MURDERS IN THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4398, 17 December 1875, Page 3

MURDERS IN THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

Captain" F. Ohlson (of the schooner Belle Brandon), -who has just returned from a cruise among the South Sea Islands, sends us the following letter:—"Sir, —X regret to have to report another murder at Apia, Gilbert Group. This is the second within six months, on two adjoining Islands, and this will not be the last unless the natives are severely punished. It is no use killing any of them (except to hang the murderer, if you can catch him), as they don't mind a few being killed), as it leaves all the more land and food for those that are left, but if you bum their houses and destroy their canoes, you punish them most, as "it requires a little exertion to replace them, and they don't like work of any kind, unless it is to work mischief. This last victim was an old man named Keyes, formerly of Fiji. It seems he had a bottle of scented hair oil, which this party wanted the old man to give liiin ; he bounced him out of half of it. He then came back and wanted the other, which Keye.s refused to give him ; with that lie drew a horse pistol, and shot liim dead on the spot. When it was done the other natives consoled themselves with " Oh, never minil, lie was an Englishman ; they will not take any notice !" It is fortunate he was not a Frenchman. In fact, the name of English is the by-word for a coward among them, and no wonder when we consider the number of British subjects that have been murdered among the different islands, without one of the murderers being punished. I could name about thirty or more, but I will only give a few islands. There is Turewa, where Sullivan was murdered six months before this murder at Apia. Some three or four years before that there were four white men killed. Next comes Apamarua; there were seventeen white traders murdered in cold blood to get their trade, and tho old rascal is alive still who was king at the time. The next is Nunuti, where three of the Dancing Wave's crew were murdered (only about two years ago), and the rest would have shared the same fate, only themastersaw a crowd of natives coming off in the ship's boat, and thought it looked suspicious, so he shipped his anchor and ran for it. Three of the murderers were on board of my vessel, and one of them drew a knife to the man at the wheel, but we were on our guard, and the mate, who was standing by, drew his revolver,-when they all cleared overboard. At Suwarrow three white men were also murdered not long ago by the natives of Penrhyn. Nothing has ever been done to them. The ringleader in this affair is at Penrhyn. There is no use in commenting any more, as I think these ought to be quite enough to call for an enquiry into some of the recent ones at any rate. When one looks at all thosemurders, where noncof the perpetrators have been punished, it is surprising that they don't murder more than they do, and I suppose it is only the white traders' firearms that keep them a little within bounds, although if & white man was to shoot one of them in self defence he would have the whole British, nation in hue and cry after him, with all tho missionaries at their head, —he would be called all the black-hearted, blood-thirsty scoundrels they could think of—hanging would be too good for him. Something will have' to be done soon if we wish to be trade with them. It is nothing to see half-a-dozen or more strutting about with first-class rifles, with bayonets fixed. Now, when those fellows get hold of a case of bad gin (comI monly called kerosene), after drinking that they are fit for anything. You may possibly ask, who sells them arms and gin, as they can get neither from New Zealand ? But thev can from Sydney (although a British colony as well as yours), from Samoa, Fiji, or Tahiti. Either would sell them arms if they thought they would shoot their own father. I find it a very hard matter to get sufficient firearms for my own protection, the law being so strict. On my last outward trip I had two rifles and two revolvers, for which I had to get two licences and enter into security for £1000 that they would not be landed on this coast. In Sydney it seems they can get any quantity of arms and ammunition. Surely some restrictions ought to be put upon this trade by the Governments of Sydney and other places, as this wholesale arming of natives will sooner or later lead to most disastrous results. I trust that these matters may be < inquired into?.