AT SAMOA

Hokitika Guardian, 21 January 1930, Page 5

AT SAMOA

THE INQUEST RESUMED.

(By Radio, Special to Press. Assn.)

APIA, January 18. The inquest was resumed on Jan uary fifteenth.

Kruse, u director, -employed In Nelson, stated on the morning o December 27 he-.asked the^ Jtnspecto of Police fofr'Smytht and,: Hall-S&r|||o land 'at Apb wiiarC■ explai’tijng .fit was ftfbie eon vemeiit. vHpMiold/'the Inspector the Miiu procession was coming to Apia on December 28th. He remembem the Inspector saying if the wanted men were in the procession they would be arrested, and. if arrests were effected and the Mau resisted, a lot of fighting, might result. The. police were determined to get the .wanted men. The Inspector .told witness to inform the Mau not to bring the wanted men in the procession.

Witness replied he was not- .the leg al representative of the. Mau, but he promised to tell the Mau if he saw. its members. ;> \ "

Permission was granted by telephone on the afternoon of December 27tli for the landing at Apia. Later witness saw Tamasese to arrange a reception and passed on the Inspector’s message. • : > t ..

Tamasese said: “Very well,, I will talk it over ‘with the others this evening.”' • , \ - ' On the following morning, Decern* ber 28th, witness saw ’the ; procession of three hundred members of the Mau. He saw the 80-eallcd Mau police carrying batons. • i ; •.)' Sua, one of , : -theiwoUiided Samoans in the hospital'stated hie was in the procession, He saw the policemen attempt to arrest a Mau and a general mix up occurred and blows were struck on both sides. He saw a policeman fall, but lie did not know the cause. He did not see who was first struck. The police then fired revolvers and the Mau- used, stones. Shooting ceased, and the police retreated to the station. He did not see the constable who was killed. Witness returned to the .Courthouse '•corner, and saw Tamasese, umbrella in hand, tailing on the Man to keep i the He ...saw. Tamasese hit by one single*;,distrfict-,shot, . before a burst from a machine gun occurred. He rushed to assist’ Tamasese, when he (witness) was hit -by what he thought was the firstcfmachine gun burst. He thought i Faualo and Tuia were also hit by thissihifst. He did not see anybody killed iputright. Faualo, another wounded", Samoan in the hospital, stated he was in the procession opposite the'nfarket when the first shots were fujed. He continued towards the Court-house, when he saw Tamasese waving an umbrella and calling to keep the peace. He saw Tamasesefall' and n*fth others went to has assistance, F When he was lifting Tamasee, his leg wag hit by a biillet from a machine ■’ gun burst. He was wounded before Sua and Tuia were hit. He said 1 the purpose' of the forty Mau police in the procession was to ke&p peape. Chief Tnimalialufano stated that when the procession passedilthe Courthouse, the police rushed, |in an attempt. to break through it, to arrest Matau, but were prevented by Mau police, by pushing. ;l . . ' They (the heads of Mau)’instructed their police to keep the other police back quietly without force. Shots were fired immediately after: breaking through. Witness was calling on the procession to keep the p&ee, when he was hit. Stones were in the general mix up. : .< To Mr Slipper: Before leaving Vaimoso he instructed the Committee not to bring the wanted men to town. When he joined the procession at the Customs, he was surprised to see the wanted men present. ..f To the Coroner-: It was correct that when the police tried to arrest anyone, they were generally . resisted by the people of the village;'/.under instructions from the Mau Committee. If the police went to arrest anyone, they-.,wqie/fto be resisted forcibly and police got the wanted men, they could have them. r‘‘;v f ,"