FRENCH MOVEMENTS IN THE PACIFIC.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 161, 28 August 1880, Page 3

FRENCH MOVEMENTS IN THE PACIFIC.

The French gun-boat Gniehen, ." guns, I f-aplain (jii'mdc, arrivc>l on Tnrwliiv from Tahiti, which port shu left on the lith inst. She lias culled in hure to cable the intelligence to tho I'Vonch (iovcrmneni that tht! island df Tahiti ami that uf Monrun _ havu been .Inly annexed tn tii.i French H.'pnlilic, on thu petition nf the- Kim/, ohiefs, nml people, who desired tlm abolition of the prutoctoratc ami their formal incorporation into the French doniinions. ' Tlio late Queen l'omare's poll, who was Kill" has been pensioned off. A ineelin;; of tlm chiefs was held at which tin- whole transaction w,,s completed. Mnorea 1-. la ml is about ton miles distant from Tahiti. A French protectorate has also been ostahiished at Raiaten, l'aumntii, and over liie whole of tlm islands of tin. Low Archiptilajro, some sixty-eight in iinniber. Pamnotu signifies " a elond of islands ''---an expressive term. This collection of coral islands extends over 1 Odcys. of longitude, without lakinjr into eonsidenitinn the detached islands to the south-east of it.

The circumstances under which a pro- : toetornte liiik been established over the! Island of Ruiate.ii mo lather |>oonliar. It ; appears that t-lie Herman man-of-war Bismarck wont t" Ruiatea for tho purpose j iff hoisting the German flag in plan' of j ''•yommercial Hag of Mut&v*. Goddofroi I allll 'K, mul wUero that roinmercial com- ! JVJ'y h " a 'ncst!iiH„uniotit. The natives' objected t«>a<l„„„ftn., ro t w jnnMP. Imt it , S alleged the |.-r,»ans S . tho Ivin- on lioanl, made nun drunk, a:u. ..„. 1 ■„. ~ • sign a document, which was m. () r ]j tl | t . ■ value, as it had not been signeu i .1 other chiefs. This deiuont.trut.ioi. ~,.,,_ voiced great indignation amongst tho -intivos. Ono of tho principal chiefs, with 1 tho approval of the the whole of tlio unlives, cut down tho German Mag. lie was afterwards seized hy order of thi eoiiiinander of tho Bismarck, lint wai subsequently released, on the representations of the natives and of the commas-1 derof the the Hnglish niaii-of-wnr which was at. Raiutcn. The German man-of-war having failed to establish a protectorate left the island. Meanwhile tho I knowledge uf these events reached the] ears of the authorities at Now Cnlc- j donia, who dispatched the gunboat (.'bus-1 senrtothu island. The natives applied to bo taken under the protectorate of Franco. Tho step was taken bv the King and principal chiefs and the full approval of tho whole of the natives. There is

reason to believe I hat the resident I'rcsbyterian minister, Mr. Pearse, look an aelive part in bringing about the result j .if the l'Yeneh protect unit o and in defeat- j iug th" negotiation? of the Germans. In the innantitno, the British Consul ttt Ta-1 hiti, Mr. Miller, had received intelligence that a l'Yeneh protectorate was likely 1 to be established, and he despatched j 11.M.5. Osproy, ('.'upturn the Hon. Henry I I'Cnitrt, to Ruiatea to observe the I movements of tho French and German ! officers. On his arrival at RuLtca, the] captain of the Osproy declined to inter-' fere, or to express any opinion about tho i action of either party. It is stated how- j ever, thnt lia took tho missionary sharply to task for having involved himself in llie complication. Tho protectorate and annexation were formally accomplished about three weeks ago, and M. Chosse is at present Gover-' nor of Tahiti, awaiting instructions from Paris. The Guichon will remain at Auckland for about a week, and will then return to Tahiti. With regard to the islands over which the French have just established aproteetoiutc. we may wty that since IHH we arc indebted to tlio French for most nf our information concerning I heir position and character. The natives, it is s.-.i'l. have nearly all, in the western part, been converted to the Protestant faith, The French Roman Catholics have Ml establishment in Anna, where ther have! made fome progress, There are seventy ! eight Ulamls, The nativo population of I

j the entire archipelago only amounts to .1.100. Tht chief industries are the preparation of eucoanut oil and mother-of-pearl shell, whieh is bought up by two firms at Papeete. The whole of the udustries amount to about £IO,OOO per innum. This movement on their part inaugurates i new state of affairs in the Pacific, and | will tend largely to increase French pros- , lige in these seas, Thero is little doubt j that it originates in a determination to , counteract the operations of tho German j Empire in the South Pacific. The mani ner in which it has been accomplished may possibly lead to bitterness of feeling I and complications between theiu two ] Uroat Powers. Wo have to acknowledge the courtesy of the office!* of tho Guichen in giving us information respecting the mission of the vessel.—Auckland Weekly News, .'list July.