THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1878.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Issue 21, 23 February 1878, Page 2

THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1878.

The first High Commissioner's Court hold under the Order in Council of the K3th day of August, 1877, commenced ou Tuesday la9t. The cause list was not very large, and tie think it a matter of congratulation that the whole of the civil •ewes did not occupy more than three hours. There is no doubt but that the establishment of these Courts in the South Pacific will prove a great boon, if not to the individual residents of the islands, at least to many of the colonial merchants. For many years past the various islands of the Pacific have been tl c resort of all classes of individuals for ■whom the colonies have become too warm. i''raudulont insolvents, runaway debtors, embezzlers, &c, &c, have all made for the Islands of the South Pacific, and many of them have from time to time settled in those islands which, according to the above mentioned Order, are set forth as Western Polynesia. Thev will now. however, need to seek' * fresh fields and pastures new " in which to lime themselves from the sight of their " inquiring friends." By the establishment of these Courts, not only are the British residents upon the various islands liable to be sued by their local creditors, but also by those of any part of the world. The foreign creditor has only, for the purpose of simplifying the matter, to send a power of attorney to some person residing in the particular district ia which the person whom he wishes to sue is living, to ensure his ease obtaining a hearing, and if the debtor has got anything, getting his money. So far as British suljocts are concerned the High Commissioner's Court appears to have unlimited and extraordinary jurisdiction, when presided over by trie Judicial 'Commissioner. By tho establishment of of this Court, if no other good is done, we will not be so likely to have colonial refugees paying us a visit, as otherwise might be the cose, and this _ of itself will be a great blessing. There is one thing, however, that will be the cause of much annoyance, not only to the court, but to tho parties engaged in the suit before it. AVc rofer t > the want of power on the part of the court to bring anyone into the court but Hritish subjects, either as principles or witnesses. This has already been seen in the present court, when a party called upon by a defendant in a case refusod to be sworn, consequently, no matter how valuable that man's evidenco might have been, of course, unless sworn to by the witness, is worth nothing in tho eyes of the court This cannot do otherwise, in many coses, than result in a mis-carriage of justice. It is also very annoying to think that if a British subject owes auy other nationality a sum of money it can bo recovered, but not so if tho case wort reversed. There ought to be somt reciprocal arraugoinont entered into it this matter at least We ore of opinior that th« British Oovornmont cannot havi had any idea of the amount of troubli aid annoyance this will give to not onb the parties to the suit but the Judgi presiumg in the case where a witness o (mother nationality would bo able togivi inatorial evidence in the caw at issue a ul ilmro bom* no menus to compel tha party to give their evidenco. We wouh those whose duty it is, to at ono try midget thin matter adjusted cithc by treaty, or more power being given t .tie Consuls, lothat the ends of justic miw not be thwarted.

... . . ra« Moon.—On Sunday ■ ught last there was a partial eclipse of :he moon. The eclipse commenced about half-past ton o'clock. By half-pa>it eleven the moon was ncraly covered, and by a quarter to one she was entirely free to throw her usual light upon us. Dynamite Accident.—On Saturday morning last a son of Mr. \V. Creighton, of Satana, Savaii, was brought into town to be treated for an accident which had happened to him whilst tisiiin tr with dynamite. The charge seems to have exploded in the sufferer's hand before he could throw it from him. Ho was taken on board of H.B.M.S. Sapphire, and his wounds dressed by the surgeon of that ship. He was badly burnt about the face and chest, and had a nasty wound on the chin. The right hand was so badly fractured, that it was found necessary to amputate it. It is a strange lUing that people will not prolit by the experience of others, but suen Joes not appear to be human natu re , T| lt . number of dynamite accidents t],at have taken place here through fishing with that dangerous combustible ought to deter anyone else from trying the experiment. This is the sixth" caM that has occurred in Samoa in a very short time, in live of which the sufferers have lost their right hand, and in the other only a part of the thumb and the whole of "the little finger were saved. Tho snfferor in the present cast . i wf! are happy to say, is progressing favorably, and has been handed over to the tender mercies of Dr. Geo. A. Turner. _ George Washington's Birthday.—■ Yesterday being the anniversary of the birth of George Washington, the great hero of the United States, several American citizens honored it by hoisting bunting, and Mr. Parker lired a salute of thirteen guns at noon. Criminal Sittings. Tho High Commissioner's Court will be engaged to-day in hearing a charge of murder against a British subject, arising out of the recent hanging of Cochrane, the man who murdered Fox some little time ago. The Samoan Man-of-war.—Yester-day afternoon, about half-past five o'clock, we noticed two boats leave the British war ship Sapphire and board the schooner Elizabeth, which is known as the Samoan man-of-war. As soon as she was boarded the Samoan flag was lowered, and that of the British put up in its stead. This having been effected tho anchor (was lifted, and tho vessel taken in tow by the boats of the Sapphire, and placed alongside of that ship. What this has been done for wo are not at present in a position to say. but we surmise that it has something to do with the fines which wore announced some time ago as likely to he levied for various insults, &e., on tho part of the Samoans towards the British representatives on several occasions. A Modern Seer.—A recent numher

of the '■ Rockhampton Bulletin" is responsible for the following:—" On the 12th January, the sub-editor of this journal received from Bishop Bugniou a business letter, written on th<_ 11th, appended to which was a postscript staring that on the previous day, the 10th,

the writer saw the Turks marching out of Plevna, and that it had been captured. The bearer of the letter stated that the Bishop had informed him that the time of the capitulation was between 12 noon and 2 p.m. Just seven days afterwardsourcablegrams announced that Plevna was captured about noon on the 10th. In reply to inquiries made from the Bishop afterwards on the subject, he stated that ' the angel [showed him Osman Pasha surrendering, and the Turkish troops marching out as prisoners.' He also adds that this is hut ono of many cases in which ho has been caught up and informed upon the mysteries of the future. The Bishop is firmly convinced that revelations are made to him periodically for wise purposes, and quotes numerous instances from his own experience in which his 'prophecies'—if we may use the word—has been fulfilled to the letter. Wu can vouch for the bona fides of the Plevna prediction, at any rate."