THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1877.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Issue 9, 1 December 1877, Page 2

THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1877.

In our issue of to-day will be found a report of the case brought before a Naval Court, held at the British Consulate, on Saturday last, at the instance of Mr. Hunt, to inquire into the legality or -otherwise of the sale of tho British schooner Canterbury at Pagopago. The decision of the Court Was that the sale was legal. To this Mr. Hunt protests, which protest will also be found in another part of this day's issue. It now becomes our duty to make a few remarks upon the subject. The last trip of the Canterbury was her third unsuccessful attempt, owing to various mishaps, to reach Savage Island. After a soven day's passage she reaches Pagopago in a very leaky condition, tho pump having been kept constantly going. Hero thu crew protest against going any further in her, consequently a survey U railed by which she is condnmnod as un(•eaworthy, and the'surveyors advise that oho bo sold for the benefit of all concerned. Anyone who knows tho vessel must admit that sho is most certainly unscaworthy, and that thoirreport was a conscientious one. But was this suffici«nt to justify tho captain in selling her I By the law the powers of a captain to aull a vessel are very limited indeed.

Vnd we can recognise the necessity for ] lib ; for if it were not so no shipowner's ropeity would be safe in the hands of a I ishonesi captain. Before a ship can be >ld she must be reduced to a total wreck. 'lie law states that there are three es■ntials to render valid the sale of a ship I v her master, viz.:—l. There must be a ' .ant of repairs without which it would bo impossible to navigate the. ship. 2. There must be an impossibility of pro- | curing these repairs, cither at the place or on the credit of the parties interested, or of at all restoring the vessel to her character of a ship ; and '.i. After all expedients fail, the sale must be conducted with fairness and honesty, for the benefit of all concerned, and according to the best of the master's judgment. That the vessel could have been navigated back to Apia is shown by the following extract from the log :—" The crow this day signed a protest against going to Savage | Island, on account of the bad state of the vessel, but they would go back to Apia." Upon this it was decidedly the duty of the captain to have returned to port, where the vessel would have had a better

chance of Wing made seaworthy ; or, if it were then found necessary, she could have been sold to far (greater advantage for the benefit of all concerned. Again, the captain, Jhas shown in his evidence that lie neither tried to stop the leak or raise money for that pnrposo before she was sold. Altogether the captain seems to have -been quite content to sell the vessel upon the advice of Mr. Mair, who he called his legal adviser. True in Mr. Hunts letter to hirn he is asked to seek the advice of Mr. Mair in any difficulty, and if possible act upon it, bnt we do not consider that even that justified him in taking the matter as coolly as he appears to have done. This letter, together with the sworn evidence of two of the witnesses to the effect that Mr. Hunt stated that he wanted the vessel con-

demncd anj sold at Pagopago, had, we have no doubt, a good deal to do with the judges bringing in the verdict they did. Mr. Hunt, if men's oaths are to be believed, sent the vessel away to be condemned and sold, did he do this to protect the mortgagees ! We think not. Besides, we do not think that the Court had any proof of the existence of a mortgage upon the vessel. If there was no proof of the mortgage then we cannot see how the Court could have come to any other decision than the one they did. But, on the other hand, if the existence of a mortgage had been proven, then, for the benefit of all concerned, we are of opinion that it would have been belter for the Court to have held the ves-

sel till the mortgagees could have been communicated with. Taking the case all through, we think it needs more than a shipping act to meet the peculiarities of it. With regard to Mr. Hunt's protest, we most certainly olject to the charge of partiality being brought against the judges. We believe that the gentlemen forming the Court did then- ji<"» t-".-'v—-.v j us* decision according to the dictates of their conscience and the evidence brought before them.

DivineJ Service.—To-morrow being the first Sunday in the month, {the Rev. Dr. G. A. Turner, will divine service in the Foreign Church, in the evening, at 7'30 o'clock. Tutuila.—By the arrival of H.I.G.M.S. Augusta, which called in at Tutuila on her way from Tonga, we learn that Mauga'a party are still at Aunuu, entrenched in a fort of loose stones, and that the Taimua and Faipule party are encamped at the east end of Tutuila, watching an opportunity—we presume to attack Manga. The object of the Augusta's call, was to endeavour to make peace between the two contending parties, but they proved unsuccessful. We understand that a. letter was sent to Manga, asking him, that if they (the German man-of-war) would guarantee that his life, and the lives of his party would be saved, and that all his people were allowed to go back to their homes in peace, only himself, and one or two other chiefs to be held, and brought to Upolu, as prisoners, would he give himself up. Whilst an arrangement to this effect was being discussed, and put l>efore the Taimua and Faipule, the messenger returned with an answer from Manga to the effect, that he thanked them for their offer, but as the Taimua and Faipule had lost more men than he had, he could not see that he was called upon to deliver himself up. So there was nothing for the Augusta to do, but to proceed on her voyage to Apia. We understand that the property of Mr. Foster is perfectly safe, and untouched.

Tonga.—Wc learn by late arrivals from the Tuiigan Islands, that they have experienced a similar drought to ourselves. Food is plentiful still, but it is said that if they are another six weeks without rain it would begin to look serious.

The German Consui—After an absence of live wcoks at the Tongan Group, the German Consul returned home again in tho Augusta, on Monday last. During his absence In- has had the treaty between Tonga and Germany signed, so now there is no doubt about the recognition of the Tongan Government by Germany. We understand that everything passed off as well us could be expected.

Fueesusons.— Gentlemen who have been admitted to sco the grand secret of Freemasonry, will notice by an advertisement in another column, that thoy are invited to meet at the Samoa Hotel, this evening.

| Gunshot Accioent.—On Tuesday last, between four and tive o'clock p.*., ; a Niue native met with an accident, ' which might have proved very serious. He was lying in a house in the Niuean village behind Apia, while another 1 Niuean, standing in the same hut, was loading his gun for the purpose of ' shooting bats. After Voading, ho capped

the gun, and was in the act of putting the hammer down on the cap, when, it slipped, and the gun went oft, its content-; lodging in the chest of the man who was lying on the ground. The gun was loaded with small slugs. The charge went in just over the right breast, and passing horizontally to the loft, lodged over tire left breast. He was taken at once to Dr. Turner, who removed the slugs, ami dressed the wounds, and we understand he is making a rapid recovery. It is a marvel that there are not more accidents of this description, considering the careless way in which the natives continually handle their! firearms.

Missing Sailor. wanted abont a youn« German, who was sailor on board of tne German barque " Professor," Captain Ohlsen. ITiis vessel left Apia on the 29th October, 1870, and the said sailor named (Jarl Von Carnap, disappeared from the ship on the night before her departure. In a letter to his friends at home, he stated his intention to desert from the ship by swimming ashore, and to return home by the first other chance offering. Nothing having been heard of him since, his relations are in great anxiety about him. Private enquiries at Apia, having also been of no avail so far, any information that can be offered by any one will be gladly received at the Imperial German Consulate of this place.