Show VERY DULL BUSINESS GIVES SAMOANS TIME TO CRITICIZE CRITI-CIZE THE GOVERXMEXT EightyFive Per Cent of the Revenues Reve-nues Applied to the Payment of Salaries President Schmidt Asked to Resign A Crisis Impending SAN FRANCISCO Jan 16The steamship Mariposa arrived from Apia this morning bringing news of an uprising up-rising of the business men of Samoa against President Schmidt Business being very dull in Samoa the people as they do everywhere criticised the government The situa tion had been talked over by several leading merchants and It being ascertained as-certained that 85 per cent of all municipal munici-pal and governmental revenues were being paid out In salaries a meeting was held by the prominent business men where resolutions were unanimously unani-mously adopted The resolutions were to the effect that after years of trial the different functions of the president who receives a compensation from the municipality of Apia of 5000 yearly had proved to he either wholly unworkable un-workable or he was a failure and n burdensome expense upon a small community com-munity That a adviser to the king he could never be a success To prove this charge the resolution set forth that the king and government had found it necessary to petition the three treaty powers for the removal of President Schmidt Referring again to President Schmidt the resolution states that as chairman of the municipal pal council his success is just a remote re-mote The committee said the SR moans were quite capable conduct ing their own affairs especially where they have the three consuls as a supervisory board As treasurer and < custodian of the revenue i was represented repre-sented that it did not require a man at a salary a 5000 per annum to superintend the running of a little custom house and oversee a few clerks There are plenty of business men in the place i was said who could fill this office under bonds In a far more satisfactory manner in the regular course of their regar daily business for a nominal salary Furthermore since the ratification of the Berlin treaty while the foreigners have always whie complied com-plied with its regulations and have paid their taxes the Samoans have not done so and no attempt whatever I has been made to collect the Samoan capitation tax Therefore the treaty powers were requested to recall President Presi-dent Schmidt and allow their alow representatives repre-sentatives the three consuls to take the office It was then agreed that communication communica-tion be made to the municipal council in order to allow them to approve or disapprove of the foregoing This actions ac-tions was taken but the members tons membfrs r fused to meet the peoples committee which aroused such a storm of hostile hos-tile criticism that four of the six members mem-bers immediately resigned However the council at a special meeting held shortly afterward unanimously approved ap-proved of the resolutions of the people peo-ple Including the abolition of the office of-fice of president and adding a rider to the effect that the ad valorem duties should be raised from 2 to 10 per cent Matters then assumed a farcical aspect as-pect but the people were In earnest and obtained a sufficient number of signatures signa-tures of councillors to demand the president to call a special meeting to receive the resignation and issue a writ for a new election Unfortunately for the people an error a made in the date for the meeting as the request re-quest was made for Tuesday December Decem-ber 23 when I should have been the 24th The presidents perceptions was acute enough to detect the error and he replied asking which was the date Intended and has In the meantime taken a weeks holiday So the matter stands but the people peo-ple are earnest and even If force is necessary will make a change in the existing order of things |