292 AUSTEALASIA. 



survivors, who, in case of the mother's death, were at once adopted into other 

 families. In general the wife was much respected, the men performing all the 

 hard manual labour, and leaving to the women nothing but the preparation of 

 food and the weaving of sails and matting. 



Their religion was little more than a kind of spirit-worship, and the temples 

 were merely a square space between four stones, or under the shade of a rock or 

 some high tree. The influence of the j^riests was but slight compared to that of 

 the chiefs, most of whom enjoyed absolute power. Hager speaks of a ruler who, 

 having learnt the alj^habet, beheaded all those whose progress was more rapid than 

 his own. The social hierarchy is clearly defined. Under the iroiy, or royal class, 

 from whom are selected the kings in the female line, come the nobles, the land- 

 owners, and last of all the poor, who may be deprived of the land they cultivate 

 without compensation, and who are restricted to one wife. Amongst this proleta- 

 riate class were till recently recruited the labourers for the plantations in Samoa. 

 But in the Marshall archipelago the population has so greatly fallen off that 

 scarcely sufiicient hands now remain for the cultivation of their own palm-groves. 

 Even in the barren and relatively more populous Gilbert group the supply of 

 living freights has been nearly exhausted. 



Since 1864 European traders have been settled in the Marshall Islands. 

 Although mostly representing German houses, they have to compete with the 

 missionaries, as w^ell as with English, American, Hawaiian, New Zealand, and 

 even Chinese dealers. In order to secure their commercial preponderance against 

 these rivals, they induced the German government to extend its "protection" to 

 the archipelago in 1885. To this protectorate were added the two little groups 

 of the Brown (Eniwetok) and Providence Islets, which, according to the conven- 

 tion with Spain, should rather have been included in the zone of the Caroline 

 Islands. 



Jaillit has become the administrative centre of the German possessions, as it 

 had alread}^ been the commercial centre of the Carolines, the Gilbert and all other 

 groups in these waters. Plantations and factories have also been established in 

 Milli, Namorek, Arhno, Majuro, Likieb, Ebon, and elsewhere. The religious 

 stations are chiefly under the direction of Hawaiian missionaries, who are much 

 disliked by the traders. Conflicting interests have given rise to dissensions, 

 which have in all cases been settled by the protecting power in favour of the 

 Jaluit dealers. 



North of the Marshalls are scattered a few clusters, which should be regarded 

 as belonging, if not to the same groups, at least to the same geographical zone. 

 Such amongst others is Cornwallis or Gaspar Rico. The islets and reefs following 

 in the direction of Japan are separated by abysmal depths from the submarine 

 bank above which rise the Marshall atolls. 



In the Appendix will be found a table of all these archipelagoes, with their 

 respective areas and populations. 



