A QUAINT LITTLE KINGDOM

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 159, 30 March 1908, Page 8

A QUAINT LITTLE KINGDOM

——4, TONGA' AND ITS AFFAIRS. INTERVIEW WITH THE HON. THOMAS : .. E.ROBERTS. Among the passengers' who arrived from Sydney by the Maheno on Wednesday was the Hon.' Thomas .E. Roberts, AuditorGeneral and Treasurer of the island kingdom of Tonga. .-Although conncctcd with New Zealand l , by steamer,-Tonga may . as well be on the other side of the globe for. all wo hear of its internal affairs, and on that account an . interview-with, one of its leading officials - was.most welcome, as, it ,assists New Zealanders to understand their brown brothers nearer the Equator. British Protectorate. ~ , Mr. Roberts, who is-" enjoying a four nionths' furlough, the great-er part pf which he-has been spending in Australia, informed a DoJiinidn reporter that Tonga is a kingdom in itselfj though actually la British Protectorate, : and a. State,. under 1 the- jurisdiction.' of' Governor Im Thurn. Tonga' has its King .(George Tubou II), its own Prime Minister, : and other ; constitutional tribunals, including its own Privy Council. England' is represented by Mr. Hamilton'Huriter, who was both British. Consul and Agent, and who is practically at the head "of affairs as far, as .tho protectorate is concerned;' and' it is "largely due to that gentleman's .sound - advice and financial policy -that Tonga occupies tho enviable position it does to-day.; -When Mr. Everard Im Tliurn arrived at the islands to overhaul .its., affairs', in December, 1904,. things wero in> a pretty bad way—there was £16 in tho Treasury and a debt of £4000. Tho debt was liquidated by borrowing. the sum on easy, terms from tho British Government, to ,bo repaid in half : yearly instalments. This has now been done, and • tho Government has a credit balance of £20,000 in the Treasury. Tho revenue is derivable from poll tax, land-tax,. Customs dues, court fees, etc.-, much the same as,any '. The No'jlos. . . The. Parliament of Tonga is constitutor of "nobles'', and others,!.in which it follows somewhat on the , lines of England. Tho "nobles" wore tho lords of districts, whoso forbears were .'powerful' chiefs when tho Kingls-father; Fatrifehi, . .conquered tho islands sixty years or .so ago. It was not politic to-have so many powerful chiefs out against, 'him;;, so. lid created them "nobles," an 'hereditiry title, which carries with it a seat in Parliament,, for; which they are paid' £3P, per,'annum. The Prime: Minister is Mateialona,. a fine.stamp of man, shrewd and highly intelligent, who "was / formerly chief or, noble of tjle Haapai district. ' When Mr. Im Thurn, tho'High Commissioner of the. Pacific,-.went to Tonga to-put'its houge • in order in 190 i; he. found'that no ono took a more intelligent : interest in tho' welfare': of the natives': than Mateialona. His district was. planted, ,up r "to the inch with cocoanut, ■trees,'.no,taxes,-vvero owing, and 'there, had been no. churcH 'troubles in Haapail Ho also understood' the' land question thoroughly, \ and' eyenfcs have proved' that,> no wiser, "appointment could have been made.

Two Kings to a'Throne. . Those, .wlio read .of tho politics of the Pacific are-avjfaro that it is not uncommon for. there to be':two claimants to' an island throne. " Tonga' is unique ,-iti; that it has two kings—who may be'■ calletU the : rilling- king and the worshipped king respectively. .' King George is the ruling"king,'.'and:' his father,. ■Fatafehi, :'is .the''.worshipped or ' spiritual, king. .People wonder, how. it is. that George 'is king when his father is still alivt, a posi-tion-.easily explained iVhen it is known that kingship', passes down' through the female lino. King George is a very line man, Cleveland cultivated, and_ physically, a "picture: His father, Fatafehi,- now years of' ago, is. the '"grand old, man"" of Tonga, a man wh6;lias always takpn the greatest interest in his people,, and 'who' in return is worshipped by .them'more as a "spiritual than a,mortal beings.arid it is a common sight''to•see..'a- Tonga'n 1 go >tlown on his knee's in mating obeisance to this fine'-old man. 1 •'.

Ihtclligcncc, of the Tongan. "Tho-.Torigan is the most intelligent of all the dark-skinned races,"- says. Mr. Roberts, •''and . the imost : receptive as regards' educaitio'n. . I;, have ..seen native,!dorks" in/ -my office, and do you know that if you wore! to • bring in a scoro of the very latest operaone' you knew they could-'not Have heard— they would-gather round and siiig the music off. at sight—fine -voices, too. . Evory clerk' :m_ the .Governirient .service has" to be -'prbficient in' shbrtHand,. so that ,'at any timo when called lipbn to ait ; 'aa.- clerk of . the court they 1 will bo able, to tako, a verbatim . note - of:.the-'.prbceedings, which : is 'always done. Though the Chief Justice ; of, Tomra is-a- white'mail-(Mr. .Robt. Louis Skcoii, formerly,- of Auckland), tho magistrates' are , natives,'- and'adminisfir' tho' law with, great tact, and,impartiality.'' :- ' On the Land. ' There , aro' l 2o,ooo natives andabout 500 whites iri: Tonga.' The former are the plant- . ers,_and the latter traders-for''the -mbst' part. Although the "/'nobles'?. are~:the lords of the land,-the freehold does-not exist iii Tonga. •- The,( ■'/nobles"-' aro.' the noriiinal owner's- of, the ..land; '.but', they! are not' allowed to" sell'any part! of- their estates.' Every Tonga'n. is bound' to take up a certain block; of l&nd'and plant' it; and for ; .these they: pay ,the'.,Government nino!'dol-' larsy(36s.) per 'year, and the "noblo" of the district one dollar, Which is all lie-gets out of his. land. In,'tvvofortnights out of the year,'the . Tongan can , plants, and ' gather, enough copra to keep him' iri l food .for" the year,' and 'as! he' bothers 'little'about clothes, a' few;. weeks' ; more him to barn enough to b.uy,' what' clothes tho family requires, sb] ! that." he leads a pretty indolent jife. " Copra, pays well at £8 a" ton,'so that it is-easily Recognised; it is-bring-ing £17: as,at. : present the ■ nativo 'is doing well. Working as " little asV.lio. docs' the. average- Tongan.' is a good deal bettor off than tho • average :.wbito man- in a whito bountry. ; Somo people urge that tlic native.:,should, bo'inado to work all 'tlio. year rourid, but'why should, ho? A whito man works hard to. achicvo a comfortable living,' and if an easy living is provided for the native'by his: own'gracious soil, why should lie slave all. tho year round. If,'a n'ativo-wants a little money ho! simply goes to his block,' gathers the cocoanuts'. that' have fallen to tho_ ground, and, sells them to' the traders; is'tlio. simple life'made easy. ; '

The Liquor Question. "When Mr. Im Thurn took, over the con- ■ trol the liquor trouble , was . a serious' one. Thcro was: a great deal too much drinking' in. tho islands, arid jt was a , common thing to come across a Government official lying drunk half in arid half out of his oflifco. All that;has':bcen changed. _ No native.may now be supplied, with 'intoxicating liquor Unless he has a ! permit issued, by the' Minister of Police, Bolutele, one of the strong men of native officialdom. If any nativo is found drinking, or in'the possession of liquor, lie is fined £20.; if a European is discovered selling liquor without a permit he is dealt with by the High Commissioner's Court, and fined anything between £10 and £50.' Tho; Minister of Police has ,the: power to issue these permits, but ho is ( yery discreet', and soldom issues more than'. tr.-onty a year! though many- natives sit on his doorstep andbeg for-them: , ' . \ Horsemen arid Seamen. l ' The Tongans aro good horsemen and. great lovers of horses,- and nearly every Tongan hoy has his pony, but on account of a long course'of inbreeding tho animals aro not of tho best stamp: But an attempt was' t.o bo mado to introduce now blood to improvo the stamina of tho island horses. Tho horse thrives splendidly in Tonga, and there is plority of green feed for them all tho year rqund. ' Tongans aro the most wonderful seamen in the Pacific, and it is astounding tho distances, they used to cuver in the old days with ' only the stars as a . guide across tlio ocean! -AIK tho inter-islnind boats are manned and in chargb of natives." Power of the Church. "The Church'.-is a ■ powerful factor in Tonga. In former' years the Wesleyan

Church was the dominant religious clement in the group, but it lias been to a great extent superseded by the Free Cliur'ch" of ionga, which fvns founded by. the • Rev! ohirle.v Baker and tho Rev. J. V. Watkins", winch latter'gentleman is still President of tno_ Church and Chaplain to' tho King (a position, which carries with it a salary of £200 a year). Tho Tongans are faithful church-goers, and the income of tho 'Tongan Church cannot bo less than £5000 per annum.

Consumption Rife. "The climate of Tonga is the best in. tho world, but there is a good deal of sickness in tho islands, and there are thrco medical men on tho staff of the Government. Death by consumption is fairly common, .and I am afraid that the disease has been brought to the islands through intercourse with' tho white man. Indeed, I- believe tljat there was no such thing as fever at Tonga befo'ro the coming of the white man, as tho language contains no word that describes it the, natives just called it-'fever,' just as the white does. All medicine is supplied! free. Tho reason for this is.that* tho natives prac r tise in medicine themselves, in cures which havo been found to possess noncurative qualities, and in magical and mythical cures that are entirely ineffective and at times injurious. This free distribution of medicine lhas led to some curious . practices. A couple of natives may have, concluded their business in town, and having nothing better: to do,, one would suggest—'Come and get some medicine.' So. they would make some excuse —that their ' wives were ill, had a headache, or had fits of vomitingl—anything that would serve. Tho compounds would be mado up, and the, men would take the medicine, mount their horses; and leave for home. .When they got out of town they, ■would tasto their medicine, and if it happened to contain a recognisable quantity of alcohol, chlorodyno, or some such drug, they would drink tho lot;, if not, the medicine would bo thrown away. This' is the result of a system that cannot be altered without' grievous result, and, despite such tricks", the Tongan is the most, moral of all the-South Sea Islanders, and thd better class'Tongan is a man, one could associate with in all phasos of life." '. '