SPECIAL INTERVIEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13048, 13 December 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

SPECIAL INTERVIEWS.

' AFFAIRS IN TONGA. ESTABLISHMENT OF BETTER GOVERNMENT. FERROCONCRETE CONTRACT. IMPROVED TRADE PROSPECTS Amongst the island groups of the So Seas, one of the most interesting is cluster known as Tonga. .Affairs in To have always had a special interest .for j people of Auckland, and learning of I return of Mr. W. A. Robertson, man.i i of the Ferro-Concrcto. Company, who j been visiting the group, a, Herald re] i seutative sought- an interview with li 1 Mr. Robertson, who left for Tonga on '. j vember 15, and spent 14 days in the capi j Nukualofa, as the guest of the British R J dent. Mr. Hamilton Hunter. C.M.G., w i to the Islands at the request of the Gove inent of Tonga for the purpose of giv the Government some idea about the proj of establishing a. ferro-concrete wharf./ warehouse at Nukualofa. '/ A ROYAL TOUR. / Upon arrival Mr. Robertson found? 4. King George Tubou, the ruler of p a ' was away on a royal tour of his i/ 1 -'' and was visiting Haapai, and stayi/". clays at Vavau. Great feasts anA 0 ";' ings were being held at all the pla/ V 11 *) 1 " | ed, and in the course of the tour l)p s l ,lt_ | able subjects had "killed over 90£->' s ' . to I provide pork for the banquets./' 0 *" e ' | yams and tare had been almost/ 511 <° U J'> I and the supply of these vegeUitf?" as : very short in' consequence. l#! km 3 I was having a right good time./ nn thc royal tour, at one of the car ls ' some of thc king's henchmen, off? °,' ,£" rank, looked upon the local '¥* while it was crimson, or whateve/ uer col °ur it assumed, with the result/ . a ~ ™ "V.e r of them were promptly 'f '"• I "'r Tongan law is no res]iectei#. sons ' and consequently the nobilityf the flower of the aristocracy of To:f cnc ™. ,'J r v ' j'l'" peared in the dock next n S\ Whether they urged first offeuces7, eas J mextell 1 ' tion, or pathetically co/. u,ed ' that 10 ? had "taken a littlf. ine for ll "; ir stomachs' sake." does/ . a PP° * l ", on . too surface, but at all ev/, tho local SLl J n ' diary inflicted fines W"' 6 usual options, and the total of th* 1 , 0 * ™ m ° to £2 ? r o ' rather a good day f he V easUly " His Majesty tie King fj? ] be r f cue :, , 11 , d paid what portion/^ 0 ****. he , co ; ,d ' and the remainddfi»,J°?V« had t0 stand committed P» Majesty s^nsc-n. As prisoners therf call ?,° u .P° tt to WOl on the. roads, b^, ne F allv hav * ,-oc i deal of free tin/ th " r disposal, two of them escaped,' depait * d ith the s'? to enjoy the thul ß s } h f- remanedi to be enjoyed on/ ™ st . of , the tour. Ihe chief of ix>lic<2 s ildvised oi this, and he seems to be a/ 1 . 61 official, for he instantly set off after f ins ' "PParently not tauug whether it \r" e ma J es ** or 110 *> a "d ICarrested esca P e<?s in he pr-2S<j:ice of the kirn/" 1 loded them in prison at Haapai. /

& G( -/RNMENT AFFAIRS. The bir ss u P on hich Mr. Robertson had ~,-c could not be transacted , ■' ji VISl'. absence, and so His Majesty in the ? s aDsence ' itß( ' s0 His was sec' >r the Minister for Public 3 Works/ finance, but the king could rot ' a Jen for some reason or another. r and <r lO whole business was transacted * wt jj3 Ministers. The Cabinet met Mr. ■ Rob*"' and then retired from the room, r ' ie back a little later as the Privy , n O M. The Tongan Government;' said ' tbbertson, was now on a sound basis; ' Conducted on good Parliamentary pro- ! ' J-e. Mr. Hamilton Hunter, the British '. jfdent, was adviser to the Government, 7 took no active part, of course, in Go- '. /ninent matters. The Government new * quired to get on a good sound finanr:.-.! iisis, and Mr. Hunter was guiding them b this end. This year there was a surplus pi £9000 over expenditure, and that was to be devoted to public works, and next year it was expected there would be a revenue of £23,000. which would leave a still more substantial surplus. The available monty for : public works was being mainly expended on roadmaking, and thoroughly goal roads, dividing the islands into blocks, were being made and macadamised with cord. Mr. E. C. Cooke, formerly of Auckland, had been appointed engineer to the government, and was now carrying out the surveys. The king was now paid a feed salary of £1600 a year, in addition to which he had private revenue from certain blids. and the Premier, Fatifahi, was paid £600 a year, while other Ministers were pad in proportion,' so that the former difficulty of the king's levies on the Treasury waf'.obviated. Mr. Roberts was Treasurer Aid assistant to the Premier and Mr. penny, formerly of the Union Steam Ship Ccmpany, was, Customs collector and postmaster, while Chief Justice Skeen, formerly of Auckland, advised the Government, and was a member of the Cabinet so that things were on a better footing and the Government was progressing »U. The British Government hud lent be on^ n Government £4000 to see it though dimculties. / LAND TENURES' Air. Cooke, the surveyor, f/id Mr. Ro : bertson, was shortly to cutting U,« land into three-acre lots. FJh male J oncan,, npon reaching the ag/ot years, was entitled to receive thre/acres of land. Hitherto there had been no grantee to the natives, as, when a natiV grew a good crop, a lew was made up" it by officials or chiefs, but all that \f stopped now, and each man had securi/ within his own three acres. The natives/™ had incentive to occupy their lands ait grow crops, and three acres of Tongan/od would k-ep a Toucan family in luxu/- The immediate result would be extensje planting ana good crops, so that there/should be a very largely-increased exrsf trade. ■ ,^- THE FERRO-CONtfETE CONTRACT. Mr. Robertson al/ «aid he had fixed rp the contract with f Government to build a ferro-concrete »'*' ail,] «■ fruit v; rehouse. The cont/tt meant about .LQOOte and it was said<t was the biggest the Tongan GovernM had ever let. I'.e wharf was to / ~,nlt ™ fcrro-coiicrc'-e, 200 ft long by -ft wide. The warehouse would be 60ft Ll £t "oc« there wo'.nd Le an open space/ ft by 25ft, all in concrete work ThenjP ,K ' er a separate contract, the Treasury / was to be compbied in ferro-cdncf- lhe walls, of solid coral 2ft thick ha/" 6011 erected, and the floor, partitions, ft> 'd a large strongroom were to be/ onstrucft d 0I ferro-coaersie; so as to r/' er the place fireproof. The buil'din" h/ cos about £5000 already. jjjBRITISH RESIDENT'S 1 INFLUENCE. Mr. R/fjtson also considered that Mr. Hamilio/^ unt - er was doing a splendid work in/ ina < all( i' was advising the Goveninier' 1 a vei 7 efficient manner. Mr. Hunter/ erneci to have the interest of the country t heart, and was doing his best to ,„„Yihe administration of affairs a success A un der his advice the important cess P under his advice the important ' kjjA'orks were being undertaken. He was/ 0 vcr - v P ar ticular in insisting that theT ves should do everything themselves, but/ was "'ways a hand to advise them as the course to pursue. • ■■

, /ade and other matters. .Jr. Robertson was surprised to find that .fee-growing was not undertaken in Aga, but the reason was the absence of a ' gular rainfall, which coffee required, and ■ -'jr. some months Tonga had had no rain. /was, howevei\ a magnificent cocoanut „ aid banana country, and the soil for the purpose was perfect. With the cutting up /of the land and the security granted to 7 cultivators, there was every reason to look J forward to a largely -increased trad© with

New Zealand. About 12,000 tons of copra were, now exported annually from Tonga, and that. output was expected to be largely increased now that the natives had fixity of tenure and security from levies by chiefs. Tonga was also an ideal holiday resort during the New Zealand winter months. The Government was prepared to grant subsidies for an English school, and the English residents were each guaranteeing a certain amount, so as to get a teacher of ability appointed. The Rev. Mr. Moulton had been obliged to finally retire, owing to ill-health, from the Wesleyan ministry iu Tonga, and a minister was going to

Tonga from Samoa. Bishop Willis had been stationed in Tonga for three years, and was doing good work in regard to education. Altogether, said Mr. Robertson, in conclusion, there was reason to think the little kingdom of Tonga had a very good'future before it.