KIDNAPPING IN THE NEW HEBRIDES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1943, 23 March 1868, Page 5

KIDNAPPING IN THE NEW HEBRIDES.

(From the C'hrhliait iferuld.)

Aam

The accompanying petition, a copy of which has been sent to tho Governors of several of the Australian Colonies, and the statement of the Missionaries, shew what inhuman practices are being canned on by British and other vessels in the New Hebrides. It is very trying to Missionaries to have their work thus frustrated, and their position imperilled, by tho conduct of white men. We trust public attention will be aroused to protest aprainst thia piracy. A few years ago, when Peruvian vessels attempted the same removal of the natives of the South Sea Islands, a large public meeting was held in Sydney, and the Governor was addressed on the subject. The British Government was appealed to by His Excellency, and also by tho Representatives of Missionary Societies at Home, with such effect as to put a stop to the traffic. But many of the unhappy natives wore never restored to their homes.

Unless speedy efforts are made, a great misery will result from the present deportation. The statement will apeak for itself. STATEMENTS By the New Hebrides Mi&sion regarding the tralh'c in natives as at present conducted among the islands of that group. For some time back, and more espocially j within the last few yearn, thiß mission has i had its attention directed to the fact that a large number of the natives of this group are being carried away in vessels, ostensibly as hired laborers, to Queensland, Fiji, .New Caledonia. Tahiti, Torres Straits, and other parts. With reference to the full extent to which this system is carried on, this mbsion is not at present in a position to famish accurate statistics j but | w« are fully aware that a large number ! of vessels, are engaged in it. Within j the course of the Jast eighteen months, vessels directly and avowedly engaged j in this traffic, have called at the one island j Fate no fewer than 18 times j and we are j aware tfcat as many as 250 natives at leant I out of saven villages of that island are at j present absent f com their homes engaged in. the service of white men. We are furtaec credibly informed that several of the smaller island* in the. northern part of this group have been almost entirely stripped oJ their male population. The vessels engaged in this traffic.—so Cat as known to us—sail under one or. otheroE tha three flags—tho British, the Anaerioan, and the French, They vary In size from Bhips of 700 or 800 tons, down to annul schooners of eight or ten tons. There are various crcumstances oounected with this system as at present conducted among tlie islands of this group, to which, we deem it our duty to direct public attention. ■ '. ■. ' ..." ', •,

Ist. Many of these nafcivorave taken away fraudulently and by force from tboir native lands. Instance:—Towards tho olnse of last year, a vessel Bailing under the British flag, bound fortlie Fiji's, havuifi oa board oneTrandmt ajulten natives from northern island* of this group, i»y to Off M tarlw, Fate. Some of

j tho natives of Pango put off to her in a cauoe. They were able to converse Mith tho natives on board, as sorao of them had resided on the islands wbeace the>" came. As they neared the vessel, some of the natives ou board warned them not to leave th- ir canoe, atlding, "We came oiFto her in our canoes to trade as she lay to off our shores. While we were thus engaged, she bore away ; and when we attempted to leave, tho crew prevented us, and cut onr canoes sdriffc. 'Jims they stole us from our land, and if you board her, you will share the same fate. Nor does she come to anchor anywhere, lest wo escape by swimming ashore/ Other instances of tho same kind can be given.

2nd. if any of these natives suffer great hardship and privation on tho voyage. Instance :—ln tho beginning of this year (1807), a Bmall schooner, bound for the Kips, having on board thirty five natives from different islands of this croup, came to anchor inthe harbor of Mucityum. Sha then started on, her voyage, and after having been out a fortnight returned, reporting that »ho bad met with unfavorable weather, and that her provisions were exhausted. In fact, the captain acknowledged that a numlxer of thu natives were so reduced by famine that they could not come out of the bold; and his statement was fully bonus out by their wretched appearance. Other instances of the same kind can be given. 3rd. Some of these natives suffer severe bodily injury and even death at the hands of those who carry them away, without any redress, or any inquiry being made after their blood. This naturally leads to their cherishing fee-lings of revenge, and taking opi>ortuniti. b of retaliation aguiust whito men generally. Instance : Towards tno close of 1 st year the people of Emel, Fate, pirated a small vessel and murdered the crow, cotieibtioa of three white men. When visited this year by H.M.B. Falcon for the purposa of investigating this outrage, they siated in self defence, that no ftswer than four of their men iind been barbarously murdered by persons, who had carried them away from tlieir native island-—giving names, dates, and circumstmjccp.

Other instances of & similar kind can be given. 4tl». Tn the caae of those who go of their own accord, the nature of the agreements entered into with them, is very imperfectly, and in moat cases not at all, understood by them ; and there i» no real security that wo know of, that these agreements shall bo faithfully fulliillcu by thoao w.lO carry them away. This haa been acknowledged by those who carry them away, and has bee* stated to1 us by persons in the Fijia who have access to natives imported there. It ought to bo borno in mind that almost every island in Western Polynesia has a distinct language of its own. Tho only medium of couimuaicati* a between tho natives and the trailers is the English language, and this ia understood only by a few, arid by them very imperfectly. Oo most islands it is not understood at all. sth. Most of these natives, as is avoll known to üb, are kept away from their native islands for longer periods than they were engaged for. This statement is fully borno out by individual instances which have come under our own observation, and by the fact that it is the universal complaint of the natives, wherever we come in contact with them. One case out of many we mention. In August, 18G6, a small schooner of about ten tons ourthen, took twenty-six natives rom the islands of Emou and fc'ntu to Fiji, tor a term of six months. Up to this date (August, JBG7), not one of those taken from Fate*, at least, has lwjen returned. Oth. Many of these natives are very poorly paid. Instance:—For five months' service on board a vessel trading in these seas, a native of Fate received four handkerchiefs, a few pipes, and a few ligs of tobacco. Other Instances of a similar kind can be given. 7th. The wives of many of those carried away, despairing of their return, enter into relations with, and become the wives of, other men. This dissolution of social tieu, is a fruitful source of disturbance, of destruction of property, and of war. Instance :- -In Jttly of this year, a mtivc of Pango, on the island of Jb'ate, returned from Queensland. He had been away for about three years. During his absence, the wife ho had left behind him had bt come the wife of another man ; on account of which tho village had at tho time been brought to the verge of a civil war. Immediately after his arrival, in July last, hostiliti«» began between the two parts of the village inhabited by the friends of the respective parties. A great deal of angry talk passed between them, threats were made of setting houses on fire, several plantations were destroyed, and the utmost confusion and alarm prevailed for some days j when at length the matter waa settled by the- first husband consenting to give uj> his claim to the woman on condition of receiving twenty pigß as a solatium. But the matter did not end there. A month or bo after these occurences, the woman whoac second marriage had been the occasion of these disturbances, fled to the house of her former husband, and was received by him as his wife. This naturally led to tho re newal of hostdities between the two ends of the village. And there is every reason to believe that, but for the presence of the Missionary and the intercession of the Christian party, the matter would not have been settled without bloodshed. Ofchor instances of a similar kind can be given, Bth. In almost all cases, the men who are taken away, are tho strongest and most active in their villages ; and by the removal o£ suck men, a more than ordinary proportion of old and inlirm people with women and children remain; which materially interferes •with the raising of food, the procuring of fish, and other work necessary to the well being of the natives. Okb. With reference to those who return, wo find that thoao who have bosn oftenest and longest away are generally the worst and most dangerous characters. 10th. The whole system w, so far as we know, under no adequate supervision or control i.co that the natives of these islands are at the mercy of any man -who can induce or cajole or force them to take a passage on board his vessel. In these circumstances we have no hesitation in denouncing the trade in human, beings, as at present earned on among these islands, as in violation of the natural rights of var.a.;, as oalouUtcd to bo injurious to the social moral, and spiritual interests of the native; as demoralising and degrading to the wJbite' men engaged in it; as, in ehort, a re-, ivat of the slave trade, without that security lor th& temporal well being o£ those wlm nw tho subjects of it, whicfiwould.be dewvo t from the fact of their being the property of a m m who had invested a largo snm ol money in their purchase. Signed itt fcehslf of the New HWbrids£ Misiuon, 3. G. Paton, Cbairraau, Jos. Coi-blaub, Clock. Ancityum, JT<w Hebrides, 7tiaßepjfc,. $$?,

To Jb'is Excellency the Eight Honorable th<? Earl of Belraore, Govcrnor-in.~ Chu*i of New South Wales, and CaptWn General and Vice Admiral of the .vime.

May it please your Excellency— The petition* of the undersigned humblysheweth, That your petitioners are Christiurk Missionaries rej. M'esenting Presbyterum Churcheß, laboring on tho six Southern Islands of the New Hebrides Group, via t —Aueityum, Fotu.^a> Tanna, Aniwa,^; Erromanga, and Fate '- That in their capacity as such, they, at conrse, are deeply iutc Tested in tho elevation of the natives of these islands, physically and socia^-ly, •"« well as morally and spiritually;. h> that while, on the one hand, any pila-n which has a. tendency to promote so d esirabie an object has not only their ptsvfcct acqaiwK cence but their hearty su-ppwt, on tho" other, they cannot but re\ ':ln* it as tlieir' duty to oppose any system winch'is found> to interfere with the natural rights of thof natives, and with the furtlw.^uioo of thoser ends for which Missionaries isofcUo among: them. That in fulfilment of their- duly; and ins, the interests of humanity the*/ feel thorn--selves t oraid to lay before your-Excel-loney, certain facts and allogaSiona as embodied in tho accompanying "statement" relating to a systoiu of traffic in. human beings as at present carried oik,' among these islands.

That your petitioners humbly' antt^ earnestly request your Excellency tliat bkl' investigation Imj made into the working «£■ this traffic, that it bo put wider sucJi. supervision and control as shall prevent; • tho rights of the natives from being mtli— lessly violated; and that some ono^bcr* appointed to care for the interests, aw3b" investigate the gi'iovancea, of those natrwsa, ■ i o* these islands who reside in the Colony;/ of which yon are tho head. And your petitioners will ever pray. John Gkdmb, D.D.. Joiix Ikoijs. John G. Paton'. JoSKfll CorELAND. DoXALI) MoRKISOX.. J. D. Gouuo.v. Jambh Co.sii, M. A. Thomas Nku.kon.

Litkiuimana.— Mr Charles DickensV favorite time for composition is said to be in. the morning, when ho writes till about one or two o'clock, then ho has his luncheon, and walks out for two hours, rcturna to dinner* and cither goes out or spends the evening at his own fireside. Sometimes bis method oS~ labour is much wore intent and unremitting. Of his delightful Christmas book, "The Chimes," the author says, in a letter to a. friend, that ho shut himself up for a month, close and tight over it. "All my affections and passions got twined and knotted tip in. it, and I becaino as haggard as a. murderer long before I. wrote ' The End.* When I had done that, lilts * Tho Man of Thcsaaly,' who, having scratched his eyca out *in a quickset hedge, plunged ' into a bramblebush te scratch them in again, 1 fled to Venice to recover thes composure F i had disturbed."' When his imagination begins to ontbnc a new novel, with vagua | thoughts rife within him, he goes " wander- [ ing about at night into the (strangest places," he saj'H, "eeeking rest and finding none." | Lord Lytton (Bulwer) accomplished hia voluminouß productions in about three hours a> day, usually from ten until one, and seldom, later, writing all with his own hand. Composition was at first very laborious to him* but ho gave himself sedulously to mastering its difficulties ; and is said to have re-writ-teji some of his briefer productions eight or nine times before publication. H<* writes very rapidly, averaging it is said,. twenty octavo pages a day. He says of himself, in a letter to a friend:—" 1 literatiset away the morning, rido at three, go to> batii« at five, dine at aix, and get through, the evening as 1 beat may. sometimes by correcting a proof." The following : accotmfc o£ the late Douglas Jerrold's "method in. writing" was sketched during his lifetime by a friend who knew him well :—-At eighfc o'clock he breakfasts, then reada the papers, cutting out bits of news. The study is a.. anug room, filled with books and pictures; its fumitnro is of solid oak. There work begins. If it bo a comedyhe will now awl then walk rapidly up and down the room, talking wildly to himself, and laughing as he hits upon a goodpoint. Suddenly the pen will be put down, and through a little conservatory, without seeing anybody, he will piss out into th« garden for a little while, talking to the gardener*, walking, &c. In again, and vehemently to work. The thought has comej and in letters smaller than tho type ia which they shall bo set, it i« unrolled along the little blue Bbps of paper. A crust of bread. , and glass of wino are brought in, but no word ia spoken. The work goes rapidly , forward, and halts at last eaddenly, The pen ia dashed aaidp, a few let- . ters, seldom- more than three lines- in each, arc written and despatched to the post, and then again into the garden, visits to tho horse-, <*>w, an(* fowls, th»n another lon£ turn around tho Jo wn, and at last a- seat with * quaint old volume in tue tent; under tha... mulberry-tree. Friends come—-walks and conversation. A very simple dinner at four.. Then a- short nap—forty wioks—upon the great aofci in tho study; another long stroll over the lawn wMle tea is prepared." Over the- tea-table are jokes of all kinds, a* at dinner. In the latter years of his lifo .Torrold ficldotu wrote after dinner; and; his evening* . were usually spent alone in hi* study, reading, writing loiters, kc—Th^lndiai1 Trta.mr;i for December. The Haturdag Hevkw point&.pnfc that there , i» * danger in the language- wliich men hka / Mr Gladstone aud Mr Boghi use aboofe. Ireland. It is dangerous,,..that tho Irish., should ba almost justified-, in;, their disafficC-J tion, nwlo to think the:.f case quiw unexceptional, *nrl be toll tfait they can never-, be made happy and prosperous, and never, hive simple jtwtice donst-biiem, unleaa some-, thing new, startling, and uahcardof te deviVid for tiieir benefit-,. ' I'RESBRVING 'f JIK. TfifcTiL, —-A COlTespOll*. dent advises us, froin,personal experience^ ot the <rf!icacy of " bifc»ng a live blaeic snaka, from hi? tail throi^bis back boue/' for readerang tue teitfc^ uu orishable. T,ae oaly mqrabcr oufc of. of sev^siv who haai not false tcwlv,and the toothadic, li^'ab,ijriljntos his apccfyni fr««fcjjo!ri{misfortuiiefc »nd tho ixwiQvt eoacdmsis of> va r huiblo m»c»l)ora, aftce J£L yw~ PT«>tioe with, them in crf^ng. iy.it* and\ biting piifO iii two, a&fcitwHj&l to tha ordinary, duti s of hi& Nentsi, appar&fepar during; t|hat period, to th^wutfinn, e>«jUib;<^tl iv htaoarly days in following tbS pg*l?o of*l sagw^ous Indian,' as above ""SWjSfi. He maV^a knoiva the l&\ for iho^bmfit.oC htaa^nity, ami with a clecyt for^tauung t ssk»b satisfftCtory *>a;yl»natioß therel^r^ &<#*' " withstanding our j^wr for.the %s****» wiath^ inconvenience of artifaoial thttile«p3tetha««««nceof our aw"**™^ dent the rt-medy *° W fDP^fW WOSS(O >tlw^