OUTRAGES.IN FIJI

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1404, 30 January 1873, Page 2

OUTRAGES.IN FIJI

[MELBOURNE TELEGRAPH.] On the 3rd December a horrible outrage was committed on the person of Mrs Vernon, who lives in the cottage in the neighborhood of Messrs Hehning's ginning establishment. At an early hour in the evening some person, supposed to have been disguised, went to the house, and on Mrs Vernon going to the door to see who was th^re, 'threw some vitriol over her. The unfortunate woman ran out of her house, and down to a neighbor, where every attention was paid her and her wounds dressed. The following is Dr Ryley's report on the case :— " At the request of the police, I, last night, half-past rine o'clock, visited Mrs^itenon at her house. I found her suffering severely from the effects of some escharotic, which she said had been a short time before thrown upon her face and chest. The injury to the face is slight, but the front of the chest was found more or less injured from severe redness or inflammation to vesication, and in some places the skin was charred of a black or dark brown color, and feeling to the touch like parchment. 1 examined a number of stains on the floor of the cottage near the door, and on several articles of dress worn by the patient at the time of the alleged assault, of a deep red or reddish brown color. I this day, assisted by Mx Parker, subjected the stains on the stays and the gown, also a piece of paper with which I wiped the stains on the floor, to chemical examination, and found each of the articles to yield the characteristic results to the re-agents for sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol." A serious disturbance, resulting, in the loss of life took place among the prisoners at Totoga Gaol. About half-past four in the morning loud cries and shrieks of pain and fright alarmed the officers on guard, and showed that some fearful work was going on inside. Captain Harding ran to the spot, and calling for a light, attempted to force his way into the cell from which the noise proceeded, but it was barricaded inside. The cell contained four Fiji men, two of whom being desperate characters, one having broken out of gaol more than once, were chained to the floor, and two Tokalau men, one awaiting trial for murder, and one in gaol on a charge of threatening the lives of Messrs M'Dougall and Johns, and being an accessory to the murder of Mr Ross. Captain Harding then attempted to look between the logs but could see nothing, while from the; cell came the sound of heavy blows falling with a sickening thud, and followed by shrieks of pain gradually subsiding into the silence of insensibility. Another attempt was then made upon, the door and it yielded sufficiently to allow Captain Harding to put in his head, when one "of the Tokalaus aimed a blow at him which he avoided. He then put his hand round the door and fired at the man holding it, The shot missed, but the door yielded, and squeezing through he sprang into the cell. By the dim lijht he could see one of the Tokalau prisoners, who was handcuffed, but with rather a long link, with a heavy log of wood in his hands, striking furious blows at one of the chained Fijimen, and another with a similar log crouching for a spring upon the officer. Anxious to save the lives of the Fijitnen, Captain Hardingpljime* diately fired upon the first maiAand faced round upon the other, whdpibwever, quite cowed, quietly submitted, and was instantly disarmed and secured by SergeanfcSenior, who hadfollowed closely, and the other gaol officials, who of course were all on £he spot, but unable to render any assistance till the door was opened. The man shot was quite dead — the ball having gone through the brain, and the Fijimen in the cell presented a fearful spectacle, being bruised and cut horribly. One man who was chained down was so horribly cut about the head that his life was feared for, but he is now recovering. The weapons used were two heavy pieces of joisting, 3x4, which had been smuggled in by the Fijians as pillows. The dead man was a very desperate character, and was only a day or two previous detected in the attempt to secure a knife, when he said his intention was to murder all the Fijians in the cell, then all the white men that came in, and, finally, to commit suicide, adding that he did not care for his own life if he could only kill somebody before he died. An inquest was held by Mr Truscott and a white jury, and a Vert diet returned of justifiable homicide. The Tokalau fellow prisoner of the man shot recently in the. gaol,- who was for some time supposed to be shamming in* sensibility to avoid punishment, particularly as no external marks of violence could be discerned, died on- Wednesday last from compression of the brain. An inquest was held by Mr Truscott, and .a verdict returned to the effect that the deceased died from the cause above mentioned, occasioned by a blow on the head, but how received there was no evidence to show. The theory was that either his fellow prisoner had struck him when aiming a blow at Captain Harding, or that when the door was thrown open, he being then in a stooping position, he was struck by the door itself on the head.