MALIETOA IN EXILE.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 58, 9 March 1889, Page 3

MALIETOA IN EXILE.

T HE DEPOSED SAMOAN RULER AT JALUIT.

fTTTE BANISHED KING- CLOSELY Xn HATCHED..

* Tt. «?an Francisco " Chronicle " of January ' v vq- The American schooner H. L. £.5 Captain Melander, arrived from JwarahnU Islands yesterday afternoon ih?Jl cSo of copra. She brought) bub ff msSnrer, but her arrival has been ■°nLS looked forward to, as she comes eag JLDlaceof banishment of Malictoa, rflZl King of the Samoan Islands, nnfft report reached here some time time been consigned to §ci Marshall group, bub. the report, lacked COThe ITiornan is the first vessel which has '.Ami from this place since the trouble •Samoa It was learned ivom those on Sard that the deposed King arrived at Uuit on Bonham Island, about Novomt r "sth '>ein£ Ja""ocl thei-o by the GorV warship Olga. He had first been taken to Germany, but tho diplomatic Bismarck feared to keep him there, and he was accordingly placed on one of tl c Sydiiey steamers at Bremen, and ib was understood in Germany that ho was being sent back to .Samoa. He never reached the latter place, however, and his whereabouts has been a mystery up to this time although it was rightly conjectured that' he had been placed on one of the islands of the Marshall group. He was nlaced on the German steamer and given a steerage passage, the better to conceal his identity ; but one of his fellow passengers trot into conversation with him and learned of his troubles. The steamer arrived at -Aden a point in the Bed Sea, one night, and that was the last that was seen of Malietoii for a time. Captain Melander, of the H. L. Tiernan, was inclined to be conservative in regard to affairs on the Marshall Islands, but it was learned from those on board that Maljetoa was left at Jaluit on November 25th by the Olga, which then left for Apia. The Marshall °gr°u? is in latitude 8 degrees north, and is about 1,500 mUes northwest of the Samoan Islands, so the schooner brings no direct news from the scene of trpuble. Malietoa was accorded the liberty of the island, but he was jealously guarded by the Gorman soldiers, and was prevented from holding any intercourse with the white people of Jaluit. E. M. Morgan, the United States Consul at Jaluit, endeavoured to get i n to convocation with the King, but he was prevented from doing

so Malietoa has aged considerably since he has been placed in captivity and seams to have lost all his former energy. He has become quite settled down and wanders aimlessly about Jaluit, as if he had given up all hopes. He is not alone in his exile, there having been three chiefs from his native land placed there before him. The idea of escape has apparently never entered his mind, nor has it been entertained by those who have been thero before him. A strong guard has been placed over fch3rn and an attempt to leave the island would mean certain death. Eanham Island is extremely low, and a man-o'-war lying in the harbour could sweep the entire land and send a ball from a gun wherever she wished. The guard from an elevated position in Jaluit could also command an extended view of the entire island, and ■this fact is sufficient to exclude all idea of escape. The schooner Dashing Wave arrived at Jaluit from Apia on December 9th, and by it Malietoa received the news of the battle which took place between the forces of Mataafa and the usurper Tamasese. The Tiernan brings news of this scrimmage, but has nothing to add in regard to ib. . ,' The one passenger who arrived on the Tiernan yesterday is in possession of all these fact 3, and it is said that he couid furnish some very interesting details, both of tho battle mentioned and also concerning the abduction and subsequent captivity of Malietoa. He could not be found last evening, bub friends of his here said that ho Vrould decline to talk on these matters, as he w#9 in business in Jaluib, and feared the actions' of the Germans there should he be indiscreet enough to speak the truth.