THE TONGA AFFAIR,

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1551, 14 February 1887, Page 2

THE TONGA AFFAIR,

A Tonga correspondent of the New Zealand Herald gives another version of the Tonga trouble to those already published. He says : "Itis a true saying that ' murder will ont,' and several Der-

sons in connection with the matter having turned king's evidence. It has placed the Government in a position not only to prosecute the murderers, but also many of their accomplices, and has revealved a state of things with regard to Mr. Moulton's supporters which will astonish the world. One of them is said to be the prime mover in the affair. Mr. Moulton'a irieuds are suspected of not only having devised the scheme, but of having laid out a plan which was to have been followed by civil war in the laud, and although two days after the affair they literally proclaimed war, yet the ringleaders being caught the cowards soon returned to tbeir

homes. , As the Government found the* matter, more serious tlmu.was at first supposed "they have 'sworn -.the officials to secrecy, lest tlie,people, who are intensely excited over the- affair, should take the' matter into their own hands and proclaim lynch law. So, far, notwithstanding tbat__ there are some 700 fighting men over hefe from Haabai and Vavalu, the utmost they have done is to kill a few pigs belonging to Mr. Moulton and his adherents. This coming directly on the fact of twentyfour of Mr. Moulton's adherents iv the new militia refusing to take the oath of allegiance (fourteen of whom were college boys and the rest prominent adherents.ofhis) looks very suspicious, and more especially as the very leaders of the affair are some of the rebels whom Mr. Moulton ? sympathised with in 1880, and concerning whom the king appealed to the Wesleyan Conference without avail. It is well for Mr. Monlton and many of his bosom friends that Mr, Baker was not shot, for had he been killed no one can say what would have followed, An exceptiou was taken by the New South Wales Wesleyan Church of the remark of the~ Tongau Government that Mr. Moulton's adherents consisted of the rebels, malcontents, and disaffected of the land. What will they say now and when all the facts of the caße are out? The British pro-consul and the German vice-consul, and Dr. Bnckknd have severally requested the king to institute a special court for the trial of the accused, but as every day affords ft esh evidence they may not be tried fora few days yet. It is rather unfortunate that the very leaders of affairs are those rebels whose liberty Sir William Dcs Vceux in«

terested himself in obtaining a few yeara ago, aud who, as already stated, are prominent persons amongst Mr. Moulton's adherents. The result of the murderous . attack has been that hundreds have joined " the Free Church in consequence. Expressions of sympathy with the Premier and his family have been .universal, both amongst the whites and the natives. All the four criminals have professed for the past few weeks to be Roman Catholics, whereas only one was a Roman Catholic. ~ The others are Mr. Moulton's adherents. They ran away from the gaol a few months ago, notwithstanding that they were heavily ironed, one of the goalers, it is supposed, helping them to escape. They are all long-sentenced men. It is presumed that it will appear at the trial that they were only the tools of others."

Mr. Jno. H. Roberts, president of the Tongao College, writing from Nukualofa, on the 24th of January, tays, "At first it was thought by many to be entirely the work of four convicts who bad escaped andv.' had given some trouble to the police, but v lt is now gradually coming out that it is a more serious affair still. - These men are now in prison, and many who are accused of being their accomplices. After a fair trial the political and religious, phases of the affair will be made plain to all. When the men from Haabai heard the full particulars tliey were very angry, and some of them tried to break open the gaol to get at the prisoners. I could not help admiring the! eloquent speech the Premier made; ' to quiet them, when I considered how bis heart must be full of anxiety and sorrow, The successful work of the Gov- , eminent and the Free Church in advancing freedom, education, religion, and morals, has raised up many enemies, aud this is their work. The votaries of treason, - superstition, and ignorance must do as. . history informs us they always have done, and assassinate those who lead the people aright, or their cause must come to nought."