THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1880.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 126, 28 February 1880, Page 2

THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1880.

The Samoan —ln the Auckland Evening Star, of January 8, appears the following telegram dated January 7 :—" Prince Bismarck has sanctioned tho subvention of the Samoan ■hostile parties by tho German naval authorities." Tliat istliathe" Bismarck ' lias sHiiotioiiorl the interposition of the captains of the Gorman uliiris of war in the late civil-war amongst the Snmoans and not, has as been crroniously supposed by some, that he has given his sanction to the Convention. Municipal Police Court.—On Monday last, Tawesc was brought up before E. Hetheriugton, Esq., P.M., charged with having stolon two bottles of spirits. In consideration of tho fact that he had been in gaol since Saturday afternoon, the culprit was ordered to pay a fine of S'J:jO or he imprisoned for three days. Yesterday the same individual was charged willi being drunk and disorderly, for which he was ordered to hard labour for three days, without option of fine. Cricket Match.—A friendly game of cricket has been arranged to take place Ui-d.iy, at 10 o'clock at Vailele. Eleven of the officers of the British ship of war Jlanae will, upon that occasion, take up the willow against eleven of the foreign resident of Apia. Wo hope our people will make a better stand upon this occasion than they did upon the last,—but then they have no Wellington to ei.mpeto with. It would be .-is well, howev ir, for the Apians not to rely too much upon that fact, for a greater than Wallingam may he on the Dunne, F. Brancker, Esq., ];a< kindly offered to supply luncheon for the players. We have been requested to state that the grounds will be thrown open to tho public, so that any person, even though ho may tike no interest in the game of cricket, has an opportunity offered to him of enjoying a pleasant day, and thereby make a break in the usual monotony of routine lifo in Samoa. [Since the abovo was in type it was found that thellanae would have to goto Savaii to-day. The match was therefore played yesterday. Wo have not, heard the result, but a full report w li appear in our next.] Municipal Emulations.—Tho last regulation passed by tho Municipal Board is tho most unique of all tho documents that august body have yet sont forth to tho public gazo.'lt is in a tabulated form, and is introduced by the following words: --"Any pjiKon who shall commit any of tho offences specified in tho schu.lul'o hereto annexed shall be deemed to have onnmittcd a bivavli of this regulation, anil shall bo liable to punishment by lino or imprisonment or both of such penalties within the limits prescribed ami set op-1 fosite tobucli offence in thosaid schedule." ndepoiulcnt of tho numerous coses of I useless repetition which appears in tho

aforesaid schedule enumerating the offences, the idea of one and a half day's imprisonment is really amusing. But, while we look upon the amusing part of it, we must not forget the benefit it may | be to a prisoner of a bashful nature, and thank the compiler, on such prisoners' I behalf. For instance a man is brought before the Municipalities' magnate, he (the prisoner we mean,) is fined $1:25 or sentenced to imprisonment for one a half days. He is unable to pay the fine, ami has to take the alternative. This sentence is passed upon him at say II a.m., the consoquenoe is that his time will expire at 11 p.m. of the night following that of his incarceration. The policeman in charge must release him at that time, or the Council may be sued, aud damages obtained for illegal detention in gaol. Looking at tho matter from this point, our opinion is that no man will ever receive tho minimum punishment where one and a half days are concerned. Without touching upon any of tho other absurdities of this regulation, we will content ourselves by pointing out where another outrage has been committed upon the public by the triumvirate. Wo refer to the fourth in the list of offences, where it states, assault (except as provided for in Reputations XXXII. and XL I.) fine j>2s to $31:25 ; imprisonment, 30 days to \\ days. [The italics are our own.] Now mark this, fellow taxpayers ! If, by any means, one of our phizes happens to get disfigured by a blow from some fellows' fist or stick, the heaviest penalty that the law- allows is §25 or 30 day's imprisonment, whilst, if a similar accident befalls the sacred and benign faces of the members of the Board, or even if they are only molested, the penalty can go as high as S2OO dollars or six months imprisonment with or without hard labour. Not only so, but the fine and imprisonment may be combined! We cannot see that the Consuls are any better men than the taxpayers, that they should be so protected, more especially as they are held sacred by being Consuls. We, therefore, consider that those illustrious members of the Municipal Board have no right to more protection than the community at large. Without saying any more upon the subject, we will content ourselves by giving our readers the benefit of the opinion of a disinterested witness of the affairs of Samoa, and would advise the Baid Consuls to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the sentiments therein laid down. The following we extract from a leading article of the Fiji Times, of the 7th Jan., dealing with Samoan affairs: — ".Samoa appears to be distinguished by the efforts of a few officials to enforce laws passed in a parliament of their own. This assembly apparently derives its power from the consent of the captains of sundry men of war. How far this is consistent with tho law of nations or will be held as a legitimate portion of the duty to bo discarded by naval commanders, will no doubt, be discussed at some future time before a tribunal, the judgment whereof will be entitled to respect. But the old exemplification of straining at a gnat and swpllowiug a camel is not lacking here. The tine s :nse of propriety which is outraged at tlie suggestion of allowing an appeal to British justice, does not. feel tko ul.~litt.-3t alarm when coercion is to be applied towards those who have sought a hearing before the only legal tribunal which Samoa can boast, aud sought in vain. The wound to self-consequence cannot be healed, aud remedial measures are altogether useless. No matter how thoroughly constitutional law may be struck at, the dignity aud immunity which attach to the persons of Consuls and commercial agents, not to the office be it remembered, mutt le preserved. The attitude assumed recalls almost irresistibly one of the characters in " Pelhain." Having overheard some of his acquia t- ' nnces speak slightingly of Church and ' King he simply tidegted a little. But presently they commenced to vituperate the ■ aristocracy, of which body this gentleman fondly imagined himself a member. This was the last feather. He arose and . with a look of the utmost severity said, — | ' Gentlemen, I have sat by in silence and heard my king derided, and my God j blasphemed; but now, when you attack the aristocracy, I can no longer refrain from noticing so obviously intentional an , insult. You hate become personal I 1 So with certain officials in Samoa. Their fellow countrymen may be insulted aud wronged, and the matter is viewed with the utmost equanimity. But let a hand be rashly put forth to touch tho ark wherein is enshrined their pel soual esteem, and the enormity of tho offence is equalled only by tho punishment which .shall befall."