News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1899-02-15
. "a M . "A.
BY Henry C. Idle, Ex-Chief Justice of
Samoa.
From the New York independently

When Robert Louis stevenson HfSC
dropped the anchor OF his yacht in
the bay of Nikihaba, the charm and
witchery of the tropics so wOve their
spell upon his receptive nature that
he wrote, "My soul went down with
the mOOrings, whence no wIndlass
may extract nor any diver fish it up,
and | and some OF my ships COM
pany we're from that hour the bond
slaves of the Islands," And again,
in 1S93-"Ahlt this is suCn a morn
ing as you have never seen. Heaven
upon earth, and the sweetness, fresh
ness, depth upon depth of unimagin-
able color, and the huge silence brok-
en- by the far away murmur of the
Pacific" His body lies upon thesum-
NIT of Mount Vaia, in the spot chos-
en- by him., overlooking Vailima, his
dear South Sea home, and the forest,
harbor, reef and ocean which beloved
so well. Immediately at the foot of
Mount Vaia, in the town of Apia,
on January 1, of this year, occurred
a tiny revolution and blOodstained
tragedy which has stirred passion
and anxiety in three great nations,
and caused the doors of Foreign
Offices to open and close with unwont-
ed celebrity. The Chief Justice, ap-
pointed by the three great powers,
England, Germany and the United
States, and authorized to make the
decision, and declared Malietoa Tanu
duly elected King. The Samoan peo-
pie, encouraged by German officials,
had instantly overthrow the boy
King, killed or captured his followers
and reorganized his rival, Mataafa,
as Sovereign, while the German Off
Gals had attempted to remove the
Chief Justice by force and to install a
German in his authoritative position.
The Supreme Court had been deted,
and the treaty violated.
To understand these events, brief
historical resume is essential. The
Islands, of volcanic origin, fertile,
covered with rich tropical foliage to
the tops of their lofty mountains,
famed by the trade winds to a soft
temperature in which 500 and 900
Fahrenheit are the extremes, lie
seven days steam ming ,seventy-One hun
dred miles, southwest of Honolulu,
10 degrees south of the equator and
173 degrees vest of the meridian Of
Greenwich. More than one European
power has long looked upon them
with covetous eyes. In 1880 the first
visit of a missionary to Samoa was
made by John Williams. While the
people generally took kindly to the
new religion, the cause was temper
arily delayed by the existence of a
war in which the High Chief Maletoa
was principal actor. Upon learning
that war and bIoodshed were contrary
to the principles of Christianity, he
indicated that he would soon be pre-
pared to become a convert, but
would kill his enemy and crush his
family before adopting the religion
of peace. He kept his word. The
new faith, thus happily inaugurated,
has ever ruled the Islands. All the
inhabitants Except some of the white
people, are Christians to-day, about
one-seventh Catholic and the remain
der Protestant. Churches and
schools, empowered in palms, orange
and bread fruit trees, abound 10 all
the picturesque villages, family pray
ers go up from nearly every thatchpd
home as the balmy evening comes on,
and all the younger generation read
and write, while from their little pit
tances of money they send eighteen
missionaries of their own race to
teach the Gospel TO the more depraved
people of New Guinea. Belonging to
the Polynesian race, like the abort
ginal inhabitants of Hawaii, Tonga,
Tahita and New Zealand, of undoubt-
ed remote Malay origin, the Samoans
are a most interesting and pictur-
esque people, large, erect, we'll nour-
ished, dignified, polite and hospitahle.
brown in color, largely retaining their
native methods Of life and dress Tor
undress, it, On win, and greatly Civ
en- to politics. But the war. with
Malietoa as the head of one parry,
WulCu UOUD " IlltHiuS IOuuu Ill ICCO,
has practically been going on ever
since. When one Malietoe dies or il
slain or depOrted, another succeeds
to the name and IN the everlasting
fight against the Tnmua. the rival
party. So the history OF Samoa has
been mainly that Of a struggle be-
tween these two factions. often insti-
gated and infampd by the intrigues
offoreigners, controversy as invet-
crate, long continued and bitter as
that between the ancient Scotch clans.
In the midst of these conflicts and
intrigues, President Hayes. in 1878,
negotiated treaty with Samoa So
curing to the United States the right
to maintain a coaling station at
Page Page, one of the safest harbors
in the South Pacific, which right has
recently been perfected by the acqui.
sition of the most valuable lands
about the harbor, the confirmation
of the titles by the Supreme Court
and the letting of contracts to con.
struct the necessary piers and
wharves. After 1878 there followed
series of wars and schemes until
1SS6.7-S, when the Germans, who
have the largest financial interest o.