Local and General News.

Samoa Times and South Sea Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 26, 13 April 1889, Page 2

Local and General News.

On Wednesday, the 3rd instant,; a Mr. Gebauer the manager of one ■ of' the German firm's plantations ' on Savaii, came' into Mr. Volt's hotel and accused Mr. Lodge, a Sri- j tish subject, with writing a lot of I lies to the Colonial and American j newspapers. Gebauer stated he' knew this to be a fact, for Mr.! Sleeter, the German postmaster, had | permission to open the mail bags and i detain any letters he suspected to j be written to the newspapers affecting the Germans in. Samoa. Mr. ' Lodge made- a complaint to thej British Consul in writing,, contain- J ing the statement, of The i result was that Gebauer was sum- ! moned to the German Consular Court', " The T&urt was held on ' Tuesday,.the 9th instant, before Dr. > Knappe. German, Consul, And two ' assessors; Messrs. Wotfehsdorf and j Burchharch. Mr. Lodge was called • and stated that Mr. Gebauer came i into Mr. Voigt's hotel on Wedaesday, 3rd of April, and accused the witness of reporting lies to the i English, American and Colonial • newspapers about the Germans,-and j also accused other American and Englishmen on the beach with doing the same. Gebauer asked the witness if he knew Mr. Sleeter. The witness answered yes. Gebauer then told witness that Mr. Sleeter had permission to open all mail bags and detain any letters or papers ; he suspected of containing anything against the Germans. Gebauer also' stated that Mr. Sleeter had a little' heap of British and American letters and newspapers from parties who had written against the Germans. No other evidence was called, and Gebauer was asked if he Imd anything to say in defence. Gebauer said he was very drunk and did I not remember anything of the affair, j Mr. Sleeter gave some explanation with reference to the mail department, which was held satisfactory, and Gebauer wpb fined 300 murks and costs.

Our German fiiendn make frequent complaints that the Samoa \ Timet has been severe on the Ger-1 mans. This'we emphatically deny. Germans as a vnle compare favorably with other European nations as good citizens in countries where they arc not the regulating

power, and would be treated with the same consideration and respect shown to anv other nationality, were they placed on an equal footing. It must by this time bn plain to our German friend* that their mode of colonisation, especially in Samoa, is not calculated to gain them much respect. In flshting against German rule in Samoa the proprietor of the Samoa Timet was fully winvineed that the islands would bo materially benefited by a change from the wretched system of Government which was conducted solely by Germans when the Samoa Timet waa issued six months ago. The editor informs hi* German friends, il ho has* any, that when they aliandou ull pn<ten>dons to" a preponderating control of- the islands he will refrain from using the harsh language ho in charged with, but which the .Samoa Timet considers necessary under the circumstances. During the last fortnight the heavy guns of the wrecked U 8. S. Trenton have been brought ashore. ; Two great masts from the wrecked vessels have been converted into immense sheardrgs, which are well bedded into the shingle at loirI water mark, the top securely fat* teued together, and leasing over t into deep water, the whola wall itan wed Mats, than noisiadotT fcba X* TWy Meghan rotted

lip with Mock ami tackle by the • Trenton's men, and a number of Samoans nailer the control o' the i chief SuamanUfa, to the accompanimeut of the Admiral's splendid land from the I S.S. Trenton. The natives aeein to enjoy ilie whole business and render jjreat asdgtence to the Trenton's men in pulling the guns to the old government house site! The guns are placed muzzle seaward on the concrete foundation

of Malietoas old government pre-1 mist*. This briugs back painful i recollections of the depueoa King and the arbitrary conduct of the German-Tamasese Government, who after deporting Malietoa, took possession of the Government House (at though their right to it was disputed) and carried it down to German land at Mulinuu. The English flag was hoisted on the site at the time to prevent the.Germans or Tamasese from meddling with the property, hut little respect was shown then to any flag- They took the house and left the English flag flying iu tattered rags, where it could be seen until a few days ago. The guns that were brought to rest on Malietoa's old house site are ten in number, and over eight tons each. They are converted 8-inch rifle gnns and present a formidable appearance on the old historic site. A more suitable place, could not be picked upon, and if Malietoa lives to return to gaze on his old quarters he will stare with wonder at the changes that have been brought about. Several;, other Hotohkiss and Gatling guns'from the Trenton and Vandalia are already stored at Messrs. McArthur and Co.'s premises. Messrs. McArthur and Co.'s new wharf is now uearly finished. It is erected in the same place where the old wharf stood which was washed away in the late* hurricane. 'I lie new structure is much more convenient and substantial than the old one. Squared totara logs have been put in for piles and there will be a lower landing. This will be a great convenience for boats. Although this is a private wharf Messrs. McArthur and Co. we are sure will not prevent boats from landing at their wharf, seeing that it is the only one now in Apia.

Tin; U. S. S. Monorigahelai Coinmandcr U. K. Wingate, arrived on Saturday the 6th ijist,, from San Francisco. She did not enter the harbor, but sent an olfieer on .shore to the Admiral. The Monongahela sailed about four o'clock for Pango Fango. The following is a list of her officers : —Commander : George E. Wiugate; Lieut-Commander: William C. Gibson ; Lieut.: T. Dix

Bolles; Passed Assistant Surgeon : Milliard H. Crawford; Passed assistant Paymaster: Arthur Peterson ; Lieut.: Waldumar D. Rose ; Ensign : Allen G. Rodgere: Mate: J. W. Baxter. We believe the Mouongahcla is filled up with stores and coal.

The freedom of the press has again been established in Samoa. Tii January last an action for libel was instituted l>y Dr. Kuappe, the German Consul, on behalf of the , German Go cerumen t and Navy, ' against the proprietor of the Samoa ; Timet, for reprinting an article from the San Francisco £xatniner,entitled " Our Duty to Samoa." The case was heard before the Deputy High ! Commissioner, in the High Coin- ' inissioner's Court for the Western Pacific at Apia, und the proprietor ! of the Samoa Timet was fined £2O ! and costs. We are pleased to inform ' our rearders that the judgment of t the Deputy' High Commissioner ! was squashed by the High Commissioner in Fiji, and the fine and costs returned to the proprietor of the ' Samoa Timet. I It will be remembered that in January last Hu&srs! R. Fletcher | (manager for Messrs. Mo Arthur and 1 Co.), Denver*, Carr, and Pnnn, also i in the employment of the firm, were ( charged with assaulting Captain 1 Sinclair. The facts were that Capt i Sinclair anjl bis party attempted to j take possession of the FaleuUplanj tation, and refused to leave when i ordered to do so by Mr. Fletelitr. [They watt consequently removed to i information for assault When tbo **mm> <*Jor *gh*i it was utf*d that the tomeaaa?Jurisdiction w the was

ousted as the title to the land was iu dispute Other objections were also taken to the procjwdiags, tott the Court overruled th*m all and. convictedthe d<-fondaßta,nningtfeen» £3an*junta- fine particulars of the case the notice of the authorities at Fiji .on behalf of tho 'defendants and the Deputy -Commiseioner was instrueted to refund the fines and colts. This haa accordingly been done. We understand that Mataafa has sent orders to Savaii for his men to to return to Apitfnext week. This step has been occasioned'by a very general expression of some of ~tb.ft Germans hero, that Germany means to have satisfaction for the loss of her men in the engagement with Mataafa's forces in .December last.. Telegram's have also appeared from German papers demanding revenge on Mataafa, and this taken together with a report that • four German warehips havebeeh: brdered to Samoa, has induced Mataafa. to prepare himself and concentrate his forces. Mataafa cannot be blamed for taking these precautions until the declaration of war is .publicly withdrawn. If the German Consul desires to allow Mataafa's followers to remain quietly in their homes he should immediately withdraw his proclamation of war, more especially since, as we are informed it was

issued contrary to instructions. Without including three day'* dotation at Port Said waiting for mails and detention at Antwerp, the Nor-ldeuts-cher Lloyd's steamer N urn berg's passage to this port comes to 49 days. With all stoppages and detention* the time spent has been -4.4. days from Br*• men. In noticing this It may \>*sdpi'opo* to refer to a boat this company is having finished how at Stettin, to be named the Kaiser Wilhelm 11., for the Australian trade. This vessel i* intended to shorten the passage by several days. Arrangements will be made so that instead of having, us at pre>enfto deluy the steamer for three ilayj at Port Said waiting for the mails us in the ruse of the Nurnberg. the postal au'horities will have them timed to suit the increased speed of the service. The new boat is to fur 16 knot.*, as will aNo tho otherwhich are to follow, and which are to take the places of the steamer* now in the Australian trade. As is pretty generally known, the North Gorman Lloyd's steamers employed in the Atlantic trad* r«nk with those of the Cnnnrd. The l.ahn is n very superbly finished bout iif 19 knots nrerage spped and over 5000 tons register. The Kaiser Wilhelm is to exceed the Lahn's dimensions however. Lately the company has had vessels bnilt specially to carry steerage passongers to South America, and one of these left not long ngo with 1500 third-class passengers, most of whom were (torn Cork and Queenotown.. It vill.ihiia he seen that where business offers, the German company bids strong for the trade in competition with old-established British lines. In providing boats of: the Wilhelm 11. class for the Australian trade it is made sufficiently clear that the flag of the company—the key anchor, and wroath—is not to go down for want of Capable representatives to carry it. Tho voyage finished by the Nurnherg yeateraay shows that a fair patronage of cargo And passengers is possible. Indeed, there is at present a super-abundance of cargo offering. The passengers by the Nurnherg are chiefly of the laboring olasa and include a number of Italians who are seeking employment as viticnlturists it is said. Two Lieutenants and 80 seamen' are also passengers, and they are rmder orders for Samoa, where they will join the man-of-war Olga. whose crew, it may be remembered suffered a reverse and loss in an engagement with Matanfa some time ago. There are elro a few saloon passengers for Samoa as well as for this port.' The steamer brought on from Colombo 160 steerage and three saloon passangen wheorigiunlly wore in the steamer Hohenstauffen. With regard to the aeoMttit to that vessel, the news to hand by the Nuraltergisthatssrioueiniurywaedoße to the' sterripnet when the propeller shaft broke, and it would be oeoeaaary in order to effect repairs, to construct a»)ffer.oam«oui)4toeet*«mer. ;IW§ would entail a further delay than was at Brat believed 'would ooour. The steamer has all her Australian oargo on bosrd yst, and there are boom 80 made aa average of.-*. Jf. l&ratf