The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7. 1905. MISRULE IN TONGA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 32, 7 February 1905, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7. 1905. MISRULE IN TONGA.

— m Tor the cause Utat lacks asdstoncn, W*r the wrong that needs resistance, >"*r the future in the distamc*. And the good that we earn do.

A letter which appears in our correspondence columns over the signature "Ex-Trader" traverses some of the statements made in our leading article of last Friday dealing with Tongan affairs. As

a good deal of misconception appears to prevail in the public mind as to what has really happened at Tonga, we feel justified in returning to the subject. more especially as "Ex-Trader" ha?called in question the accuracy of our version of the case. Most of "Ex-

Trader's"' allegations demand but brief

notice. He assures us that strong complaints have been made by British residents against the Tongan Government; but he omits to mention that the British Consul, through whom these complaints were made, was personally on very bad terms with the King. In June, 1903. the King wrote to Mr Chamberlain complaining that Mr Hamilton Hunter was

constantly interfering with native affairs, and had compelled the Tongan Government to spend over £400 to sapplv a new site for the British residenev. Un-

der the circumstances, we may fairly

hesitate before accepting Mr Hamilton Hunter's "complaints'' without judicious criticism. "Ex-Trader" does not approve ' of the Tongan Government, but he stands for a small seetion of the white residents, who number only 10U in all, against IS.OOO Tongans. and it is only too palpably evident that he belongs to the large class of people who can never understand that native races have any jast rights against the "civilised" races who dispossess them of their awrntry. The whole point of onr previous comments on this question is that the Tongans have certain rights secured to them by treaty with England, and thai the High Commissioner has despotically ignored these rights, and compelled the Tongan King and people to submit to his arbitrary will. The most astonishing part of "ExTrader's" letter is that charging us with -glaring error" in our account of the transactions in Tonga between the King and the High O>minissioner during the present monih. "Ex-Trader-says iaat the King and all Ms chiefs were consulted by Governor im on all the reforms he instituted, and ' that they acquiesced in all that was I done. We assert—and our assertion ! is based upon absolutely conclusive and j unimpeachable evidence — that so far as the approval and consent of the King was obtained at all. it was given only under coercion of the most tyrannical kind. It is notorious that the High aHnmissioner | informed the King that his Premier j and his Finance Minister were to be I removed from Tonga without any preI tence of consulting the King or going through the formality of a trial, or even statdog any definite accusation againot them. Are we to believe thai George Tubou signified his approval of Governor im Thnxn's action of his own • free will? On the contrary, we know' that at tbe meeting held on Jazruary 2 j the King protested against the action iof the High Ccanmissianer, and assentied to it only after being threatened I with deposition and exDe. At a sub- | sequent interview on January 18. the ■ King was compelled to sign a docu- ) ment accepting "without reservation" i the ''reforms" proposed by the HSgn CkrnrrnisskHjer, bat he gaare way onrv after Governor im Thurn had mformed him that if he hesitated he would jbe at once removed to Fiji. Aoqrrieseence. gained by systematic is all that the High Commissioner cordd show for the King's share in these i transaeriockS- Bat -ore can hardly ex- | pect to feel the pathos of the words in which George Tubou declared that his "approval was extort - led from him by fear of the loss of freei dom and country. The view of the case that we have constantly endeavoured to emphasize is that the action of Governor im Thurn eonstrtnted a direct abrogation of the treaty between England and Tonga which gavtt tbe Tongan King full control of hi* country's domestic affairs. Article TIL of this treaty states that the British Agent "will not interfere in any

war with the internal affairs and admin-

istration in matters where the interests of British subjects or foreigners are not

concerned.'-" The country is supposed to be governed by the natives themselves, chcosinc representatives after the manner defined in the constitution: and the High Commissioner throughout has ig-

nored the constitution of the Tongans as well as "their treaty rights. The document which King George Tubou was compelled to sign on January ISth asserts in every Hue the right of the Com-

missioner to interfere just as he pleases in the domestic affairs of the country. The British Consul most be i-cnsulted

and his advice must be taken; new appointments to the public service may he made only after consulting the British Agent; the services oi an English officer must be utilised for the reorganisation of the police; and so on. As « climax to these arbitrary proceeding* eornes a clause compelling the King to accept the estimates prepared for 1905 by the High Commissioner, though the King had not yet seen them, and knew nothitig of the details till a week later. Taking into account the nature and scope of the liberties and privileges supposed to be secured for the Tongans by their treaty with England, we doubt if the history of the British colonies re-

cords a more iniquitous subversion of right than this.

For tiie benefit of "Ex-Trader," and

for those of our readers who may be

yet unconvinced, we will summarise briefly our objections to the course that

the High Commissioner has followed in Tonga. He has deported the Premier and the Treasurer of Tonga to Fiji without trial and without the consent of the Kin?. He has dismissed the whole of the

Tongan Ministers without bringing any specitic charge- against them. He has

appointed new Ministers on his own authority, and in defiance of the Constitution, some of whom were known

to be hostile to George Tubou. and had been dismissed from his service. He has compelled the King, under threat of exile and the annexation of his country, to sign a document that involves, in almost every clause, breaches of the Angio-Toagan Treaty of 1900-1901. He has subsequently forced the King and the chiefs to assent to all his proposals. and to endorse his action by threatening to ruu up the British flag in Tonga. He has forced the King, under threat of deportation to Fiji, to adopt the Hstimai.es for 1905 before they were laid before either the King or the chiefs. AU this the High Commissioner has done, solely on the ground that complaints of Tongan misgovernmeni have reached him through the British Consul, who has for years past been on notoriously bad terms with George Tubou. If our readers reflect upon all this, we believe that tlfev will not take long to reach our conclusion that Governor im Thurn

has, strained his powers beyond all reasonable limits, and that his action has been in the highest degree despotic and arbitrary. It is clear that the High I'-oinmissioner. whatever his experience of uncivilised races elsewhere ojay be, has entirely mistaken the character of the Tongans; and we hope that King George Tubou will be successful in his attempt to move for a Royal Gommis-

sion to inquire into these extxaordinarv proceedings from beginning to end.