LIFE IN LEVUKA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1630, 26 August 1871, Page 8

LIFE IN LEVUKA.

"A Sydney Man" has been describing in the Town and Country Journal his experiences during a nine months' residence in Fiji. This is what he says of "life" and "society " in Levuka :—: — The constantly recurring "Will you have a nip f "Will you have a Yankee grab?" and similar invitations, are the index to what may hi called the general social life in the metrO2)olis of the Fiji Islands ; and there can be no doubt that as much money is expended in public houses and hotels as in all other businesses and trades together. ' ' What am I to do ?" exclaims the bewildered new chum, who finds that such a thing as privacy is an unknown luxury, ' ' I must be somewhere, and you know i shall be accounted a churlish snob if I refuse all invitations." Then again there is no recreation, no food for thought, and the more studiously ihclined have no opportunity of pursuing the path of knowledge. There exists a readingroom certainly, but it has been roofless since the hurricane, and is at best but a sorry place to vi&it, containing half-a-dozen or may bj a dozen Sydney and Melbourne papers* generally some weeks older than those you can see in the hotels and merchants' offices. St. Patrick's Day was a grand occasion, and sure enough the Irish did make a show for their patron .saint. The Hibernian element is not strongly represented in Levuka, but there are a few sons of the Emerald Isle, and they certainly are not ashamed of their nationality. Well, rive of these (iii fact the only five in the neighbourhood possessing sufficient means) invited about 20 guests to do honour to St. Patrick on the 17th March last. It was, for the pla,ce, quite a grand affair, and aftei the cloth had been removed nothing but champagne was permitted to be consumed. Hot and furious were the speeches, but every thing went as smoothly as clockwork ; not a word of personal acrimony was uttered, and, strange to relate, St. Patrick's dinner finished at 4 o'clock the next morning without even an attempt to have a row ; but then that was the most select party 1 ever saw in Levuka, except in family circles. One of the entertainers took it into his head, just before the last guest departed, to count how many bottles of champagne had been emptied (this somewhere about 4.40 a.m. on the 18th), and lo ! he ranged up on the counter not less than seventy-eight. Seventyeight among five-and-twenty diners, two or three of whom went away directly dinner was over ! Tis not so bad for Levuka. An attempt to create more social feeling than at present exists was the formation of a Masonic lodge. A meeting of brethren was called, the necessary resolutions were passed, and the seven indispensable masters were forthcoming to sign the requisition to some grand master in Australia or New Zealand for a charter ; but it was evident from the very first that a schism existed, and as soon as the subject was mooted, the English masons naturally preferring to work under the English constitution, the Irish equally naturally under the Irish, while the Scotch — in minority — divided themselves between the two. No sooner, therefore, had the meeting closed, than a few personal masonic friends met privately and arranged to apply for a charter for themselves, leaving the other party to do the same if they liked. And thus, what with mutual jealousy, and the debatable question of at once building or not building a lodge of their own, this, as well as almost every other project that requires time to mature, fell to the ground, perhaps to now and then crop up again and cause a little stir for a day or two. One of the causes which leads to so much frequenting the public houses and billiard rooms is the dearth of women. Ido not admit that the companionship of women in all instances is productive of ' ' refining influences ;" but, in most instances, it is a curb on men's passions, and the excesses which so

often degrade the inebriated brute are prevcntelby the mere presence of one of the M'eaker sex. There is probably in Levuka not one unmarried woman to fifteen bachelors, but the inducements for a young female to go thither, although in a pecuniary point of view Birpjrior to any in the colonies, are not encouraging, for she is almost sure, should she choose to take a walk alone or in company with a gentleman, to be loudly sneered and jeered at by those idlers who at all times congregate on the beach ; and her ears be made to tingle with indignation by inuendos, often as coarse as their utterers. More than once have I observed that altogether irreproachable young women, not belonging to any old settler's family (for they are in some degree protected), have bean indirectly insulted by the language loudly used by some cowardly curs, who, loafing on the beach, have watched their approach, and when within ear-shot, launched out into expressions impossible to transcribe, thereby to their great glee bringing confusion to the face, and forcing a blush to the poor girl's checks. This sort of thing must: be borne with in the Fijis, it being '" too dastardly to deserve punishment" — at least, so say those who think they know best. The balis and assembly parties, arranged periodically, are something quite unique in their way, and must be seen to be properly appreciated. It happens that now and then an enterprising publican, who has the disposal of a decent and reasonably large room, becomes possessed of a wish that to his house do congregate, on a certain night, a given number of his townsmen and their fair wives or daughters, as well as others at present without visible relations. He consequently issues invitations drawn up according to the newest and most fashionable formula, in which he " requests the honour," &c. The appointed evening arrives, the verandah is duly enclosed within a wall of canvas, heaps of sandwiches tempt you on every side, and tlrum, thum, thum, thuin, thinner — the piano, indifferently tuned, and more indifferently played on, invites you to engage a partner, for the ball is about to begin. When you look around, you find that the party consists of forty or fifty gentlemen and three ladies, though I have actually seen five on one such occasion, including the mistress of the house. What are you to do ? You have accepted the invitation to a ball, and cannot very well run away at once. So you succumb to your fate, and agree to draw upon imagination so far as to delude yourself into the belief that your partner, John Smith or Tom Brown, in reality is Lizzie S. or Annie B. Then, you see, there are the sandwiches to be devoured at 1 a. m, , or thereabouts. In the meantime, if you want anything to slake your thirst with, or a glass of ale to wash down the supper with, why, you can have it by paying for it yourself, for refreshments are not included in the invitation. The assembly parties are balls in miniature. Only there are no sandwiches, and the dancers have to pay the piper, i.e., the music. Sociability, kindly intercourse between families, and exchange of those small civilities which are the pearls without price that adorn the society in older countries, and gladden the hearts of both old and young, exist only in the very smallest degree here, and extend only to a few old settlers and other respectable families. People are too much intent upon the practical business of the day, the scraping together of wealth, perhaps with a view to complete withdrawal from their present scene of labour when the purse is filled, to think of the genuine pleasures which might so easily be found around home's sacred hearth. The heart I becomes, when passing through this process, more and more callous, and it may well be a doubtful question whether it is worth while to forego the pleasures arising from the social circle to hunt the sordid lucre which may be swept away much quicker than earned ; hut, at all events, deadening the finest and noblest feelings of the human heart.

The Roman Catholics in Canterbury are beginning to take action in the matter of the Education Question in the same direction as their co-religionists in Otago. A meeting of Roman Catholics was held in Christchurch last Sunday afternoon, and a petition to the (-leneral Assembly was adopted. The chair was occupied by Mr It. I. Loughnan, who is reported in the Lyttelton Times to have spoken as follows in the course of his remarks :—": — " In the Province of Otago there was a conspiracy on foot to deprive Catholics of their rights by the establishment of what was called a national system of education. They all knew what national education meant, and Irishmen more particularly. — (Hear, hear.) There was abundant proof that in Otago not a stone would be left unturned by those who were opposed to denominational education to gain their object. To illustrate this, he would refer to an article in the Otago Daily Times, signed ' Watchful,' in which the writer denounced the system of denominational teaching, and suggested the appointment of committees, not only in Otago, but in every district in the colony, with the object of having the system of national education established in New Zealand. There also appeared a leader in the same paper endorsing the suggestions contained in the letter written by 'Watchful.' To thwart these endeavours, which, if they were successful, would have a pernicious effect on the faith of their children, it behoved all Catholics to join together, and, petitioning the Legislature, protest against any system of education which did not recognise their just and equitable rights,"