THE LATE MASSACRE AT THE LINE ISLANDS.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 61, 2 August 1884, Page 6

THE LATE MASSACRE AT THE LINE ISLANDS.

(From tho "Auckland Star," July 25.) In January last avo published an account of a massacre at the Line Islands, which was based on information furnished by Captain Hay ward, of the schooner Kate McGregor. Various versions of this affair had been published. The following account have been supplied to the Sydney "Telegraph" by the master of the ketch Patienco, recently arrived from a trading cruise in the Line Islands: — "It appears that in January last some of the people from the JJisland of Tarawa and Apiang went to the islands of Nanuche for the purpose of avenging some real or supposed insult, and in a conflict which ensued the denizens of the island were considerably overcome. Some of them, however, who escaped in canoes, reached Kuria, a small island where the King of Apimama w as there residing, and implored his assistance. This was readily granted, acd as the schooner Kate McGregor, Captain Hayward, was then lying at his harbour, 100 fighting men, with cannon, breechloaders, &0., were embarked for the scene of conflict, where they arrived at night, making their ap proach known to the enemy by blow ing of conch shells and other devices of these interesting savages. A conflict ensued next day, when a number of tho combatants wei c killed, the estimate being from 40 to 100 ; one of the victims being the principal chief of Apiang, who was killed by a grapeshot. Tho natives of Apiang and Tarawau were driven ofT the i&land, and afterwards, the King of Apimama claimed as a, war indemnity the surrender and sovereignty of the whole island of Nanuche, and has since exercised his rights by sending vessels arriving with trade for the use of the people of Apimama to Nanuche, to load copra, the pioduce of the island, in payment. One of the latest eccentricities of this powerful island chief has been the erection in front of his residence of Kuria of a gigantic flagstaff, nearly 200 ft, high, the lower mast beinc: composed of cocoanut trees lashed together, with the mainmast of a schooner on top. Captain Nicoll describes this work as a stupendous one, and says he cannot imagine how the natives, with their appliances, ever erected it. It was reported that the King had purchased the schooner Acnes Donald, of Auckland. The Honolulu schooner Julia, which visited this port while on a recruiting voyage some months since, went ashore on the east side of Nukunan during a westerly gale and became a total wreck, the crew, amongst whom was Captain Phillips, tormeily of the Saucy Lass, being saved, but having to remain on the island four months until rescued by another Honolulu vessel, which fortunately called in. Trade is reported as generally brisk, with plenty of copra offering in the leeward islands, the natives to windward being too busily engaged with wreckage to make much."

A lecture on "Rum and Crime " was recently delivered in Berlin by Prison Director Khrone, in which he endeavoured to prove from his extended experience that there existed a close causal connection between them. Among other things, he stated that 80 per cent, of all the thefts were committed from want, produced chiefly by drink. Of the 268,000 cases sentenced in 3881, nearly 70 per cent, were directly traceable to rum j there being among the sentenced about 17,000 individuals under 18 years of age, who, as he expressed it, grew up in crime, owing to their belonging to families that had been ruined by drink. If to the foregoing are added the majority of the mendioants and vagabonds, of the former of whom nearly 300,000 were sentenced in one single year, and if it is taken into consideration that, as has been proven, the professional criminals are kept in the ban of crime by rum and drunkenness, it becomes, in the lecturer's eyes, the duty of all good citizens to combat the dangers to which society at large is constantly exposed,

It has often been asked "What shall we do with our girls ?" but judging from a case recently heard at Dunedin Police Court, some of them are, or think they are, capable of looking after themselves even without parental advice. A prepossessing girl of fourteen years of age had been in the employ of a person who was accused with having abducted, her he having at the girl's wish refused when she was in his service to allow her mother to take her away. It came out in evidence that the mother wished to take charge of her girl's earnings, but the latter was not agreeable. After the case was dismissed and the parties left the Court a squabble took place, the mother seeking, with the aid of another elder daughter, to force the girl to accompany her home, while the girl wished to go with the parties with whom she had been m service. Ultimately the constable escorted the girl to the police office, and Inspector Weldon managed to persuade the young lady to go with her mother.

tus being placed below tbc ripple tables, all the sand having to pa.«s over the ripples nnd copper before c <uv.ng in contact wilii tiio patent, apparatus Al'tor ivtortinir the silver, the yield of «r O ld was found t« be 15 grains, a very JJooil tost of. the -gold-saving capabilities of the patent, as these 15 grains ar> in excess of the yield by ordinary appliances from • vovy poor quartz The seconl triil was on the sth iust.. when n small quantity of raw pyrites was put through. Thu'tnird took place on the (sth inst., wlien a third of a ton <>!' roa-teJ pyiites was put through before being ground in the Chilean nulls. TluTyield win ldwt Gijr of gold. These trials seem to show that the patent apparatus will at least save the cost of roasting or the cost of grinding m Chilean mills either way a^reat s^ing. Futme experiment? with a full *v/M nppaiatuswill^ft the question at rest. The fourth trial took place on the Ot'i nnd 10th in«t., when one ton of tailings was pnt throuuh. These tailings w r>> taken from 20 .lilTerent ]»laces from the ]iU'"'e pile at the old machine, the result, beim* a yield of 24-r of »old. The first trial was considered the best as tinquartz crushed does not give an overage yield of more than 3dwt , to the t >n. Tiie apparatus is particularly adapted for the treatment of tailings as they leave the stamp boxes, the gold in eveiy instance being of We very finest description, and any quicksilver escaping during the usual process is caught and r 'tamed bv the patent apparatus. In dealing with tailings this was very apparent, as after retorting more quickstiver was obtained than the quantity put into the tray of the patent apparaatus. In the opinion of Messrs Kowe Brothers, the apparatus will prove to be a great success. The experiments were, witnessed by a number of gentlemen from Fryerstown and the surrounding districts.