SOLOMON ISLANDS MASSACRE.

Shannon News, 13 January 1928, Page 3

SOLOMON ISLANDS MASSACRE.

TUBBULENT NATIVES BELONG TO ONE SMALL DISTRICT. ,

A planter in the Solomon Islands, in a letter to a Levin resident, gives some particulars of the massacre by bush natives, reported in October last. A cable from Suva, published at that time, stated that a trader who had ar-;' rived from Tulagi, in the Solomons, reported that Messrs Bell (District Officer), Lilly (his assistant and cadet), fifteen native police and the; crew of a vessel were murdered at Sinarago, on" the north-east' coast of Malaita Island. The boatswain of the Auki and four Avounded police were the sole survivors. The deceased Europeans were the first Government officials to be killed in the Solomon Group. Writing at the end of November, the Levin resident's correspondent stated that a number of Government officials were away on a punitive expedition, together with all the white men available who were not in charge of plantations. "There has been quite a.lot of trouble in the, last few months," he went on, '' including tho murder of a plantation manager. Now, on Malaita, they have killed two Government officials and 13 police boys. An old plantation boy was the hero of the piece. He had a revolver and six shots, and accounted. fo? one of the actual murderers, who shot Bell (the District Officer) and five others. The boy was captured alive and taken in the bush and eaten. They also cut off Bell's arms and legs and carted them awav. Lilly, the Assistant District Officer, had his head cut off with an axe. But this is entirely local trouble. A thousand Malaita boys wanted to go into the bush and wipe the whole crowd out, but the Government would, not let them go. "The Australian cruiser Adelaide came down straight away. The boys sent word that they would let the whilte men go to a certain distance and no further. A hundred and seventy bluejackets and 30 other white men went in after them, but so far they have been unable to find a boy. The Malaita boys arc; disgusted with the whole outfit. The Malaita boya avc have here are the quietest things I have ever had to deal Avith, and there has been no trouble on this coast for years. I. am Avriting to tell yqu about it because the most awful rumours have'got 'into the papers. According to the Queensland papers, there has been a general rising, of natives all over the group. ■ "The truth is this; There have been some terrible murders, and all the suspects belong to quite a small district,' and are surrounded by boys who are quite friendly to the white man. When, the news reached Brisbane the mission-, aries wirelessd to the Eesident, 'For God's sake let there be no bloodshed.** "