Government Policy

Chinese In Samoa

Government Policy Is Permanent Settlement Permitted?

AN article, sharply criticising the New Zealand Adminis tration for permitting the settle ment of Chinese coolies In West ern Samoa, appeared in The Pacific Islands Monthly, in Aug ust. It was based on information which came to hand from two or three different sources We have now received, from an official source, a letter advising that our article “contained many inaccurate statements and is gen erally misleading.” The writer proceeds: This article apparently was the basis of your leading article and, no doubt, was written on the assumption that the Chinese were being allowed to settle permanently in Western Samoa.

The policy of the New Zealand Ad ministration shows this to be quite contrary to fact. Indeed, on the contrary, the policy has always been to steadily reduce the numbers.

When New Zealand occupied West ern Samoa, in 1914, there were 2,184 Chinese; and, as a matter of fact, in German times there were upwards of 4,000 in the Territory.

Since 1914 the numbers have been steadily reduced until at the date of your issue there were only 916 coolies in Western Samoa.

A transport, the s.s. “Apoey,” ar rived on September 8, with 206 coolies; and on it there were returned to China 403, leaving 719 resident in Western Samoa.

It is true that a coolie was stabbed by another in July last, but this did not occur in a gambling or opium smoking den, as alleged, but took place in broad daylight, at 9 o’clock in the morning, in the main thor oughfare.

No doubt, it can be found that a certain number of coolies, in any community, are given to gambling and opium smoking, but it cannot be said that in Samoa there are any gambling or opium smoking dens, in the objectionable sense your article implies.

We gladly give publicity to the above communication. But, in all fairness, we must point out that it avoids the gravamen of the charge we made —namely, that Chinese are being permitted to settle down per manently in commercial and indus trial pursuits in Samoa, and are inter-marrying or cohabiting with the Samoans and producing a half-caste race. If this is going on to any extent, and the N.Z authorities are permit ting the establishment of a little Chinatown in Samoa, it is time to take serious note of the matter and discuss probable social consequences in relation to the future of the Samoans.

The Chinese are such industrious and skilful workers that keen admin istrators, eager to assist the develop ment of a Territory, are always tempted to permit Chinese settle ments. But the social consequences of the introduction of Chinese settlers to a Polynesian community are so serious and far-reaching as always to offset the material advantages.—-Ed

P.I.M.