MURDER OF FIVE WHITE MEN AND ONE FIJIAN AT FIJI.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 287, 5 December 1871, Page 2

MURDER OF FIVE WHITE MEN AND ONE FIJIAN AT FIJI.

(From theJjfji Times, itk November.) A painful sensation was created yesterday morning upou the beach at the rumor that Mr. T. Warburton, merchant in this town, Messrs. Kingston, Robson, Whittaker, plauters of Taviuui, aud Mr. Owen, master of the Meva cutter, aud a Fijian,

had been murdered on board that craft on Wednesday Bight. On making inquiry we find that there is too much proof of the bloody tragedy for us to doubjt its truth. From Mr. Manton, who brought the intelligence, we learnt the following particulars — all that is at present knowu of the details. When at his plantation at Angau ou Wednesday evening last, at about 8 o'clock, a native came over and reported that, five white men had been murdered on. board a cutter that evening. He gave the particulars as follows : — " The wbife people were at supper in the cabin, when a Solomon Islander came aft and asked at the cabin door that he and his comrades might have their supper too, as they were very hungry. One of the white men promised that be would see that they were well £d, and was coming up on deck to carry out his promise when he was immediately tomahawked. Another sprang on to the deck, but only to share the 6ame fate: and the other three men seized muskets and also rushed up from the cabin. Before they had time to look around them, two more were tomahawked, aud the third one leaped overboard. During the time this was beiup enacted one of the Fiji men, who was at the galley forward, was also tomahawked, and the other jumped overboard. The white man and he swam together for a time, but the white man was a bad . swimmer, and offered the Fijian ten pouuds to help him to the shore. This the Fijian refused to do, as lie was afrnid the poor fellow would drown him. Soon aftpr this the unfortunate man sank, and the Dative succeeded in reaching the land, when the information was at once carried to Mr; Manton, who lost no time in bringing it on to Levuka." It were impossible to describe the feelings of the people in Levuka as soon as the painful intelligence spread. The best manifestation of it was the readiness with which they came forward to aid the Government io pursuit of the bloodthirsty wretches who had perpetrated the foul'leed. Within an hour after the bugle sounded the ■" assembly,' 1 above a hundred ineu presented themselves, all anxious to aid in the pursuit. A force of thirty-six was at once chosen, and drafted into four squads of eight men, and one officer to each, which were put on board at once and despatched to sea. The vessels were — Pomona cutter, about six tons; Xariffa cutter, of twenty-five tons; Jubilee mission schooner, of forty tons; and Kate Grant schooner, of about forty tons — each vessel having a force of niue rank and file, fully armed, and the whole expedition losing under . the command of Captain Armstrong, recently of the royal navy. Ffom the weather we have bad during the»last few days it is thought that the Meva cannot be far away, there not being any one on board her who understands either the pFace or handling a vessel. On Thursday there were very light northerly airs and part of the day calms ; and at night aud all day yesterday southerly breezes. The vessels in pursuit are stocked with three weeks' provisions, but it is confidently anticipated that the wretches will be caught long before that time will have elapsed. The Meva, cutter, is of about ten tons, and left here on Tuesday last, bound for Taviuni, having on board the unfortunate victims of this tragedy, and forty Solomon Island laborers only recently imported in the Lismore, schooner.