The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-13
Interesting Facts About This Group
of Islands.
RIVALRY OF ROYALTY
CLASHES CAUSED BY STRUGGLES
FOR SUPREMACY.
Rights and Interests of Foreigners
Have Been Guarded Under Terms
IS of Berlin Conference of 1880
United States Coaling Station at
Pago Pago-Imports and Exports.

cial and strategic Importance of the
Samoan islands are discussed in the
current number of the Monthly Sum
sued by. the treasury bureau of statis-
tics The islanus are located about 1000
miles south and 800 miles west of the
Hawaiian islands and fourteen degrees
south of the equator. They lie in an al
most direct line between San Francisco
and Australia, and slightly south of the
| direct steamship line connecting the
! Philippines with the proposed Panama
1 or Nicaraguan interoceanic canals.
| Their special Importance, therefore, lies
more in their position as coaling and
4 repair stations on these great highways
| of commerce rather than in their direct
1 commercial value their population be-
ing small and their imports and exports
of comparatively little Importance.
! The group consists of ten inhabited
aDd two uninhabited islands, with an
area of Zoo square miles and an ag-
! gregate population, according to latest
! estimates, of $4,000 people, of which
something over 200 are British subjects,
125 Germans, % Americans, 25 French
and % of other nationalites, while the
remainder are natives. of the Polyne-
/ sian race. The bulk of the population
/ is located in the three islands of Upo-
I lou, Savaii and 'Tutuila, the number in
I Upolou being 1850, in Savaii II, 800 and
in Tutuila 1900 The islands are of vol
canic origin, but fertile producing CO.
coanuts, cotton, sugar and coffee; the
| most important, however, being cocoa
nuts, from which the "copra" of'com-
merce is obtained by drying the kernel
! of the cocoanut the ''copra, which is
/ exported to Europe and the United
! States, being used in the manufacture
/ of cocOanut oil. The expectation of CO.
pra from the islands in 1896 amounted
to 12,565,909 pounds, valued at 1921 1872.
A considerable proportion of this was
exported to the United States; a larger
proportion, however, to Germany,
| whose citizens control its commerce
through a trading company, which has
long been established there. The Co
coanut and copra production, however,
varies greatly from year to year, oW-
! ing to the fact that many of the cocoa
/ nut trees have been destroyed in recent
wars between native factions, a single
| individual being able, by cutting out
the crown of the tree, to permanently
destroy in two minutes time, the fruit
bearing qualities of trees which require
several years for their growth.
DUAL ROYALTY IN ISLANDS.
The government of the Samoan ISL
ands has been from time immemorial
under the two royal houses of Malietoa
and Tupea, except on the island of Tu-
tuila. which was governed by native
/ chiefs. In 1873, at he suggestion of for
eign residents, a house of mobiles and a
house of representatives, We're estab-
lished, with Malietoa Laupepa and the
chief of the royal house of Tupea as
joint kings. Subsequently Malietoa be-
came sole king. In 1887 he was deposed
by the German government upon the
claim of unjust treatment of German
subjects, who formed the bulk of the
foreign population on the island, and
was deported, first to German New
Guinea and then to the Cameroons, in
Africa, and finally, in 1888, to Hamburg,
Tamasese, native chief, being mean
time proclaimed by the Germans as
! king, though against the protest of the
British and American conSuls at Sa-
moa. Mataafa, a near relative of Ma
lietoa, made was upon Tamasese, and
succeeded to the kingship.
In 1889 conference between the rep
resentatives of the American, British
and German governments was held at
Berlin, at which a treaty was signed by
the three powers guaranteeing the neu-
trality of the Islands, in which the, citi-
Zens of the three signatory powers
have equal rights of residence, trade
and personal protection. They agreed
to recognize the independence of the
Samoan government and the free rights
of the natives to elect their chief Or
king and choose a form of government
according to their own laws and Gus
toms. A supreme court was established,
consisting of one judge, who is STYLED
the chief justice of Samoa, and who is
at present w. l.. Chambers, an Ameri-
can, formerly resident of the state OF
| Alabama. To this court are referred:
First, all civil suits concerning real
property situated in Samoa: second. all
civil suits between natives and foreign
ers, or between foreigners of different
nationalities; third, all crimes COM
mitted by natives against foreigners, or
committed by such foreigners as are
not subject to any consular iuriSdlc-
ton.
The future alienation of lands was
prohibited, with certain specified eX-
emptions. The capital was located at
Apia, the chief town of the group Of
islands, and a local administration pro-
vided for the municipal districts of
Apia. a commission was appointed to
investigate titles to lands alleged TO
have been purchased from the natives,
and this. in 1894, completed it's labors,
confirming about $1,000 acres of lands
to Germans, $4,000 to British, and q, 900
W UI tnlS iGHQ
has since changed hands. Malietoa,
who had been deported. was restored
as king in November, 1889, and con-
! tinued as such until his death, which
occurred Aug. %, 1898, when the consuis
of the three powers. with the chief JUS
! tice as president, took charge of the
administration pending the election of
a successor. 1t is out of the election and
recognition of this successor TO King
Maietoa, deceased, that the recent dis
agreements between the representa-
tives of the three governments main
tanning the joint protectorate over the
islands have occurred.
! AMERICAN COALING STATION.
| Especial interest attaches to these
islands from the standpoint of the
United States by reason of the fact that
the harbor of Pago Page, in the island
of Tutuila, the southernmost of the
group, was coded to the United States
for naval and coaling station, first in
1872, and afterwards confirmed by a
treaty signed at Washington jan II,
1873, and notifications exchanged on
Feb. 13 of the same year, by which the
! United States was given the right TO
establish at that harbor station for
coaling, naval supplies, freedom of
trade, commercial treatment as a IA
y