LATER FIJIAN NEWS

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXI, Issue 5700, 20 December 1875, Page 3

LATER FIJIAN NEWS

1>\ (lie an \ il jo-.Uida^ fmiii L< \ nk t <i(" the s s ' IJi'ut U\ n,' we lino l''es otpapois to the 10th mst, 1'ioiu wl 1 i h we tike the toll. »v ng •-- Tin* natives ,in l\anda\ u mi lnteiput the (io\emor& oidinaiKe about their paj - ig their taxes pi produce, that they hesitate to sell now .it all to Euiopeans Mr. Lepino, who has been long associated with the Ai-'jWs, is, we .arc pleased to say slowly ieeo\enng. Mr. Lciuno has been very assiduously engaged of late, and to this ovoi work must be ascribed his illness Low te\ti was the cause of Ins ind'sposition, but he Ins impiovcd. Wo learn (says the r lntn'\) horn a most tollable soinee, that the Kiench v 11 annex the New Hebndes, and that a man ol war would lea\o Noumea for that purpose two da\s aftei the 'Alarm' left for Levuka. This is news ' ulccd, and shows with what secrecy, ab'lity, and m i&dom. this has been clloete'd It w.U be i itercsf'Hj to watch the polities display. I by each country's (iovernment, and sec which bids beat to out ti ip the other m their several development Fiji has the stait— let us hope she u II hold it. The Fiji Bank 'ig and Cmnincieial Company h.ivc detenu 'led to cicct a veiy handsome bu'UVng inTotaga Square, nc\t lloung Lee's store, Levuka, where to cany on their loiuMiercial negotiations. The bank w '' bo large, roomy, and commodious ; every accommodation w' 11 be accorded to a" ollicers of the institution. The erection of thebo premises \\ 1] coit £2,CM and upwards. Totoga Square v '' soon become the \\ rallstreet of Le\ <ika. The lioyal Engineers have been very active since their arrival in Fiji. A large amount of sin \ ey m 01k has been douo, and a sea wall along the beach is about to bo erected by them. Ihey are also making preparations for burning limo at Yagadace. Coral u '' be used for this purpose The Tune* looks philosophically upon the proposal to change the capital of the colony from Levuka to Suva. It thinks, \rhcthcr the capital is changed or not, foi years Fiji, geudally throughout the £/ on l' will iceoyinse, from commercial relations alone, Le\ uka as the capital. l'eeently two l (1 ijians were tried at the Supicmc CouiL tor the ini"*dor of two natives They stated at their tual that the murdered men caught the measles, and tho pnsoncis kil'ed them to prevent them dying of the measles. The prisoners were at once acquitted. |[ M s 'Xymphe,' which arrive 1 in port on Saturday last, is to succeed H.M.s. ' Rairaconta,' the latter ship being under orders for a ciuwe to the Line Islands. The ' N>niphc' is a very smart looking barquerigged steam ship, of tho type of our old fii'jnds the ' Blanche ' and ' Dido.' Amongat the ollicers aie some familiar faces, who foimcily "1 the ii'-ot-named very popular ship Mi. .). S. Lowe, who for the last 12 or 13 months has held the position of editor of tho /•'//; Tmi id compelled, in consequence of faintly a'l liiti, to proceed to England. Tho ed 1 tonal chair h.as been resumed by Mr. l\ S. Solomon, who occupied it for some time h<Ji»ie Mr. Lowe's arrival in Fiji. On Sunday last a lire broke out in premises belonging to a Mr. Jones, situated on the southern side of Totoga (Jreek. Tho house, rather of rickety character, "was somewhat damaged before tho flames wore extingaished, but otherwise no injury ensued. The larrikin element is developing itself in Levuka to a disagreeable extent, and amongst a better class of boys than are usually such disagieeablo adjuncts to large communities. lidcmug to the alleged stop of tiade caused by the proclamation tho (Jovernoi has issued respecting tho trade of the natives with tho Europeans, the Lorn a Loma coiiospondcnt of the Aryu-i writes :— It cciLamly seems a curious ider. to stop ti.idu, but from I have £.2011 myself, I am inclined to think that trade has stopped itselt. Still, lam not sorry the (loveinor should be blamed for it. People must gi owl, and as he is the head and front of everything, why not giowl at him? Tradeis should make up then minds to pay a fair value for pioduce, and pay in money instead of Jew's harps and bad print, and thuie would be plenty of tiade. The building tiado is \ery active at picSLiit m Lcwika Many new and laige stoics aie 111 coulee of •election Tj plioul fevoi is jnevalent in Lciaka and simouudiiii; distiicts. !{(«{<l, a clut'c in tlie Vo,b ollico, got hk le^ liiokcu lecently in a fuemUy wiosthng i»atch, just a-> he was to be despatched 111 ch.uge of .1 lL'tuin lnbonr vessel. A cuiiLMpondent of one of the l''iji jiapuis l)io]io^cs tint lo() ac us of land ho given to ,111 adult in do, 7.~i acie^ to .111 adult fein.de, and 2~> aues to 0 tcli in' 101 : u a family, t« induce ;'nniiyi ition to l-'iji.

A Ml IAN' THIEF SUBJIiOTED TO THE '•CAT." With lcgaril to the punishment of natives huie then? have been mmy conflicting opinions. Solitary confinement has pioved to bo worse tii. m a f.uoc, and this foi some timo lias been the principal method of punishing the Fijians siuuni.uily. A native sentenced to bo locked up foi two or three days regards this as a tiiuniph of luxury. Heat once anticipates the pleasiue of the siesta. His food is brought to lain, and he eats .mil sleeps away liiu time in halcyon bliss. Hard labour perhaps in u holesome, as it iutioduces the divine principle ot wuik. 15ut to get n.i lives to work hard in an impossibility, and too frequently tho sentence is but a moukeiy and delusion. And thus it ii tli.it lutlioi to punishment of iiativwi has been a Inveiyniinyciscs we believe thatnopun'ishmeut will be foundhosalutaiy tothcdmkysoni uf bom idleness, as that of a smart couple of •Jo/en, well laid on wifft ;i good cutting cat-V nine tails llecentW tliis has boon positively foiled upon the authoiitlcs. An incorrigible named J-) ui, who had been incarcerated for thieving, piovud himself to be a veritable Jack Shephuid. Twilo he broke out of gaol iu a most detei mined manner, and the last time w.n captiued with great dilliculty, violently a«saulhug the apprehending constable, tiying to club him, and seiiously uijunng him. Upon the case being reported to tho Governor, his Excellency ouleied the man to leceive thiity lashes, and on Fnday last, in tho afternoon, he was bi ought out to leccivo his punishment. Uefoie lie was bi ought out all tho prisoners in the gaol weic paiaded, and ranged in front of the place of punishment. Tho flagellator w.is .1 stalwait half-caste named Williams. He and the pnsoner, of com so, were the centre of obseivation. It was curious to observe tho sti angle glances of the natives, as they witnessed the ceiemony of fastening their fellowujuntijin in up, no lens so tho peculiar expression of tlie culpnt, us lie siuveyed the preparations foi his ghastly correction, and passively -.ubimttud himself to be tied up, or contemplated by the yiim congregation that surrounded him. Tho llagcllatoi's instrument of torture was a legulai "cat." Its handle wa« 2ft. long, with nine lashes of about 2^fb. long each, of »tout haul wlui>coid, each end knotted in some halfdu/cn )>1 iucs. At a signal he commonccd operations, di.liveiing each stroke in about second nitenals, the speed of which gradually incieiscd aftui the Oth, until 10 had been dohvuied. Evoiy stioke left its wale, and oach sl( iiiLil to nilliut fiesh torture. At the lust stioLo the culpiit gave a low cry, mutteiing S(jnictbiug in Fijian ; at tho second it intensified into .i howl, his he id fell on one side then on the otliti, ho diew his logs up and stood on tiptoes, his eontottions palpably bespoke the amount of sulfeung he enduied. At al.out the '.Ith oi 10th stioke the wietched pusonci, nc.ikci, tluew [his head over his left slmtildei, and appealed as though his whole body was sus peiukd by bw wiists, his lower limbs seeming to have given way. At the Kith stioke, at a vi£ijul from tin doctor, the punishment teased, and the man was taken down evident'y iuncusibk- He was earned in the gaol, andtheiu by means of cold water, he was rjuickly rosus cit.itud. Wo bi lieve ho liicuivud his 2nd instalment on Tuesday nioining, and are quite certain he will Ihj .i good boy in futiue. The moral ftlect of this cannot be ovi-i estimate d. It is mud to have been much talkod of amongst the Fijiaiih, mil will doubtless, heieaftei, be not only a dtUiu'iit fiom cuiiii', but lead to chcertul oliudii'iice as well on the p.ut of seivautsas of 1'Jji ins gcneially.

U hSION S WlZAUD Oil, \M>.\I\(J!U I'lI.LS lll\O CUrdl 1I1II1L Uollltllllll Ctsf) of UllhUMAIllMJ, tiljl I, NlJUItAI.Ol\, ACil 1, l'\INS, .SWJ-bLJVUS, L'AKKI> linbAUD-, lit It Ml, MAMM, AMI SAbr-UllEl M, "I'UII the llUIIUUI fi urn Ui.m .ill tliu liU'tuuluil rtmcdiL'B have uhivu thu wurld liu., in I Iicm, Urt.it AuiLiioni Mulicincy mo Louiini^ii i.l \cKutiblo o)W, hu.ihn^ K llllls i loots, unU IiciLm , "id .ut like ,t cli.iiiii upon pain unit liillumiimbun Till, Half iCiowu. Sole Aleuts: Komp triioine, l'robgfi, mid Vo.