The herald., 1896-08-17
FROM THE FAR SOUTH SEAS
Consular Report Regarding Con-
ditions at Samoa
THE KING FED BY CHARITY
While Foreign Officials Eat Up the
Government Revenue
The Treaty Of Berlin, Conceived In Error and
Nursed In Injustice, Should Be
Abrogated
Associated Press Special Wire.

WASttlNGION, Aug. lO.-COISui
General James H. Mulligan at Apia Sa-
moa has made a voluminous report to
the state department upon the condition
of the islands. A portion of the report
Is devoted to a review of the govern
ment of the islands by the United States,
Great Britain and Germany, under the
Berlin treaty. This treaty. Mr.. Mulligan
concludes, was mistake, and to main
tain it is to persist in mistake.
1.-The present status he says, sis an
injustice to the people of the United
States and a grave wrong to those of
Samoa. If it be said that the treaty, 50
far as it concerns Samoa, has made mat
ters no worse, 1t can be claimed with
equal truth that it has failed to make
them better in any particular. The ad-
mission of either postulate is to confess
failure"
AS to the present government of Sa-
moa, he says:
"A recognized and reigning king is de-
pendent for his support on the voluntary
contributions-the charity, in fact-ot
that portion of his family or tribe who
adhere to him, while foreign officers Of
his government enjoy salaries from his
revenue far in excess of the value of the
services performed. When a pittance
of his nominal salary, long in arrears,
is doled out to him, it comes through the
hands of foreign official, who exercises
his pleasure to pay or withhold. His
lawful wife is in no sense queen, nor
more entitled to consideration than the
half-clad women who file back and forth
along the beaches. A struggling village
within another part of the kingdom
levies import and export duties on every
dollars worth of merchandise brought
into or shipped out of the kingdom,
lending out of it's revenues to the king
dom barely enough to pay the most
meager expense and the salaries of for
eign officials
"All the machinery of government
perhaps it is not too much to say of
several governments-is in active ope-
ration within, the precincts of this little
town. The guns of great menofwar, year
in and year out. frown ominously ur On
the shore in support of the government
and the law which does not exist with
in their effective ranges, and yet an Of
fender within half a dozen miles of the
seat of SO many authorities defies the
processes of the court and rebuffS the
power of the invalidated government.
In the midst of all, white clad messengers
of crown and consul fit to and fro along
the blazing beach, the bearers of i'm
posing envelopes, in which are covered
the stately communications that round
out the measures of time in this kinder
garten of diplomacy.
In the meantime, no clearing is made,
no plantation is extended. The country
which, at best, under it's many disad-
vantages, needs all the stimulus of peace,
all the security that government can
assure, visibly languishes. There is no
immigration, influx on capital or sug-
gestion of enterprise. All wait for that
underlined something - that change
which is to come; wait as they have
waited for thirty years; wait for the alb
rogation of the treaty. as they and their
fathers waited for it's coming"
Only a small part of the islands, he
says. are under control of this govern
ment; back from the short and in the
town the people do as they please.
The treaty, made by three govern
ments for the government of a third, is
not considered a success. The differ
ent forms of government sought to be
brought together are irreconcilable.
There is too much friction. 1t is said
that before any step can be taken that
three representatives must unite: then
oftentimes reference must be made to
powers around the globe There
is diversity of opinion conflict of in
terest and clash of rights