TRAGEDIES IN SAMOA

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 906, 25 February 1930, Page 1

TRAGEDIES IN SAMOA

FULL REPORT OF INQUEST] ISSUED ADDITIONAL DETAILS From. Our Resident Reporter WELLINGTON, Today. The Prime Minister's Department issued the full text of the coroner’s finding at the inquest concerning the fatalities at Apia on December 28. The chief point of interest not previously published is the finding from the evidence that Constable Abraham was not using his revolver during the attack on him in which he was killed. When his body was discovered it was seen that his revolver had been forced off its lanyard and taken away. One Hickey saw a Samoan force ofC the leather revolver holster from Abraham’s equipment. “That, coupled with the fact that Abraham had both his hands in front of his face before he fell the last time/* said the coroner, “leads me to the conclusion that his revolver was then in its holster and was taken by the Samoan, together with the holster, at the time Hickey saw him force it off from the constable's equipment.” Concerning the Lewis gunfire, the coroner believed the police denial of the allegations that they had two machine-guns mounted on the balcony of the police station before the arresting party left, and the denial that both those guns were used against the Samoans. He was further satisfied that the only automatic gunfire employed was the fire from the Lewis gun by Sergeant Waterson. NO MACHINE-GUN CASUALTIES The coroner found that no casualties were caused by the firing of the Lewis gun. He added: “Sergeant Waterson was in possession of a deadly weapon, the results of which, when fired into a crowd of people, are devastating. The weapon, however, is one which has a tremendous moral effect if fired over the heads of people. Being an experienced Lewis gunner he was justified in firing the gun in the way he did, for the purpose of causing. by its moral effect, the turning back of those who were advancing toward the police station. In this purpose he succeeded.” The view of the coroner that the rifle fire down Ift Ifi Street was not necessary, was qualified in the following terms: “It is very difficult, however, to appreciate the position of the police at that time. They had just been engaged in heavy fighting against a large number of Samoans, who had, without justification, set upon them to prevent them from carrying out their duty. They had with difficulty extricated themselves from a precarious position. Most of them had received injuries. “The position, as viewed from the police station balcony, justified Sergeant Waterson opening fire with his Lewis gun over the heads of the people. Stones were falling on the roof and windows were breaking on the eastern side of the building. One Samoan had made his way to the eastern side of the market hall, and was seen by Shawe Jones with a revolver pointed toward the police station. “In such circumstances as I have detailed it is inevitable that some action will be taken which may appear at the time to have been justified, but when inquired into subsequently is found to have been unnecessary. That is the conclusion to which I come in regard to the rifle-fire which caused the deaths of High Chiefs Tamasese, Tuha and Migao.”