iii—A. 4b.

A. —4b.

the wishes of the people of the district, or of the District Council, as to the persons to be appointed to the office. This matter will be fully dealt with later on. For each district or subdistrict a paid Fa'amasino, or Native Magistrate, is appointed for the determination of merely local disputes and the punishment of breaches of local by-laws or regulations. A further step in associating the Samoans with the Government of the country is the establishment of a Fono or meeting of all the Faipules for the discussion and consideration of all matters affecting the whole country. These matters are chiefly brought before the Fono either by the Administrator or by remits from the District Councils. The powers of the Fono are advisory only. The Fono sits twice a year at headquarters, and is presided over by the Administrator. The Administrator is thus enabled to keep in personal touch with his Faipules and to be informed of the current of Samoan opinion. The determinations of the Fono are published in Samoa in the Government Gazette, called the Savali, published in the Samoan language ; and a typewritten record of the determinations of each Fono is given to each Faipule to enable him to communicate them to his people. It may be well to conclude this brief sketch of the Samoan system by a reference to the classes recognized by that system. Firstly, there are the chiefs. They were " of different ranks, some only having power or rank in their own village, others were of higher rank and represented large and powerful families. Then there were others who occupied a still higher position and received an ao or title from some important town or district. The petty chiefs had little or no influence outside their own family and immediate connections." Various causes, amongst them government by a European Administrator, have necessarily reduced the actual power of the chiefs ; but the chiefly titles are still greatly respected by the Samoans —so much so that in the selection of Government officials the possession of a chiefly title is usually a predominating factor. In modern times the chiefly class is very numerous. It is said that in Samoa, out of a population of about 9,507 male adults, there are about 2,985 chiefs of varying grades and tulafales. So in Apolima, which is of small area and consists only of the cone of an otherwise submerged extinct volcano, there are fifteen matais and sixteen taulelea. The next in rank for all practical purposes are the tulafales (the orators or councillors). Dr. Brown (page 432) says : " They were a very powerful and influential class, and in fact the real control of the district was often exercised by them. He would be a very bold chief who dared to act in direct opposition to the advice of the tulafales of his town or district." It was from these two ranks that Government administrative officials were usually selected. The remaining class would be those who had not attained the rank of matai. (Me. and Poly., page 432), " They were not necessarily an inferior, much less a servile class, but were the ordinary members of the respective families having an acknowledged head as their representative. Very few indeed, however, of this class were ineligible for the position of head of the family if a vacancy occurred, and they were selected for the position." We add that the Samoan is greatly indisposed to continuous or systematic labour. The islands are most fertile, and his necessities in food are supplied him with the minimum of effort. The climate is tropical, and the material for building his exceedingly-well-designed houses, or fales, lies ready to his hands. The conditions under which he has for generations lived, and the communal system which obtained, has destroyed any real motive or driving force to labour. It is accepted that Samoan paid labour cannot be used to any great extent in the care of plantations, or in other productive enterprises, and shipping companies trading to the Tongan and Samoan Groups carry their loading and discharging gangs to and from Fiji. Although some reference has already been made to the part taken by Samoans in the government of the Territory, it is necessary to shortly state the system in force since the mandate. J. Pulenu'u and Village Committee.- Each village or each group of villages, which for convenience are grouped together, has a paid official under the Secretary for Native Affairs known as the pulenu'u (town ruler). His duty is to see that the laws and village regulations are observed ;to supervise the cleanliness of the village ; and to collect and account for taxes. He is selected by the people of the village or town, and his appointment is confirmed by the Administrator (page 379).

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