CORRESPONDENCE.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 73, 22 February 1879, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

We are always willing to give insertion to letters of explanation or interest, but we wish it to bo distinctly understood that wo do not endorse the opinions expressed, or language used, by our correspondents, Our ideas of passing events will be found in our local or editorial columns. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SAMOA TIMES. Sin, —Every Englishman should thank you for your remarks in the last issue respecting Edward Butler (deceased). You go hack to an epoch of his life which must be gratifying to all who knew him. Will you allow me to state to you that Ned and I were school mates in 1830. He was the petted boy of the family. His father was a hosier in Welclose Square, out of RatcliH'e Highway, in the Parish of St. George, in the East, adjoiuing tS. Paul's, Shadwcll, and thence connected with Stepney, which is the parish that every English sailor can claim or any one born at sea. What I have heard here is that Ned has no property, but in Mr. Liardet's time I drew up his claims against certain natives for robbery and destroying his property. These claims are not yet satisfied, and I send this to you to let the public know such is the case.

If you will kindly insert this, you will oblige Yours respectfully, A. G. Stead, S.S.C. Mutafcle, Feb. 13, 187.*'.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SAMOA TIMES. Sir, —Your remarks upon the depredations and crimes committed by the Samoans have just roused n wanderer out to give you ah account of what the Samoans are doing in the country parts. Twenty yearn back the Samoans were noted for their honesty. Now it is quite different; quite the reverse, for all round the group the natives steal from one another more than they do from the European population. Boxes and chests containing the whole wardrobe of lavalavas and frocks of a family, siapo os well as money, disappear most qiysteriously from the native houses. Europeans living away from Apia also suffer from the Samoan propensity fur stealing and killing. They are so fond of living on other people’s bounty—enforeed bounty—that they get too lazy to work. To show you that the country settler*suffer as well'os the town folk, I will enumerate what an Anglo-South Sea Islander has lost by the Samoans killing and stealing in 1878. They are put in the aider in which they went: — One horse for cart and plowing $ 250:00 One saddle homo 50:00 One steer (12 months old) 50:00 Six pigs, each SlO 00.00 A talo patch (one aoro) 14000 talo tope, obtained in 7 trips to the othbrside, and 4 men's work fur 5 mouth* 300.00 1

lipids, ea.li $8:00 $+8:00 8 „ „ 10KK) fWHJO 7 „ „ 1100 84:00 5 „ „ 1500 73:00 §997:00 This is the loss of only one individual out of many. I give it as an example. To particularise a little more, 1 may state that the cart horse was in a paddock 100 yards from the house ; the saddle horse about fifty yards, also from the house , about two months intervening. The steer disappeared very suddenly fiom its feeding ground. After a while it came to be known to the owner that it disappeared down the throats of a lot of block skins. The pigs went the same way. The talo patch disappeared iu one night, and thero must have been over twenty people engaged in the work, for the talo tops ami all were taken. The talo patch was looking fine on the Friday noon, when the parties watching and working on it left it, and next morning, Saturday, when the parties went down to it, there was nothing left but mud and water. The man who shot the saddle horse, when asked why he shot the horse, replied why should white men have more horses than us (Samoans). Some of the parties who stole the talo, when asked about it replied, " We were hungry aud you had plenty." They were told to work harder themselves, plant more, then they would get more to eat They said that they did not want to plant for others .to eat it; they wanted more white men to come aud live ashore, and plant, so that they could go and help themselves out of their abundance.

The Anglo-South Sea Islander would like some of the knowing gents of Apia to put him up to a wrinkle or two in such a manner that he may be able to bring these Samoans to book, so that he may get some compensation for his losses. If he were a German, or a bit of a German, the parties would have bad to shell out long ago, and the sufferer remunerated for his losses. Unfortunntely the sufferer in this case happens to be of a British stock, but South Sea born. So great an Empire cannot protect a stray subject in these islands. Alas! the sufferer must wail—hung his harp upon the willow tree and weep. It is rumoured that if you go to 11.8. M.C. about any complaints referring to natives, the answer is go to the limb of the law ; I can do nothing for you ; there is no Government here; wait till the Government is established, and so on. It Is always wait, wait till too late; wait, then when the Judicial Commissioner comes here he will say it is too late ; too long a time past; concel it, and that is the last of n jioor Britisher's trying to get compensation for losses sustained in this place. It seems so funny and out of order to bo told to go to the lawyer in a ease with .Samoans, who do not know of any law but the law of might. You may bring all the luw.s of England, Germany, and France, and publish them for the Samoans, and they would be nonetho wiser but would call white men fools for having so much law. Of what use to the Samoans are the laws already promulgated ? With them might is law. Samoans will always give in to the law of might. The Anglo-South Sea Islander applied to the so-called Samoon Jlalo to get these horsekillers and pig-eaters tried before them. They also said wait, Your British Government is so kind and easy, and we have so many things to do, faa-Samoa, that yon must wait. The Malo do not say wait when other parties only wink at them, for they know that the winker has might—the law that they are accustomed to.

It is rather hard to loose $!)00 and not be able to move in any way to redeem it, or to get one dollar's worth in return. The only compensation I can see is to shoot some of the native horse-killers and nig-stcalere, when in the act of doing so. Then the British will take it up against the Britisher and let the Samoan go free. This much I know that had any of the natives been seeu shooting tho horses or taking the pigs away, a pistol bullet would havo gone through their body. Should the Satnoans continue, these depredations it will be worth while for tho settler just to fossick a little more aliout the bush on his property trying to meet these dusky fellows, and when met with give them a little bullet mark on their foreheads, just us the Mexican Rangers used to do to their enemies. Then take their skulls and hides and send to tho British Museum for scientists to examine. Yours truly A W.\NI)EREn. Apia, Feb. 4, 1879.

TO THE EDITOR OE THE SAMOA TIMES. Sir, — Can you help mo out of the perplexed state in which the contents of your last two or throe issues have lauded me Y Do reply to the following questions; 1. Is the Sainonu version of the treaty which you published on the 13th Feb. guaranteed ns officially correct t 2. If not, it is to lie hoped that a correct official translation will soon bo published. • 3. If it bo correct, can any Samoan understand it Y Who can possibly comprehend certain clauses, —as for instance Article (Matnupu) X, Y And if the Samoan bo incomprehensible what are wo to think of those who signed and ratified what all the time they did not understand I 4. To prove my position;—is it not true that a large deputation of Taimun and Kaipule, the other day, called on the imperial German Consul to ask the manning of certain clauses of the treaty which they had already ratified I

5. U it true that the Taimua Mid Faipule have a i«;nuit, within certain limits, to order tea, Wad, sugar, 'laws, or small beer from a certain German firm, for a certain limited tune, as a "quid pro quo' 7 6. hj ittrut that oat or *ore of tlio native plenipotentiaries had further "land" inducement* to put the thing through I Do assist me as to some reliable idea as to the true position of affairs. " Are things what they seem, Or is visions about!'" Yours, &c, " There's a good time coming, boys, Wait a little longer." 21st Feb., 1879.