22 GOVERNMENT. 



the "Ripple;" and I may liere refer to the good name which 

 Cautain Ferguson has left behind him, not only amongst the natives 

 of the Solomon Islands, but also amongot his fellow-traders in those 

 seas. The inhabitants of the Shortland Islands, Gorai's immediate 

 rule, live in great awe of their chief ; and the number of natives 

 who o-athered round us when we first met the chief showed 

 us by their manner that in the friendship of the chief the white 

 man possessed the goodwill of his subjects. We were unable to 

 see very much of the mode of exercising his power ; but I 

 suspect that Gorai, like other chiefs, places but little value on the 

 lives of his people. Punishment is summarily dealt by the spear or 

 the tomahawk ; and I learned from natives of the adjoining islands 

 that the oftence may be of a very trivial nature. - 



On one occasion, Gorai took me in his war-canoe on a geological 

 excursion to the north-west side of Alu. During our return, the 

 sun set when we were about twelve miles from the ship, and left us 

 to pursue our way in the darkness. Seated alongside the chief on 

 the second bow thwart of the canoe, I could not help reflecting how 

 many times he must have occupied the same seat in his war-canoes 

 when engaged in those expeditions which have made his influence 

 dominant on this part of the group. On our way we skirted the 

 beach of an islet on which were squatting a party of Alu natives 

 who had gone there to fish. Although we passed a few yards from 

 these men, not a word of recognition was exchanged. The sight of 

 a large war-canoe with Gorai and a white man in the bow passing 

 them in the dusk of evening must have been a novel one to them, yet 

 neither they nor our men exchanged a word. There they sat squat- 

 ting motionless on the beach, and we passed them in silence. Gorai 

 subsequently explained to me that the reason of this was that the men 

 were " too much fright," or rather awed, by the presence of their chief. 

 The chief of the Shortland Islands has two or more elderly men 

 who act as his ministers. Many years ago he was living at 

 Treasury, of which island he was chief ; but being unwilling to 

 , take part in the hostility displayed by the Treasury natives towards 

 the white men, he left the island under the chieftainship of Mule, 

 the present chief, who still remained in some degree under the rule 

 of Gorai. The Alu chief takes a pleasure in asserting that he is 

 " all same white man," at the same time deprecating the inferior 

 position of his' race with the remark, " White man, he savez too^ 



much. Poor black man ! He no savez nothing." 



