Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-30
SAMOA IN THE SENATE.
Sherman Gives a History of
German Aggression.
KLEIN ONLY A KNIGHT-ERRANT
We Must Insist on Retaining PagO
PagO HarbOr-M0rrOw's Move
in the House.

in the House.
Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD.
WASHINGTON, January 29.-After a
long discussion, Gibson's amendment
was agreed to.
The amendments relating to Samoa
having been reached, the Senate went
into executive session.
The secret legislative session OF the
Senate was wholly occupied in discussing
and voting upon the motion made by
Sherman to consider the Samoan amend
| ments with open doors. 1t was supported
| by Sherman, Evarts and Voorhees,, and
opposed by Edmunds and Morgan. The
| vote upon the motion was yeas 70 to
| nays "a. The merits of the amendments
| were not discussed, and the division was
wholly outside of party lines, about an
equal number OF Republicans and Dem
ocrats being recorded on each side OF the
question of opening the doors.
| When the doors reopened, Sherman
1 said he would like to state publicly the
position which he took on the Samoan
question, SO that it might appear in the
records. He then gave comprehensive
review of the events in the Samoan
Islands from the time, the attention OF the
United States was first called TO them,
| the various conferences, treaties etc. lie
referred to the treaty of 1856 between
Germany and Great Britain, by which a
sort of delimitation was established for
the Jurisdiction of each government in
the Polynesian group, with disclaimer
! that this partition should apply to the
Samoan Islands. That was the
legal status of the case to-day
He spoke of the contentious which
had always existed between the
various chiefs on the islands down tc
the time when, by the aid of the consuls
in 1888, it was settled by agreement that
Malietoa should be king and Tamasese
vice-king. Soon after that settlement
other difficulties had arisen and move
|, ment had been made to annex the Sa'
moan Islands to New Zealand, Malietoa
sending humble appeal to Queen Vic
toria, asking for euch annexation. The
, German Government, however, remon
strated in the most vigorous manner
against it, insisting that it would be 8
violation of the treaty.
Finally Sherman brought the history
, OF events to the conference in Washing
ton between Bayard and the British anG
German Ministers and to the sending by
each of them of an agent to the islands tC
obtain further information. He said il
was manifest that the rebellion of Tama
sese had been organized by the German
Consul and by German named Weber
who was the head of large Commercial
house. He mentioned the arrival OF the
lGerman fleet at the islands some time il
May, 1886, and spoke of the insultin.
J Iletter from theVice-Admiral to Malietoa
J in which he addressed him not as King
I but as Head Chief.
1t was after these insults to the Kin(
that United States Consul Greenebaun
raised the United States flag at the re
G quest of Malietoa over the public build
ings in Apia. For time, he said, th.
practical effect of that action, unauthor
lied as it was, had been to check The &C
ltion of the German local authorities
: After the German fleet had sailed away
the German and American Consuls haC
, again joined in declaration that Tama
sese would never be recognized by eithel
of them as King, and that Malietoa wa.
King. This act had been wholly with
out authority and Greenebaum's part il
it had, very properly, been disavowee
by the American Government. He hao
: no more right to assert protectorate
there than the German or English Con
sui had.
1t was whilst the agents of the three
conferees, Bayard. and the English anG
, the German ministers, were engaged in
obtaining information, that the Ger
man Government deposed Malietos
and set up Tamasese. These were the
worst features of the case, because, at
this very time, negotiations were going
on on sound, just and honest basis, for
the restoration of the status quo. There
were indications, he thought, that the
English Government was coincidiDg with
the German policy. He was not stating
the facts for the purpose of saying who
was wrong or who was right, or whether
Germany was justified in the
course which she had pursued. He conld
not say, however, that he found, in the
!, premises, any justification tor Germany.
Prince Bismarck, whose strong and i'm
perial will was shown in all of his COM
munications, asserted the equal rights
of each of these governments, but in
sisted, as a matter of policy, that it
would be better to place the custody of
the islands under the control of one of
the powers, and as Germany had the
Largest property interests there, that it
would be best to place it under German
control and power. That, as to
the newspaper correspondent Klein,
who had been playing knight errant
there, the Government of the United
States was in no no way responsible for
him. The statement of the man himself,
although somewhat vainglorious in style,
shows that he had nothing to do with
the attack on the German sailors.
| Summing up his long speech Sherman
said that the first thing to be done was
for the United States to assert it's
power in the occupancy and possession
Of the bay of Psgo-Pago. That ought to
be done Immediately. 1t did not need a
war to protect a nations rights. Mere
assertion of these rights, due regard for
them, expenditure OF money there, stor-
ing OF coal there, calling of vessels there
all these things were assertions of
power far more influential than protocols
and diplomatic correspondence.
George-The amendments do not men,
ace war. do they?
Sherman-I do not think it necessary
to menace any one. I believe straight
forward, manly negotiation should be
entered into between these three great
mould bo cI, H..