A. —4b.

the years 1919 and 1920 in consequence of the epidemic, twelve were called as witnesses before us in order to deal with complaints as to their conduct. Of these twelve, seven gave evidence that they were appointed after consultation with the people of their district. Of the remaining five, three were not asked as to whether their people were consulted as to their appointment. One of them, named Mala-itai, was appointed in 1919 by Colonel Logan, and one by Colonel Tate after the epidemic. One of them, Tuatagaloa, was Land Titles Commissioner from the German time to his appointment in Colonel Tate's time (see page 290). Fonoti, who was appointed in Colonel Tate's time, was the only witness who said that there was no meeting of his people prior to his appointment. It is, however, to be remembered that these Faipules were appointed between the years 1919 and 1920, a considerable time ago, and we have no reason to disbelieve that Colonel Tate appointed them all on the recommendation of his Secretary for Native Affairs, and had ascertained through his Native advisers whether the appointments were agreeable to the district. The significant fact, however, is that no objection was made to any of these appointments until after the first public meeting, in October, 1926. Of the Faipules appointed during the present regime, Mr. Lewis has said that all were appointed with the approval of the Ali'i and Faipule of the districts concerned. Of the appointees, five were appointed to districts in Savai'i. Captain Bell, at page 320, corroborated generally this evidence. He could not, however, speak with respect to the appointment of Suisala, which was made before Captain Bell took office in Savai'i, and he gave an account of the method in which Seumanutafa was appointed. The Administrator, at page 364, with respect to the appointment of Suisala, says : — The first appointment I made was Suisala, of Fagamalo, on the 18th August, 1923. On this occasion I raised the question of procedure in appointing Faipules with the then Secretary for Native Affairs, who informed me what the previous custom had been —viz., for the Administrator to suggest or nominate one of the most important chiefs in the district, preferably one who had previous experience as a pulenu'u or other official—and to ascertain if his appointment would meet with the approval of the remaining Ali'i and Faipule. To appoint one that was not approved of in this way would cause trouble for the Native Department and the Administrator. I ascertained that Suisala was approved of by his people before I made the appointment. Of the other appointment, that relating to Seumanutafa, Captain Bell says, at page 320: — I did not have any special fono of the Ali'i and Faipule, but on the ordinary fono during my malaga I brought the matter before it and it was discussed. The predecessor of Seumanutafa was a very sick man for about eighteen months or perhaps two years, and he was not able to do any work. Out of sympathy for him I did not call a meeting of the whole of the Ali'i and Faipule, but I discussed the position with him and also with many of the Ali'i and Faipule and Seumanutafa, and they all agreed that he should still act as Faipule because he was a very sound official, capable, and of very high rank. He acted for a while, but as he was so very ill he resigned. He continues : — So far as Seumanutafa was concerned, I did not do much in that matter except to call the adjoining Faipules—four of them—to discuss the position with the village. The matter was again brought forward by the Administrator in the district, and there was no opposition and he was appointed on probation for twelve months. The Administrator in his evidence, after dealing with the appointment of Suisala at page 364, says : — In every one of the remaining nine appointments made by me I have received an assurance from the Native Department that (1) the chief selected was the most suitable for the appointment; (2) that the Ali'i and Faipule approved of the appointment. With one exception, I have visited the districts of these Faipules since their appointment, and the Ali'i and Faipule have expressed to me personally approval of their representative. With a view to making a little progress towards the time when Samoans may be safely trusted to use modern methods of electing their own representatives, I have since 1924 appointed Faipules for three-year periods, a system which the Faipules who had themselves previously received permanent appointments thoroughly approved of. I did not consider it advisable to make the new rule apply to those older Faipules who had been given to understand that their appointments were permanent so long as they carried out their duties satisfactorily.

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