacific territories, nor in Fiji. (2) The Legislative Council does at present discuss and approve of the estimates of revenue and expenditure. (3) It would be quite contrary to the Constitution of the Legislative Council and entirely against the public interest to provide for unanimous decisions on the subject of loans as distinct from all others. (4) and (5). These proposals no doubt arise from similar representations made in the report of the European committee, which have been dealt with already. (6) and (7). It has always been the policy of the Administration to employ locally-born people in every position for which they are qualified. The number of locally-born people employed in the Public Service, and the range of their employment, have steadily increased during recent years, and the availability of further positions is entirely in the hands of the people themselves. Medical. The reports submitted by your committees on this subject are similar, and will be dealt with together. (1) Your demand that the Chief Medical Officer should be an expert surgeon and general practitioner is difficult to understand, for, apart from the fact that the present Chief Medical Officer, a responsible official of the New Zealand Department of Public Health, has the most excellent qualifications, he would not be able to carry out the administrative duties attaching to his position if he were occupied with clinical practice. His duties are clearly brought out in the Samoa Health Order, in which the duties of the Chief Medical Officer and Medical Officer of Health are detailed. The present Chief Medical Officer carries out the duties of both those positions. It does appear that the authors of your report have given very little attention to the administrative side involved in the successful carrying-out of medical work throughout the Territory, and that they can have no knowledge whatever of the amount of work involved. (2) Your complaints as to the need for an expert surgeon in the Territory do not disclose a knowledge as to the amount of surgical work required ; nevertheless, since July of last year there has been attached to the Apia Hospital staff a Medical Officer of thirty-four years' experience in his profession, whose special surgical qualification is the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh—the highest surgical degree granted by any Scottish University—and whose excellent services to the Territory are unreservedly acknowledged in the first issue of the newspaper promoted by your movement and edited by one of your members. Which statement do your committee now stand by ? (3) The request for the permission of private practice in the Territory apparently arises also from a miscomprehension of the true state of affairs. I can assure you that no such permission is needed ; the Administration have no objection whatever to the setting-up of practice in Samoa by any properly qualified practitioner. (4) Native Medical Levy. —This tax, the imposition of which provides free medical attention for all Native Samoans, was first proposed to the Fono as an improvement upon the system of payment for medical services and medicines received then existing, and to ensure that all Samoans requiring medical treatment would freely apply for it without hesitation on the ground of inability to meet the expense. It was commenced as a trial only, to be reviewed by the Fono, and when the time came for review only four of the thirty-three districts submitted any point for consideration. Their request was for reduction rather than abolition of the tax, with its attendant benefits, and a reduction was made. It is therefore wholly incorrect to say that this medical levy, which is resulting in such great benefit to the Samoan race, was imposed on the people against their wish. (5) Lack of Interest in Natives. —This charge is made without any foundation whatever. General complaints against the Medical Officers of the Territory have been an outstanding feature of all

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agitations raised in opposition to the Administration, but they have never been substantiated. lam compelled to recall to your memory a series of fourteen allegations which were made in 1922 against the administration of the Medical Department at the instigation of the Apia Chamber of Commerce, of which most of your committee were prominent members. These charges—some serious and some trivial —were inquired into by a Commission consisting of His Honour the Chief Judge, Mr. C. R. Orr Walker, who found two of the complaints to be in some part true but quite trivial and unavoidable, and the other twelve to be entirely disproved. His Honour concluded his report as follows :— '' I deem it but fair to remark that, notwithstanding the fourteen allegations —some serious and some trivial —no adverse comment can be made upon the management of the hospital, whilst the staff have come through the ordeal of the inquiry with their reputation absolutely unsullied." The Administration, in view of the present state of health of the Native people, quite properly resent any inference that the Medical Service of the Territory is in the least degree less efficient than it was in 1922, and your assertions in this respect must be dismissed as being not only untrue but quite unsupported. On the other hand, I refer you to the high tributes paid to our Medical Department by two such highly qualified and impartial observers as Dr. S. M. Lambert, Director of Pacific Operations, Rockfeller Foundation, U.S.A., and Dr. Norman Whyte, travelling representative of the Medical Secretariat, League of Nations, Geneva. But the most striking testimony is to be found in the steady increase of the Samoan people in health and numbers. The natural increase last year constituted a record. (6) European Nurses. —It is a travesty of facts to infer that the nine European sisters attend only to the 144 European in-patient admissions for the year. It is rather unbelievable that the authors of your report are so little conversant with their subject as to imply that the Samoan in-patients receive no treatment or supervision from the European sisters. There are nine European women on the staff —one matron and eight sisters. Four sisters are on duty daily in rotation in eight-hour shifts, two being in charge of the European hospital and two of the Samoan ward and Fales. Their hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. One night sister takes charge every night for one month of the whole hospital from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. One siste has charge of the operating-theatre and Samoan out-patient department, being liable to recall as required. One sister is in charge of the maternity department (European and Samoan), lectures to the nurses on midwifery, and is also in charge of the Sisters' Home and is sub-matron. One sister, after completing her month of night duty, acts as relieving sister for the following month to enable the other sisters to have three days off each per month. It has been found that this break is necessary in the climate. In addition, after six months of service, each sister gets seven days' leave added to her three days' monthly allowance. There is no annual holiday given other than the days mentioned. This plan works well, the work in the Samoan ward and Fales being very trying, especially in hot or wet weather owing to the absence of shade and shelter. The Administration has wisely decided, after due deliberation, that one and a half years' continuous work is enough for most European women in Samoa. Two years has been given a trial and has failed, so that it is evident that three years is too much without leaving the Islands. One does not doubt but that a second term of one and a half years might be advantageous from the point of view of the extra knowledge required, but health considerations are paramount. The training received by our sisters in New Zealand before going there is so thorough that they very soon adapt themselves to the altered conditions in the tropics ; and, after all, the principles underlying nursing treatment are the same for every form of diseases. The European sisters in Samoa perform two important functions— (1) They take complete charge of either the European or Samoan ward, and are responsible to the matron and Resident Medical Officer that the work is properly carried out and that the ward equipment is kept in good order. It is absolutely essential to have a white sister at each end of the hospital, as without supervision little or no work would be done and no proper treatment given. (2) They teach the Samoan nurses, and this is very important, as nursing-work can only be taught by careful instruction on the part of those in charge of the wards, and I am satisfied that this is conscientiously done in Samoa. Expense of one-and-a-half-years system as against three years : The difference in cost to the Administration between bringing down and returning four nurses, with their salaries, &c., in three years is £80 more than if two nurses stayed for three years —a sum more than balanced by the possibilities of a breakdown necessitating more frequent changes. I am advised that we cannot do with less than our present staff of European sisters, as a smaller staff would mean longer hours (which cannot be worked in that climate) and a considerable loss of efficiency. We want more Native nurses, and so we must see they are properly trained. Sanitary Inspectors.—These are absolutely necessary in every community which is sufficiently advanced to go in for sanitation, particularly in conjunction with any hookworm campaign. Both the Inspectors are hardworking, honest men, and well worth their salary. The Senior Inspector has to make rapid trips round Apia and districts, and is therefore entitled to transport for the purpose. It is impossible to compare his position or salary with that of the Postmaster, who, in any case, cannot lay claim to transport allowance. lam satisfied that the work of a Sanitary Inspector in any Native community is of the highest importance, and carries with it great responsibility. It is doubtful if any of the members of your committee appreciate the qualifications required of these Inspectors ; and, again, you carefully refrain from referring to a similar sanitary campaign which has just been started in Tonga. The Lady Secretary. —The present Medical Superintendent of the hospital has had three year's experience of this hospital—more than one year of which has been spent in charge of it—and, in his opinion, the Secretary is not overpaid for the work done. The office is now far more efficiently staffed

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than formerly, and all accounts are properly checked before being passed for payment. The work of the Secretary is by" no means a sinecure. There are grave doubts as to the ability of any locallyborn person to do the|work as efficiently. Her salary is £320 per annum. Native Medical Practitioners. —The Administration is already sending two cadets annually from Samoa for training as Native medical practitioners in Suva. If, as suggested in the Samoan report, these cadets should be sent to New Zealand or Australia to qualify, it would take them two years' hard study to learn enough English to master even the rudiments of medicine or surgery, which would of necessity be taught in that language. Of one of the suggested trainees named by you I have no knowledge, or of his ability, but I am informed that he was dismissed from the Department, presumably not without sufficient reasons. Native Affairs. I have more than once made it plain that I do not recognize any obligation to consider the " European report " on this subject, as the Native people of Samoa are fully competent and at liberty to submit representations on any subject to the Administration. In my opinion, no good could arise from the conducting of correspondence or any other relationship with the Samoan people through the medium of a self-constituted unofficial European committee. At the same time, your committee's efforts having achieved such publicity on various matters as to create a totally incorrect impression of them, I am forced to state briefly my impressions. The method of appointment of Eaipules has already been dealt with in connection with your representations as affecting the Legislative Council; and the criticism of the Administration witli respect to the status of the Fautuas is completely repudiated by a statement addressed to me and signed by the Fautuas themselves and by each member of the Fono, expressing complete confidence in the Administration, and asking that steps be taken to end your committee's activities. This statement will be published as part of the correspondence which I propose to lay before Parliament. I must construe your further allegations as to the lack of representative authority by the Faipules as arising from the distinct repudiation which the Faipules instantly made to your claim to speak on behalf of Native interests, when the present agitation was first commenced. The further inference that the Faipules have no hereditary standing among their own people is dealt with in the following statement by the Secretary of Native Affairs, the late Mr. H. S. Griffin, whose high character, love for the Samoan people, and knowledge of Native custom cannot be questioned :— " Quite a lot of use has been made of the expression ' hereditary ' titles, &c., by the committee of three members of the Legislative Council lately. One would begin to wonder whether this is done through ignorance of Samoan custom, or whether it is done wilfully to mislead the people of New Zealand. At the outset let me say that there is very little in Samoan life that can be classed as necessarily hereditable ; certainly not titles. It is quite true that they may be transmitted from parent to child, but such is the exception rather than the rule. The election by the family or people to a title and position as head of a family .is almost a daily occurrence in Samoa. The person elected is chosen by the people, or family, or clan who have a voice in the title, irrespective of his relationship to the immediate predecessor. But when he is invested with the title he immediately becomes head of the family or clan in all discussions with other chiefs or orators. He assumes control over all lands of the clan, and the prestige of the family is vested in him. This law applies to all titles, from that of minor chiefs and orators to the holders of the highest titles in the land. So when the members of the Legislative Council refer to the Faipules as being nominated and appointed by His Excellency the Governor, and that they do not represent the voice of the people, they make a statement that is not true ; for, in the first place, the Faipule is the highest chief in the district he represents, and he has already been elected to the title he holds in his district by the leading people in his district. In appointing the Faipule, therefore, for any particular district His Excellency has only to know the names of the leading chiefs in the district; and to appoint a man who did not hold the necessary high title in his district would be to court disaster, for he would not have the prestige to back up his appointment as Faipule of the Government." Further, the Faipule is not the only authority in his district, for every village has its Committee of Chiefs who are also represented on the District Council of Chiefs. Villages and districts are therefore practically governed in a most democratic manner by committees composed of men whose record and actions constantly show that they do not hesitate to express their views or differ from those in authority when occasion demands. The custom of local banishment (i.e., from one district within the Territory to another) or removal of titles from Samoans who have offended against criminal law or their own social code is so well known by yourselves to have existed amongst the Samoan people from the earliest times that your statements can have no other effect than misleading. public opinion outside the Mandated Territory. The present method, by which the power is placed in the hands of the Administrator and used only after consultation with Native advisers, is considered by the Samoans themselves to be exercised in a fair and considerate manner. They have publicly said so. The practice is not one which has been imposed upon the Samoans —it has always existed with them, and the present participation of the Administrator in the exercise of it is based upon the very principle of assistance to Native races for which the mandates came into existence. I say advisedly that any attempt in the present stage of the social and political development of the Samoan people to force a consideration of this power from the viewpoint of a civilized democracy is entirely wrong. British experience of Native administration covers instances of many similar customs which are accepted and engrafted into the minds of the people, making their administration so removed from that of a modern civilized community as to present little or no similarity whatever The custom is thus described in the considered view of the Fono of Faipules : — "We plead with Your Excellency to keep on steering our ship. Regarding their story of harsh administration and tyrannical punishments, it is obvious they do not know our history or

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our earlier Samoan customs, or they would know that the present forms of punishment are accepted by us as mild and kindly administered." It is necessary to recall to your recollection that one method of punishment in these cases by the Samoans themselves was to place the offending chief in a paopao (dug-out canoe) with a few coconuts and set him adrift in the open Pacific. This is such an important subject and has been so misrepresented that I deem it necessary for the enlightenment of the public within and beyond the Dominion to quote in full the explanation furnished to me by His Excellency the Administrator, as follows :— " No individual chief can in these days wield autocratic power, and the system of properly constituted committees not only prevents this, but the Faipules themselves are subject to the same laws as other Natives, and in their cases they are rigorously enforced. If a Faipule misuses his authority or is guilty of misconduct, he is promptly dealt with, and if the seriousness of the offence merits it he is deprived of his appointment and sometimes his title also. No title is, however, taken away from any chief in these days without a very thorough investigation by a special Native committee, whose duty it is to inquire into the circumstances of the offence, and to advise the Administrator on two points—viz., (1) What punishment would be awarded according to Samoan custom ; (2) what punishment will meet the case in the present circumstances. " The punishment of chiefs for various offences by depriving them of their title is not restricted to Samoa, as the reports from other colonies show. The following is from a report just received from another colony : ' The depositions of two Head Chiefs and four Chiefs were also confirmed.' " The deprivation of titles is a very old established Samoan custom. It was sufficiently important to be dealt with by Pratt in his Samoan Dictionary, who gives the translation of the word formerly used by the Natives for this custom, ' Fa'aevaeva' (=your titles are taken away). " Owing to the harsh methods of punishment adopted by the Natives themselves in carrying out this custom, the German Governor of this Territory issued a Proclamation in 1901 prohibiting the Natives from themselves exercising the custom of banishment, and reserved the power unto himself to deal with such matters. This Proclamation was re-enacted in 1922 in the Samoan Offenders Ordinance, which gives power to the Administrator to himself banish or deprive of title any Samoan whose conduct he considers to be prejudicial to peace, order, and good government. I have never used this power in an autocratic manner, but consider each case sympathetically and ensure that before I give final decision the offender has had a proper trial, and, furthermore, that the evidence is subsequently submitted to a Committee of Faipules for their consideration and advice. By this means it is ensured that titles are not removed without the fullest consideration, not only by the Administration authorities, but by a committee of disinterested members of the Samoan race, for no chief who has any personal interest in the case is allowed to sit on such inquiry. As an illustration of such cases, — "No. 1. A Faipule of high standing was reported for repeatedly attempting sexual offences against his taupou, a most serious offence fa a Samoa —i.e., according to Samoan custom. His brother Faipules did not hesitate to recommend the deprivation of his title and his dismissal from his official position. Had they done otherwise, they would have been guilty of partiality in the eyes of their people. " No. 2. A chief was found guilty of making intoxicating liquor and selling it to Natives. He also robbed his own people of a large sum of money. He also was considered to be unfit to retain his title. " When titles are taken away from a person, they are not controlled by the Administrator, but by the family, who are free to withhold it until the chief has served his punishment or pardoned, and to restore it to him, or to give it to any other person which the family agree upon. " Thus, in the first place, titles are bestowed by the family, who hold a Saofa'i on the death of a chief, for this purpose ; secondly, the Natives themselves have the fullest possible say in depriving of titles which have been so bestowed ; and, thirdly, they have the power to reinstate any person who has been deprived of his title. " No fairer or juster means of dealing with titles could be imagined, and I can certify to the whole of Samoa approving of this system, with the exception, perhaps, of a small number who themselves have offended and have been deprived of titles, and who wish me personally to reinstate them, the power for which does not rest with me, but with their own families." Your committee's agitation for the removal of the prohibition which the Samoans voluntarily placed upon themselves in regard to the holding of fine-mat ceremonies conveys to the Government no earnest of your expressed declaration that " the welfare and advancement of the Samoan Natives are identical with the best interests of the European settlers and residents." The whole of the thirty-three Faipules asked for this regulation to be tried for three years, and at the end of that three years, during which period your committee's views were spread amongst the Samoans, the Faipules have confirmed it. Their considered opinion is that there are fewer troubles amongst the Samoans to-day, and plantations are better cared for as a result of the reduction in the number of journeys undertaken in connection with these ceremonies, which often caused acute hardship due to the burdening of one village with almost the entire population of another for such a duration of time as caused all available foodstuffs to be devoured. In plain words, such village is eaten out of house and home. As you know, these same considerations forced the Administrations of both Samoas to restrict by legal enactment the number and duration of cricket matches between villages. The position with respect to malagas is well explained by Robert Louis Stevenson in his " Footnote to History," as follows : — " But the special delight of the Samoan is the malaga. When people form a party and go from village to village, junketing and gossiping, they are said to go on a malaga. Their songs have

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announced their approach ere they arrive ; the guest-house is prepared for their reception ; the virgins of the village attend to prepare the kava-bowl and entertain them with the dance ; time flies in the enjoyment of every pleasure which an islander conceives ; and when the malaya sets forth, the same welcome and the same joys expect them beyond the next cape, where the nearest village nestles in its grove of palms. To the visitors it is all golden ; for the hosts it has another side. In one or two words of the language the fact slyly peeps forth. The same word (afemoeima) expresses ' a long call' and 'to come as a calamity ' ; the same word (lesolosolou) signifies ' to have no intermission of pain ' and ' to have no cessation, as in the arrival of visitors ' ; and soua, used of epidemics, bears the sense of being overcome as with 'fire, flood, or visitors.' But the gem of the dictionary is the verb alovao, which illustrates its pages like a humorous wood-cut,. It is used in the sense of 'to avoid visitors,' but it means literally ' hide in the wood.' So, by the sure hand of popular speech, we have the picture of the house deserted, the malaga disappointed, and the host that should have been, quaking in the bush." I cannot, therefore, agree that any motive for the good of the Samoans has prompted your request for the reinstatement of this custom, and refer you again to the views of the Fono " Their agitation re fine mats is only so that many barrels of beef may be bought from their stores in connection with fine mat malagas. We know that they in the past meant trouble, dissension, waste time, and. even war and bloodshed." Your suggestion that by " a- stroke of the pen " the Administration prohibited the custom by which the Native people of Apia were, inflicted for indefinite periods with visitors from other districts (who in courtesy they could not refuse to maintain) is again incorrect. Over a period of two years the Administrator had received repeated requests from every district to prevent its boys and girls from going to Apia, where they became idle persons, learnt undesirable habits, and were often a cause of trouble, and to require them to return to their homes where they were needed and would lead useful lives. No prohibition is made upon those who are actually in employment in Apia, and lam advised by His Excellency that this is one of the best regulations which have been formulated by the Faipules, for it is supported by all Samoans excepting those whose idle habits it has curtailed. Only recently in Suva the Fijians held a meeting and decided to adopt the same principle to their own people from out-districts who come to Suva and who remained there out of employment, as they become a burden to the local Natives, as well as a discredit to their race. You have not alluded to this in your comparison of Samoa with Fiji. Individualization of Land.- -I am assured that this policy does not mean the alienation of Native lands, or the abolition of the communal system, but merely the allocation of areas of land to individual Natives who have no land for their own use. The previous system made no provision for any land to be cultivated other than that held under the control of the Matai—i.e., head of the family—and thus no young man would fell bush and cultivate land for himself, because he could not be assured of benefiting from the results of his labour. The proposal to allocate a section of land to each young man without land was considered a good proposal by most of the Matais themselves, and it is indeed difficult to see in what manner the cultivation of land by the Samoan can progress without this incentive. The policy is not being forced upon the Natives, but is being taken up in each district only with the concurrence and approval of the District Councils, and at present, out of 156 villages in Samoa, only about fifty have commenced any activity in this direction. Again I call your attention to the fact that an entirely identical system is now in operation in the Native Kingdom of Tonga, though your committee have not mentioned this fact in your comparison of Samoa with Tonga. I cannot conclude my reply to your committee's representations on matters purely affecting the Samoans without stressing the fact that each individual item which has been advanced is entirely repudiated by the Samoans themselves through their District Councils and their Fono of Faipules. Prohibition. The policy of absolute prohibition for Western Samoa was the unanimous decision of the National Government of New Zealand (which represented all political parties) in 1919, and the present Government have no intention of altering the existing law, which is essential in the interests of the Samoan people. The policy has been imposed in pursuance of the mandate injunction that the supply of intoxicating spirits and beverages to the Natives shall bejprohibited. But I cannot believe that the Natives themselves support your committee in this request for the repeal of the law prohibiting the open sale of alcoholic liquor. Labour and Agriculture. Your report upon these subjects is forwarded to me with the reservation that your committee as a whole cannot endorse it in full. The Planters' Association, when interviewing me at Apia, publicly disassociated themselves entirely from your movement. In short, they repudiated your committee. However, as you and the individual members of your committee have attacked the policy of the New Zealand Government in respect of their Reparation Estates in Western Samoa, and of the Samoan Administration in respect of the assistance granted to the Native copra-growers to market their produce, I deem it right to state the actual position regarding these two points for the information of the general public. In the first place, the New Zealand Government, having regard to the terms of the mandate and to the future welfare of the indigenous people of Samoa, decided as a matter of considered policy to retain the fee-simple of the estates which they acquired in Samoa as part of their war-reparation payment. This policy was definitely stated in the first Mandate Report sent to the League of

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Nations in 1921. I quote from page 4 of that Beport, under the heading " Crown Estates," as follows :— " The New Zealand Government has decided to administer these plantations as Crown estates, and to use the profits derived from them to supplement the ordinary revenue of the Samoan Treasury as may be required from time to time in providing those works and services which are considered necessary in fulfilment of the obligation imposed on it, as mandatory, to ' promote to the utmost the material Mid moral well-being and the social progress of the inhabitants of the Territory.' " At no time have the Government considered the question of the sale of these estates. It is true they were twice offered to the public on long lease. On neither occasion did the Government consider the rentals adequate, and no lease was accepted. On the second occasion the New Zealand Government, in deciding to reject the offers, had in mind an even more important reason than the inadequacy of the rentals—namely, the fact that the Samoan race is now so rapidly increasing in numbers, as a result of our medical work, that these large areas of the best land in the Territory would be required to meet the land-hunger of the growing population long before the leases expired—and, therefore, it would be contrary to the interests of the Samoan people to let the control of these estates pass from the Government. The principal estates have accordingly been operated as going concerns under the management of a Board of Control in Samoa. They have been and are being most successfully managed, and are now earning large profits. I was privileged on my visit to inspect them all, and as a practical farmer I found them in splendid condition. A number of the smaller plantations, consisting principally of cocoa estates, which by reason of their size and isolation make effective operation and oversight difficult and expensive, have been leased to experienced local planters. The foresight and wisdom of the Administration in respect to the retention of these estates have been proved, because already it has been necessary to make some of the undeveloped bush areas available for the needs of the Native people. As you know, the Samoan Administration are not trading in copra. What has happened is this : For years past the Administration have steadily urged the Samoan Natives, who produce four-fifths of the total copra output for the Territory, to improve the quality so that it should have a recognized status in the world's markets and realize the highest prices obtainable for the first-quality article. I may mention, in passing, that the reputation of what is known as " South Seas copra " is so bad in the London and European markets that the copra is practically unsaleable. S|The Samoan Natives have responded to the appeal of the Administration, which, by the way, was also the first in the South Facific to pass a Copra Inspection Ordinance, even to. the extent of installing several community driers ; but in recent years they have been making this appeal to His Excellency : —• " We have responded to your urging, and have improved our copra and given it such a good name that it commands the best prices in the markets of the world, but we are still getting the low prices of old from the traders ; we are not benefiting by all our increased care, and labour, and expense ; we are getting no better price than is paid for South Seas copra, and very much less than our relatives in American Samoa, who last year received nearly £20 per ton, as against our average price of £12 per ton. Is there no way in which you can help us ? " The Administration, with my full approval, thereupon informed the Samoan people that it would make available to them, if they so desired, the machinery of the New Zealand Beparation Estates for marketing their copra which came up to the standard of quality laid down for Government-produced copra in the markets of the world. The Administration do not buy this copra. A Native brings his produce to the nearest Government plantation, and if its quality satisfies the manager he receives it, weighs it, and gives the Native owner a receipt, on production of which the Beparation Estates Department makes a conservative advance, such as any bank or commercial firm makes against shipping documents. When that copra is sold the Native owner receives the full price paid, less his proportion of shipping and other overhead charges. It has been found that the conservative advance to which I have referred in most cases is higher than the price paid by the district trader. I had an opportunity of seeing the scheme in actual operation during my visit to the Mulifanua coconut plantation. This measure of assistance is exactly the same as that which has been given by the Administration to the European cocoa and copra planters since the severe depression of 1921, which assistance the Planters' Association in the report that they submitted through the Citizens' committee on the 7th December last, before they disassociated themselves from the latter, acknowledge in these terms :— " We wish you to understand that the Administration have been sympathetic and have assisted us in many ways . . . We fully appreciate the Administration's attitude towards us." In my view, the Administration would not have been justified in refusing the same measure of help to the Samoan Native copra-producers as it has freely given to the European planters. For the last financial year about 10,500 tons of Native copra was produced in Western Samoa, and practically the whole of this was shipped through the local European merchants. An impartial and experienced authority on tropical Native countries has said this :—- " I suppose it should be accepted as an axiom that any organization, such as a Government or missionary society which is working in a Native territory primarily in the interests of the indigenous population, should be regarded with suspicion if it is not incurring the hostility of the trading and planting community." I have written the foregoing reply being convinced that it discloses an accurate exposition of the situation as it exists in all its aspects in Western Samoa to-day. Forwarded through His Excellency the Administrator of Western Samoa. Yours faithfully, W. Noswobthy, Minister of External Affairs.

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PETITION FORWARDED BY CERTAIN RESIDENTS OF WESTERN SAMOA ON 4th FEBRUARY, 1910, TO THE HIGH PRESIDENT OF THE GERMAN PARLIAMENT IN BERLIN. To the High President of the German Parliament in Berlin. Guided by our desire to generally advance the best interests of this beautiful Colony of Samoa, and in our struggle for life in this country, we respectfully ask the German Parliament to hear our grievances, and to assist us to better our circumstances. Ten years ago, when the German flag was raised, most of the inhabitants believed that then would come a peaceful prosperous advancement. These expectations have so far only been partially achieved. Unfortunately, most of the foreign inhabitants now living in Samoa believe that most unsound conditions rule in these islands, and that measures taken by the Administration are, and have been, oppressive and unprofitable, and have retarded the advancement and the happiness of the colony. The majority of the white residents believe that many of the Ordinances issued by the Administration have been useless and oppressive. If the Reichstag have decided that Samoa must support its own Administration, the inhabitants accept this dictum with alacrity, as it is easy of accomplishment. But it is highly desirable that the colonists may have as far as possible the right to govern themselves. Those who pay the rates ought to control the expenditures. This is the chief desire of the petitioners, and most of the inhabitants of the colony. W T e beg the German Parliament to strongly support this justifiable wish. Before the hoisting of the German flag at Mulinu'u the Berlin General Act was in force, and Samoa was self-supporting and self-governing. And with very light taxation a lot of improvement and betterments took place which the older residents remember with great satisfaction. Therefore it has been demonstrated that self-government in this place is not only possible, but has been advantageous. We find that we have no voice in the expenditures of the taxes, and that we do not even learn how the money has been disposed of. Excluding the official members, the Government Council, which has only an advisory vote, consists of five planters and a merchant who does not speak German. True, two of these planters have also commercial interests, but their planting interests are much greater. This Council, with limited powers, and as now constituted, does not represent the majority of the taxpayers or their wishes. We may say that this Council chiefly represents the interests of a certain firm whose desires differ very much from those of the majority of the colonies. We believe that the Government Council ought to be periodically elected by the ratepayers, from whom these nominations should emanate, and the meetings of this Council should be public. We think that this Council should arrange the taxation and the Budget, and that it should have an advisory voice in connection with Native affairs. As other German colonies who do not support themselves already have self-government, we feel that we may justly claim that we too may enjoy these privileges. From self-government we certainly would expect good results. In such a case the Home Administration would be largely relieved of much annoying work. As the Colonial Office only have before them the reports of the highest officials here, they cannot know the wishes of the majority of the people. Matters here often change rapidly, and it is desirable that actions of importance may take place with celerity. Frequently requests sent to Germany are declined, or granted after very loilg delay, and when the answer reaches Samoa the subject-matter has been passed out of sight and is no longer of interest. If such affairs could be settled in Samoa much time and much expense could be saved. Of the 435 white population of Samoa, fifty-eight of these are Government officials ; while in the year 1902, with about the same number of whites and Natives, there were only twenty-two white officials. Under the Berlin General Act there were even less officials than in 1902. More than 260,000 marks is paid away to the white officials alone as salaries, and this is more than one-half of the whole income of the colony. Such a great official staff is both extravagant and harmful. Self-government would replace many of these expensive officials with locally appointed people, who would be of more value, being better acquainted with prevailing conditions, and who would be willing to labour seven or eight hours per day instead of four or five ; thus a less number of people would be needed to do the work properly. The three-year contract made with governmental employees could be made to extend to five years, as the climatic conditions here are very healthful. Merchants, who work much harder and longer hours, cannot afford themselves frequent and expensive holidays ; in fact, they do not feel the need of them. The present conditions are such that out of thirty-eight officials one-third are usually on expensive furloughs, and all of the officials are on heavy tropical salaries, and other perquisites. The almost annual vacations of the Governor derange the affairs of this colony ; but were this colony self-governing such derangement would not be so severely felt. If we had had self-government the taxation law lately promulgated could not have been issued. Because of the injustice of this taxation, against which we strongly protest, a Traders' Association has been formed. This body represents three-quarters of the capital which is invested in business enterprises in German Samoa ; excluding the Deutsches Handels and Plantagen Gesellschaft, and others influenced by them, the association represents 92 per cent, of the capital employed in business in Samoa. The 33,000 Natives resident in Samoa pay 130,000 marks, which is about 4 marks per head ; but from 40,000 to 50,000 marks of this collection is paid back to the Natives in the form of salaries of Native officials, and a further sum of 36,000 marks is also paid back to them for the Native troops. The requirements of the Samoan domestic purposes are trifling, while those of the whites are heavy ; the Native people pay an exceedingly small proportionate share of the import revenues. There are 435 whites and about 400 half-castes registered as whites ; these together pay 98,000 marks, including the house and other taxes, and this amounts to 117 marks per head. There are sixty-five missionaries

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who pay but a trifle, and forty-one officials, who also pay but little, and fifty-six planters, triflingly assessed. It is found that the whole weight of the taxation is practically borne by the merchants and commercial element. Such distinctions as we have here in this assessment would never be tolerated in Germany. The following is a fair example of taxation as it will fall on a small but prosperous trader who makes yearly a profit of, say, 3,000 marks : — Present taxation—Store, 300 marks (license) ; two copra-weighing sheds, 100 marks ; polltax, 25 marks : total, 425 marks (license, &c.). Old rates—so marks for same privileges. Advance in taxation since November last past, 800 per cent. On the other hand, a Government or private employee enjoying a salary of, say, 8,000 marks per annum pays an income-tax of 20 marks, poll-tax of 25 marks, total 45 marks ; and should he receive a salary of 50,000 marks he pays an income-tax of 200 marks and a poll-tax of 25 marks. According to the Ordinance the taxation placed upon the small dealers is inequitable and oppressive : One hundred dealers classified as doing a business of under 50,000 marks, and of these seventy-one out of the hundred are really doing less than 13,000 marks per annum, for which they have to pay a license of 300 marks, while businesses doing a trade up to 200,000 marks only pay 1,000 marks per annum, which abundantly proves how unfair the rates are levied, and how the small trader may be annihilated. The members of the Verein have, or will, pay in Ml the rates demanded, but this they do under protest, and with a view of recovering all of that overpayment which may be made they will take legal action. We believe that the retrospective taxation is wholly unfair, and it is certain that it has upset all previous calculations concerning business ventures. If such measures as this are allowed to pass unchallenged, other oppressive measures may soon follow. It is very hard for a young colony, where the enterprises are still in their infancy, to set out and support itself. But still we are of opinion that this can be done, provided the taxes are fairly levied and expended. We now propose an export tax on produce, as formerly ; and though we are aware that the German Government did not approve this impost for New Guinea, we point out that here in Samoa the conditions are very different, as coconuts have long been grown, and these plantations are now paying heavy dividends. The D.H. and P.G. pay the largest share of their handsome dividends from the output of their plantations, and the profits thereon. An export tax on copra would produce from 80,000 to 100,000 marks per annum if levied at 10 marks per ton, and a large proportion of this would be borne by the Natives, who annually sell from 6,000 to 7,000 tons of copra. The direct Native taxes largely go back to these people in the form of salaries to the Native officials. If an export tax were put on copra it would scarcely be felt by them. In time to come cacao and rubber may also be taxed as it passes out of Samoa. We believe that the Administration and an interested group supporting it have an undue influence with the press in Samoa, and that free discussion within proper limits is not attainable in the local Zeitung. We feel that such a condition is unwarranted and harmful. We call attention to the following extravagant expenditures which have been carried out under this Administration, and which a self-governing Council never would have permitted—namely, the purchase of the old villa known as " Vailima " for 180,000 marks; the building of a hospital fence, 9,000 marks ; the demolition of valuable buildings and their sale for small sums to private purchasers, while they might with small repairs have answered for many years; and these materials, in a perfectly sound state, are now built into other structures, and will last for years and years. We think that the hospital is expensively managed. We feel that the Native soldiers, which with their officers cost about 40,000 marks, are useless and serve no good purpose—as, when it appeared that there might be trouble here some time ago, the authorities took occasion to extract the locks from the rifles of their own soldiers These men are used at present as unnecessary sentries, and as servants of the officials. If proper economies can be practised the foliowi tig important affairs may be undertaken : Harbour-works ; dredger ; blasting boat-passages ; reclaiming of the foreshore ; street-widening ; steam-roller; water-carts; opening up of the back country; erecting of a Customhouse for general use, instead of renting expensively from the favoured company. If we had self-government here we would ere this have segregated the lepers, which are a real public danger. More schools and teachers are required—the present Land Ordinances are all in the favour of the one company, who have for sale large tracts which they mean to market before Native or other lands may be admitted for legal disposal. This favoured company have publicly stated in their published balance-sheets of 1907 that in consequence of the restrictive Ordinances made to stop the sale of Native holdings they may be able in time to sell large tracts of their lands. We see in this present Land Ordinance one of the greatest obstacles to the development of the colony, and to the trade we might do with the Fatherland. Even if the Native population should double itself within a reasonable time, there still will be thousands of acres of unoccupied good land which never can come into use by Native energy. Experience right here in Samoa has proved that small settlers can be successful, and as a rule they are the backbone of every country. The present Administration and the interested group already referred to do not seem to favour this class of settler. We are of the opinion that the German Government has acquired colonies for the purpose of finding employment for German capital, and homes for its surplus inhabitants where they can be warmly received and helped without discommoding the Native people.

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The new taxation law is very hard upon small people, and may drive many of them out of business, to become a burden upon the community. A tax upon unimproved lands would supply a considerable revenue to our light Treasury, and it would make speculation in lands unprofitable. The D.H. & Ptg. Ges., who held 75,000 acres of these lands purely for speculative purposes, have consistently objected to a tax upon unimproved lands. They have about 6,000 acres already under cultivation, and if they really intended to cultivate further, a few thousand acres would supply all their needs, while the balance, if arable, might be sold. The present Land Ordinance seems expressly made to facilitate the sale of their properties. Why should this be the case, when it is against the best interests of the whole colony ? The time has now arrived when the interests of the D.H. & Ptg. Ges. ought not to take precedence of the best interests of German Samoa. If this company has ever at any time performed any services which the Empire has felt grateful for, the Empire has discharged these obligations in full long ago by favours innumerable and onerous. Any further concessions or favours are granted at the expense of the other colonists, and the best prospects of the whole colony. It is not our intention to take much cognizance of Native affairs ; but we believe that we express the opinion of the majority by saying, if certain diverse wishes of the Natives, which we also feel are just, were considered, then the whole subject of ruling them, with even a firmer hand, would be easy of accomplishment, and then they would willingly pay a larger share towards the upkeep and prosperity of our local treasury. The colonists desire to create a proper waterworks for Apia, to improve its harbour and make it safe, to connect with the world's cables, and to encourage an opposition steamship line ; but under the present system none of these things can be considered. Such great works might be nearer to fulfilment if the colony were self-governing, and especially if the colony might obtain permission to raise a needed loan. In the foregoing pages we have given some only of the many grievances and drawbacks which this colony has had to bear. Our chief complaint has been against the overgovernment, and the retrospective taxes levied ; but self-control at this end is really our main desire, and, we honestly think, the best and the easiest of all cures for our present disordered state. L. K. Schmidt. Alp. Preuss. T. Niebuhr. G. E. L. Westbrook. 4th February, 1910. Fr. Nelson.

Authority : W. A. G. Skinner, Government Printer, Wellington.—l 927

Price Is. Od.]

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