FIJI MURDER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 295, 7 September 1908, Page 8

FIJI MURDER.

COOLIES AND THE BLOOD LUST. : OVERSEER'S DEATH. (BT TELEGRAPH—PEESS : . ASSOCIATION.). ■ • Auckland, September 5. The Waihora,_ from Fiji, brings details of : the murder of Bon Hall, at the Esivo plantation, Lautoka. Hall, a single man, thirty years of age, was in his house, when an Indian,informed; him that he was wanted at the stables. Hall was proceeding to,the stables, when he was : seized and thrown down and deliberately chopped, to pieces. The body had over sixty cuts, the skullwas splintered, and the head ' almost severed from the body. The, police arrested sixteen Indians, some : l of whom are reported as'having confessed to . the crime. SENSATION IN FIJI, ' ON THE VERGE OF LYNCH LAW.

-The.Lairtoka correspondent of tho "Fiji Times," under date August;2s, supplies the following further particulars:—A; horrible murder that has shocked the inhabitants of this . coast was discovered at Esivo Estate,' Vuda, early on Friday morning by the driver of the morning train to Nadi, who found tho body of-Mr. Ben Hall, a promising • young man," about 25, ;;butchered and mutilated in a manner, that entirely baffles description,, were it -permissible-'to describe a thing '&o~ terribly revolting. From the waist upwards on this unfortunate man's body were-65 wounds, oach: of the most ternble nature possible. :; . , The police, doctor, and tho Colonial Sugar Refining Company's. officials were early on the scene. ; A muster was called, and a thorough examination made of every one on.the estate. The. lines were thoroughly examined, and, after some considerable time, an arrest was. made, a coolie pointing out a -man, as having hail words with Mr.-Hall on.the day before. -Poor Hall's body was brought into Lautoka and buried at 5 p.m. on Saturday, , tho 'Rev. Bavin- conducting the burial service. ;■ ... SOME ARRESTS. This awful event has cast a gloom over tho wliolo country side, and feeling was atone time running so high that it only wanted proposing, and, lynch law would very likely have eventuated. Sub - Inspector has ' sinco arrested some , six men and has evidently got on the right track, and is to be, highly commended foiv the . way be has worked out his clues. I might also mention that Mr. Farquhar .and ono or I two . others, have given every assistance to the police, and by so doing have moro than likely helped to- forge the chain; which is fast closing on this gang of murderers. .

This morning (August 25) wo are informed that two of tho persons arrested have' confessed; and also that they have stated that a coolie storekeeper was an instigator of this awful crime. - (I givo this for what it .is worth.) It'is,a well-known fact that many coolie stores, situated near coolio-! lines', aro 'hotbed 3 of conspiracy. , Freo Indians who , - run stores are looked upon by the nev arrivals as superior beings—oracles,- inr fact — and thoir advicc, whether good or bad, is invariably followed. out. They have great influence, and whenever the coolie storekeeper and overseer of an' adjacent estate fall out trouble is in store'for tho overseer-and certain to come.'. SOME SUGGESTIONS. As an outcome of this terrible 'murder it must strike the Colonial Sugar Refining Company's management that it is high'time something was done to make more secure the lives of their employees situated on outlying estates. I'. AVould not a salary of say £300 I per'annum which would enable a man to marry and havo the company of his wife and family be a source of protection in more ways than one? 2. All tools, knives, mattocks, hoes, etc., should be stored every evening and put under lock and key, thus removing one of tho incentives to crime in the shape of a coolie sitting of an evening and sharpening his knifo and brooding over some imaginary wrong that he may havo been subjected to during the day. We all know that when the coolie reaches a certain stago and tho lust for blood is on him, nothing on earth will stop him, and tho weapon right at hand would, if anything, hasten-tho result. It is a great pity that tho law cannot be stretched' so as to make an example of all concerned in this " one of the most brutal murders in tho anpals of crime" which Will be remembered by these scum of India who are to form in tho near futuro the majority of ' the population of theso islands. " Look to it, ye who have the gov- ■ erning of theso* affairs." Poor Hall was a powerful young'. Queenslander, universally liked for his • quiet, rei tiring good nature. Ho was in the first flush of manhood,-and report says'had only lately made arrangements to ' take over - Esivo Estate on his own account. 1 THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT. Strong measures, strong magistrates, and competent police are all things that we demand at tho hands of tho Government, and will hot rest until wo get' them. A final suggestion for his Excellency the Governor's consideration:—That we, in this district, aro fortunate in having an officer otationed hero as coolio inspector in whom. fie have absolute faith and know him to be tactful and absolutely fair and just as between white man and Indian, but that the administration of tho Indian Immigration Department could stand quite a lot of keen and searching investigation, and by so doing another possiblo cause for fomentation gf trouble and crime be thus removed.