FIJI NEWS.

Waka Maori, Volume 12, Issue 16, 8 August 1876, Page 195

FIJI NEWS.

THE FIGHTING AT VITI LEVU. 800 PRISONERS TAKEN AND THIRTY-EIGHT KILLED. (From the Fiji Times, sth July,) The Government steamer Fitzroy returned on Monday evening, having on board His Excellency the Governor and his staff. Nothing could be more satisfactory than the news she brings from the disturbed districts of Viti Levu. Captain Knollys, who lately marched the trained police force under his command from Ba to Nadrau, hassince been successful in an attack on Na Veiyaraki, the chief of the Nabutautau towns. This town was carried without any loss to the police force or to the Ba and Nadrau auxiliaries. The enemy on being driven from their defences, made off in the direction of Tavua. Owing to the nature of the ground it was impossible to secure any prisoners. Captain Knollys has since occupied the captured town, wbieh numbers thirty houses, and is Surrounded by splendid gardens well planted and cleverly irrigated by means of bamboo aqueducts. But the interest of the news from Captain Knollys' force is far less than that which attaches to the intelligence from the lower Sigatoke, from whence we learn that the Quali Mari tribe and its allies have been completely subjugated by the force under Mr. Gordon; the whole of their towns and strong rock fortresses taken and burnt; above 800 prisoners and several hundred stand of arms captured; and those who have been guilty of special atrocities during the war tried and executed. The course of events, we learn, was as follows: On the 26th ultimo the strong mountain fortress of Mata-ni-Vatu was taken by assault, with a loss of thirty-eight killed on the enemy's side, whilst only two of the attacking force fell. One of these, however, was a high chief, the Buli Malolo, who was shot dead by a bullet aimed at the Eoko Toi Nadroga, close to whom he was standing. During the following week Mr. Gordon drove the enemy from all their towns upon the river, and occupied and destroyed many of their mountain forts. These latter were places of great natural advantages for defence, and were strengthened with walls, ditches, and fences, and must have taken years of labour to prepare, and had given the enemy fair reason to boast that they were impregnable. Mr. Gordon was preparing for an attack on their last stronghold, Koro Vusolo, when, during the night of the 21st, the enemy's whole force surrendered unconditionally to Kolikoli, chief of Beimana,.who has all along maintained a friendly attitude towards the Government. The loss on the Government side during the whole of these operations has only been between twenty and thirty killed and wounded. Sentence of death, was pronounced on a considerable number, and in fifteen cases his Excellency directed the sentence to be carried into execution. One of the condemned, a professional poisoner, escaped during the night, but the remaining fourteen were executed on the morning of the 30th. The perpetrators of the cowardly and brutal murders of the women and children of the Butiri towns, were, by a

strange act of retributive justice, hanged in full view of the site of the villages on the opposite bank which they had. desolated. Among those put to death besides the Butiri murderers were Mudu, the main mover of the outbreak; the Buli Wai Colo, who had taken .arms against the Government whilst still in recipt of Government pay; a noted cannibal, Onevasi by name, who had eaten alone nearly the whole body of Josia, one of the Nadroga force killed at the taking of Koro Vatanea. In most of the cases in which sentence was passed, we learn that, their guilt was admitted; by the culprits themselves.