Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1894
Baron Saurma to Mr. Gresham.
Washington, May 26, 1894.
Mr. Secretary of State: I have the honor, in pursuance of instructions received, herewith to transmit to your excellency a copy of another report concerning the situation in Samoa, made by the imperial consul at Apia under date of March 26, 1894. The report describes the contests which have taken place in Samoa during the past few months and calls attention to the renewed depredations and to the dangers resulting therefrom to plantations owned by foreigners, especially those owned by Germans.
It is further shown by this report that the occurrences which have taken place render it once more evident that the present state of things can not continue in Samoa, as has already appeared from the press telegrams from Apia.
The battles of the natives appear, from the consul’s report, to be carried on in a manner which, owing to their cruelty, does violence to every sentiment of humanity and civilization, and for this reason alone it would seem that a change should be made in the state of things in Samoa.
I avail myself, etc.,
Mr. Biermann to Count von Caprivi.
I have the honor, referring to my report of January 30, 1894 (No. 18), most respectfully to communicate the following to your excellency. The events of the last few weeks have shown more conclusively than ever that the disarming of the Samoans is absolutely necessary if peace is to be expected for any length of time.
[Page 711]The latest uprisings were planned and carried out without any reason; simply from a love of revolution and from a desire to lead a pleasant warlike life.
The Samoans are and will remain children, and to consider them as intelligent persons who are able to govern themselves leads to these constant troubles under which the Germans and their plantations suffer.
In my report of January 30 I stated that the Aana chiefs had voluntarily presented themselves in order that their complaints might beinv estigated, and that, if deemed necessary, punishment might be inflicted upon them for their rebellious acts against the recognized Government at Mulinuu.
Of the complaints, numbering between 20 and 30, which they had at first sent in in writing, they withdrew all but one, viz, that Malietoa had declared in favor of the disarming of all Samoans. This, too, was but a pretext. The real reason was that they desired to overthrow Malietoa without any cause except that they wished to proclaim a new king.
Before the decision of the ‘chief justice had been pronounced, the Atua chiefs declared that they made common cause with the Aana party, and that they disapproved the decision of the chief justice. Before the chief justice pronounced his decision he discussed the whole matter with the consuls and the president, and then, with the approval of us all, decided that the ringleaders of the movement should be imprisoned and that the less guilty ones should be fined, being kept under arrest until their fines were paid. Of these fines, thus far, just as little has been paid as of the fines which were sometime ago imposed upon the adherents of Mataafa. Only the former rebels residing in the Tuamasaga—i. e., in the vicinity of Apia—have begun, in pursuance of the agreement with the Government, to build a piece of road assigned to them on the north coast of Upolu, instead of making payments in money.
During the next few weeks after the decision had been rendered, peaceful and warlike reports were received in quick succession. When the mail left on the 28th of February, a disposition in favor of peace appeared to prevail in Aana, but as early as the 7th instant the first shots were exchanged between the rebels and the Savaii people, who were on the side of the Government.
After the first important attack of the Government had proved unsuccessful, the attitude of the Atua party, which threatened to march into the neutral territory and to advance upon Mulinuu, became so suspicious that the consuls, simply for the purpose of saving time, urged in a proclamation issued by them that peace should be maintained. The proclamation attained its object, for the Atua party was again obliged to deliberate as to the action which, in view of the proclamation, it was proper for them to take. A few days afterwards, when the situation again became critical, the consuls were requested by the president, in the name of the Government, to come to a conference at Mulinuu, in order to give advice and assistance.
At the meeting at Mulinuu, at which it was evident that the Government party stood in great fear of an eruption by the men of Atua, inasmuch as that would have compelled them to carry on war in two quarters, the consuls were requested to visit Atua in person, in order to restrain the chiefs by persuasions from hostile acts against the Government. We declared our readiness and sent word on the 17th instant to the Atua chiefs that we would see them at one of their principal places on the 19th or 20th. At the same time messengers of the Government went from Mulinuu to their people, urging them to make a speedy advance upon the rebels.
On the 19th, after the Aana party had abandoned a position, the main battle was fought and the men of Aana were driven back as far as Mulifanua and beyond. On the 20th, before any reliable intelligence concerning the result of the battle had been received, the consuls had a conference at Saluafata, in Atua, lasting several hours, with the Atua chiefs, who were finally persuaded to defer their so-called peaceful entrance into the municipal territory to a future time, in return for which we promised them that we would do what we could to bring about a general peace.
How many dead and wounded there were after this uprising is not certainly known. Twenty-one wounded men were sent by the Government party to. Apia for medical treatment, from which it may be inferred that the total number was pretty large. A law, drafted by the chief justice and approved by Malietoa, forbidding the cutting off of heads, was wholly disregarded by both parties during the prevalence of hostilities, as was to be expected.
The conquerors are said to have acted badly in Aana, as is their wont. Many cocoa palms and breadfruit trees are said to have been cut down and the houses of the enemy to have been destroyed.
Tamasese is said to have fought in the front ranks of the rebels. It is denied that he has been regarded by the rebels as a party leader or king, or that he has been treated as such. His participation in the uprising may be in part attributable to the fact that he expected, in case of a successful result, that the German Government would support him and his authority. How he came to take this view, which he expressed in Mulifauna to several white persons, as well as to natives, I do not understand. Neither by me (I have spoken to him but once for a few moments since [Page 712] my arrival at Apia) nor by any other person in office have any communications been made to him in the above sense. The Government troops found a letter in Aana, which had apparently been written by one of the captives in Mulinuu, in which the writer informs the rebels that the German consul advised them to make a quick attack on Mulinuu and to overthrow Malietoa’s Government. The investigation of this matter is not yet ended.
There is now fresh ground for the apprehension that the situation of the whites will become worse every time that there is a new war. Independently of the extensive robberies from which the Mulifanua plantations has suffered this time, the rebels first, and after their departure the warriors of the Government, entered the store belonging to the German Commercial and Plantation Company, and likewise the planter’s house. With a view of restraining the Government people from such violations of the rights of foreigners, Malietoa has issued, by the advice of the president, a general prohibition, and subsequently, at my request, a special one. Whether these have done any good is not yet known. At all events these occurences show what the whites will have to expect if once the rebels come to Mulinuu and Apia as conquerors.
In accordance with the wish of the Government, both warlike factions having suspended hostilities, the consuls have entered into negotiations with the rebels, who are now, for the most part, in the southwest corner of Upolu, for the purpose of conferring with them concerning the restoration of peace and of inducing them to accept the conditions laid down by the Government and the consuls. The victorious Government naturally make some requirements, for instance, that the arms of its enemies shall be surrendered, and makes the evacuation of Aana dependent upon compliance with this requirement.
Should the efforts of the consuls prove unsuccessful, a continuance of the contest by the Atua and portions of the Savaii party in the interest of the rebellion is not improbable.
I have made the foregoing statements to your excellency with regard to the not specially important particulars of the present movement, inasmuch as they clearly show how confused and uncertain the present condition of things still is.
This statement shows that the assertion which has been made in a certain quarter that the war is a private quarrel between a district of Savaii and Aana, and that Aana has been unjustly attacked, is wholly without foundation. The difficulties between Savaii and Aana, which have, it is true, lasted for a longtime, have influenced the general situation only in so far as the people of Savaii would otherwise scarcely so soon have obeyed the call of the Government to come to the island of Upolu to assist it against the rebels.
I need not say that these troubles will have an unfavorable influence upon the collection of the Samoan poll tax for this year, and upon the entire financial administration of the Government.