for example, the experience of Lieutenant Ulfsparre, late chief of
police, and (so to speak) commander of the forces. His men were

under orders for a certain hour; he found himself almost alone at
the place of muster, and learned the king had sent the soldiery on

errands. He sought an audience, explained that he was here to
implant discipline, that (with this purpose in view) his men could

only receive orders through himself, and if that condition were not
agreed to and faithfully observed, he must send in his papers. The

king was as usual easily persuaded, the interview passed and ended
to the satisfaction of all parties engaged - and the bargain was

kept for one day. On the day after, the troops were again
dispersed as post-runners, and their commander resigned. With such

a sovereign, I repeat, it would be unfair to blame any individual
minister for any specific fault. And yet the policy of our two

whites against Mataafa has appeared uniformly so excessive and
implacable, that the blame of the last scandal is laid generally at

their doors. It is yet fresh. Lauati, towards the end of last
year, became deeply concerned about the situation; and by great

personal exertions and the charms of oratory brought Savaii and
Manono into agreement upon certain terms of compromise: Laupepa

still to be king, Mataafa to accept a high executive office
comparable to that of our own prime minister, and the two

governments to coalesce. Intractable Manono was a party. Malie
was said to view the proposal with resignation, if not relief.

Peace was thought secure. The night before the king was to receive
Lauati, I met one of his company, - the family chief, Iina, - and

we shook hands over the unexpected issue of our troubles. What no
one dreamed was that Laupepa would refuse. And he did. He refused

undisputed royalty for himself and peace for these unhappy islands;
and the two whites on Mulinuu rightly or wrongly got the blame of

it.
But their policy has another and a more awkward side. About the

time of the secession to Malie, many ugly things were said; I will
not repeat that which I hope and believe the speakers did not

wholly mean; let it suffice that, if rumour carried to Mataafa the
language I have heard used in my own house and before my own native

servants, he would be highly justified in keeping clear of Apia and
the whites. One gentleman whose opinion I respect, and am so bold

as to hope I may in some points modify, will understand the
allusion and appreciate my reserve. About the same time there

occurred an incident, upon which I must be more particular. A was
a gentleman who had long been an intimate of Mataafa's, and had

recently (upon account, indeed, of the secession to Malie) more or
less wholly broken off relations. To him came one whom I shall

call B with a dastardly proposition. It may have been B's own, in
which case he were the more unpardonable; but from the closeness of

his intercourse with the chief justice, as well as from the terms
used in the interview, men judged otherwise. It was proposed that

A should simulate a renewal of the friendship, decoy Mataafa to a
suitable place, and have him there arrested. What should follow in

those days of violent speech was at the least disputable; and the
proposal was of course refused. "You do not understand," was the

base rejoinder. "YOU will have no discredit. The Germans are to
take the blame of the arrest." Of course, upon the testimony of a

gentleman so depraved, it were unfair to hang a dog; and both the
Germans and the chief justice must be held innocent. But the chief

justice has shown that he can himself be led, by his animosity
against Mataafa, into questionable acts. Certain natives of Malie

were accused of stealing pigs; the chief justice summoned them
through Mataafa; several were sent, and along with them a written

promise that, if others were required, these also should be
forthcoming upon requisition. Such as came were duly tried and

acquitted; and Mataafa's offer was communicated to the chief
justice, who made a formal answer, and the same day (in pursuance

of his constant design to have Malie attacked by war-ships)
reported to one of the consuls that his warrant would not run in

the country and that certain of the accused had been withheld. At
least, this is not fair dealing; and the next instance I have to

give is possibly worse. For one blunder the chief justice is only
so far responsible, in that he was not present where it seems he

should have been, when it was made. He had nothing to do with the
silly proscription of the Mataafas; he has always disliked the

measure; and it occurred to him at last that he might get rid of
this dangerous absurdity and at the same time reap a further

advantage. Let Mataafa leave Malie for any other district in
Samoa; it should be construed as an act of submission and the

confiscation and proscription instantly recalled. This was
certainly well devised; the government escaped from their own false

position, and by the same stroke lowered the prestige of their
adversaries. But unhappily the chief justice did not put all his

eggs in one basket. Concurrently with these negotiations he began
again to move the captain of one of the war-ships to shell the

rebel village; the captain, conceiving the extremitywholly
unjustified, not only refused these instances, but more or less

publicly complained of their being made; the matter came to the
knowledge of the white resident who was at that time playing the

part of intermediary with Malie; and he, in natural anger and
disgust, withdrew from the negotiation. These duplicities, always

deplorable when discovered, are never more fatal than with men
imperfectly civilised. Almost incapable of truth themselves, they

cherish a particular score of the same fault in whites. And
Mataafa is besides an exceptional native. I would scarce dare say

of any Samoan that he is truthful, though I seem to have
encountered the phenomenon; but I must say of Mataafa that he seems

distinctly and consistently" target="_blank" title="ad.一致地；始终如一地">consistentlyaverse to lying.
For the affair of the Manono prisoners, the chief justice is only

again in so far answerable as he was at the moment absent from the
seat of his duties; and the blame falls on Baron Senfft von

Pilsach, president of the municipal council. There were in Manono
certain dissidents, loyal to Laupepa. Being Manono people, I

daresay they were very annoying to their neighbours; the majority,
as they belonged to the same island, were the more impatient; and

one fine day fell upon and destroyed the houses and harvests of the
dissidents "according to the laws and customs of Samoa." The

president went down to the unruly island in a war-ship and was
landed alone upon the beach. To one so much a stranger to the

mansuetude of Polynesians, this must have seemed an act of
desperation; and the baron's gallantry met with a deserved success.

The six ring-leaders, acting in Mataafa's interest, had been guilty
of a delict; with Mataafa's approval, they delivered themselves

over to be tried. On Friday, September 4, 1891, they were
convicted before a native magistrate and sentenced to six months'

imprisonment; or, I should rather say, detention; for it was
expressly directed that they were to be used as gentlemen and not

as prisoners, that the door was to stand open, and that all their
wishes should be gratified. This extraordinarysentence fell upon

the accused like a thunderbolt. There is no need to suppose
perfidy, where a carelessinterpretersuffices to explain all; but

the six chiefs claim to have understood their coming to Apia as an
act of submission merely formal, that they came in fact under an

implied indemnity, and that the president stood pledged to see them
scatheless. Already, on their way from the court-house, they were

tumultuously surrounded by friends and clansmen, who pressed and
cried upon them to escape; Lieutenant Ulfsparre must order his men

to load; and with that the momentary effervescence died away. Next
day, Saturday, 5th, the chief justice took his departure from the

islands - a step never yet explained and (in view of the doings of
the day before and the remonstrances of other officials) hard to

justify. The president, an amiable and brave young man of singular
inexperience, was thus left to face the growing difficulty by

himself. The clansmen of the prisoners, to the number of near upon
a hundred, lay in Vaiusu, a village half way between Apia and

Malie; there they talked big, thence sent menacing messages; the
gaol should be broken in the night, they said, and the six martyrs

rescued. Allowance is to be made for the character of the people
of Manono, turbulent fellows, boastful of tongue, but of late days

not thought to be answerably bold in person. Yet the moment was
anxious. The government of Mulinuu had gained an important moral

victory by the surrender and condemnation of the chiefs; and it was
needful the victory should be maintained. The guard upon the gaol

was accordingly strengthened; a war-party was sent to watch the
Vaiusu road under Asi; and the chiefs of the Vaimaunga were

notified to arm and assemble their men. It must be supposed the
president was doubtful of the loyalty of these assistants. He