ATTEMPTS AT RAIDING.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1918, Page 5

ATTEMPTS AT RAIDING.

—— i* _■ j GERMANS IN THE PACIFIC. 1 SEIZURE OF STEAMER FRUST- / TRATED. -,< It is reported, says the Sydney Datt,_. i Telegraph,, that an attempt has beeii , '*■ made in Samoa by a band of Germans "•% to capture a steamer trading in the ia- V» lands and utilise it for the purpose -of ~-' raiding vessels travellipg across the Pac- \,J ific. , . t The narrative seems to be well in- .' thenticated. The head of the band' \vos i-' 1 for years the stevedore of a Genqfttt " <; trading company, and kept a general v supervision over its native labor ' its copra production. i By some means, in conjunction wp.lt otlhers, he obtained the use of a 20-t'on , < motor boat, and loading it up with b?n« zine and a supply of watej and cases y>f provisions, he got away to sea. On board were two German internees one „of whom was on parole, and a crew 'of ; several New Britain nalive<. What munitions, there were on flio . * mot Sir boat, is unknown but the object "* of the expedition was believed in Apiu 7 y to be to lay hold of the 70-ion steamer '\> Manoa, which carries on iiadiug business between Apia and ftigopago, the American naval station, and transform it into a raider. "1 , .The motor boat got away, and wfcs - proceeding 20 or 30 miles from Apia ,' when an accident happened to its ma- '; ehinery. Drifting ashore at ■ j it was seell by souie Samoan natives. ' : This led to its seizure and to this arrest ■ \ of the leader and his confederates. Qna ? of the Europeans on board was the ov»*',' -' seer of a German plantation, and th|, ~ other a ship's carpenter. , -:.'\ The German Company, w'lieh owned the motor boat is in liquidation. TSis ■;• vessel was a small craft, capable of. \ carrying about lii tons of eoprn. The * i leader of the gang has had considerable sea experience; Vjj There have been other incidents in the jj Paoinc. A sailing vessel which had call- '-j ed at Pagopago had reported that mines had been found to be floating on the , track. It was requested that the United'' . States authorities would warn sbipmas- ;; ters of the danger. When the San Francisco mail-boat Ventura was at Pagopago the captaiu received tha report. It was suspected that the rest of' the objects seen by tie ' sailer was drifting mines. The Ventura discovered no traco of its;voyage