THE CESSION OF FIJI. 29 



passed in review. On the 26th of June he received the Vuni 

 Valu, who presented, through his herald, a root of angona, as a 

 symbol of friendship, peace, and submission. A piece of the 

 angona was offered to the Governor, who replied : ' I accept 

 this ; may Fiji be happy.' 



The Governor then invited the Vuni Valu and his chiefs 

 into the Government buildings, where a short interview was 

 held, at the termination of which the Vuni Valu, having taken 

 leave of his Excellency, addressed the assembled natives, who 

 in all were about 500 and said : 



' Listen, men of Gali Vuka Levuka, and Gali Vuka Bau ; 

 the Governor has arrived in Fiji. I am happy to-day because 

 I have seen him. The chiefs of the provinces are not here ; 

 you only, the men of Ovalau and Bau, have seen the Governor. 

 His arrival is for the good and prosperity of Fiji. You will 

 have to obey the law. Law is a good thing ; it is the refuge 

 of every man. In law little men and big men are all alike. 

 Every man is responsible for what he does and no more ; 

 chiefs or other persons who are impudent will be punished. 

 The Governor has come to do good ; see that he is obeyed, 

 for he represents the Queen. The aspiring man, what can he 

 do now 1 The land is ruled by the Queen here is her Eepre- 

 sentative. "We ruled the land formerly ; well, we still remain 

 in the land, but our rule is gone it is given to the Queen. 

 By-and-by a day will be appointed for all the chiefs to assemble 

 here and meet the Governor; to-day we only do so. I am 

 happy because the Governor is here. These are my words to 

 you, men of Bau and Levuka.' 



On the 2nd of September Sir Arthur Gordon received 

 some 200 of the planters, dealing, of course, mainly with 

 those topics of most interest to the white settlers. On the 



