THE TONGUESE. 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. 
