424 A MISSION TO VITI. 



They possess strong feelings of .nationality, and own ready obe- 

 dience to their chief, Maafu, a near relative to the king of Tonga. 

 Native agency is largely employed by the missionaries in Fiji, 

 and many of the most efficient teachers are Tonguese. In cases 

 where Tonguese teachers have been ill-treated by the heathen 

 natives, Maafu has interfered as the protector of his countrymen. 

 In this manner, while extending his own influence, he has ren- 

 dered safer the position of the native teachers. [Compare Chapter 

 XV.] The presence of the Tonguese in Fiji has been far from an 

 unmixed benefit. Their conduct has often been in direct con- 

 tradiction to their profession of Christianity, and the help which 

 they have afforded to the chiefs has occasioned much oppression 

 to the people in the contributions levied to recompense their 

 services. The population of the Tonga group does not exceed a 

 tenth of that of Fiji ; yet from the mental and physical superiority 

 of the Tonguese, their courage and discipline, and the dread of 

 them established among the Fijians, there is little doubt that 

 they could easily make themselves masters of Fiji, an enterprise 

 which George, King of Tonga, has been said to meditate. 



The permanent white residents in Fiji amount to about 200, 

 composed chiefly of men who have left or run away from vessels 

 visiting the islands. They are principally British subjects, citi- 

 zens of the United States, with a few French and Germans ; the 

 two former are the most numerous. They traffic with the natives 

 for produce, which they dispose of to vessels. They do nothing 

 to civilize or improve the natives ; on the contrary, they have 

 in many instances fallen to a lower level. Whenever they can 

 obtain spirits, most of them drink to excess. From false infor- 

 mation given in the colonial journals regarding the acceptance 

 by Her Majesty of the sovereignty of the islands, and their ad- 

 vantages for settlers, a considerable number of people were in- 

 duced to visit them during last year. Discovering on their 

 arrival the true state of affairs, many of them hastened to return 

 to the colonies, and the greater number of the remainder will 

 probably follow. They were generally of a much superior class 

 to the old white residents. [The latest intelligence received from 

 Fiji states the number of respectable white residents to be in- 

 creasing. B. .] 



