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exception presently mentioned. That exception was a package of four rifles and 800 rounds of ammunition consigned by Messrs. McArthur and Co., of Auckand, to the servants of their house at Sasaoa, for the purpose of self-defence. This package was correctly described on the manifest. I believe the consignee had previously obtained permission from the British Consul at Samoa to impart this small quantity of arms and ammunition, and had formally declared them to be entirely for self-defence, as above mentioned. Our steamer ' Richmond ' was bound to a time-table in respect of each port, on account of our mail-contract. We reached Tonga on the morning of the 15th of January, 1889. Having finished our business there, we departed thence for Apia, Samoa, where we arrived on the evening of Friday, the 18th of January, 1889. We cast anchor in Apia upper harbour at the 'Richmond's' usual place of anchorage. I was the bearer of a cablegram from the Imperial German Government at Berlin to the German Consul at Samoa, and our steamer had been detained in Auckland at the request of the German authorities there in order to carry this cablegram to Samoa. Immediately, therefore, upon our arrival at Samoa I waited upon the German Consul (Dr. Knappe) with this cablegram, which I handed to him at 9.30 p.m. The German Consul perused the cablegram in my presence, but did not then acquaint me with its contents. At this time I of course did not know what the cablegram from Berlin contained, and supposed that affairs at Samoa where then in their normal state. As I walked back from the German Consul's residence towards the wharf I called upon various traders and consignees, and requested them to make arrangements to take delivery of the goods brought for them in the ' Richmond ' the first thing the following morning, and for that purpose to have their boats alongside the ' Richmond ' by daylight. They all agreed to do so. This arrangement was necessary in order that our steamer should not be delayed ; otherwise we should not be able to discharge cargo in time to admit of our leaving Samoa early on Sunday morning, as in the proper course of things we should have done. Having interviewed the traders and consignees I returned on board the ' Richmond.' About 1.30 o'clock on the morning of the 19th of January, 1889, I was aroused from sleep by a German naval officer in uniform, armed, and in command of an armed boat. He desired to see the captain of the ' Richmond ' instantly. Captain Hutton was accordingly awakened, and the German officer had some conversation with him in my presence. The German officer handed the captain a document, which he said was a copy of a letter that had already been forwarded to the British Consul at Samoa (Colonel Coetlogan). I now produce the document received from the German officer as just mentioned. It is in the words and figures following : — " ' Apia, January 19th, 1889. " ' With reference to my lettci' of to-day's date concerning the proclamation of the state of war for Samoa, I most respectfully request you to order the captain of the s.s. ' Richmond ' to land all goods destined to this port at the German wharf, in order to be examined whether there are any contrahand of war, especially any ammunition, among them. Everything will be done to avoid unnecessary trouble. "' I have, &0., " ' Dr. Knappe, " ' To Colonel Coetlogan, H.B.M. Consul, Matautu.' " ' Imperial German Consul. " The conversation between the German officer and Captain Hutton was carried on in English, and the purport of it was that Captain Hutton would not be allowed by the German authorities at Samoa to land any cargo or anything whatever from the ' Richmond' except at the German wharf, situated in the German harbour, as war had been declared by Germany against Samoa, and that the German Commander at Samoa would hold Captain Hutton responsible if anything left the ' Richmond' except at the German wharf. Captain Hutton protested against these orders ;he also complained of the delay they would entail, and maintained that once the goods left the vessel's side we were free from responsibility. Captain Hutton also protested against being obliged to land cargo at the German wharf, for it has always been the custom for each trader or consignee to bring his own boat to the ship's side and take delivery there. To depart from this practice and land the cargo at the German wharf would involve great annoyance, trouble, and expense, and all this Captain Hutton pointed out to the German officer. There are two separate harbours at Apia—the one where we lay, and another commonly known as the German harbour, which latter is a mile distant from the ' Richmond's' usual anchorage, and therefore out of the way of the bulk of our usual customers and consignees. The German wharf referred to is situated in the German harbour, and is only useful to the Germans. In addition to these and other drawbacks and inconveniences, some of which are afterwards mentioned, the German wharf can only be utilised for the landing of goods at high-water and during one hour before or after high-water. Captain Hutton also explained to the German officer that our responsibility in connection with the cargo ended when it left our tackles, and that oar agreement with the traders or consignees was, and always has been, that they should take delivery from the ship's side at her usual anchorage, each trader or consignee thereupon landing his goods at his own wharf or in front of his own premises. The German officer replied that his instructions were imperative—that we must land our cargo only at the German wharf, that those instructions had been given by Captain Pritze, Commandant of the German naval forces at Samoa, and that Captain Hutton would be held responsible in the event of any of our cargo being landed elsewhere than at the German wharf. At the close of his conversation with Captain Hutton the German officer returned to his boat, manned by an armed crew, which, together with another German boat, also manned by an armed crew, remained near to the ' Richmond ' during the remainder of the night, keeping close and constant watch and guard over us. On the slightest movement on board the ' Richmond' one or other of these armed boats immediately closed in upon her. They did so, in fact, several times. On the morning of Saturday, the 19th January, in accordance with my arrangements of the previous night, the lighters of the traders and consignees came off to the ' Richmond' at daylight, and we began to discharge cargo over the ship's side into the lighters. Till the time they came off to us the traders and consignees, to the best of my belief, had no knowledge whatever that there was any impediment in the way of discharging or landing cargo. At 6 o'clock on this Saturday morning, the 19th January T I took a boat and went on shore for the purpose of seeing the British Consul, bringing .with me a copy of the document which had been left