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terms of the draft Trusteeship Agreement, the Samoans seem to have assumed when preparing the petition that any agreement reached by foreign Powers with respect to Samoa without their consent would put the Territory once more under foreign domination for an indefinite period. The focus of their attention, therefore, was not upon the content of the Agreement, but upon the opportunity which it presented to convey Samoan aspirations to the United Nations. 12. An experienced observer remarked, with reason, that once the draft Agreement was submitted to the Samoan leaders under such circumstances, it was inevitable that a petition would be forthcoming. Faced with a choice between immediate self-government on the one hand and on the other progressive development with the certainty of autonomy after a transitional period, many Samoans would probably have accepted the progressive way, as indicated by evidence brought later before the Mission. But they apparently believed that the choice lay between independence and foreign domination, and before this alternative no Samoan could hesitate. 13. The fact that they expressed disapproval of the draft Trusteeship Agreement does not imply, however, that the Samoans are hostile to the United Nations, qr to supervision by the Trusteeship Council. Everywhere the Mission was received with warm cordiality and with the greatest honours which traditional courtesy could offer. No one challenged the sincere solicitude of the United Nations for the smaller peoples. On the contrary, the Samoan spokesmen emphasized on many occasions their hope that the " Government of the United Peoples would act as a father to our small and weak country." It was even proposed in the plan offered by the Samoan representatives to submit to the arbitration of the United Nations the ultimate decisions on any legislative measures vetoed by the representatives of New Zealand. 14. Little detailed knowledge of the Trusteeship System, it is true, has penetrated general Samoan thought, and this is even the more true as something of a new vocabulary had to be invented by the officials in order to translate the concepts involved into the Samoan language. But the leaders, at least, are well aware of the outstanding facts of the trusteeship system, and they appear to accept the continuing relationship with the United Nations not only without question, but also with genuine appreciation. The only uncertain note was a slight scepticism expressed on two occasions by Samoan spokesmen as to the permanence of the United Nations, as successor to the League, and the worth of written agreements. 15. The important fact, however, is that the sending of the petition and the visit of the Mission have strengthened immeasurably the relationships between the people of the Territory and the United Nations Trusteeship Council. The ideas of the inhabitants of the
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