St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-08-16
Woodstock, Landour,
N. w. P, India.
THE TROUBLE IN SAMOA.

1t was the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
illogical, to be sure-of a certain
noted anarchist, that if he must be
subjected to government he would
prefer to be governed by n car
than by a popular majority in a
country of 60, 10000 people, for he
should be a victim of government
proportionately less in amount.
The kingdom of Samoa is an illus
tration of a country receiving the
advantages. or disadvantages, of
government in somewhat unusual
quantity. With territory a little
smaller than that of Rhode Island,
and population less than a third
that of the city of Providence, it has
its own royal establishment, and a
tripartite treaty supervision beside,
shared in by the United States, Eng
land and Germany.
Recent advices show in a new light
the conflicting interests which are at
work shaping the destinies of the
kingdom. The German commercial
interests are greater than those OF
any other power in the islands, and
there is little cOncealment OF the de
sire to establish a German protec-
torate. One manifestation of this
desire, which appears primarily to
be a desire to annul the existing
treaty, is seen in the recent attack in
news dispatches on Hon. Henry c.
1de of Vermont, chief justice OF the
supreme court Of Samoa.
The Samoans have been at war
with one another most of the time
since the first white man visited the
islands. Their clans, OF tribes,
give rise to such jealousies
and controversies as used to
prevail among the Scottish clans,
and they are not content to settle
them in any way except by force Of
arms.
For many years there has been
great hostility between the Malietoa
family and the Tupua family. The
head of the latter family was Tam
asese, who was vice-king, with
Malietoa Laupepe as king, from
1881 to 1885 or 1886, when the
Germans deported Malietoa and set
Tamasese up as king. Civil war
again ensued, Tamasese was defeat
ed, the Berlin treaty was made,
Malietoa was restored, and Tam
asese died. But his son succeeded to
his title and ambitions, and his peo-
pie have constantly been restless and
insisting that be should be recogniz-
ed, that the Tupua family was enti-
tied to the kingship, and that Malie-
toa should make way for him.
That is the bottom and basis of
the whole trouble. The treaty pow
ers recognized Malietoa as king,
aud so of course, he is the head of
the recognized government, and
Tamasese and his people are rebels
against it. But if Tamasese were
king the Malietoa party would soon
be in rebellion against him.
The cable dispatches sent from
Auckland March 80, charging the
war to the American chief justice
setting chiefs at work upon the road,
attempting to disarm the natives,
and urging the king to attack the
rebels, was, in all respects, untrue
and malicious.
Ever since President Cleveland, in
his message last December, assailed
the treaty as an "entangling ALI
lance" every sort of international
intrigue has been at work in Samoa
to break up the treaty. The Ger
mans and English both want annex
to their own government. If
the American chief justice could be
discredited in his own country it
would help to make the United
more inclined to let go. The
cable dispatch was sen with pre-
cisely that purpose,
In point of fact, the chief justice
never attempted or advised disarm-
ament, MOI has a single move in that
direction been made since he reached
the islands. The subject was under
consideration by the powers last
August, at the close of the Mataafa
three months before the ar
rival of the present chief justice, and
was given up then. Most of the
political prisoners were tried at that
time by native judges and sentenced
to three years Imprisonment at hard
labor. After the arrival of the chief
justice he sentenced one to two
years imprisonment, and some 9th
ers to small fines, mostly $50. But
he has nothing to do with the
kind of work prisoners shall perform.
The president, E. Schmidt. a Ger
man, has the sole responsibility for
the care and employment of prison
ers. He employed them a very little
in building less than one mile ofroad.
the prisoners nor their friends
complained about it. It had not the
slightest connection with the cause
Of the recent war, nor was the at
upon the rebels made hY the adj