Samoa’S Trials.

From Our Own Correspondent.

APIA, April 17.

PEOPLE in Samoa are in festive mood, in anticipation of the ceremonial visit of the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe, and party, who are expected in a few days. Most elab orate and painstaking preparations have been made to assure a successful pro gramme. It is hard for Samoan settlers, Europeans and Samoans alike to present a cheerful fare to our distinguished visi tors and to pretend a studied careless ness and “joie de vivre” which is unreal and absent in their daily lives.

Samoa has been hard hit lately. First of all, copra prices dropped to a new low level of about £10 per ton on the Lon don market, have struck rock bottom, and even the natives, unhampered by labour costs, refuse to cut their copra at the local price of % cent, so that stores face another ruinous drop in sales.

On top of this, wireless news reached Samoa a few days ago, that cocoa, of which about 700 tons —representing an

outlay of approximately £65,000, are stored unsold in American and English markets, is absolutely unsaleable with no prospects of improvement in the near future. A conference of cocoa buyers of Apia decided to continue buying their customers produce, though at lower prices, merely on speculation; but, under the circumstances, Samoan planters nat urally face the future with grave mis givings.

To make things worse for the unfor tunate cocoa planter, a new period of heavy rains has set in and for weeks past we have had few sunny days. The continuous rain has done considerable damage to the cocoa crop prospects for the present year, after the early cocoa crop had already suffered largely by the heavy January rains.

The Administration is, in conse quence of the above circumstances, faced by another prospective decrease in revenue. Though all classes of the Euro pean population have joined whole heartedly in the preparations to give a worthy reception to the visiting repre sentative of His Majesty, the Mau re mains aloof and only the loyal natives of Apia and outside districts will take part in large numbers in the festivities, especially in the large Ta’alolo, the cere monial “King’s Kava” and the firelight night dance.

The European programme embraces, amongst other features, visits to schools and institutions, presentation of a loyal address by European representatives, a planters’ reception with demonstrations of cocoa curing and production at Tu anaimato plantation, arranged by the Planters’ Association’s President (Mr.

Gock); horse races on April 22, and the large Citizens’ Ball on the evening of the same day. All the programme, though interesting and varied, has been planned with due consideration of the straightened circumstances of most re sidents at the present time and the Ad ministration has managed to do every thing necessary at surprisingly small cost to the budget. It is hoped that, as a reward for the strenuous endeavours of all concerned, the rainy clouds will break and let “Old Sol” get a chance to show Samoa at its very best.