THE TOXGUESE. 237 



these two nations. Whilst in Tonga the women have 

 been treated from time immemorial with all the consi- 

 deration demanded by their weaker and more delicate 

 constitution, not being allowed to perform any hard work, 

 the women of Fiji are little better than beasts of burden, 

 having to carry heavy loads, do actual field-work, go out 

 fishing, and besides, attend to all the domestic arrange- 

 ments devolving upon their sex in other countries. In- 

 deed, their position is almost identical with that enjoyed, 

 or rather endured, by their poor Indian sisters in North 

 and South America. They have to work hard, and cheer- 

 fully go through all the drudgery forced upon them by 

 the lords of creation. I remember an eccentric friend 

 of mine once remonstrating with a Fijian who allowed 

 his wife to carry a large bundle of sugar-cane, whilst he 

 leisurely walked by her side. He thought the remon- 

 strance simply a piece of impertinence, and did not see 

 why an inferior being should not be made to contribute 

 to the comfort of a superior.* 



The Tonguese may also be called the Anglo-Saxons 

 of the South Seas. Originally sprung from Samoa, at 

 least their leading chiefs indisputably, they have over- 

 run Tonga ; and finding that group also too small, they 

 established colonies in Fiji, and of late made desperate 

 attempts to conquer the whole group. The unqualified 

 praise given to their good looks by all voyagers has 

 made them rather conceited, and their success in war 

 haughty and arrogant in the extreme. It is intelligible 



* The accompanying plate, representing Koro Basabasaga, on the Wai 

 Levu, or great river of Viti Levu, gives a good idea of the treatment ; the 

 man walking leisurely along, whilst the woman is carrying a heavy load of 

 sugar-cane. 



