The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-12-06

is the religious issue. Mataafa is a
good Catholic, and Malietoa was
brought up in the Protestant mission.
He is only a boy of 10 or 16, though a
handsome young fellow. The Protest
ant mission is carried on by London
| society The wife of the British con-
sui is much interested in it. Through
her the British colony and many OF the
American colony are interested in it.
Chief Justice Chambers, through social
affairs, is possibly influenced in the
same way" To this the Sun added:
1T is almost the unanimous opinion OF
+ passengers on the Alameda from Apia,
American and British as WELL that
Mataafa commands the ALLEGIANCE OF a
| large majority of Samoans, and that
an attempt by the treaty powers TO
put Malietoa on the throne will prove
disastrous to the peace of the islands.
They all speak in the highest terms OF
Mataafa.''
Robert Stevenson declared Mataafa
not only gentleman, but the only man
fit to be king on the islands. When
| the great hurricane in 1889 destroyed
three German and three American yes
sells in Apia harbor, Mataafa led his
| people to the rescue and at the risk OF
their own lives they saved $50 drown
ing marines, while they so guarded
| the shore that not pennyworth OF
the wreckage was looted. His heroic
services then won the public thanks
of our congress.
| Mataafa's claims to the throne were
! irrefragable and could not be i'm
peached on any ground whatever. He
| was the representative of the islands
ancient royal race, and he was the
free choice of four-fifths of the people.
His rivals father, himself, too, the
protege and puppet of the London mis-
sion, was called by the people Ian
pepa" (tblank paper'O.
The United States had specially in
sisted on the clause in the Berlin con-
ference of 1889, according to which the
king should be chosen according to
the laws and customs of the people of
| Samoa
! Lloyd Osbourne is a stepson of Mr..
Stevenson and was once our vice consul
| in Samoa. He writes of this and tells
of the infamous plot Matched by the
London Mission society to dethrone
! Catholic and place the crown on the
head of the little puppet, Malietoa.
Mr.. Chambers, the American chief
justice, debarred Mataafa by a bubble,
in spite of his own written words to
Mr. H. j. Moor, yielding to the impor-
tunities and sectarian intolerance of his
friends. the Protestant missionaries. A
| provisional government was organized,
which, pending a reference of the whole
matter to the powers, was recognized
! by the English, American and German
consular representatives.
Then Admiral Kautz arrived, a
would-be Dewey, who precipitately can
celed the existing modus vivendi. Ma
taafa must be put in the wrong, and
that quickly, otherwise lin view of the
German Consul General Roses assur-
ance about the protocols) the powers
would be certain to maintain him as
king. Kautz thereupon ordered Ma
taafa to leave Merlanu, the seat of
government and installed Tanu in his
place
Hostilities again began between the
two parties, and Kautz, well satisfied,
| Immediately shelled the Mataafa peo-
pie wherever found His generalship
was on a par with his humanity; he
contrived to get us badly beaten at the
battle of Vailele, and has Numbered
away precious American lives. His
only successful engagement has been
the bombardment of villages full of
women and children. One might think
him avenging some terrible wrong. Ad-
miral Kautz and Mr. William NJ.
Chambers-on the heads of these two
must the guilt be. But on us all the
money damages. These should set US
all a-wishing out representatives We're
less open to entangling alliances and
our carriers of the gospel to the heath
en- less eager to lean on the arm of
the fiesh.'