Samoa’S Troubles

"THE man who really could have helped the New Zealand Government in its task of governing Western Samoa was Mr. Griffin,” says a London corres pondent, who knows the South Seas well. ‘‘He died ten years too soon. ‘‘Some of the old hands, such as H.

J. Moors, were in a position to act as advisers, but the autocratic set at the Government buildings were too thick headed to realise how really ‘new chummy’ they were, and they would not accept the proffered help.

“Western Samoa is a really wonderful group, and is peopled by folk who are as far ahead of the average native as the British think they are ahead of back ward Europeans. The Samoans have an outlook on life which is not understood by Europeans: and, further, the average man who is in the Civil Service of Samoa does not consider that he should under stand them.

“Mr. Griffin, being an expert Samoan language translator, was able to under stand what they said to him and, with one or two possible exceptions, he was the only white man who could without effort follow them in any discussion. Mr.

Williams, late of Savai’i, was another, but as they are now both with their fore fathers, all that can be said is that their efforts did not apparently meet with the success they deserved.

“If the people of New Zealand and those of Western Samoa could only agree on and have the B class mandate in stead of the C mandate, 95 per cent. of these troubles would entirely disappear, and Samoa would become that ‘Pearl of the Pacific’ we all knew it to be in our younger days.”