“SHOOTING PREARRANGED”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 875, 20 January 1930, Page 1

“SHOOTING PREARRANGED”

Clash At Samoa MR. HALL SKELTON’S STORY How Tamasese Died r[E entile white population of Apia agrees that the whole thing was a previously arranged scheme —that the Mau procession should be halted where it did and that a clash with the police was inevitable. “But for the persuasive powers of Chief Faumuina and myself the Mau and their supporters would have attacked 5 the police and the Administration that night and wiped them E “The fighting men all came in from the villages and there i were enough guns and ammunition among them to do it. 1 Faumuina fought desperately to prevent them from attacki These are some of the graphic details brought back from Apia, Samoa, today by Mr. A. Hall Skelton, of the fatal shooting which occurred on December 28.

Eight men were killed, 21 seriously injured, and a large number received minor injuries. Mr. Hall Skelton says it is almost certain that another one of the wounded will die. He also stated today on the Tofua that the machine-guns had previously been posted at the position where it had been decided to halt the procession. A machine-gun. which fortunately did not come into action, was posted on the roof of the police barracks. “The whole of the square was running red with Samoan blood, ’ he said. “I saw with my own eyes bullets ricocheting off the main street. WITNESSED THE CLASH

■w ho had run out on hearing the disturbance. Two boys, two young men and seven others were al! wounded. There was no occasion to fire on these people. "The whole thing was over in five minutes." RIDDLED WITH BULLETS Mr. Hall Skelton continued that as two young men were lifting the wounded Tamasese from the ground they were both riddled with bullets and fell dead over their chief's body. The whole block of the road at. the courthouse was red with Samoan blood. At the police barracks. 300 yards away from where the shooting took place, another machine-gun had been posted pointing to the spot where the clash occurred.

Mr. Hall Skelton saw the clash between the police and the Mau procession from the deck of the Lady Roberts. But for the fact that he was held up on the ship because the doctor was late, he would have been marching on one side of the procession, and most probably would have been killed or injured when the shooting took place. “I arrived at Apia on the Lady Roberts on Saturday, December 28, in company with Mr. A. G. Smyth, who was returning after a two years exile,”

When the inquest was held Mr. Hall Skelton asked the Administrator, Mr. S. S. Allen, to permit the sate custody of Mau members to and from the inquest. This was refused and three proclamations were brought out. One ordered that 20 persons should surrender and the next 58 and that all Samoans return to their villages and disperse. This had the effect of the Mau doubling its executive from 10 to 20 delegates. The third proclamation said that the Mau was a seditious body and this blocked any of them from giving any evidence for the defence at the inquest. “We were informed that the police had said, a few days before we reached Apia, that 'Hall Skelton and Smvth would get a surprise,' ” continued Mr. Hall Skelton. They had talked for some days ahead about our arrival and we were told that the police had said that we had no right there.

he said. “We anchored about 200 yards from the customs. The doctor and the police inspector came on hoard, and there was delay after delay. All the time we waited, the police inspector looked anxiously toward the procession. Suddenly revolver shots rang out, and we raw the procession scatter. The hand which was playing at its head also scattered. Then a machine-gun fired over the heads of those in the procession, and the bullets landed in the water 100 yards away from us. . "In my opinion this was a signal for the police to run to cover. I did | not get ashore until 6.-0 o clock that 6 “I have gathered evidence most carefully from all sources, and I attended the inquest. The facts are largely admitted by the police. “A party of eight police, some of them armed with revolvers, went to arrest two Mau men on very old warrants. These men had been walking the streets of Apia daily for a year and could have been arrested at any time. POLICE GRAB A MAN “I am of the opinion that the shooting was prearranged. Lewis guns, snipers and men with rifles were all in position. The police came down and walked for some distance along with the procession. Then, when they got to the firing point, the police grabbed a man round the waist. There was a scuffle and they fell. The Mau man alleges that he did not knowwhy he was being arrested. He was so taken by surprise that he resisted arrest. Similarly several shots rang out. The police admit that they fired indiscriminately on the mob. “In a few minutes 22 more police arrived all with revolvers. They started firing indiscriminately into the mob. They admitted that at the inquest. “All the eye-witnesses we have and members of the Mau say that no stones were thrown until a lot of people bad been shot down. A number of Samoans threw stones to drive off the police who were shooting. “Up to this point events had taken two minutes. When the machine-gun shot over the heads of those in the procession the police ran into a lane. Abrahams, the policeman who was killed, stopped, reloaded, and started firing back. He was hit on the head with a stone by a native. SHOOTING OF TAMASESE

"I went to Samoa to obtain witnesses for the Nelson v. ‘Herald' case. Two of them were killed and a number wounded and all the rest have been prevented from coming to New Zealand through the proclamations which have been issued by the Administrator.”

“As soon as the revolvers were emptied the machine-guns came into action. They fired into the mass of people. I saw w-ith my own eyes bullets richocheting off the road. There were three snipers on the top of the courthouse firing with .303 rifles. Tamasese and Faumuina ran from the rear of the procession to the j centre of the firing. Tamasese had j his hands up and called out in Eng- ; lish to cease fire and that he would j hand the wanted men over. He also called out to the Samoans to keep the peace. Suddenly he was shot, and I have no donubt that he was sniped. “Tuimalealiifano, a chief who was 54 years of age, was heading the procession. He was shot through the upper and lower left arm. “The most wicked thing of all. which the police have not attempted Ito explain, was when they turned the machine-guns on to Apia village square, which was crowded v-ith women aqd children and onlookers

Mr. Hall Skelton said that after the shooting the procession continued as though nothing had happened. He and Mr. Smyth walked at its head to the village of Vaimosa. Machineguns and 25 police with fixed-bayonets walked behind, but left as the village was neared. Referring to the report published in New Zealand that the meeting of protest at Apia lapsed for lack of public support, Mr. Hall Skelton said that this was far from the case. The position was that a private meeting attended by 40 persons was held first and it was decided to hold a public meeting on the following Thursday. On the intervening Sunday another meeting was held and two memebrs of the legislature, Messrs. Meredith and Johnston, said they would attend the public meeting. However, after the proclamation came out they said they were afraid .they would be deported. We held another meeting, but at it the business men of the community also expressed fear of deportation and it was decided not to hold the public meeting. During this private meeting the police crept upstairs and demanded admission, but were refused.