A.—4b.

APPENDICES. APPENDIX I. PETITION. (This is the translation marked " A " mentioned and referred to in the annexed declarations of Matautia Karauna and Edwin William Gurr declared before me at Apia this sth day of May, 1927. — F. D. Baxter, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand.) A Humble Petition to the New Zealand Government (Parliament) from the Chiefs and Orators of Western Samoa who have been authorized to represent the Large Majority OF THE SAMOAN PEOPLE OWING TO THEIR INCREASING DISSATISFACTION WITH CERTAIN FEATURES of the New Zealand Administration in Samoa. 1. We feel confident it is the desire of the New Zealand Government to establish for us a good government, that we may live in peace, amity, and security in our native soil. 2. We now wish to express, with sorrowful hearts, some of the main causes of our dissatisfaction with the administration of Samoa by gentlemen who have been appointed to represent New Zealand in Samoa. 3. We wish to express in all humility our loyalty and true confidence in the New Zealand Government and her integrity, that it will ever be pleased with the necessary indulgence to heed the subject of a plea to her from a small and weak nation which is under its sacred trusteeship, and that it will give it earnest consideration with the affection of a father to his son. 4. This petition we entrust to the New Zealand Government to be placed before the Parliament of New Zealand for their consideration with our following assurance : The main object in our placing these matters before the New Zealand Parliament is based on our earnest desire to assist to produce the very best result for the Samoan people and the New Zealand Government from this trust. We do not make this petition with any intention to deprecate the New Zealand Government, nor to deprecate any good work instituted for our welfare ; but we strongly urge that the present position be considered favourably, in the true confidence that all the causes of our dissatisfaction will be removed, so that the honour of New Zealand in the faithful execution of her trust in Samoa may be established. 5. We wish to express the disappointment and the sorrow of our hearts in that we could not have believed our application for a deputation to New Zealand would be declined, and all channels closed to a ward begging and pleading with his guardian for the investigation of matters under which Samoa suffers and is dissatisfied with the care of her by New Zealand representatives and their responsible officers. 6. We bear witness to the following : Starting from ourselves and our wives, even to our children, we all complain together at the weight of the load we have to carry nowadays, brought about by some laws made expressly for the Samoans, oppressing us to the point of slavery, whereas we cannot believe this to be our status. 7. There is no doubt in our minds the policy adopted by the Administrator has been prompted by the best intentions towards us, and he has meant to produce good results for the Samoans from this policy. 8. But some of the methods for carrying out this policy have revealed his lack of knowledge of, or his wish to ignore the temper and true character of the Samoan. The Samoans are well described in one of our old pr6verbs : "We are moved by love, but are never driven by intimidation." 9. Another evidence of the lack of knowledge of the Samoans by the Administrator is that he has misinterpreted our obedience to laws, and our patience under heavy punishments to be proofs of our approval of such laws. That erroneous idea has resulted in the imposition of heavier punishments whenever an attempt is made to express the pain and the groaning of the Samoan people under laws with which we have not been made acquainted by past Governments. Furthermore, these matters have set aside our time-honoured customs and privileges. 10. These laws and punishments have been attributed to the Fono of Faipule, but the Faipule have never been vested with such powers by any previous Government of Samoa since the beginning, even when the Faipule were our own elected representatives in past Governments, from which sprang the name " Fono a Faipule." 11. It is our true wish that our time-honoured customs and privileges be revived, and none of them abolished, except such as may be found by our own elected representatives to be repugnant to the advancement of our country. 12. The conditions which we should like to have established are — (a) While the Fono a Faipule exists, the Faipule should be selected by the districts such as was the custom in past days. (b) The Fono a Faipule should confine their functions to deliberations with the Administrator on subjects essential to the genuine welfare and the liberty of the Samoan people. (v) The Faipule should cease to assume any position in the village, or district except that which is his by personal right.

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