THE WAR IN SAMOA. ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 310, 24 October 1888, Page 6

THE WAR IN SAMOA. ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

Ax Aucklander, writing from Samoa by the last mail, says : "I went round the .entrenchments where the fight of the 12th had taken place. In some places the firing had been very heavy, one picket fence between the attacking and opposing parties being riddled with bullets. On an average the pickets were pierced into two bullet holes each, some having five or six bullet marks. The defensive works covered too much ground, and would in my opinion have required 1,500 men to defend them properly. They were in some respects skilfully constructed, but could not have been finished, as there was a gap of about 200 yards at one side practically iinpiotected. This was covered with cocoanut tree.-?, and while Malietoa's party made a demonstration in front and pretended to attack the retrenchments, a considerable party skirmished behind the cocoanut trees through the open ground and took the defenders in the flank. Tho attack was skilfully and courageously made, and the Tamasese people, finding themselves out flanked and outnumbered, took to their boats, with the result described. Mataafa directed his own men, und seems to have acted most skilfully" and pluckily through out. Everywhere you go, in or around Apia, up or down the coast, you .see forts and retrenchments thrown up. The forfci' fications consist mainly of ditches with fences of shell or kits of sand placed on the ground close to the ditch, with small loopholes through which the defending pvrty can fire. Malietoa's party are fairly well armed, but are very short of ammunition, and a good deal of tho ammunition they possess is old and comparatively worthless. All the British subjects here are hoping that a British war A r essel may be sent to Samoa tor their protection, as, although they aie not actually afraid, they would feel more comfortable if a British man-of-war Avere in Apia Harbour ; however, as Lord Salisbury has apparently bartered away British interests in Samoa for some fancied benefit in Egypt, we must be content to go without protection. He s-ays that Germany has given a guarantee to protect the interests of foreigners in Samoa. People here, who know the policy of Ger many and her actions when removed from European control and inspection, would not give a five-cent piece for the most solemn written German assurances. They are only made to be broken. The whole history of German aggression in Samoa is a history of broken promises, vile oppression and shameless mendacity."