BATTLE OF SAMABULA.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15171, 20 March 1920, Page 5

BATTLE OF SAMABULA.

FIGHTING IN FIJI. SERIOUS RIOT: FIENDISH WOMEN., | (Sydney Sun Special.) ' 'iu SUV v (F . lji) - F * b * 191 -For a loiicr time there has been unrest among the Indians m *iji, and the leaders chose -as a time to launch their revolt a period when the islands were isolated by the Austra-i^nVw-W? 0 6n & ineers ' strike. Thero are 60,000 Indians here, and they relied upon ( the co-operation of 80,000 natives j Early m January men began to leave i work. At a large meeting of Indians it Z S £$f t°at they were as good as the whites and equal rights were demanded. MahomejW joined with Hindoos, and the Indians who remained at : work were beaten. • /The women also took j a hand. They waylaid men gome home from work, and behaved like fiends, usftn? most horrible practices. .They even entered the houses,_a»d Beat the men. The result was that not, hjtff.' a*;, dozen' Indians could be got to- work "where hundreds worked before. THIRTY TO ONE. Then the snark yjas. applied by a white, who was reported to have beaten a "boy" n J ght < Januar y 29 ) a mob of 300 or 400 Indians were held up m the centre ot buya. They were armed with sticks, and some ooff f the. women had knives. A thin lino .of -native police held theni up until some returned soldiers with waddies arrived, and gradually tho mob was forced, back, and -dispersed. . That started things. a, Special constables were hurriedly arid a few days £ fc ? r .*!»?. Defence Force was mobilised. £? r a i ,^ ml P the '-, position was critical. There werofiflly 30.000* Indians, within 20 miles of the white people, including women children, numbered only 1000>? t r'Ttiere;. were two native platoons, and;. two machine guns with haJf-cnsto,crews_, v-zhilfe U skeleton defence force of.,. abontf.vlOO.,. returned, men and some other*} .with; partial homo training were alsp. .available. - The natives showed some' signs of joining with the strikers,, as .did several hundreds of Solomon boys, although many natives had taken up the -Indians' jobs. A GALLANT FIGHT. Then a young- special with four native police- tried to -.arrest a' woman agitator at . Toorak. .At hundreds' of men and : wonten sprang -oiit from evory side. Several specials rushed up to help their comrade, who had , fallen once* and only saved himself with hjs heels. These speclalsp ut un a gallant, flight. One. was beaten into unconsciousness, another had an arm broken, while a gallant old man over 70 years old, who had tried to heip the first lad, was nearly killed, and had a badly, fractured arm. *. ...*'•' All available native policemen armed with rifles were, rushed'- tb -the scene m motors. Toorak is the big Indian siifeiu-b of Suva. Then a. dozen soldiers arid some specials arrived, and lastly- a '-'machine* gun. By this tinio pandembni-nm • was loose. Yells filled tho air, stones Tattled overhead, . and clubs rose and fell. The men were-tofd not to iire r although the gun was placed ki a commanding position; Gradually detachments worked round and outflanked the main body of rioters/. no** over 1500 strong, and m the end 151 smeii and 20 women were marched to the police office m detachments and safely housed. BRIDGE^ TORN UP. Strong patrols marched the streets during the night. Volunteers came from - all parts, and military pickets hold the chjef points of entry to the : town. There were big Indian settlements at Munivatu Samabula, .Lanii, and Navua, while thou-sands-live oh the Rewa River settlements 12 miles away. At Nasinu the bridge . over the , main road *Was torn up, as were three other bridges nearer town. The - telephone line to Nausori on the Rewa was cut. There were big and ugly demonstrations on the Rewa, and. 20 men with a gun were rushed to Nausori by car. Then a wireless plant was, erected on the ; roof of the Boys' 'Grammar School, which was made Defence arid another plant was sent by launch to Nausori. A MODERN HORATIUS. A small but useful force df 20 horsemen was formed. The Samabula bridge was wrecked. A works department gang went out and. replaced the decking, and a guard watched it all night, returning to tpwn at dayJight, five miles away. . No sooner had the guard gone than the wreckers started on the bridge^ again. A dozen mounted men and a gun were sent out. A magistrate reasoned with tho mob, standing like Horatius at one end of the bridge and 300 or 400 angry Indians at the other. .. The Riot. Act was read, but the Indians guffawed and called out, "Shoot! Shoot!" An impasse was 'reached. An hour later 20 specials arrived by motor. They formed up m two lines, and "Forward!" was shouted. . As they . advanced .over the bridge the mob retreated up the hill. The specials doubled, arid the mob broke. At the top of the hill they had an arsenal of clubs and stones. , There they "made a stand. The fighting was very fierce, and several times white men were saved as by a miracle. One fanatical old priest with two Bft clubs held a mound -for" some time against several specials and,' native police. After nearly an hour's hard fighting the mob were dispersed, with many broken heads and bruises. Sq< ended- the battle of Samabula. v EVERYTHING X.TJIET. • The next morning the New Zealand Government yacht Tutanekcii. landed 60 artillerymen and six Lewis" guns. From this out the troubles became fewer, . : and every small rising was smartly/-'suppress-ed. Our force, if small, was very mobile, and detachments were whisked away m motor cars at a moment's notice wherever wanted. ; .''.■•'•""'>• On Saturday afternoon the minesweeper Marguerita, with 100 ' bluejackets, arrived from , Australia. ,' . . The Legislative Council passed a Bill m one sitting making assembling illegal, and on Saturday a Gazette notice compelled ovoiy Indian to have a permit to . move inside Suva. s To-day many Indians' aro back at work, nnd everything is qiiipt. The , outbreak is over, hilt whether tho trouble has been definitely settled remains to be seen. - The natives, of whom 300 to 400 are under arms as special oclice, acted _splen* didly; while the attitude of. the women was heroic and calm. Over 250. Indians are to be tried.