Judge Ayson’s Claim

WRITING in July from Montreal, Canada, Mr. Marc. T. Greene, in a letter to the editor, makes some interest ing comment on the Samoan administra torship. Sent to Samoa a few years ago to study political and economic conditions there, Mr. Greene, who is an active Ameri can newspaper correspondent, proved himself a keen student of Samoan affairs, and his opinions and views on Samoa and its problems received considerable atten tion.

“The possibility of Judge Ayson, Resi dent Commissioner of the Cook Islands, being made the next Administrator of Western Samoa interests me greatly, be cause I have urged it repeatedly and advocated it at Wellington,” he writes. “I do not think it is too much to say that there is not an executive post in the en tire Pacific having to do with adminis tration of native peoples that Judge Ayson is not qualified to fill, and that he would not fill with distinction. If Samoa gets him as successor to General Hart it will be a most excellent thing and cer tainly will continue the progress General Hart has made toward reconciling the situation there.

“It was a great pleasure and a satis faction to read in the June issue of the Pacific Islands Monthly of the honour awarded by the Empire to Brigadier- General H. E. Hart. Since the same honour was paid two of his predecessors though in one of the cases for just what reason it would be difficult to discover—it was logically due General Hart. But what is more to the point, it was due him for the things he has accomplished in Wes tern Samoa under the most trying con ditions. I, therefore, who ought to and do know something about it, subscribe most enthusiastically to your comments on the award of a knighthood, to him.”