Mr. Coleman to Mr.
Gresham.
No. 87.]
Embassy of
the United States,
Berlin, April 29, 1894.
(Received May 16.)
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith the
full text of certain leading articles, accompanied by translations,
relating to Samoan affairs, taken from the numbers of the North German
Gazette published on the 26th and 28th instant.
Peculiar interest attaches to the utterances of this semiofficial journal
for the reason that they are generally regarded, when important
political matters are discussed, as reflecting the views of the imperial
foreign office.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 87.—From the
Nbrddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, April 26,
1894.—Translation.]
In the sitting of the English House of Commons of the 24th instant,
the under secretary of state of the foreign office confirmed the
intelligence that the New Zealand Government has proposed to take
upon itself the administration of the Samoan Islands. Sir Edward
Grey remarked in this connection that this or any similar
proposition appeared to be incompatible with the provisions of the
Berlin agreement.
One will not go far wrong in assuming that the action of New Zealand
is due to the artificial machinations of Chauvinists in that country
and in England. It is indeed unintelligible on what grounds the New
Zealand of any other colonial government can base its claims to
interfere in Samoan affairs. The existing agreement,
[Page 755]
which is still in force, was concluded
between England, Germany, and the United States. If it should de
deemed neccessary to amend or to annul this convention the
negotiations would be conducted by the cabinets of London, Berlin,
and Washington alone, and they would boubtless take into
consideration the present condition of the islands and the material
interests of the nations represented there. New Zealand would not be
considered at all, as it does not possess any interests in Samoa
worth mentioning. The commercial interests in the islands, including
under this term both trade in general and plantations, are almost
exclusively in the hands of the Germans. A systematic agitation
coming from New Zealand or from any other English colony can not
alter these stubborn facts.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 87.—From the
Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, April 28,
1894.—Translation.]
The article in the Times respecting the Samoan question, reported
yesterday by telegraph, is now before us in its full text. The city
sheet shares the opinion that the present situation in Samoa has
become untenable, but fails to suggest any positive measure for its
improvement. The proposal of the Government of New Zealand to take
Samoa under its own administration is considered favorably, and the
only misgivings expressed are based on the apprehension that England
would be held responsible for the success of the experiment. As
regards German claims on the islands, the paper remarks that English
sentiment is not prepared to accept an exclusive German protectorate
over Samoa, for the reason that such protectorate would involve some
large questions of policy, alike for England and for the Australian
colonies, which could not be set aside by the rather irrelevant
argument that the most important commercial interests there are in
German hands.
Finally, the Times asserts that those who demand a German
protectorate in Samoa, and object strongly to the proposals of New
Zealand, do not represent the preponderant opinion of the German
people, but rather that there are many Germans who would gladly see
the German Government freed from all responsibility in Samoa, and
German interests safeguarded under an English protectorate.
The influence of the Times on public opinion in England is still too
great for such statements to be passed over in silence. It is quite
intelligible that an English newspaper should sympathize with the
idea of an administration of Samoa by an English colony. But on the
other side of the channel people must prepare themselves to earn
that from a German point of view, neither New Zealand nor any other
English colony has any business in Samoa, and that they have
absolutely no right to meddle in the affairs of the islands., As is
already known, negotiations are at the present moment in progress
for a fresh settlement of the Samoan question, and it would be
prejudicial to their success if such a distorted view as to the
attitude of public opinion in Germany were to find currency in
England. The Times characterizes the fact that trade and commerce in
Samoa are almost exclusively in German hands as irrelevant, but it
is exactly this point which is for Germany of decisive importance.
There are in Germany unconditional opponents of a colonial policy,
who pursue their principles so far that they would be willing to
accept an English protectorate over Samoa, but they are in the
minority. On the other hand, the great majority of the German nation
is of the opinion that, in consideration of the historical
development of Samoa and of the preponderance of German interests
there, a protectorate of any country but Germany is out of the
question. By representing this view as that of a Chauvinist
minority, the city organ is leading the public opinion of England
astray. We deplore this most sincerely.
