The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-05-22 00:00:00

THE HURRICANE AT FUT.

There have been doubts at times expressed as to
whether the Pacific deserved its name ornot. Magel-
lan, the Portuguese navigator, who was the first to
sail in that ocean as early as 1521, passed over it,
from east to west, and finding, after the boisterous
weather at Cape Horn, fair winds as well as a tranquil
sea the whole way, bestowed the name by which it is
still known. The last mail from South Sea Islands
brings news of a hurricane which has passed over Um-,
part of the world, and with such a devouring power
of destruction in it that we may think the appropri-
ateness of the word " Pacific" is certainly liable to
doubts.. We have lately had news from the Western
States of A.merica that the Wind God had been in-
dulging in freaks which were injurious to mortals in
that quarter, but these turn out to have been mere
puffs in comparison to what has taken place at
Fiji and the islands around. Levuka has become
a total wreck. The description which has come home
says that the town presents an appearance as if it had
undergone a twenty-four hours' bombardment. It
may be presumed that the writer of this account has
not had much experience of bombardments, for
twenty-four hours, or even double that time, of a
bombardment -bad as that would be—could not have
produced the damage to the town the details of which
he sends This fearful visitation took p'..ace on the
4th of March last. For some days before the wind
bad been great, and the barometer was going down till
the day of the storm; at one place the register gives
the barometer as being as low as 27.62. The signific-
ance of these figures will be understood best by re-
ferring to the diagram at the head of the Daily Sews
weather report. where it will be found that it extends
only from 29 deg. to 3i deg.--implying that these
numbers embrace the extremes of our weather at
home, which gives us only two degrees, but
during the storm at Fiji, the barometer went
down nearly one degree and a half lower
than our lowest. The result of this deep depression
in the atmosphere was a wind that came in such
powerful blasts that it swept away everything
before it. All the roofs went very early, and the
sheets of corrugated iron with which someof them were
made flew about like scraps of paper; the air was
thick with these and with heavy beams, planks. and
lesser articles of all kinds. The weaker kinds of
houses went all over, and became heaps. The better
sort stood, but roofs and windows were blown away.
The Good Templars' Hall was "lifted 10 feet bodily
out of position, and utterly wrecked." Churches,
clubs, and public buildings, in most cases being of
rather superior construction, remain, but only as
ruins. At Vuna "Messrs. Connell and Tarre are
digging their goods out of what appears to be a cen-
tury-old beach. The latter found his safe, weighing
over a quarter of a ton, 50 yards from its usual posi-
tion." The site of the hotel at this place is now "a
fine tract of smooth sea sand."

The heavy rain which also fell brought down floods
in the streams from the hills, which have deposited
sand in large masses while the sea, on the other side,
sent high waves, sweeping away by its force roads,
piers, houses, and whatever came in its way, at the
game time throwing up far from the usual shore,
beaches of rubbish from the debris of the storm.
Some shipping had been lost, but the vessels in
harbour had timely warning from the barometer, and
put to sea, and thus saved themselves. The damage
to crops has been great. A total destruction has been
reported, but, as the mail left so close after the storm,
the full extent of the damage has not yet been mace
out. The bread trees are all destroyed, as well as the
fruit trees of every kind. This means starvation to
the natives; but the European inhabitants are in an
eqially deplorable condition. Their fate is described
as "utter ruin." Their houses have been destroyed ;
those who had plantations have now a cleared-out
ground on which to begin everything again. Men in
business have not only keit their stores, but the
contents are now only a mass of rubbish. The
civilisation of this region—which, although only lately
begun, yet the good results of it, as far as it has gone;
may be seen in our Colonial Exhibition—has by this
terrible wind storm been simply wiped out of existence.
It is a disaster which has brought ruin and famine to
one of our colonies. Our colonies, luckily, are at
present in high favour with the mother country, and
she is not likely to let an occasion of this kind pass
without doing what she can to relieve the distress. A
committee is being formed to raise subscriptions, and
we are sure that their appeal will be warmly responded
to. We would suggest that, if there is no red tape
routine standing in the way, tho Colonial Exhibition
should give one day's money taken at the doors as a
contribution. Nothing could be more appropriate
from all the colonies to the young and suffering
Colony of Fiji.
Among those who are acquainted with the Fijians
there seems to be some fear that this terrible storm
might force them back to their old custom of can-
nibalism. It is not so long since it waa given up.
Miss Gordon Cumming, in her work entitled "At
Home in Fiji, states that only about ten years ago she
saw men who had eaten their fellow-creatures; and on
being asked if bokola, the Fiji word for human flesh,
was better than beef or pork, their answer was that
no other meat could compare with it. From this
't will be seen that the old taste for this, to them deli-
cate kind of feeding. must yet be a memory ef many
still living in the South Sea Islands; and should
famine come as one of the results of the
late storm, a backsliding to their old hea-
thenish practices is practically within the chances
of the case. So great is the fear regarding
the natives and their chance of relapsing, that the
Rev. Mr. Calvert, one of the oldest and most ex-
perienced missionaries in that part of the world, and
whose name is most intimately connected with the
conversion of the natives, has, although now an old
man, determined to start immediately for. Fiji, to try
what he can do. Mr. Calvert belongs to the
Wesleyans, whose missionaries have done so much 4/
the South Seas, as well as elsewhere. The necessity
which Mr. alvert recognises as demanding his presence
among the natives of Fiji shows at the same time the
urgent necessity that contributions should also be sent
out to relieve distress and to prevent the possibility of
famine.

When Lord Byron published his sentimental
"Farewell," after his separation from his wife, the
matter was the subject of much after-dinner comment.
Curran's opinion was once appealed to. "I protest,"
said he. "I do not understand this kind of whimper-
ing. He is a man who first weeps over his wife, and
then wipes his eyes with the public."
Young wife: " John, mother says she wants to be
cremated." Young husband: "Tell her if she'll get
on her things, I'll take her down this morning."
A shrewd writer in a household periodical recom-
mends washing dishes as the best thing to put the
hands in the soft and pliable condition most favour-
able to piano practice.
First socialist: "Remember the meeting to-night,
Josef. Important questions to be discussed. Assassi-
nation of Bismarck, blowing up the Washington
monument, kidnapping Victoria -" Second
socialist: I have so many duties, Heinrich, I
cannot attend. I am-" "We are also going to
demie whether or not we shall have beer at our
meetings in future." " What ! have our rights been
questioned? Are our liberties invaded? Heinrich,
when justice calls lamat my post. I will b 5 there."