Western Samoa Faced With

Speaking in New Assembly

Western Samoa Faced With “Race For Production"

From a Special Correspondent in Apia Apia, Feb. 23.

“The main criticism against the Government is that we rried on too long before reducing sail,” High Commissioner Western Samoa, Mr. G. R. Powles, told the special session the Legislative Assembly here this week.

told the council, which was called together to do some thing about getting increased ue to help Samoa out of its nt financial plight, that the sin was an urgent one, and the budget (to be ready for the ti session) could not be com -1 until some matters were id up.

Powles said that Government ue, which began to drop in would probably show a further decline in 1958, with the drop opra prices a contributing •e Government services meant expenditure, but the money rot available unless there was ady increase in agricultural cts for export. seemed, he said, the fate of a depended on whether the ise in production could keep with the increase in popula ■and therefore it was a pro >n race. The production of en seemed to be winning the it present.

The result could be a drop in living standards, and a curtailment of Government services, Mr. Powles said copra production per head of population dropped from 478 lbs in 1948-52, to 326 lbs in 1953-56, to 322 lbs in 1957. Cocoa figures for the same period were 60 lbs, rising to 73 lbs, but back to 69 lbs in 1957.

Yet during the same 10-year period, the population increased b y about a third, from 75,000 to 100,000.

Mr, powles said that it could be suggested that instead of carrying sail for too longf the Government should have dismissed 200 teachers and other staff in 1956, instead of 1953, But this would have done no good, The Government had done the best possible, and after all the ship was s tin afloat

Consultant Appointed

The High Commissioner an nounced that the NZ Government

had appointed a constitutional con sultant, Prof. Colin Aikman, to ad vise the NZ Government on the steps required to give West Samoa full self-government and terminate the UN trusteeship agreement. Prof.

Aikman (who is already in W.

Samoa for talks) is Professor of Jurisprudence and Constitutional Law at Victoria University, Well ington.

He also announced that three Samoan representatives would be invited to attend the June session of the Trusteeship Council in New York, to discuss problems.

Higher Duties

One of the more important bills to be dealt with at this special ses sion is one proposing to increase import duties. Increases would be a 10 per cent, surcharge on some items, and various fixed amounts on 14 other items.

These include matches (an in crease of 1/- a gross) ; cigarettes (6/- a 1000 for British, 8/- a 1000 for foreign); tobacco (5/- a lb British and 7/- foreign); ale and beer (1/- and 1/6 a gallon respec tively) ; spirits (25/- and 30/-); wine (5/- and 6/- for less than 40 per cent, proof, 25/- and 30/- for more than 40 per cent.); motor spirits (4d a gallon); kerosene and fuel oils (Id); timber would also go up.

The bill also proposes an in crease in export duty on bananas from 6d to 1/- a case. (See “Trouble Comes In Cycles”, page 115)

[?]peaker of the W. Samoa Legislative Assembly, the Hon. Mr. [?]fatasaga Kalapu, occupies the chair after the opening address by High Commissioner, Mr. G. R. Powles, on February 18.