Samoa Welcomes

New Administrator

Prom Our Own Correspondent APIA, March 21.

WESTERN Samoa’s new Administrator, Lieut.-Colonel F. W. Voelcker, arrived in Apia bv the “Matua” on March 4, to take up his new position.

He was accompanied by his elder daughter: his wife and younger daughter are, for the time being, staying in New Zealand.

The new Administrator was given a cordial welcome bv the Samoan people at a Talolo held at Mulinu’u, in the course of which Colonel Voelcker ad dressed the assembled Samoans, and outlined the policy he intended to follow.

He would do his best, he said, to help them in all reasonable aspirations and aims—there would be no promises, but only a clear-cut “yes” or “no” regard ing all matters submitted to him.

He asked the Samoans to have confi dence in him, and to meet him in the same honest and straightforward way in which he intended to meet them.

The European community welcomed the new Administrator at a ball and recep tion held at the Tivoli Theatre on March 19. It proved to be a highly-successful function, and was attended by represen tatives of all sections of the community.

The friendly, cordial and democratic wav in which Colonel Voelcker mixed with the large crowd, and his unassum ing ways have made a great impression on the public.

There were enthusiastic cheers when he announced that the Governor’s residence at Vailima—the historic home of Robert Louis Stevenson--would from now on be thrown open to the public, and that they could have use of the swimming pool and the tennis courts. On March 19, the Ad ministrator called together the few re maining Germans of the Territory to personallv announce to them the lifting of w r artime restrictions. He asked for their loyal co-operation, and promised that if it were forthcoming he would make no distinctions between the different nationalities in the Territory.

There are now. anart from some younger members of the Roman Catholic mission, only about a dozen old German residents left in the Territory. Their length of residence varies from 32 to 54 years, apd their ages from 60 to 80 years. German subjects born in Samoa, and of part-European descent, number several hundred.