THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1878.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Issue 37, 15 June 1878, Page 2

THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1878.

Assault and Robbery.—We have been informed that about twenty natives made a raid upon the house of Mr. Pratt, of Fnleapur.u, breaking into it and stealing therefrom goods to th • vnlue of S3O. Not satisfied with this tho natives committed a mart brutal assault upon Mr. Pratt himself, braising him badly about the body, and loosening nearly > every tooth in his head. This is the second timo within a very few months that Mr. Piatt's premises liave been entered nnd property stolen from them. As Mr. Pratt is an American citizen J we hope the United States Consul will take steps to have the culprits punished. Fracas.—On Sunday afternoon last, about 5 o'clock, a collision took place between tomb Samoans of the district of Fuiiupolu nnd tho district of Fnlcatn. Sticks, stones, clubs, axes, and knives were brought into requisition, and Hew about in such a manner as to portond evil. As it tvii, however, only two men received sovoro wounds, one being badly cut with an axe, the other being speared through tho shoulder, whilst there wore any number who received slight cut 9 and bruise*. This nrTi -»y only lasted for some fen minutes, but was followed by sovcrnl others through the night, whenevor any of the two district.') mot. On Monday a far moro serious encounter between the Iwo partis* The young men of Fnleata jtrnicdT themselves with Ute intention of making a descent upon F-tiaiupolu, and fho young men of tho latter .place also armed themselves with guns and went («ut to meet thoir foe* Some delay hav-1 jug taken place, ere the conflict commenced, allowed tho old men of the din-'

tricta to offer their advice trad counsel, which finally resulted in the would-bo combatants returning to their homes certainly not rejoicing, hut without Brine a a shot, vowing vengeance upon Pneh other when they meet. It appeal* that the cause of this row was a woman, and came about thus:—The woman in question was the wife of a son of Tofai, who belongs to Kuaiupolu. Some time ago she either left or was turned awj y from her home, and than went to live at (areata. On Sunday last she was in town. and it chanced that her husband met her, whereupon he seized her and endeavoured to drag her home. Some Faloata men were close by, and she called upon them for help; they immediately responded to the call, and rescued the woman from the grasp of her leige lord. A number of friends of both parties were soon upon the spot, and a general set too was the result. It is to lie hoped that the native Government will take some active steps to have the culprits punished and prevent a re-eurrenee of last Sunday's uproar.

D.tUNKESSES.; AMON'U THE NATIVES. —ln our issue of Saturday last, we drew attention to the increase of drunkenness among the natives. On Sunday last the truth of our statement was most forcibly verified, aud in such a manner that we have no desire to see repeated. Then; must have been at least thirty of the natives uproariously drunk. At about midday the 'gin began to take effect, and from then till late in the evening it was as though Bedlam had been let down in our midst. The yells and oaths that rent the air were such as to lead one to think that an army of fiends from the world of darkness had arrived amongst us. Scarcely any part of the town was free from the nuisance. Fights were innumerable, and in. many places palings were pulled down to aid them in breaking one another's heads. And as for a person taking a walk along the .street, it was next to impossible without being hit I with a stick or stone, or being hugged in the drunken embrace or otherwise ino-1 tested by inebriate aboriginals. How long will the foreign residents submit quietly to this nuisance ? The personal reply is they never interfere with nic or my property, so let them drink away. It is not so very long ago that wo had to report the doings of one of these drunken mobs, in which one of our fellow-towns-men had a narrow escape of his life in his own house. Who is to say who the next victim will be, and whether he will get off with his life ? It has been found necessary upon one or two previous occasions to petition the Foreign Consuls to issue a regulation prohibiting the supply of intoxicating ltqu ira to the natives, and why should not a similar stop be takon now, before further damage is done ? All the difference it would make to those who sell the liquor would not amount to much in the long run. And what does the sacrifice of a few dollars a year signify, compared with the increased safety and peace of the town ? Wo have no police to guard our persons and property from assault destruction at the hands of these drunken mobs. Every man has to be the guardiau of his own property, and it may be that in order to prevent the destruction of his property one of our fellow-townsmen may use his firearms, aud who is to say whore that would end ? Probably in a collision between the natives and foreigners. Prevention is better than euro, therefore we urge upon the foreign residents to unite in this matter and petition the Consuls to put some restrictions upon tho supply oi intoxicant to the natives: