TAHITI—FEARFUL TRAGEDY.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 46, 15 May 1862, Page 6 (Supplement)

TAHITI—FEARFUL TRAGEDY.

(From the S. M. Herald.) IrA correspondent, writing from Papioti Feb. 17 gives the following account of a dreadful tragedy which had occurred at that place, lie says : “ An event, not so solemn in some respects but much more awful in its facts, lias occurred here lately, in the violent death of the captain of an American schooner, which had u arrivcd here ‘from San Francisco. The captain brought with him a female passenger and her infant daughter; she was a wife of another captain who was sailin'' out of this port for some time. He had written for her to come and join him, and to bring their little daughter. He was away on a voyage on their arrival, and lodgings were taken for them by the owner ol the vessel. She w r as soon informed of the error of her husband; and she received sympathy from those around her, and, indeed, from most of the population. From her frequent visits, however, on board the vessel in which she had come as passenger, some began to suspect that there might be little difference between her own conduct and that of her husband, and she was cautioned lest the suspicion might grow, but she continued her visits as before. At length her husband arrived, who immediately confessed his fault, and promised to reform. She positively refused to live with him, and declared that she would stay with the captain who had brought her and who was going to Valparaiso. The husband promised that he would support her until an opportunity occurred of sending her homo to her friends, hut positively refused to allow her to go to Valparaiso. She was obstinate, and ho took measures to prevent her going. He applied to the Government in its various branches and to other ollicials, but all declared they had no power to assist him. His mind only appeared to receive new determination from this disappointment. He armed himself, and about 8 o’clock on the night of the 9th of November, waited by the roadside for the captain of the schooner/ The captain, on the way to his vessel, called upon his agent and borrowed a revolver. They met; the husband demanded, —‘Are you prepared to give up to me my wife and child ? ’ when the other replied by a shot. It was returned ; several shots were exchanged : one from the husband struck the captain in the thigh; the husband then rushed upon him, knocked him down, disarmed him, and broke in his skull with ■bis pistol. The captain lived about twenty minutes, and expired. The husband was taken up and placed in confinement. A very large and searching examination of different persons was made ; the man himself was many times examined. At. length the day of the trial arrived; parties were again called, and among them was the woman, who behaved with such levity, that she disgusted all present, and the President of the Court told her that she had been the cause of all that had occurred. The man’s statement was, that the captain had fired first, and there being no one to contradict it, lie bad the benefit of it. The Court at length decided that what he had done was in self-defence, and fully acquitted him. “ Few things have occurred in Tahiti for many years that has created so much excitement as this case has done. Party feeling has ran high, some being in favor of one, and others of the other; while as is usual, those who have taken a middle view, of course please no one but themselves. A subscription was raised by those who were favourable to the woman, and she and her child, with the consent of the husband, were sent to her friends in America.