Press Release, Subject: Three Statements by Members of the United States Delegation to the Trusteeship Council in Connection with the Marshall Islanders' Petition to the Trusteeship Council

Page 1

UNITED STATES MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS Attached are three statementsby members of the United States Delegationto the TrusteeshipCouncilin the Trust Territoryof the Pacific Islands. 3. Statementby Mr. Dwight Heine$ Adviser on the United States Delegationin the TrusteeshipCouncil and Spokesmanof the harshzll IslandPetitioners,

Page 6

THE ADMINISTERING AUTHGRITY FOR WESTERN SHidiOA, I should like to thank all the distinguished members of this Council for the sympathetic care and attention with which they have considered conditions in the Trust Territory of Western Samoa and for the constructive comments made both in their closing statements and in the course of the general debate. I need not remind members that the record of this debate will be thoroughly studied both by the Administering Authority and the Territorial Government when they are planning their future policy. I should particularly like to thank members of the Council such as the distinguished representative of El Salvador who were so careful and judicious in their appraisal of the Administering Authority's actions during the year. I am grateful to members of the Council who have pointed out that there still remain many things to be done in Gdestern Samoa. The Administering Authority is always aware of this and it never fails to make use of any opportunity of reminding the people of the Territory, in whose hands future developments so largely lie, that there are ahead of Samoa even greater tasks than those that have been performed and greater difficulties than those that have been overcome. This sober note must be sounded - especially after a debate in which I may at times have erred on the side of optimism, or even eulogy, when explaining to the Council the merits of the S;lmoanway of life and enlarging on these joint accomplishments of which the xdministering Authority and the Samoan people are rightly proud. The Administering Authority will, of course, take due cognizance of the remarks about universal suffrage which various distinguished representatives have made and will bring these remarks : to the notice of the people of the Trust Territory. This high liberal ideal must not be forgotten when the future political advancement of Samoa is considered. "Suaviter in modo, fortiter in ree'is, it seems, the principle which should inspire the Administering Authority in its policy in the political field, as

Page 7

in many others, although in the interpretation of this principle there may be differences.of emphasis. AS the distinguished representative of the United Kingdom has so shrewdly remarked, problems cannot always be solved immediately with the ideal solution - the ideal must, however, never be lost sight of. Practice must, of course, take cognizance of, and make allowance for, the particular circumstances obtaining at any time. And I need not remind members that conditions in Western Samoa are unique. Especially welcome are the comments that have been made on the necessity to establish suitable and efficient local authorities in the Territory. tis the Council knows, this matter is receiving the energetic attention of the Territorial Government and of the recently established District and Village Government Board. F!ith regard to recent developments in the judicial field, I should like once again to assure the distinguished representative of China that, in fact, the judiciary in its exercise of judicial functions in the Territory is, at all levels, completely independent of any Governmental influence. This is true even in those increasingly rare cases where an administrative officer may sit as a Commissioner in the high Court. i;ith the increased training and supervision by the High Court given to District Judges, it will soon be possible to build up a more efficient system of lower courts as has long been contemplated. This step will be an important one in the progress of :.estern Samoa. The comments made concerning the Levelopment Plan and the way in which the Administering Authority has approached the problem of ensuring that the Samoan people are fully aware of the contents of the 21 n have been very interesting even if they have not always been unanimous. They will all receive the earnest consideration of the &ninistering Authority and will be brought to the notice of the people of the Territory. With regard to economic matters, the Administering nut hority finds itself in complete agreement with the comments made in this Council to the effect that in most difficult problems which meet. It also realizes that this vital field lie some of the the Samoans and their Trustees will the urgency of the danger must be

Page 8

brought home to the people of the Territory by a11 means iq its come. _nly on the basis of increase2 and increasing per capita production can the future State of 'estern Samoa hope to maintain, let alone improve, its stacility, its standard of living and its freedom of action. Some distinguished ncrnbersof this Council have mentioned the Territory's customs tariff in the course of the debate. i regret that I have not been able to be more explicit on this point, which is now before the Territorial Government for consid;rdtion. I think that 1 may safely assure the Council that ne;:tyear a more generally satisfactory review of the position s/illbe given. i3utthis is now mainly the concern of the Samoans themselves, it must be remembered, and they are naturally careful when making any radical changes in the tariff srhedule, for this is the greatest single source of the Territory's revenue and is likely to remain so for a considerable time. The position of the ndministering xuthority in regard to 3ritish 7 referential Tariff in Lestsn SamoL was, of course, made quite aleam in the statement of its Termanent Eeprosentative at the twelfth session of this Council. The helpful remarks made regarding the possibilities and advantages of tooperative societies as future production units and alternative foy;1sof socio-economic crganization, and regarding the possible srope for the greater use of idle domestic capital are quite in line with the present ideas of both the Aministering ..uthorityand the Territorial Government. By whom and how best some of this domestir @apita& should be used will undoubtedly be a mjtter of healthy and energetie debate during the next few years. The present domestic market fov those products that could be made avaiL:ble by investment in agriculture, pastoral farming and secondary industries is, in most cases, not unlimited: the current high margin of profit obtained for export crops also acts as a deterrent to large-scale investment in what might be called 'treatment" industries. Eut wherever there do seem to be definite possibilities for the profitable investment of even comparatively small sums in certain prrmary and secondary industries, these opportunities will not be neglected if the Administering Authority has its way. In the meantime, the Government's i vest-

Page 9

ment in capital works is, of course, steadily increasing. The need for the early appointment of a doctor with some special training in the treatment of tuberculosis is recognized by both the Territorial Government and the Administering authority. Their efforts to obtain a suitable officer will continue unflagging. The South Pacific Xedical Service may be of assistance in this matter. HS far as education is concerned, I can say without exaggeration that the Administering Authority agrees that in this field a special effort must be made during the next few years. Samoa urgently needs at least a cadre of highly educated men. Dr Deeby's report is, as the istingulshed representative of Belgium has said, 'Ideliberatelycritical", and it is the sort of criticism with the aid of which a more comprehensive system of education may be built. Once again, this is a matter which can be tacldrrlsuccessfully only if the Samoans themselves cooperate fully with the Administering Authority and with their own Government. The Beeby report is, of course, under consideration by the Territorial Government at preThe remarks made in this Council Public Library in the Territory will, concerning the need for a I know, be read with great pleasure and interest by all those interested in the project, and the Council will be advised next year of what action is contemplated or has been taken. In many ways the past year has been a year of preparation - of the gathering of data, of the analysis of facts and figures - of planning rather than action, although action itself has certainly n& been lacking. As the distinguished representative of the United States has reminded us, basic studies such as the Economic Survey, is to be scientific and fruitful. This is a truth which the impatient may overlook, but which the wise will appreciate. Plans divorced from facts and figures are phantasms - mere wistful dreams or wishful thoughts, signifying very little.

Page 10

This is one of the hzrd facts of life on which enthusiastic Administrative Officers sometimes stub their more ambitious toes. It is heartening to hear that members of the Council appreciate the value, and indeed the necessity, of this preI should like to thank the distinguished representative of India for the interesting and illuminating statement that he made yesterday afternoon. I assure the distinguished representative that his views and suggestions will be carefully studied by the Administering Authority and Semoan leaders. It is not quite accurate, however, simply to say, 2s I understood him to say, that the Administering Authority is activated by a desire to unload its responsibilities and the Samoans refuse to pick them up; The position is rather that the Administering Authority, recognizing its obligations under the Trusteeship __ Agreement, wishes to give Yestern Samoa self-government in _ the best form, and by the best method possible, and the Samoan leaders are pondering on exactly what is the best form for them, or what is the best way to obtain it. Like so many of us they may, as suggested, display at times a desire to both have their cake and eat it - they seem sometimes to want self-government with New Zealand conveniently handy to assist with advice and , perhaps, to assist in more positive ways if anything goes wrong. But they must, I agree, face up to the fact that power carries with it responsibility. In the light of the Trusteeship Agreement, the Administering Authority has to take care not to throw out the baby without his clothes. It cannot simply clear out - it has serious obligations which it must discharge res-. The remarks made by the distinguished representative of India concerning institutional reforms and self-administration were most thought-provoking. It is hoped and expected that some institutional reforms will be one outcome of the recommendations of the Constitutional Convention. As far as selfadministration is concerned, I should draw the attention of the distinguished representative to my explanatory statement made

Page 11

in this Council on the 25th of June 1954. This statement, I feel, shows more clearly than do the Annual Report and the figures quoted by the distinguished representative what progress has already been made towards self-administration for Samoa, The distinguished representative of ‘.Syriaconsidered, as did the distinguished representative of India, that political power should penetrate further into Samoan society. But, cs the distinguished representative of Syria so wisely remarked in his interesting statement yesterday, those improvements and reforms which would seem to be in the best interest of the people of the Territory must not be forced upon the Samoans. This is the attitude of the Administering Authority exactly - especially in relation to land tenure where the distinguished representative shrewdly implied there might be resistance. The Samoans are well aware that the Administering Authority has under the Trusteeship Agreement undertaken to respect their customs. Ten years of/co-operation followed the last efforts made by the Administering Authority to go faster in this field than the Samoans thought warranted. The happy mean must be assiduously pursued, although this is constantly modified as I was pleased to find that the distinguished representative of Syria, in his suggestions as to what must now be done, followed so closely the main projects outlined in the Prime Ministerts statement and High Co,mmissionerlsaddress in March of last year, most of which are now receiving active attention; Vith regard to land alienation in Western Samoa, I should remind the distinguished representative that the current legal conditions governing alienation of Samoan land are shown not on page 78 of the Annual Report but on page 81. Although no lawyer, I am appreciative of the distinguished representative's commentary on real rights created by leases under Roman Law. I hasten to assure him, however, that under the English system of which applies in the Territory law/a 40-year lease in Samoa creates no rights of assignment or of sub-letting, user, renewal or compensation apart from those specifically given in the instrument of lease. At the end of

Page 12

the term of the lease the leasehold property of course reverts to the lessor. I should also like to remind the distinguished representative that although legislative measures of the New Zealand Parliament are still theoretically subject to the refusal of assent by the Crown and, until fairly recently the Parliament was incompetent to legislate on certain reserved subjects and enactments, no-one suggested that because of this the New Zealand Parliament has, or had, no legislative powers, Perhaps British Constitutional Law is not so rigid in its definitions on this poins as are some Continental systems of law. In any case full sovereignty in the Legislative As'semblywould surely be logically incompatible with the Trust status of the Territory. I should like to assure the distinguished representative of the USSR, that the Administering Authority is at one with him in its desire to see !,JesternSamoa a strong self-governing state. This is clear from the Prime Minister's statement, At times I find I cannot agree with the distinguished representative's arbitrary,selection and interpretation of fact, I should like to refer him, to save time, to the relevant parts of this statement and of my answers to various questions for details about Samoans in the Public Service and about the powers of the Legislative I know that he will be pleased to hear that the Assembly to enjoy the complete confidence of the people in the Territory and that in the new Legislature the proportion of Samoan to European members is sure to be greatly increased. I agree with the distinguished representative of the Soviet Union that the Administering Authority should avoid consecrating, or bolstering up, the matai system in such a way as to impede future progress; This is the main reason, of course, why it was decided not to recognize the judicial powers of traditional bodies - although in this the Administering Authority appears not to see eye to eye with the distinguished representative of The Administering Authority constantly holds before the Samoan people the advantages of new..formsof political representation and of economic organization. In r"act,various government officials have incurred at 5mes a certain amount of suspicion from Samoans for the zeal with which they have preached this gospel. But we will persevere, although so many Samoans insist that their form of society is far more truly democratic in spirit and fact than …