THE FIJI ISLANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 52, 13 January 1864, Page 4

THE FIJI ISLANDS.

r .«n - m-:i>r.i> in catching the ; IC:it<- Kcarncv ' f"'' » ,v S last letter, hv what an Irishman would ~„'.r a "gh.-l (! (.I':i chnnc-"— Iha! is (o say. 1 placed il in 1 ho hands <j of her obliging captain al tin- last moment. ;' Great dissatisfaction is felt thr.mghout the P'" l, l'. I by the ISritish irsidonls. at the imperfect jurat'--; "I !; postal communication wiili the Australian cuit'iiio-. :! or. I .--honlil sav. more correct!*, Svdncv. for nearly :j all (he vessels that trade to these and tin'- neighbour- i ing islands liail from lliat purl. Soinelinit-M wniil<i-l=i' j clever captain* and mnrrs. thinking, no doubt, that ) tliey will stud a march on iheir fellow-traders, clear out id Sydney I'nr (linim. or other mvlhieal port, and eonie straight, to Ovalau, without u' mail, to the extreme ilk-appointment mid disgust of all I lie white inhabitants. Captains of vessels make a great mis- [ take in this respect, as ]>y so doing, they saorifie'c the \ goodwill of the I'liiropean residents : no trifling eon- |i sidcratioii on a trading voyage. Surelv a little eare J on the part of the postal authorities could remedy ij this. "Kcniciubering, however, the perpetual complaints that are being made imaiust that I udlv conducted branch of the public service, it would be out * of ((in'stioii to expect any attention to the wants of' our small community. Another source of irritation with the | pie of Fiji is. that mails put on hoard for Ovalau. often sn round by way of the friendly Islands, and reach here some four or live mouths after their departure from Sydney. The inconvenience, annoyance, and sometimes serious less that are entailed hv these stupid iirrangeuu-, Is. can scarcely he imagined. A swift little sekoou, r. hacked with a small subsidy, would make a very snlisl'aolorv mail be at. and. I (V-.-l not a doubt, would prove a'n ample source of prot.'t to the entcrpri.-iig men who would undertake i!. As an indication of the direction in which then'- : sources of Km are he-lug developed, I may mention j that Captain Prnwning has iud riv.-tcd, for the tin.. ! of K. and \Y. Hennmgs. a'windmill, for driving a \ cotton ein. It is simp!,'and inexpensive in its con- '•■ .striirtiou.hu! substantial, and an-w. is the purpose ' for which it was designed admirably. Talk about astonishing the natives: it was a most amusing and laughable sight when it was I'rst set going to : watch the crowd of Fijian s around it. star!, stair, and dually, when the cotton began to I'y out in a beautil'ul snowy shower, himh and chatter with childish "lee. 'It is enterprise such as this which will make Kiii a country : and 1 trust the .Messrs. ! Ilcimiiigs may soon liml'lt u. ssarv lo n place it by ; more powerful steam machinery. The cult iv at ion of cotton is spreading rapidly here, some planters having I as many as 2."i.0(i0 trees.' Many of the native clii. fs I are also cultivating it, and as the plant yields a re- ', turn in twelve and sometimes six months, it is a ! favourite industrial ugricullurul pursuit al pre.-'id. 1 regret to have to record the loss, hv lire, of a ion- I siderahle property, belonging to Mr. Davis, of Pciva. one of our nest respectable ami industrious store- : keepers. As nearly as I can gather, the circum- ' stances attending its occurrence were as follows:-- j Some mornings ago, Mr. Davis, previous to his d,-- ' parture from home, hail a pi"; killed, and. pivpuratorv [ to its being cut up. hum: from a beam on one of the outhouses; as ho thought it pro! able he should he : .•ibsci.t for several hours, lie dim ted a native to lake ' charge of it till he returned, and to keep plei ly o! ; wood smoking underneath, with the view, doubtless. , of keeping oil' the I'ics. ,Vc. Now. Mr. llav is. not being an accomplished Fijian scholar, cave his dim- j tions in such a wav as lo h ad the native to uiuli )■• i stand that lie was to keep plenty of lire beneath tin ! pig; so, accordingly, i:o sooner hail, the unconscious j proprietor turned 'his back, than the too willii g | uiilive heaped on fuel with the generous profusion i characteristic of the Fijian people.' then followed th, j inevitable consequence-a larL'e lump of fat fell into ! the lire ben, nth, the hungry I'amcs Unshed lightening-! ke upwards, and in ai-.olhi r me im nt. Ih.e dried material with whiih I he roof was thickly that.hci' was a roaring confie.ration. Xmv, mark the comhn t of our native I'rici.d—lhe pig roiistei— and draw con elusions therefrom of native character. After th, first swift shock of surprise, he grabs the poker in his capacious arms, rush,., beyond reach of the I'amcs. and (piictly scuts hiinsi If to see the p, rforinauco out. Meantime, cotton, oil. and other valuables, to lhe tune of some £111(10 or .Cl2(iU. are being gradually I licked up by the remorseless element and. finally, th' | much-to-he-pitied proprktor (that was) arrives 1, I eonlcmplale the nslics of years of pmafion and toil. An enthusiastic sympalh'isir with poor Mr. Ihuis. oliscrviiii; liie native philosoplu'calh on the j carcase of the rescued pi;;, demanded, in ' ferocious j accents, uhv he had not tried to save a barrel of oil or something else. "No.'' replied the savage, will, unrull'ed composure. •■ 1 was left to take charge c! I the pij;, 1 did so—there il is." AVlieii the news of i the lire came, Ovalau. the first, leeliu,; of the white rcsideiils was one of thankfulness, that il was not the work of mi incendiary, for this destructive mode is the usual cud-nice of native hostility. From all I have heard, however, Mr. Davis has never done anything to ever interrupt the i_'ood feel inn which generally prevails between the nntheand white inlmhihuits. Sometimes the Kijiaus think theinselvci aggrieved by the white man', and when they do, vengeance, swift and ample, is executed. Some circumstances occurred in the latter part of the moiiih ! of August, illustnitivc of tiiis. On the southern | coast ofViti Levo the main land, at a place eaih-d | ■|'onj;aouri, two or three wh te traders were settled.. ! Tlie was at \\;\v with a iichilibour- j ins; magnate, to whom some of the white men had ' sohl gunpowder. The natives lixed upon one lbn- ■ jiiniin Oiurney (whether justlv or not, [ can't sav) as I the ollender ; undone morniug, as M r. (J urnev' wa- ! walking_ from his workshop to his house, lu'- w.'is I sei/ed from behind by each wrist, whilst n thin! ' native held n battle-axe, and another a club, over his j head, ready to cleave or bran him at first sign ol | resistance; but resistance would have been not'uiilv dangerous, hut almost impossible, seeing thut the two tall and powerful men that each held n wrist had planted their feet against those of their prisoner, and then threw themselves hack so as io form the lelt, r V ; whilst thus detained, the remainder ol' the parly entered Ourney'shouse, rilled it of everv single thin,', i then enme out', and stripped of all his' eloiliiiig, not | excepting his shirt ; a lire stick was then put to his I boat shed, containing his boat, which was burnt to ! cinders : the dwelling was spared,and then the party j went away. The whole ulliiir was transacted in j silence and gravity, and no personal injury was received by the man, who made his way to some white I men in u little canoe, willi a p ece cf unlive matting i round his loins. The one or two neighbours he had | have also abandoned the place. IS'car the same ! loeality, another resident has also been burnt, out, i particulars of which 1 have not. ' I I have heard that, three or four gentle in, n on the ! Maillandside of you, have it in contemplation lo take i up some country here for she. p fanning puniese- to ! the extent, of about .CfiCIIO. 1 th uk f tohiwm. i:i' a former htler. that, as .-, general thing, the she p '• imported »hvudy were doing well. Nome -111(1 hav. ! died from eating tile wild indigo plant ; but h In. r, I they have plenty of grass, tiny avo.d it, and no! one of tin; young lambs have died from it,; in all other |

! respects the sheep are a triumphant success, f have ! ile.s iiiorning received a leller from a gentleman who ' has sheep on some islands on the northern coast of [ | Vili L'vu, from which ! take the following extract : | I--'• 1 have ale my lambs, ewes, and lKt'j wethers, j ! I have not shorn let. but am urging on mutters to I ihat end as last »'» l'lji.-.u (Mulua) by and by will \ admit." I I Since 1 forwarded bv las', correspondence the i weather lias been delightfully clear, bright, and cool. \ ! \\"c have bad no ships in except the 'Caroline,' from | i Samoa, and the liolun.nli, now about to sail for j I Sidney. The 'James,' Captain Weiss, has not yet | ii'ia.le inr appearance from the Line. The llolumah ; reports having heard of luTiit the island of Pottlinah. j \Vc expect the' Ocean' ami • Kate Kcarmev' from Svd- | iicy shortly.--.Wr.7.v//> CA.-miw,','