New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-13
VARIOUS VIEWS OF SAMOA.

All whom 1t may concern, or all except one
marty. have now sufficiently revealed their oEin-
ions of the partition of Samoa. Germany is, of
course. highly pleased because her flag lot
only remains but becomes dominant and sole
sovereign over the major part of the group,
and because her really large landed and co'n-
merca interests there are to be amply con-
served True. she gives up two much larger
islands elsewhere; but she has always taken in
comparably more interest in Samoa than i'll all
the Solomons, and reckons the exchange good
bargain 1t is agreeable to observe, too, that
she does not dislike the idea of becoming a
pretty near neighbor of the United States. Her
feeling on that point is. we are sure, fully re-
ciprocated by this country. We have had some
little chickering's with Germany under the trip
artite arrangement. which was to be expected.
No house is big enough for two hOusekeepers,
let alone three. But in separate houses. fifty
miles apart there should be not a bit Of trouble
On other grounds American satisfaction with
the bargain is unhesitatingly manifested. Such
landed and commercial interests as we have in
Upolu and Savaii are not, of course. TO be sac
rificed; while the one supreme American inter
est In Samoa the harbor of Page Pago, is to he
confirmed absolutely in our possession, with
the right to fortfy and improve it as much as
we please.
Satisfaction Is also expressed in Great Brit
ain save on the part Of few The latter are,
curiously enough Little Englanders who pro-
fess to think it would be best for England to
give up all her colonies and possessions. but
who now are dreadfully concerned lest this
surrender of Samoa should offend Australia.
One would think that from their point OF view
il would be all the better If 1t did so. As
matter of fact, however, Australia and New
Zealand seem to be well pleased with the bar
gain And there is no reason why they should
not be Commercially. withdrawal from Samoa
means no loss for there has been practically no
British commerce with those islands. The year
books, it is true, report considerable com
merce between Samoa and the British Empire
They fail to report, however. what is equally
true that practically all of that commerce Is
in the hands of German houses at Auckland
and elsewhere SO far as ports and coalng
stations in that region are concerned, the FIJI
and Tonga islands. close at hand, are worth.
hundred of Samoa And, finally, as to trying
to exclude all but British sovereignty from the
South Pacific that was not to be dreamed or
seeing that France already had New-CaledOnia
and other islands just off the Australian coast,
besides a great number In Eastern Polynesia
and that Germany was established in New
Guinea and the Solomons, just across the Coral
Sea- Certainly. the surrender of partial SOW
ereignty over two small islands 900 miles away
is more than repaid by the acquisition of full
sovereignty over two much larger ones only
1000 miles away. So Australia recognizes the
fact that this Samoan arrangement increases
rather than lessons British influence in the
South Pacific.
We have said that the views Of one Interested
party are not yet made known. The reference
| Is to the Samoans themselves. We do not know
! that their opinion has been asked; nor do we
| suppose that such opinion, II 1t were adverse,
| would affect the contamination of the bargain.
| There are those who will say ii is cynical and
| Immoral thus to dispose Of people without their
consent But logically there is nothing else 10
do, save TO leave them in utter barbarism. We
might, of course have left them as they were,
with their gentle customs of wholesale massacre
and cannibalism every time a new king was
chosen. and with no port in all the group into
which ship could put for shelter, repairs or
supplies SO we might have left Hawaii and
New-Zealand and Australia in primitive savage
nv, and indeed. the whole American Continent
But il once we enter in to cvilize such lands
in any measure, to develop their resources, to
trade with them. and to make them safe sta
tons on the worlds routes Of travel and Of com
merce, then sooner or later we must exercise
civilized control over them, whether with OF
without their consent. There is no other course
We may regret and deplore the suppression OF
the native races and their customs before the
advancing tide of civilization; hut to do so is &c
regret the inevitable. 1t is the action of q
stronger law than that of statute or of treaty
the primal and memorable law Of the survival
of the fttest. which Is the essential law OF
progress in mollusks and In man, in families
and In nations