292 



FEEJEE ISLANDS. 



desirably located, being walled in on two 

 sides, and backed by lofty mountains, that 

 render an extension of the boundary difficult 

 for practical purposes. The town is supplied 

 by water procured from Totoga Creek, and is 

 under the control of a municipal council con- 

 sisting of a mayor and aldermen. The resi- 

 dent population consists of about 806, and 

 there is a floating population of 400 more. 

 The harbor is formed by a barrier reef, peculiar 

 to the South-Sea Islands, which acts as a 

 natural breakwater; inside the reef is good 

 anchorage. Loading and discharging accom- 

 modation is afforded by three jetties. Levuka 

 is, and has been for some time, the principal 

 port of the Feejee Islands. It has one Wes- 

 leyan, one Anglican, and one Eoman Catholic 

 church. Schools are connected with the two 

 former. 



The Feejee Islands were, till lately, ruled by 

 two principal chiefs, Thakombau and Maafu, 

 and others of secondary importance, Tui Tha- 

 kau Eitove, Tui Mbau, Eatu Kini. Thakom- 

 bau bore the title of King of Feejee, and had 

 the largest territories. He professes Christian- 

 ity now. Maafu is also a convert, and stands 

 high as a preacher ; lie is spoken of as being a 

 superior man. 



The whole of the group was, some years 

 ago, erected into a kingdom Thakombau, or 

 Cakombau, as he is now more generally called, 

 being the supreme head, Maafu and also Tui 

 Oakau acknowledging his sovereignty. After 

 the definite refusal by the British Government 

 of the sovereignty of Feejee, an attempt was 

 made by the white settlers, principally for 

 their own protection, to initiate a form of 

 government by which law and order might be 

 maintained. These efforts, however, did- not 

 result very successfully, owing to the difficulty 

 of reconciling conflicting interests. About 

 this time the ocean postal service to Califor- 

 nia was started. The Feejeean settlers made 

 application for the islands to be called at by 

 the steamers. The Australian Steam Naviga- 

 tion Company agreed to this on condition that 

 the port of Levuka should be surveyed, buoyed, 

 and lighted. A meeting of the leading mer- 

 chants and planters was held, and this condi- 

 tion was unanimously accepted, and a marine 

 surveyor sent for from New Zealand. Lieu- 

 tenant George Austin "Woods undertook the 

 survey, and promptly executed the work. In 

 the course of his labors he was brought into 

 contact with Cakombau, who, highly impressed 

 with his energy and abilities, sent him an au- 

 tograph letter, asking him to make a govern- 

 ment for his people and the white people ; at 

 the same time requesting him to mention the 

 names of any gentlemen whom he might wish 

 to .be associated with him. To this communi- 

 cation Mr. Woods returned answer he would 

 try, and after a time submitted to Cakombau 

 the names of Messrs. Hennings, Smith, Logan, 

 and Burt. Eventually, the last-named gentle- 

 man became the leader of the Feejeean cabinet. 



This attempt to form a government was, on 

 the whole, favorably received by the white 

 men, and support generally accorded to the 

 King and ministry. The latter thereupon took 

 steps to construct the government. Circulars 

 were issued to the various districts, calling upon 

 them to elect delegates ; and in the early part 

 of 1871 elections took place through the islands 

 for delegates to meet in congress, to discuss 

 and frame a constitution. In August, 1871, 

 these delegates met in solemn convention, and, 

 after much deliberation, agreed to a constitu- 

 tion for the creation of the kingdom of Feejee, 

 and to regulations and conditions under which 

 the government of the kingdom should be car- 

 ried on. The House of Delegates having per- 

 formed its function, it was in due course dis- 

 solved. Eeturning officers were next appointed, 

 and writs issued for the election of members to 

 serve in the Assembly of Feejee. These elec- 

 tions were duly carried out, and the first Fee- 

 jeean Parliament met under the speakership 

 of Mr. Butters, formerly Mayor of Melbourne. 

 The Constitution Act, framed by the House of 

 Delegates, provided for a government of the 

 whole group, and the establishment of a Con- 

 stitution from October 1, 1871. It also pro- 

 vided that the form of government should be 

 executive, legislative, and judicial : the Ex- 

 ecutive to consist of the King and the minis- 

 try; the legislative of a Privy Council and 

 a House of Eepresentatives. The judicial was 

 vested in a Supreme Court, consisting of a 

 Chief-Justice and two Associate Judges, one 

 of whom is a native, whose decisions are final. 

 The Privy Council was composed of the native 

 governors of the provinces into which the 

 Constitution Act directed that the kingdom 

 should be subdivided. The House of Eepre- 

 sentatives was formed of European delegates 

 from the electoral districts proclaimed through- 

 out the islands, the members being elected by 

 white men, from whom the government must 

 be chosen. All measures passed by the House 

 of Eepresentatives were to be submitted to the 

 Privy Council and the King's cabinet, who 

 have not, however, the power of vetoing any 

 measures not meeting with their approval, but 

 simply of referring them back to the Assembly 

 from which they originated. The number of 

 representatives was limited to forty, and not 

 less than twenty.- The qualifications of an 

 elector were manhood, payment of taxes, and 

 six months' residence. 



The nominal constitution of the kingdom of 

 Feejee was, however, unable to prevent the 

 administration from falling into a most de- 

 plorable condition. The finances, especially, 

 appeared to be in hopeless disorder, 'and, at the 

 beginning of the year 1874, the Treasury was 

 without a farthing to discharge debts. Mem- 

 bers of the Feejeean civil service received in 

 payment "certificates of indebtedness," which 

 were held in such disfavor that the Banking 

 Company refused to discount them at any 

 price, while private individuals charged 20 to 



