"Puiruips.— Civilization of the Pacific. 77 
The desire of these little communities to possess some form of govern- 
ment which can administer internal affairs, and be recognised by foreign 
powers, is very laudable ; but it is doubtful whether any of them will long 
maintain the position which they have assumed. They will find themselves 
far better off under the rule of some great power than under their own. 
Representative constitution is quite unsuitable to them. Democracies 
cannot exist within the tropics. The great body of the natives implicitly 
obey the orders of their chiefs. 
Previously to the cession of Fiji, the native Government passed an Act 
allowing manhood suffrage to both natives and Europeans. The conse- 
quence would have been that the power of nominating and returning the 
whole of the representatives would have fallen into the hands of about four 
chiefs. Our form of Government—Queen, Lords, and Commons—is not 
found to work well in the West Indies, neither will it in the Pacific. The 
people may eventually be taught to exercise the power of election, but at 
present they cannot be entrusted with it. Neither is the aristocratic form 
of government—King elected and Chiefs—suitable, as the white settlers must 
possess a powerful voice in the administration. In my opinion, the only 
form of government suitable is an absolute monarchy, the crown being 
assisted by a mixed council of native chiefs and influential white residents, 
this being analagous to one of our pure Crown colonies. 
In such tropical islands as these there can only be two classes—labourers, 
and employers of labour; there cannot, for many generations to come, be 
a middle class. Employers of tropical labour must, therefore, be rulers, 
unless a power steps in to protect the labourer ; that power, for the benefit 
of all concerned, must rule absolutely or not at all. Wherever coloured 
labour is used, the white employers look upon it as degrading. The planters 
require to be held in check just as much as the natives. The whites in 
Fiji utterly ignored the existence of the native population except as con- 
sumers of imported goods, possible labourers, and payers of a tyrannical 
poll-tax. In many other islands the same feeling prevails. It is to be 
hoped that white settlers will be more liberal in their ideas, and recognize 
the advantage of absolute government. It is not at all unlikely that many 
other groups of islands will set up certain forms of government. 
Islands still retaining Old Customs. 
The following are those islands which still follow their old forms of 
government, or rather old customs :—In the North Pacific, the Caroline, 
Marshall, and Gilbert or Kingsmill Groups; a few islands in Eastern 
Polynesia: the Phenix and Ellice Groups in Central Polynesia; all the 
isles of Western Polynesia, with the exception of New Caledonia; and the 
numerous small islands which lie scattered amongst all the principal 
