FIJI.

Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1312, 22 April 1874, Page 3

FIJI.

Br Star of the Sovth

THE NEW GOVERNMENT OF FIJI

At the meeting held on Thursday night, Bays the Fiji Times, for the purpose of taking the public sense as to the reply to be made to •tiie members of the Commission upon the questions submitted by them to this community, jn undoubted expression of outspoken feeling found vent. There was but little difference of sentiment as to the form of government which would meet the wishes of the People, and upon the question as to whether *yi Should become a Crown colony, pure «nd simple, or should be ruled by a nomfnated Executive snd an elected Assemtv'i*n a^mos* unanimous feeling in faVor of wie latter course was exhibited. There was no hesitation displayed as to taking over the BUMen of the public debt; the meeting merely stipulated that steps should be taken w distinguish between that amount which «d been incurred by legislative enactment, wia for the legitimate expenditure of the government, and such sums as had been unduly expended aad diverted from their authorised channels, by the mere ipse dixitoi £ose who had, in defiance of the entire wmmuwty, grasped and retained the «vis of power. It was certainly felt that we proposed expenditure was exfcrava, B«wiy urge for the requirements or resources wine kingdom, and that no proper effort ZLm 1! i c t0 reduce ib> to what waa jnadewd should be the maximum cost of Enm mew~ namely> some £15,000 per «anm; hut every belief was 'expressed in we assurance that, annexation once a fact, ol«?w tun of and restoration kJw 6 ? Ce would *ender Ac cost of no W a secondary consideration, and in J! T al m as t0 bearing the burden of greased,taxation, if such should be found jT*»ary, either to keep the public faith ftTViSy *aking steps 'to protect creditor, or to" maintain 'Proposed new form of government «- expressed. But it was felt that, aionL^ }?} T astutenes, the CommisSS.*^ themselves to be outSbS y- Mr.T^«ton, and that his »nd an ■ °Bi lU oflice was an outrage upon BeraiirtL m to the PeoPle whom he had .so *-«wently and systematically vilified; and •tated X iJi. es he had» as was openly they w~!t uut M duß*"ia the balance when *» "Si wei^ned against his greed

fc- 'DurinJ?? STEAMER MACGREGOR NmDhuTn paßt week aU the available M **&£°T was P»t to work on the aCßregor for the purpose of ' comP«tmentfrom water" After »k iuna? ns WOTk end was «». when the leaks were found to be

two lents of about six feet each in length These have been planked over inside and a dam. built up to prevent the department again falling. The Macgregor will soon S j ready for sea, and will proceed on to Svd ! repaid WillUnderg° the HURRICANE AT YASSAWAS.-GKEAT DESTRTJC TION OF PROAERTY. We had been congratulating ourselves on : the escape from the hurricane which was felt so severely at Koro and some other places m the early part of the year; our j plantations were m their full bearing, and all were cheerful in the anticipation of a splendid harvest, when, on the morning of bunday, the 15'Ti ultimo, the first token of coming storm loomed up in the north-east and by midday very few could doubt the por- ! tentious meaning of the heavy gusts of wind which periodically thundered over the land During the afternoon the wind rapidly increased. m strength, and by six o'clock very I few buildings were standing, and the cotton plantations were no more. From this time jup till about 11 o'clock the force of the wind was something terrific. Cocoanut trees tell like so many reeds ; huge ivi trees were either torn up -by the toots or broken in splinters ; tfread fruit and all the food-bearing trees were completely destroyed, and all the native plantations are laid waste. The wind varied very little ; commencing N.E it veeredgraduallytoN.N.W., fromwhich point it blew the strongest and did most damage. One peculiar feature of this hurricane was the vivid sheet lightning which constantly flashed, making visible the awful scene of i devastation going on during the night. To add to the work of ruin a tidal wave flooded some parts of our islands, making sad havoc with property which otherwise would have escaped. Fortunately, so far as I have at, present heard, no lives have been lost. I hear that the damage done at the northern end of the group is less than at the southern. It is impossible to convey a proper idea of the damage done in the few short hours of the 19th inst. Everything around us all through the group was looking beautiful and joyous, but now the scene is one of desolation. What the five theusand natives, who depend greatly on the fruit-bearing trees for food, will do in a few months from this, it is hard to say. The "planters who were hoping to get something this year to pay for their hard labor a past bad crops, are looking around in a state of bewilderment, scarcely able to decide what to do for the best. To plant cotton and sell at 4d won't pay, and to starve on yams—well—draw the veil and wait till the sun shines, and then put your sKoulders to the wheel.