The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-12-04

sons which impelled him to this step have
been given. Reviewing his own action he
says The effect, / am certain, has been
most beneficial, and in this conviction all the
foreign residents here concur. am certain
that our mission here stands better with the
natives than it did before, and that we are in
better position TO do them good. They re-
spect us more than they did, and, as they
all acknowledge the justice of our cause,
| they bear us no i'll will. Human life is safe
here now, and Will be for many years to
come. This lesson will not soon be forgotten
by the tribes here. They say, 1t was an
earthquake, and not a fight l can locate
teachers in the very towns which suffered
the most, and they will be well received, not
because they fear u.s. but because they feel
1T to be the best thing for them. We have
had several proofs since, botn from New
Ireland and other places, that other lives
would have been sacrificed If no action had
been taken by us. On looking back now,
some weeks afterward, and considering
quietly and calmly the past events, hon.
estly believe that the plan adopted was the
best, and was, in fact the only one which
could have saved the mission and many of
our lives. 1t is true that many lives have
been lost, probably between fifty and eighty,
but the present and future good of thou
sands will far outbalance that. This has
been no unprovoked shooting of natives, nor
was il anything like an attempt to force a
way into their country by force of arms.
They murdered the teachers while friendly
with them and while knowing them to be
men of peace Ours was an honorably
conducted war in conjunction with the ma
tives themselves, one which was forced
upon us to save our own lives and to pre-
vent a recurrence OF any such barbarities."
Wilfred Powell and Greenville A. Wood,
master and mate OF the ketch Star of the
East; George Turner botanical collector;
william, Hicks and II Rlohm tradarS
Charles Z. Young and James McGrath, resi-
dents, who participated in the expedition,
have given Mr.. Brown a card expressing the
belief that but for his prompt action in the
matter the lives neither OF traders nor mis-
sionaries would have been safe in any part
of the groups, and approving his course I'M
reservedly.
Mr. McGrath has, in addition, testified
personally to the Wesleyan Board of Mis-
sions at Sydney to the effect that the news
of the murder and canniba'ism having
spread through the island, had Immediately
produced an altered and hostile demeanor
on the part of the natives toward the mis-
sion, and particularly that, on the news
reaching the Duke of York Island, ma
tives supposed to be friendly appeared
on the premises, making inso,ent and
menacing demands for property, which had
to be complied with; that a chief of a town
in New Ireland, on hearing the news, forci.
|
toned there, and would not give her up
till he learned of the retribution the mis-
sionaries and whites had exacted; that Talili
attempted to kill the widows and children
of the murdered teachers, and was only pre-
vented by some Europeans who were there;
that he further sent notice TO the towns in
New Britain where teachers resided that he
would make war upon them unless they
killed their teachers, and that he sent
threatening message to Mr.. Brown that he
intended to eat him, and had his taro ready
The Sydney Advocate reviews the case in all
its particulars, and concludes that Mr..
Browns course was the best that could be
taken, adding that "his action was UMPIRE
cedented in the history of Wesleyan missions
in the Pacific; but so were the clrcum-
stances in which he found himself placed"
ACTION OF THE BOARD OF MISSIONS.
The board OF missions of the Australian
Wesleyan Church, on receiving the news
held meeting on the 10Th of September, at
which, after reading Mr.. Browns account of
the affair, and questioning Mr.. McGrath, they
decided to make provision for the widows
and children OF the murdered brethren and
convey them to their homes, and expressed
their sympathy with the missionaries who
risked their lives by continuing to reside
among barbarous people, and particularly
WI th Mr.. Brown, ''in the very perplexing
painful and dangerous position In which he
was placed" but at the same time deeply
regretting that no other course seemed to
him to be open which would insure the
safety of himself and of the large number
of persons belonging TO the mission party
of whom he was regarded as the protector"
The board desires to give the fullest publicity
to all the facts in the case so that all VINO
are interested in it may have the best assist
ance in forming sound conclusion on the
matter