The Waka Maori. WELLINGTON, TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1875.

Waka Maori, Volume 11, Issue 11, 8 June 1875, Page 118

The Waka Maori. WELLINGTON, TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1875.

(From the New Zealand, Herald.) The latest news from Fiji is very encouraging so far as the prospects of the colony are concerned, but sad and distressing when we read of the ravages committed among the natives by measles, which threatens to carry them trff in thousands. Private letters placed at our diSpdsal say, " The unfortunate natives aire dying like sheep, -and by hundreds, of measles, followed by dysentery and congestion of the lungs. At Navuso, otl the Siewa, there have been forty-five deaths. The mountain chiefs, brought down by such pains and with so much skill by Mr. Carew to make their submission to the Government, are nearly all dead. Six of them out of the seven who were induced to go on to Levuka to see the ships and the white men's wonderful doings there have died, and the seventh is in great danger. Let us hope he will be spared to give a true account to the tribes of these chiefs, whose natural suspicion of poison or foul play may otherwise do harm. It is a frightful calamity suddenly brought upon a gay, careless, and happy people. Many, who never ceased cursing the natives, miss them now with their shillings and half dollars, and for sheer want of labour trade is nearly at a standstill. Nothing but funerals getting so numerous that they cease to attract attention. Savinaca, Cakobau's half brother, Adi Assineta his daughter, and Enoch his son, are gone. So are young Tui Levuka and Ritova. The havoc is terrible, and you may imagine the condition of affairs when I tell you, says one letter, that at the funeral of so great a chief and so universally beloved a man as Savinaca, only two Fijians were able to attend. Under ordinary circumstances thousands would have flocked to the funeral. For my own part I feel the loss of these chiefs, with many of whom I was on intimate terms, very much. Let others speak of the natives as they like, I have always found them kind, hospitable, docile, obedient, and respectful, when dealt with fairly. It is a terrible calamity that has now overtaken them, and at a most unfortunate period, politically speaking. I fear it is not likely to end until at least ten thousand victims have perished." We can add little to give greater effect to these extracts. The natives live in villages containing from 70 to 200 people. At Bau, a small island less than a mile in circumference, about 1,500 are collected ; but we are not aware of any other similar concentration of population. The total number of natives in the Fijian group is pretty well settled at 150,000. More than 125,000 are registered as attendants on the Wesleyan churches established in the various Christian districts, and the remainder cannot be far out as an estimate of the number of heathens in the mountains. It is to these heathens one of the letters refers when speaking of the death of six out of their seven chiefs who had been induced to go to Levuka. "We believe they went from Rewa to Levuka in H.M.S. Dido, having been persuaded to meet the G-overnment at the former place by Mr. Carew, who spent eight months among them before bringing his negotiations to a successful issue. We mentioned at the time this submission of the mountain chiefs, and pointed out its importance. This could not be over-estimated, and the death of those who went to Levuka will be of great political evil unless the same tact, energy, and courage displayed in procuring their submission are now displayed in guarding against what may otherwise prove a great disaster. Of course, in the midst of so terrible and sudden a calamity, the cry is raised, "Whom shall we

hang ? The first burst of wrath was against Captain Chapman, of the Dido, as jt was reported that Cakobau and. his suite had measles in Sydney, or when taken on board the Dido for Levuka from that city. They landed without precautions of any kind, and. were immediately surrounded with crowds of natives wishing to show their respect. It was natural in the first instance to attribute the introduction o£ the disease to this cause, but further inquiry has shown the statement to be groundless. It has been since ascertained that a death occurred on board the steamer Wentworth, from Sydney, which was reported as dysentery, but proved to have been the result of measles prior to the passenger coming on board. The brig Western Star is also said to have had a death on board at the same time, but the temptation to throw the responsibility on Captain Chapman appears to have been too much for those whom he offended by the action taken during the very difficult and troublous times when collision between the settlers and the G-overnment of King Cakobau seemed unavoidable. We did not ourselves approve of Captain Chapman's action at the time, but there never was the slightest doubt of his earnest desire to do the best in a very difficult position. "W*e are glad to find this recognised by a large section of the people in Fiji, and that our letters, stating the known particulars connected with this sad calamity, free Captain Chapman from any of the responsibility which it was at first sought to cast upon his shoulders.

The Government appear to be doing all they can to meet the difficulty; but its extent places it above control. The native houses are built of reeds, and thatched with swamp-grass or flags. They are without windows, the only opening being a small, low doorway. The beds are made of rushes, covered with mats, on the earthen floor. The cooking is done at an open fire, in a hole on the ground, in the centre of the house, and the smoke has to find an outlet through the thatch of the roof. None of the appliances needful for a sick-room are to be found in these houses, and the patients, during the hot season just ending, are liable to venomous attacks of myriads of mosquitoes and the perpetual annoyance of swarms of flies. Under these conditions a complaint like measles, comparatively harmless in itself, could not fail to be a scourge of the most fatal kind. Gradually, as those who survive become able to tend the sick', and as the cool season, with its greater comfort and freedom from insect plagues, draws on, the mortality will probably decrease, and the natives understand better how to treat the disease. Meantime, it must take its course, and we can only hope for the best.

"We observe also that during the year 1875 no less than 2,200 imported labourers will complete their term of service and be returned to their homes in the New Hebrides, the Solomon, and the Line Islands. The Government have called for tenders for their conveyance, and given notice that passages for 1,000 of the number will be required immediately. We have here the bright side' of the labour trade. These 2,200 people represent sections of numerous tribes no individual of which dared approach another before being brought to Fiji. Had he done so death would have been the consequence. In Fiji these people have learnt-to live under the same roof and to cook in the same pot. They have become acquainted with new industries, new habits, and new products. They speak a species of pigeon English, which enables them to communicate with each other and Englishmen wherever they meet them. They go back with what to them is great wealth—generally from £l2 to £lB per man. On the plantations where they have been employed they never by any chance get access to intoxicating liquors, and in that respect their habits are unimpeachable. The return of so large a body to men to their native, heathen homes cannot but be of importance, and must offer new facilities for the spread of missionary teaching. It will be a sad thing, however, if they should also become the means of carrying to these populous groups a disease for contending with which their habits and their mode of life so entirely unfit them. Tormented with fever, with thirst, and with plagues, the Fijian patient breaks through all restraint, rushes to the water in which so great a part of his life is spent—and dies. The habits of all these Islanders are alike, and no pains should be spared to prevent so terrible a scourge being carried to other groups by the great body of men who are to return to their homes during the present year from Fiji.