MISSIONARY TROUBLES AT FIJI.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 47, 23 February 1903, Page 3

MISSIONARY TROUBLES AT FIJI.

—■ • » DIFFERINT VERSIONS. PBR PRR*9 ASSOCIATION. Sydney, February 21. Tbe Rev Nolan, a missionary in the Rewa district:, who U at present in Sydney, gives his version of the burning of the Bioles. fie say 8 that the chief of the district, Matanitobua had, with his people, been for some time disaffected against the Government, as ha was strengly in favour of federation with New Zealand. The chief also had a disagreement with a native Methodist minister. The chief decided to show his authority against the mission and the Government by urging all bis p-op!e to become Catholics. Mr Humphrey Berkeley, says Mr Nolan, is at tbe bottem ef the federation movement, and on his advice, as Mr Nolan happened to know from Mr Berkeley himself, Gttholic pries'B were taken down to Namosi,! and it was arranged that the people should become (J it holies. It was during this visit that the New Testament and hymn books were collected. The Catholic press commanting on the news that the natives have become Catholics, says it is feasible, but they do not believe that genuine Bibles were burned. It i« possible that Wesleyan literature was destroyed. Cardinal Moran has received no further information than that 238 Bibles were burned. He said ho would not approve of offending any Protestant bodies by such an act as the burning of Bibles, as he did not think that the priests had anything to do with it, but that it wasprjbably the work of converts. The chief had informed Bishop Vidal, when he was at Namosi, that the Methodists were preying upon them, and doing them no good, that the desire to change thair f-iifch was the voluntary choice of the native?, and was decided upon after holding several councils of the chiefs in the province. - The Rev. Lane, president; of the Methodist Conference, said that Cardinal Moran'd statement that the Methodists preyed upon the natives was a libel upon the missionaries. He was of opinion that the priests preyed on the natives. Nelson, February 21. The Riv. William Slade, a Methodist Missionary from Fiji, in tbe course of an interview with a flekon Mail representative expressed an opinion that the natives would barn testaments and bibles because the fee'iog of the priests was very s'long. He had no doubt tho affair would cmse a shock to the whole of the Fiji ins, and simply accentuate people's filings. Tb.9 Wesleyan Mission had felt ic their duty to support the Government in i : a legitimate duty, although it has disagreed a good deal with the policy of the Government. On that acsouns the misxioD was likely to be coupled with the Government in the minds of the natives, owing to the severity of native administration of the Government. The natives have found the taxes very heavy, and have also resented the more irksome interferences of tho more indiscreet officials of the Government. The Rev. Slade ho t es that the inquiries now being atade by tho Governor of Fiji into the undoubted discontent of the n«iv<s will result in the abolition of the obnoxious poll tax, and the repeal of many of the stupid regal it ion i found ia tin native code.