The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-04-22
GROUP OF THREE.
A Good Digest Of an Official
Paper on Samoa.
THE POINTS OF IMPORTANCE
Location and SIZE Commerce =
Products and Population
Government.
(New York Maritime Register.)

The people, productions and CONNER
clal and strategic Importance OF the
Samoan Islands are discussed in the
current number of the Monthly Sum
mary of Commerce and Finance, just
issued by the Treasury Bureau OF
Statistics. The islands are located
about 1000 miles south and 800 miles
west of the Hawaiian Islands and IA
degrees south of the equator. They
lie in an almost direct line between
San Francisco and Australia and
slightly south of the direct steamship
line connecting the Philippines with
the proposed Panama or Nicaraguan
iinteroceanic canals. Their special i'm
portance, therefore, les mere in their
position as coaling and repair sta
lions ON these great highways of COM
meree rather than in their direct COM
mercial value, their population being
small and their imports and exports
of comparatively little importance.
| The group consists of 10 inhabited
and uninhabitad islands. with an
area of LOO square miles and an
aggregate population, according to the
latest estimates, of $4,000 people, of
which something over 200 are British
subjects, 125 Germans, % Americans,
% French, and 20 of other nat.onalities
while the remainder are natives, of
the Polynesian race. The bulk OF the
population is located in the three is
lands of Upolu, Savaii, and Tutuila;
1.-THE number in Upolu being 10000, in
Savaii 1880, and i'm Tutuila 300.
1.-The islands are of volcanic origin, but
fertile, producing coccanuts, cotton,
Isugar and coffee; the most important
however, being cocoanuts, from which
the "copra'' of commerce is obtained
by drying, the kernel of the cocoanut,
Irope and the United States, being used
in the manufacture of cocoanut oil.
THE expectation of copra from the
islands in 1896 amounted to 12,565,909
pounds, valued at $231,372. A consider
able proportion of this was exported to
the United States; a larger proportion,
however, to Germany, whose citizens
Icontrol its commerce through trad
ing company which has long been
established there. The cocoanut and
copna production, however, varies
greatly from year to year, owing to
the fact that many of the cocoanut
Itreeis have been destroyed in the re-
Icent wars between native factions, a
out the crown of the tree, to per-
mamently destroy in two minutes time
1.-THE fruit-bearipg qualities of tree:
which require several years fer their
Igrowith.
The government of the Samoan Is
lands had been from time immemoria1
under the two royal houses of Malie-
itoa and Tupea, except ON the island OF
ITutuila, which was governed by native
chiefs. In 1873, at the suggestion OF
foreign residents, a house of mobiles
and a house of representatives were
Established, with Malieltoa Laupepa
land the chief of the roua1 house Of
Tupea as joint kings. Subsequently
Malfetoa became sole king. In 1881
he was deposed by the German Gov.
ernmept upon the claim Of unjust
treatment of German subjects, whe
formed the bulk of the foreign popu
lation ON the island, and was de-
: ported first to German New Guinea
and then to the Cameroons, in Africa
and finally in 1888 to Hamburg, Ia
masese, a native chief, being mean
time proclaimed by the Germans a:
king. though against the protest o.
the British and American consrlls a
Samoa. Mataafa, a near relative o
Mafiatoa, made war upon Tamases'
and succeeded to the kingship.
. In 1889 a conference between thu
Representatives of the American, Bri
fish and German Governments wa
held at Berlin, at which a treaty wa
signed by the three powers guarantee
ing the neutrality of the islands, il
which the citizens of the thre
signa.tory powers would have equa
rights of residence, trade, and person
al protection. They agreed to recog
nize the independence of the Samoan
Government and the free rights of TIN
natives to elect their chief or king an
choose a form OF government accord
ing to their own laws and customs
4 supreme court was established. con
sisting of judge, who is STYLED TN
chief justice Of Samoa, and who is a
present w. L. Chambers. an American
formerly a resilient of the State O