FEEJEE ISLANDS. 



i- cent, for doing BO. The desire for tlio 



itin to tlio British dominion gaiin-d, 



lily in strength. Tlio English 



Government being informed of tlio unanimous 



wishes of the white settlers, which were shared 



l>y thousands of natives, sent Consul Layard 



and Commodore Goodonou^h as commissioners 



.mine the islands and make a report on 

 tlio ipu'stion of annexation. The commission- 

 ers addressed tlio following letter to the King 

 and ' 



Commodoro Goodonough and Consul Layard arc 

 the two chiefs Hunt out by her Britannic Majesty, 

 the Quocii of Kugland to visit Feejee, to inquire 

 and consult with the King of Feejeo aud the chiefs 

 :iiii,' thu government of Feejee. These two 

 re to consult with the King and chiefs of 

 e fully and clearly, that they mav know what 

 thev (the chiefs) desire or prefer whether the King 

 of Feejee shall govern Feejee, or whether her Britau- 

 ijosty, the Queen of England shall govern Fee- 

 iiey (tlio commissioners) desire to Know their 

 (the chiefs') minds. Should it be their true minds 

 (the King and chiefs of Feejeo) to give Feejee to 

 England that it should become the Queen of Eng- 

 land's to govern there is but one object and design 

 sought Feeiee's peace and welfare in all time ; thut 

 the King and chiefs, with all their people and all the 

 inhabitants of the land, may live in peace and pros- 

 perity. This, and this only, is the desire ana ob- 

 ject. It is no new thing for England to govern isl- 

 ands like Feejee. She owns and governs in several 

 parts of the world a great number of similar islands 

 to Feejee, and it will be very easy for her to govern 

 Feejee also, and preserve its peace and promote the 

 welfare and prosperity of its people. But England 

 will never take Feejee by force or stealth; if the 

 King and chiefs do not wish to give it. if they think 

 they can, and are willing, to govern the laud them- 

 selves ; if the King of Feejee retains the government 

 for himself, that is well, and England will only re- 

 quire of him and place before him one thing that 

 he shall govern wisely and righteously, with equal 

 justice to natives and British subjects resident in 

 Feejee, at all times. But there IB one matter to bo 

 considered bv the King and chiefs of Feejee ; they 

 must know that the number of foreigners in Feejee 

 will greatly increase from year to year, as well as 

 their property and for these reasons the King and 

 chiefs must think and study well over the matter, 

 whether they will be able to conduct their govern- 

 ment in the future under more difficult circumstances 

 or not. There is but one desire on the part of the 

 Government of England respecting Feejee, which is, 

 that its peace, welfare, and prosperity, may bo se- 

 cured, and that each and all of its inhabitants, of 

 both races, may be able to obtain and secure their 

 individual and just rights, whether they be native- 

 born or foreigners that, and that only. 



The King was easily prevailed upen to con- 

 sent to annexation, when the commissioners 

 declared a readiness to accept it, subject to the 

 ratification of . the home government. The 

 Governor of New South Wales, Sir Hercules 

 Robinson, visited the islands, accepted the un- 

 conditional cession, and established in them a 

 provisional government complete in all its ad- 

 ministrative and judicial details. Subject al- 

 ways to a prudent and economical management, 

 his estimate of revenue was not unfavorable. 

 He imposed taxes, and a tariff based upon that 

 of New South Wales; and he formed a code 

 of civil and criminal law sufficient for present 

 circumstances; and, pending further orders, 



he retained in his own hands the general ra- 

 -ion i.f th.- provisional administration. 

 King Thackombau had his favorite war-club 

 elaborately ornamented in silver, with em hi. -ins 

 of peace, and sent it to the Queen with a duti- 

 ful message, confiding the interests of his peo- 

 ple unreservedly to the justice and generosity 

 of her Majesty. Soon after the ex-King, with 

 his sons, visited Sydney, where, in December, 

 the incorporation of the islands with the British 

 dominions was celebrated by a great banquet. 



The Feejee Islands were discovered by the 

 Dutch navigator Tasman, on February 6, 1643, 

 who called them Prince William's Islands, but 

 effected no landing. Captain Cook, by whom 

 they were later sighted, hut not touched, named 

 the island now called Vatoa, Turtle Island. In 

 1789 they were closely passed by Lieutenant 

 Bligh. In 1796 the missionary-ship Duff 

 touched at the islands, and would have landed 

 missionaries but for the hostile attitude of the 

 natives. Perhaps the earliest known settle- 

 ment made by Europeans was by a party 

 of convicts who escaped from New South 

 Wales in the year 1804 in an open boat, and 

 succeeded in making the islands, where they 

 were received kindly by the natives. Addi- 

 tions to the white population were made from 

 time to time by shipwrecked seamen and by de- 

 serters from the whaling-ships, who frequently 

 touched at the islands for water and fresh 

 provisions. About the year 1835 some small 

 traders succeeded in effecting a lodgment on 

 the beach at Levuka. 



The American Exploring Expedition, under 

 Lieutenant Wilkes, 1838-'42, first excited the 

 interest of civilized nations in the Feejee Isl- 

 ands. The first British consul was appointed 

 in 1858. The number of white settlers were 

 gradually augmented by other traders and plant- 

 ers, till, in the year 1859, it was estimated that 

 the white population was not far short of 100. 

 In 1866, 26 British and 8 foreign ships were 

 entered, their gross tonnage amounting to 

 4,314. In the following year the population 

 had nearly quintupled itself; the imports .dur- 

 ing the year had increased 29,000, and the 

 exports, consisting of cotton, cocoa-nut oil, 

 beche-de-mer, etc., to 39,969. Much land, 

 too, began to be brought under cultivation, and 

 numerous plantations were opened up in various 

 parts for the culture of Sea-island cotton, for 

 which the soil and climate are eminently fitted. 

 From 1867 to the present time a steady tide 

 of immigration, principally from Victoria, has 

 been setting in. In 1868, 52 ships, of the ag- 

 gregate tonnage of 6,560, were entered; ha the 

 succeeding years 93 ships, of 7,920 tonnage, 

 were entered ; and during the years 1870 and 

 1871 it is estimated that these numbers have 

 been almost doubled. The exports during this 

 time were as follows: In 1868, 45,167, of 

 which cotton alone was valued at 30,915, the 

 next and largest being tortoise shell, 8,009. In 

 1869 the exports were 57,020, cotton again 

 being the staple export, amounting to 45,000. 



