THE FIJI ISLANDS.

Marlborough Express, Volume III, Issue 135, 12 September 1868, Page 3

THE FIJI ISLANDS.

The following letter is published in the Otago jDaihj Times. It is dated Levuka, July 23 : “ Here I am, at last, in Fiji, after a passage of fifteen days from Dunedin, having had a narrow escape from running on a reef near Levuka. I can tell you I would never wish to live in a better place than Fiji. The climate is splendid. True, it is rather hot;’hut that is only in the middle of the day. I have been now travelling among the natives for the last month, and I enjoyed myself very well, although they were burning and killing each other not more than fifteen or twenty m.les from where we were. Things are rather unsettled in reference to the "1 natives, as King Thakombau has been defeated ; so that makes the mountain tribes very indepen- ‘ dent and_ saucy. But in about a month, all the petty chiefs and the men are going to collect their men from round the coast, and are determined to go right up the mountains, and drive them out. All the fighting is confined to one island, so the religions natives will get on better this time. One party will go into the mountains at one side, and another party at the other ; so there will be warm work there in a short time. The “ devils”—-that is what the mountaineers are'calied~are friendly enough to the white setr tiers ; it is the missionaries and native teacbcei that they try to kill and eat, ia the mountains yet. If the - white.tneu get' killed, they bring it oa themselves. There are two men-of-war in Levuka just now; so lam' told, that they are going tu solid some of the saiiors up the. Rewa river to burn down seme of tne villages; so f fancy the devils ” will be quiet enough directly The Brisk will leave here,; to-morrow, for Sydney, and she takes two men ~ ■'

■ out of the island altogether. What do you think it is fur? One brute, because a native boy au- * poyed him, took up a red hot iron and branded him ou the back. The natives fined him d>\, but he would not pay, so he is now going to be taken to Sydney. The other one was for robbery. Another man, because he thought that he coud not get enough work from his men, tied up one and liugged him, and then rubbed hot chili peppers on ids sore back. He has been lined £SO by the Bri.ish Consul and Thakambau, but he refuses to pay it until an American man-of-war comes in, as ho claims to be an American subject. These are Uu; kind of men that will get the whites into trouble I am now just starting for a place called ‘ Sava Sara,’ where I intend buying 500 acres of land. Oi course, I have had a great many difficulties to e-intend with, but lam very hopeful. It was only today that the Melbourne Company succeeded ia getting old Thakambau to sign the charter in reference to the American debt. He binds himself to hand over certain lands to the company, so they will now set to work to bring machinery for sugar making, and likewise open a banking establishment. If they succeed in raising the capital, it will be the making of Fiji, as the settlers will now set to work to get sugar-cane {banted, as well as cotton and coffee. By-the )ye, Mr. T. Johnson has arrived with press, plant, &c. lam very much afraid he is too soon. The place is too young ; you can scarcely credit how the white people are scattered ; the llewa River is the only plaee where there is anything like a white population—there are only 90 settled there, and about 50 or 60 in Levuka. It might do in another 12 months to start a paper, but I am afraid he will have a hard fight. I would not have let the chance slip if I had thought it would pay. 1 was offered the use of the press and plant belonging to the Wesleyan Mission, if I would start a. paper, but 1 did not like the idea. In reference to any one coming here, I should not advise them to come with less than £250 or ,-t'SOO ; if you come with less, you will find your- . self in a fix, that is, if you intend going into cotton planting. Levuka consists of six stores, five hotels, one Wesleyan Church, reading-room, British and Amercan Consuls’ office, and about 20 or 30 o'her houses. That does not include Native villages—they are all round Levuka. If you look at the Melbourne papers in about a couple of weeks, you will see what the Banking Company have done, as Messrs. Brewer and Evans started for Sydney this morning, by the John Wesley.”