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Samoa at Geneva : misleading the League of Nations : a commentary on the proceedings of the Permanent Mandates Commission at its thirteenth session held at Geneva in June, 1928

The Treatment of Tamasese

The Treatment of Tamasese.

When Tamasese (grandson of the late King Tamasese) was banished and deprived of his chiefly title by General Richardson, in 1924, there was great resentment felt among the Samoans, but wiser counsel prevailed against what might then have developed into serious trouble. Although the Samoans are indeed a peace-loving and law-abiding people, they have been rightly described as a proud and dignified race. Sir George Richardson himself, in an article on Samoa in the London "Times," referred to the Samoans as "the aristocrats of the Pacific." It would be absurd to think that such a proud, dignified race as the Samoans could have accepted the degradation of a chief of Tamasese's rank by a foreign ruler, or anyone else, with equanimity.

Tamasese himself was largely responsible for the preservation of peace at the time. He preferred to suffer martyrdom rather than see his people involved in trouble with a foreign power. They had had enough of that in the past. But keen resentment was felt, and that sentiment grew stronger and stronger as banishment increased and became the order of the day. This system produced disaffection of the Samoans, which sooner or later was bound to assert itself. Those who knew the Samoan mind saw trouble on the horizon. Clouds were gathering, trouble was brewing, but the Administrator refused to see it. He, no doubt, believed in his "firm" policy, so long as he could keep the Faipules witn him, and rely on an expeditionary force or warships from New Zealand to quell any serious disturbance which might arise. This has since been borne out by subsequent events, but he deplored the dilatoriness of the New Zealand Government in granting him the power or the forces which he sought when the cloud did burst. That the trouble did not assume more serious proportions from the beginning is only due to the timely intervention of the Citizens' Committee and the hope held out to the page 14 Samoans that a Minister from New Zealand was due to arrive in Samoa to investigate the whole position if the Samoans would make what representations they had to bring forward along constitutional lines.