Western Samoa

The Need for Peace - Causes of Political Unrest - Copra and Bananas

From Our Own Correspondent.

THE Pacific Islands Monthly has been read in Samoa with great interest and is acknowledged here by the European community, and especially by the planters, to be the most valuable and interesting publica tion in the Pacific, designed to rep resent the interests of the European settlers.

Your remarks on the political situ ation, criticising the N.Z. Administra tion as well as Mr. Nelson and the Mau, in a straightforward manner, and pointing to the urgent need for a speedy settlement of the trouble, are much appreciated here.

It would be worth while to explain the views of the large majority of Europeans here, who are neither Gov ernment officials nor Mau men, nor Nelson supporters. The Europeans and the planters, practically without exception, have from the start of the trouble, in 1926, steadfastly adhered to their policy not to take sides in the fight between the Administration and the natives. They consider the matter to be one of native policy in which Europeans have no right to interfere —though planters, as well as merch ants, have during the past few years suffered in many ways from the dis turbed situation.

At present not much is known about the plans and intentions of the new Administrator, General Hart. He has just finished a tour of inspection around Savaii and, according to some reports, has met with open hostility in the Palauli district, on the South coast of Savaii, inhabited by the most fanatical Mau adherents.

If it is true that the Administrator wants to placate the natives and try to gain their goodwill by patting them on the back, this will not improve the situation. It must not be for gotten that Mr. Nelson, in New Zea land, through his representatives in Samoa, has much influence with the native movement; and an unfavour able feeling was created concerning him by a recent report that his represen tatives tried to persuade the Mau nat ives to deal only with Nelson’s stores.

If this was so the move did not suc ceed.

After all, the Mau is not dead yet, as the Administration would have the

public believe. But, without doubt, the movement would have died a natural death long ago, if it was not for the incessant activities of certain gentle men. The natives themselves are heartily sick of it and especially of the large sacrifices in money they are continuously asked to make for pur poses unknown to them, and which have brought little success so far.

The political troubles, coupled with the trade depression, have created a bad situation in Samoa. And, so far, nobody can see the hoped-for silver lining in the clouds. At a time when all classes of the population should pull together to find ways out of the bad economic position, the people are divided into hostile camps, with little prospect of bringing them together.

The main product of Samoa is still copra, and, as the copra price paid to the natives by the traders is only ¾ cent per lb. at present, the spending power of the natives is much curtailed and, consequently, the traders on the many stations in Upolu and Savaii are very hard up at the present time. The output of copra has much decreased of late and the natives are inclined to cut just enough for their barest needs. How the larger firms can afford to keep running their many outside trading stations, which in numerous cases will show no profits whatever, is something of an enigma. A result of this situation is that almost weekly traders are before the court for short ages and defalcations, and the jail is filled with traders —whites, half-castes and Samoans alike.

Our former Administrator, General Richardson, is blamed for many of the troubles Samoa is passing through.

But if he had not started and pro moted the banana industry, and the banana export trade to New Zealand, things would be very much worse now adays in Samoa. During the first half of 1931 the banana plantations were still suffering from the hurricane of December, 1930; but they have recov ered now, and the output is increasing fast. It is hoped that we will ship over 100,000 cases in 1931, and the only trouble may be that shipping space and the demand in New Zealand will not keep pace with the increased produc tion. A large acreage is newly planted in bananas, by European planters as well as by natives.