STORY OF A TRAGEDY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 401, 4 October 1911, Page 3

STORY OF A TRAGEDY.

The Rev. Dr Porter, who has made a long tour in the Solomon Islands, returned to Sydney last week and told the true story of the recent murder at Malaita of Mr Daniels, a member of the South Sea Evangelical Mission. It was reported soon after the tragedy occurred that Mr Daniels had been attacked because he had given shelter to a native man and woman who had committed a serious crime, but Dr Porter denied that report. He staled that it was a custom of the natives to sell their daughters to young men for wives. A bachelor in search of a wife generally declared his suit by making a present to the father of the girl who had won his affection, but sometimes the young man made sure of his bride by stealing her first and paying for her afterwards. It w : as in connection with an incident of this kind that the attack on Mr Daniels occurred. The murderer was a man who had stolen a girl and had been told by her father to bring a white man's head, for which he would give a reward. The missionary was the nearest white man, and the young Lridegroorn shot him while he was conducting a service among a nuni ber of natives. The civilised natives were deeply shocked and mourned very sincerely for the death of their pastor. Dr Porter is of opinion that Malaita, in =pite of its very evil reputation, is no longer a dangerous place for white men. Many of the°bushmen°have given up cannibalism, but they are responding very slowly to the efforts put forward by the missionaries for their education and improvement. It is not safe to trust them until they are "proper'y converted, 7 ' and as they manage to evade the law and procure rifles and ammunition they have to be watched closely. Since the murder the civilised natives have maintained a guard with a view to preventing attacks on themselves or their white friends, and steps have been taken to punish the murderer of Mr Daniels. Punitive expeditions into the bush, however, afford at best a cumbersome means of teaching the untutored savage to respect authority.