I

The first intelligence that came through regarding the new Administrator of Samoa was a Central News message from Auckland, published in the Morning Post of July 11, 1928. It ran as follows:

"The King's Birthday ceremonies this year will not be forgotten for many a long day in Samoa, where a triumph was scored by the new Administrator, Colonel Stephen Allen. The story has just reached here from Apia.

"No disloyalty, it must be understood, is felt by the Mau (League of Samoans) to the British flag, the objection is merely to the New Zealand Administration. The King's Birthday called for the usual ceremony of saluting either the King's representative or the flag, and the Mau decided that they could salute only the flag.

"Consequently they made secret preparations for the ceremony, being careful to ensure that the Administrator would be kept in the dark as to the exact time.

"On the morning of June 3 the Administrator and his household assembled for breakfast and the first question asked was, 'What time does the Mau ceremony take place?'

"By good fortune a guest of Colonel Allen was able to say that when he was in Apia the previous evening he had learned that the ceremony would be at eight o'clock.

"It was then ten minutes to eight. There was general consternation, for the Administrator was in morning clothes, and Apia was four miles away.

"No time was lost, however. The King's representative struggled into his uniform, buttoning it up as his car raced for the flagstaff in front of the Government buildings in Apia.

"As the clocks chimed eight the Administrator, immaculately dressed, stepped coolly from the car and walked to the saluting base. He raised his arm to take the salute as the first file of the Mau procession came abreast of him.

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"It was a thrilling moment. The Samoan chiefs grouped near the base saw the Administrator arrive, but not an eyelid flickered.

"Tamasese, the native leader, heading the procession, suddenly saw the Administrator appear below the flag, but his step never faltered and his salute was perfect.

"The members of the procession took the cue, and filed past in perfect order. To many present the ceremony had no special significance, but it had provided a great moral victory for Colonel Allen."

This "great moral victory" displayed a deplorable lack of administrative intuition and understanding. The Samoans are fond of drawing parallels from the Old Testament. They would have been reminded of Jacob and Esau. To have broken the procession would have been undignified. They have well been called a race of gentlemen.