THE ATTACK ON THE RIPPLE.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 4, Issue 178, 25 December 1880, Page 2

THE ATTACK ON THE RIPPLE.

The SgdHtjf Morning Herald, i» ' ts issue of the 25th September, publishes n letter from (he Rev. Oeorge Drown. | iluke of York Island, bearing on tin j leceiit inassiieres ill the Pacific, from ! which we lake the following: "There are very few in leed of those who have ever known the m in who will not be grieved to hear that Captain A. | M. Ferguson, of the s.s. Ripple, and live ' of ids unlive crew were cruelly murdered I hv the natives of the I! Ulgainville Island. I iii the Solomon Group,on theilfli August. Von will, of course, have heard the news eie vou receive this, but 1 purpose giving von'a more detailed aeei tof the affair, and 1 also wish to make some remarks on the state of affairs here.and the curse of policy now carried out ill the South Seas. [ f/rir fiilhirx Me turf mil «/' //«' /""/-.A,- „/■ C„i,t,!iu Fffliimit uml llw rreir of th.A tUmi/i: /mliMinl In n-ir i-rnte «/' '/<■■ 13/// And now we are asking -Will any i go id arise from this I'earl'nl all'air, or! will the present policy be still pursued!' Let me infoi in your readers in what position the traders and others in these islands ar-, now placed, ami what their complaint is. Previous, to the appointment of the High Commissioner for the West.cn* I'acilic, all disputes and difficulties between the traders and natives were adjudicated and settl d by the ollicers coiniuaniling Her .Majesty's ships, and certainly ~■ have yet lii heir of any ■I •! of inpi: tice or f :d\ e.oiuiillted 1:'. these genii, 'in,-u when discharging their duties: The cases brought before them I were adjudicated tit the spot, and j punishment inflicted, if necessary, at once. I speak from experience when , I say that in every case which came: under my knowledge, the greatest care; was taken to secure impartial justice, and that in most cases the sympathies; of the captain and officers were with the natives, much I" t'. • disgust in some instances of the complaining white man.: Inmost instances. 1 believe tl utrnges committed by natives in these islands are not the icsult of pre-arranged and com-1 billed action by the wholeof tiieinluibitants of a district, hut. .-imply the act of me or two men. 'I here are executions,as in thui jircsent instance ; but the outrages coin-' milted on single traders and stations are generally, as I have stated, the work of one or two onlv. In such cases the plan was to demand of the chiefs of a district that the criminal should be given up for trial; and in most instnncis this j was done, and the affair was settled hv i tin.' or punishment, and thus a great loss iof life was prevented. Hut now all this | is altered, and it is not in the power of am oilier commanding t tier Majesty's ships to interfere in any such Case. except by simple ri'inonstratice. or hv the extreme uieasni f dee'aring war against the whole of the district. As we ler•tand it. he eainiot. ]muish an individual preved to he guilt' lam li' r:-: agninat i l'f and propi-rt\ excil t ■ \ ibstros nig I the lives and property if innocent people

as "-ell. And then, to make the mail worse, this magisterial power which hj been taken away from the officers .if 11 Maje.-tv's ships' who visit these islan has not been given to any : else, so f as the natives are concerned, though ve much greater powers over British subjei have I ngiu'iitothellighComniissii'iii As we rend the I'acilic Islander i'roteeti Act and the Order ill Council, the Hi: C is-ioner has the most absolute p-m lo punish anv liritish su'.jeel- who in; have broken'the laws. ,„■ übosc -acts conduct arc or is likely to produce excite to ii breach of the public peace bill be has no power to protect him I'n iug, or to punish any native who in ass.-udt ins per.-oii or destroy his proper! In fact, as the matter stands at prese had any of those natives who were n corned in the murder of ( 'upturn Fergus and his crew been made prisoners ;■ deliveied up to the High Connuissioii or to any ollicor commanding one of II Majesty's ships, it is very doubtful hide, in ll pinion of many, that there is a authority that could deal with them.

Il is (jiiitu ii niistiikt! In think tli.it 11 if IruiliTs iilijcct tu piiipiii' sujivrvision iiiul control by legally uppoiiilcil authorities, or thiit tliey have anything to say ugiiinst t boa ppnintnmnt of the High Commissioner. Theironmpluiut is. imt llmt Sir Arthur has ton nuu-li power, but that lie has too little: not tliat In- has tin' power to ileal with iiiul punish any liritisli subject who may injure a native, lmt that ho has no power nniler the Older in Council, as we are informed, to protect a liritisli trailer when engaged in his lawful calling, or t" punish a native who has wilfully, ami without eanse injured his person or destroyed his property. All that they ask is simple justice ■•the same, kiml cure ami sympathy for the Knglishmati us is hcsinweil upon Hie unlive: anil this can, in the opinion of most of us who are resilient in these groups, he easily attained by giving to Sir A. Gordon, his I»epiity-('oiniiiissinner, mid the olliceis commanding Her Majesty's ships, magisterial power to ileal with ihe natives of savage lands who engage in trade with the ships which visit them, or with tliu traders who, with l.lie'n ise'nt, reside iiiiiimgHt them. This power might lie limited ill certain cases, so that no action involving any solium consoipicnees i Id liii taken without relWoi to the High I'oiiiniissiniior, or to son I hoi' authority ; hut that .-, mo should he llM" to e\ciciso hiUIIO -lull liowcr is very lieci.'suiA : ii.,t iiniv |',,|' the proteetioii " '' ' "■ '■«' Inn 'for ir I (if Ihe

I crease, and that principally in the group ft here the natives Itave been allowed to rob and mmxler with comparative impunity; Captain Ferguson himself has long dreaded some serious massacres in the Solomon firoup, and only « •'""' 'lays ' before lie left hero, lie told III", ill con-.el-siuo aliout those matters, that he had to exorcise continual caution, as tho natives wi!iTj so i'inl.oldeti"d liy their past success that tiny would soon I"' trying to ctipture some other vessel. I'nfortun.tti'lv lichiniseli' is ,iii" of III" victims of tile catastrophe which he pri'ilicted. Somii lime ago he prepared n list of tb • iininlicr of whites niul natives in Kur>ipe:in employ .u In, |>a,l been killed ill lite Siilomoii (Iroiip alone, from to 187 U. lofjethei' with th" estiiuuled value of the pro|H-r.tv stolen or destroyed. That lisl was. I believe, prepared' at the reijuest of one of -mmnaval olli'eors, and is still in existence. The niinilier mid amount. I am sorry to siiv. has been very milch ilierejiseil since then, ll is verv ui'cessnrv indeed that \,,ur readers should umlerstaml clearly th" eharticter and position of the legitimate Smith Sea Island tinder, whether captain or ajrent. With -mi" ] pie tin; verv inline was associated with till that was villainous and bad in the early days of the lal ■ Irallic. niul wit It llie many atr,i"ili"S that were undoubtedly e,nnniilteil before llnil Iralli" was iui)u<jhl under proppi' supervision and conlrol. 1 h,,|d no brief on their behalf, and eert;iilll\- do mil contend that tlmv are always blameless, but I do say thafas a body they have been much misrepresented*, and' that the majority of them tm.' as honest and kind hearted as any of thu very best of our traders in nnv other part of the world, (luring twenty years resilience in these seas 1 have often been hfMiJil into very "lose contact with them. I know most of them personnllv. and nearly all by repute, and I am -hid to say that I count many of theni anion-st the number of my very good friends. That the natives have often liemi unjustly. and even cruelly treated, I ni; will deiiv, but in niost. instances l.heso will he 'louiid to be tin) tints of the local resident sub-a-mils. inanv of whom are uf a verv low class. lit fact, a little rcllection" will show I hat in these days of eios" competition, it will not pav to Ireat, the natives badly. A trailer "now a days is dependent on the goodwill of the natives: and. as a matter of fact, the policy pursued is to gain their goodwill by presents and bribes, and so secure tlii-ii' produce. In making lhe.se remarks, which apply principally to those savage islands not. yet la-ought under the influcpce oft'lll ist inn it wore von having a knowledge of its principles. 1 trust thai no one will think thai I urn advocating any cruel 0.harsh treatment of the natives.' Such a coiir.se would be entirely opposed to nil my feelings towards them, and contrary to my conduct and act ions during the I who!" of inv missionarv experience. I I have .jivi-li' tin- 1,-sl years „f „,y life | to alliance their spiritual and temporal i welfare, and those interests are as dealto me now as ever thev were. All that I advocate is that they si Id know from proper authorities that thev are amenable to the same ".'"lU'i'.il laws to which the white man who trades with them, hv their eoli.seill and wish, is responsible; and this. 1 am sure, they could soon he taught without nuv verv great !trem 1.1 • loss of life. l' do not sav j cither that they should be judged exactly | by th,- same standard us the more mij h'gbte I white man : on the contrary, j great allowance must be made for their i ignorance, and llm low state in which' | they arc at present : but still there are ill: ..ivai g, nertil principles of right and ' ivnnio which a native umlerstands as well he is ipiite as ready t,, admit. It is a i gr.'iit mistake for any to think that a I native does not discriminate between a I punishment for wrongs ,1 r crimes j committed, and unmerited oppression or j unprovoked attacks. In all their interi tribal relations, when ipiarrels are settled 'and peace is made this principle is fully | recognized. Let us have laws as strict as thev can Ihe mad": let ih.'in be fully enforced upon every white man. and own only I partially upon the black : let the savage I he fully assured that lie will he protected (from all insult and injury, hut that lie cannot rob and murder with impunity: ' let even justice in bis case, ft all events, he ever tempered with mercy and consideration for his ignorance ; but let some show of justice be mud", soni" warnings given, ami -,,ni" punishment' in cases of oft-repeated crimes, and we shall not have to mourn for the loss of good, honest, kind-hearted men like niv dear old friend. Alexander XI. I'Vigusom '