Eaten By Cannibals

Intclligence has been received from the Island of New Britain cf the massacrc of native Wealeyan mission agents, who were set upon and murdered, and their bodies eaten by the mountain tribes. The Wesleyan Church in Australia directs and supports evangelistic operations in the Friendly islands, tho now colony of Fiji, Samoa, the lonc island of Rotumah, and the group of islands of which New Britain and New IreLmd are the largest. The mission is under the charge of the Rev. George Brown, who resides himself on one of the Duke of York group of islands. Eiglit of the teachers liad expreseed their wish and determination to visit the interior tribes of New Britain. They divided into two bands, in order to cross the islands at different parts. Four of them started from Blanche bay, and the othcr four made the northern side of the island their point of departure. The Blanche bay party returned next day to their point of departure. The other four teachers also reached the plateau in safety, interviewed the natives and were entertained for the iiight in one of the towns. A ehief named Talili, who lived on the low land, but who had infhieuce in the interior, sent a message to tho town in which the unfortunate teachers were lodged for the night, beseeching the tribe to kill them. "When the doomed men left the villago the next morniug the people followed, and, calling upon all whom they met working in the plantations by the wny to join them in the deed of blood, at length feil upon the unarmed, unsuspicious teachers and slew them in savage fashion. The bodies were cut up, and the pieoee sent here and there to the ilillorcnt towns, whero they were cooked and eaten with cannibal ceremony and ielight The object of thus distrib'iting the bodies was to implícate a large nuniber of towns in the massacre - u iustomary device of savages. The Rev. Mc. Brown, on hearing of the massacre, idopted veiy severe rejirisals, the charicter of which on the part of a misdorjarr have been variously commented in by the Australian press. An cxpolition was at once organized, and the ■esult of the roirisals was that at least ifty, possibly more, of the cannibals vere killed, and many of the towns and Dlantations were destroyed. Mellourne Argus.