ENGLISHMEN IN THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 4, Issue 177, 18 December 1880, Page 2

ENGLISHMEN IN THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

.; [Si/diiry .Vtiil, October IC] j?ho following article was written in ! June hist, by a ship-master who has --ineo : been mimlcred by native islanders : ' A stranger visiting 'lie islands in the ■ Western Pacific would be much astonished at the vast difference in the external surroundings if English and German traders residing there; he could not fail tonotethat the iatter live in well-built and snlistantial houses, that they an? furnished comfortably, mid in some eases even luxu- j riously ; that their store houses are large, j and built of good and strong Materials; that, in fact, every German trader's resi- j donee hears upon it the stamp of solidity I and .security. On the other hand lie will observe'that even the richest traders >' 'iking in Britisji.interests live in small and hastily-eoistriictod hovels sometimes a t'c\>- sheets of iron are thrown together, but more frequently they are built of grass and saplings: they spend as little* j time and in mcy 'in these ;i» tlioy possibly evil, for well they know (such is ih" iuse-'irit'- >f '.heir tenure, aeeordiu;: to English—what shall I rail them '.— regulations' that at any time they may hpattacked by the natives, and ail their work expended in vain. One would imagine from the above comparison that the Germans are not only more liheral and enterprising than the English, but possess, and are ready *.u expend, more capital. This impression would he false, for the explanation is easy. The Germans when they settle upon a new plaee are not at. all afraid of expending money upon the Laid they have b-ught from thenatives: they are not afraid :o gather around them the comforts of civilization, for they are not haunted as wo are by tin: constant dread of being suddenly turned out of their holdings, either by the natives or their own Government They have every eonlidenoo in their Government: '.hey know —for they have so often experienced it —that whenever they have had occasion to ask for protection their petition has been promptly answered, their safety secured, and their interests maintained. Xo wonder, then. that, the (leiman can afford to put up handsome hi use..., and to expend far creator sums upon his island home than we can; for well he knows that his Government wil not only protect his life am! property, ln.t avenge him promptly if either be even menaced. Theislanders'itiidr'r.st and this so thoroughly that it isiiiitseldoniouehearsofC-enninsor German property being molested; whilst, on the otle-r hand, scarcely a year passes tan .vithout sorii.- t- ml ! v I th m life and property, (o the Knglish trailers, who live under exactly the same conditions;— saving always the protection which they have .-. right to expect from the British Government and which thev do not yet. At the island of Meoko (one of the I.)tike- of I'orks' Group), some time ago, the natives burnt down a German trader's house and stole a quantity of trade goods; the trader escaped ' miinjured, in fact there was, I believe, no intention on the part of the natives to do Jiim any violence ; hut what was Ihe eonsequence ? A i iermun trading vessel soon after arrived, shidlcd the place thoroughly and dr::\: th : Vend ng 'uliv.-r dean cut of the island, to which they have not since returned. The German man-of-war, the Ariadne, was sent to investigate ' the matter, and. having heard both sides of the question, decided that the traders had done perfect!v right ; furthermore, ■ d took possession of the harbours of Meoko „ul Maekmhih and appointed ■ certain chiefs to he responsible for the tribes. Many ;, oplc, unacquainted with i the South Sen Maad.-rs in their own > homes, imagine that traders get wdiat ' they want from th mi without giving a lair equivalent fur what thev buy. This is another mistake. The islanders ; of the present time know pcrfoctlv well < what they are about, they have their •' prices for certain things, and if von don't i

choose lei trivi that priceyou can go without. With chi.' amount uf competition now in the islands I'm- tuitivo produce, tin' know full well that their stoek will nut remain l.iiy on hand. Tin: chiefs, as n rule, are never so well pleased as when they can pet■ a white, trader to live amongst them—in fact they will hinld him a lintise 'iml supply his table with native produce, such as yams, ujys, kc, free of charge, shouid lie eousoiit to do so: so that ,here is no question of while men forcing themselves and their trade upon them', (.'nptnin ltuneio, Into of the Ellene-owan missionary vo-sel, inI'orms me that on one occasion the natives of M'-ir offered him iifty acres of land, besides a largo present, if ho would consent to reside upon tho island and become a trader. Does this look like trade upon the natives y Do these instances indicate that the white men are unwelcome? If not, it is but fair that we should receive that protection which is our right as or bo allowed to protect ourselves: but according to the present ridiculous laws an Englishman is supposed to be shot and eaten before he has a right to attempt to defend himself. Jn the case of the massacres hi board the Ksporntiwi, what Would have been the conse.picnecs had Captain Mackintosh and his men succeeded in iltiWng oil bis an-ailants, and in doing so lincl killed a few? The answer, judgim' by Into events in Fiji under the I[igh Commissioner's Court, would be tlmt .Mackintosh mid ill iin)ilieiite'l with him in (lie defence of liner lives m i properly would have been! sii ii:ii«:ivi| '■ «■ iti-uil -o [•'iji. Oncol

[ ease, i ill fresh in ;lu minds of many will prove what sort of encouragement is to ho expected there. In his case, all that he did was to forcibly recover properly which had been taken by the j„ natives of Aobo, after having killed two , p white-men. CaptainKilgour killed nooun; the property he destroyed was not equal in value to'the detention of his boat fill , j two months: and yet he was lined i'2oo, after having been abused for a couple of " I davs, for having simply done his duty. : * i ■'• Most of the captains' of Knglishmeii-of-j war in these waters know perfectly well '" I what course thev ought tu pursue ia cases " jof w le.lesalc murders liy the natives. They I- arc ever 'inxious to do the right thing, and >, jat mice : but their hands are so tied by ; red-tape and the fear of Exeter Hall iu"- - : lluetiees, 'hat they arc to all intents and c jpurpases perfectly useless i:i these seas, so 0 far as regrads righting injuries iullicted on . ' their compatriots, though quick enough to 1 discover ami punish any wrong done to the • helpless heathen.' We can pretty accurately sketch out the programme which will " guile •heir movements in regard to this t lasi •ind most -.canton massacre (the Espei j raaai's). The mutter will he sent home for - ciuisiderarion : in perhaps six months' time. < a man-of-war will noum down, and indict - a line of i few pigs, vc, upon the imir--1 derers; they then will have accomplished . their dutv, and carried out the policy . winch ha'- made the name of an English nmu-of-wii: in *hesc waters n subject of e mtempt and derision amongst the mitivos. In many eases of murders committed here I hj" Islanders have liecn threatened with u . speedy visit from a ship of war : at first that . threat caused great fear, and had a good • effect, but all that sort of thing has worn away now : they (the natives) know that lice ea" dike vessels, murder nil on board. enrich themselves with ample booty, and ; then -seape scot free, or at the most, with the loss of a few pigs, even though the much-vaunted man-oi'-wiir visits them. for in no ease ia the Solomon Islands have they iiiil'ered bodily injury from them, excepting ihenne exception a few months ago at Marou ' when the Din went thereto punish 'he ■ native.-for the murder 'f a white trader, it makes „a Englishman blush t. li-ar the esticHitm in which the natives hold the navy that Imbus been accustomed ti believe the first ,n Si world. ' L'h amount if English and colonial ear, i' invested in these islands is very enumerable tin' exports alone amounting i". value to full one hundred and fiftv thousand pounds a year. The Irafllc has bonelited the natives to a not inconsiderable extent, i:: 'more ways than one ; in fact the tra lers have in many places don* them a vast amount of goad, both from a worldly and a moral.point of view. ]i in to their interests to put a stop to <hat most savage of all customs, 'skull hunting;' ~„,! i„ ini.uc places they hare already succeeded in doing so, notably at S :t vu and parts of