Chilian Rebels

———♦——— Interesting Party in Tahiti

Escape From Easter Is.

From Our Own Correspondent.

TAHITI, March 26.

have had an interesting

glimpse of some of the princi-

pals in a South American revolu-

tion that missed fire.

The schooner Valencia, recently launched from Steve Higgin’s shipyard, returned on February 28 from her maiden voyage.

About the middle of January she departed on a mysterious charter to Easter Island, a remote spot some 3,000 miles to the eastward, with which Tahiti has had little communication since the Brander House flag dissappeared from the Pacific, owing to the opening of the Panama Canal and political changes. It was given out on the beach that the Valencia was to pick up a French cinema company and bring them to Tahiti, en route to France.

Latterly, however, one knows not how generated, rumours spread around that there was more behind this voyage than had been made generally known.

Consequently a large crowd assembled on the wharf and on the verandahs of the Bougainville Club when the Valencia berthed.

Closely escorted by local gendarmes, and in company with a Spanish interpreter, there stepped ashore four dapper gentlemen of exotic cut; and from the buzz of comments one at length formed the conclusion that these were no others than General Brado and his colleagues in the recent attempt to upset the Chilian Government.

The story goes that General Brado, together with a colonel of the army and a high legal luminary of Valparaiso, were escorted to Easter Island in a Chilian war vessel and placed in exile pending trial.

The war vessel having departed for the mainland, the Governor of the island apparently joined hands with the

revolutionaries and accompanied them to Tahiti.

The story, gathered in an interview with Senor Vicuna, the legal gentleman of the party, reveals a deplorable state of affairs in the Republic of Chili.

Political dishonesty and corruption appear to be rampant there, and some thousands of the leading families have been oppressed and exiled, often with out the formality of a trial. From his headquarters in the Argentine, General Brado and his colleagues planned a coup d’etat to upset the Government of President Ibenez. The movement was centred in the city of Conception, to which point the General and his party, crossing the Andes, journeyed by airplane. But the leaders there were not ready, and thus the scheme failed: and the party were taken prisoners. Luckily for them the troops were in sympathy with the revolutionary movement and refused to carry out the death sentence passed upon them, with the result that they were exiled to Easter Island. From there they escaped in the French schooner.

The General and his party are at present staying at the Hotel Diadem.

Papeete, and it is understood they will leave for France on the next Messagerie boat. ===