THE LATE BISHOP PATTESON.

Evening Star, Issue 3024, 29 October 1872, Page 2

THE LATE BISHOP PATTESON.

Tho Bev. F. Langham, Wesleyan Mis* giouary at Eau, Fiji group, has written,the following letter to the Fiji Times: —hir,— Will you kindly publish the following particulars, which I received from a gentleman planter last w’eek, and which seem to settle the question in dispute as to whether Bishop katteson was murdered in retaliation for some act of kidnapping on the part of socalled ‘ ‘ labor vessels” at Santa 1 ruz. It has been stated, on what seemed to be good authority, that no labor vessels had beep able at any time to obtain laborers from that island, the natives showing such a hostile disposition as to render it unsafe to land among them ; and, it has been said, the Bishop acted very imprudently in landing among such a treacherous people, 'those; too, who have ventured to suggest that the killing of the Bishop w..<s in revenge for the doings of some of our labor vessels upon this island have been held up to ridicule, and their statement regarded as a libel upon tho labor traffic. If, however, the following account be correct, and I see no reason to doubt its accuracy in the main particulars, it will be seen that these gentlemen have not deserved the reflections cast upon them, but the Fiji and Melbourne (the vessel spoke or hailing from Melbourne, or being; partly

owned by a late Melbourne merchant) share in the responsibility incurred by the murder of Bishop Patteson and his companions. The gentleman referred to above informed me that he had in his employ a short time back five natives of Nukapu (.he island on which the Bishop was killed). 1 hesc natives stated to him that seeing a vessel which they thought might bo the Bishop’s schoone*’ —lam not sure that a party from the vessel had not gone on shore—they (the five) started in the canoe for the vessel, taking with them a basket of food as a present for the Bishop, intending also to ask him to come on shore. On reaching the vessel and inquiring for the Bishop, they were told he was down below, hut would be on deck presently ; they were then asked to come on board, which they did, and four went below with the food. Just then a gentleman, dressed in clericals, catue on deck, and went towards the fifth, who at the same moment was seized by some Tanna men and thrust down the hold, the hatches being immediately put on, and the vessel sailed away. These Natives further stated that on the way to Fiji they were compelled to hold up bottles at arm’s length, as targets, while their captors displayed their skill with revolvers, by which two, they think, wore wounded one received a bullet through the roof of his mouth, which was dressed hy my informant. One of the men died on the plantation, the other four made their escape in a whaleboat a short time ago, and have not since been heard of. By referring to tho Fiji Times of November 11, it will be seen that the Margaret Chessel, the vessel from which those five men were obtained by my informant, visited Santa Cruz, among other inlands, about two months before the murder of tho Bishop, but nothing is said of anything done there, and that she had a crew of Tanna men. It will be remembered that in the published account of the death of the Bishop, it said, “ That when the body was brought on board the vessel, there was a palm frond, tied with five knots, thrust into the breast, ’’ which was probably meant to signify that five of the islanders had been killed or taken away hy the vessel: that this was the cause of the attack, and that this was their revenge.