The Case Against Mr. Gurr.

In the matter of the Samoa Amendment Act, 1927.

Apia, 16th December, 1927.

Appeared: Edwin William Gurr.

Mr. Baxter: There is no need for me to open this case again, pt that Mr. Gurr will produce the files of the "Samoa Guardian."

General Richardson: "I call upon you, this morning, to defend the charge that is set forth in a letter that was sent to you yesterday, and with which you received a copy of the Samoa Act. The charge is a general one, and is as follows": . . . Then General Richardson quoted from his notification as printed above.

General Richardson: "I will be very pleased for you to fully say anything you desire to say in defence of that. I have your written statement here and I have read it and I will very carefully consider it. I will therefore defer giving you what I consider page 39 the finding necessary for me to give, or what is within my powers, or what recommendations I may have to make to the Governor-General in Council. I will let you or your counsel have it after I have gone further into this matter. Meanwhile, I give you the fullest opportunity to say anything you wish to say."

Mr. Gurr: "Your Excellency: In answer to the first paragraph that I am an active member of an organisation called the Mau, I am not at present time an active member of such an organisation. I distinctly say that it was never a purpose of the League to secure self-government for Samoa. I do not know of anything supplementary to my statement that I wish to make. I am positive that the question of self-government never cropped up at any meetings of the Samoan League when I did have something to do with it, and that was prior ot the visit of the Minister. Throughout that period the question of self-government never was discussed, never entered our minds, and it was foreign also to the objects of the League. I have never and would not by unlawful means or any other means endeavour to frustrate the functions of the Government. I have endeavoured since our connection with the Mau was severed by the order of the Minister of External Affairs, when opportunity came forward, upon hearing that members of the Mau were disobeying lawful orders of the Government, strongly urged them to obey all orders and to recognise all officials."