TONGA.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 549, 22 March 1876, Page 3

TONGA.

The brig Vißion, which arrived in Auckland a few days ago, brings copies of the Tonga Times to February 19th. The Auck-. land papers publish the i'ollowingextracts : We have often been struck with the fact, nowithstanding the great German interest in these and the adjoining islands, that hitherto Germany should have taken so little interest in the great German commerce of the South Seas; for it cannot be denied that more than three-fourths of the commerce of these islands is in the hands, directly or indirectly, of the German merchants, and especially that of the world wide known firm of J. Cesar Godeffroy and Son, Under tbe3e circumstances, we look at the visit of the Gazelle as the commencement of another important era in the political history of Tonga, for the German Empire, through Baron Vou Scbleinitz, has done for Tonga what few other nations have done. It is true that the French nation has several times saluted the Tongan flag, and the Tongan Government has, in return, saluted the French flag ; but we are not aware that they have ever saluted King George as King of Tonga ; and as such given him royal honors, On the other hind, Great Britain has saluted the Royal Standard of Tonga: manned the yards, and saluted the King with twenty one guns on hi.i visits to the various British men-of-war. We believe that there is a great history for the future of Tonga, if great can be propeily applied to these small islands. We believe there is no reason to fear that whatever may be the future policy of England with regard to the South Beas, she will ever annex Tonga without the consent of the Tongeie. And all who know Tonga know right we'd that.every Tocga man would rather die than be governed by a foreign power. But as Great Britain has given the Goßpel and the Bible to Tonga, with all the attendant blessings, we trust she will finish the grea' work she has commenced, and acknowledge, before

long, Tonga as a nation and a people whom she has been the means of raising from the depths of barbarism., heat! enism, and supersition. Such, we believe, will eventually bo the case, that Tonga will be acknowledged by the great Powers as a nation, and we trust Great Britain will not be the last to do so. In the last number of the Times we mentioned that we only remember to have heard of one native having committed suicide previous to that of the one then reported, but we have now to record the determined suicide of David Latu of Neifu Vavau, an old man who, in days gone by, held a prominent position as a native teacher in the Church, and at the time of the suicidal act was, we believe, still in connection with the Church. It appears that his wife had come on to Tonga to visit her son, who is at college, but instead of returning as was expected, his son wrote a letter to his father, saying that he had detained hia mother until the vacation in June, when they would both go home together. It appears that on receiving the letter he only read it as far as the word June, and threw it away, saying, " Where is June, who will live till June?" It seems the nonreturn of his wife had such an effect upon his mind that he at once determined to commit suicide, and next morning he begged a razor from a friend. On reaching home with it, one of his children asked him what he had gg.t, aud he replied, "only something to doctor himself with." Shortly afterwards, it is said, he left his house, went into the bush and cut his throat, for, when found, the throat was severed from ear to ear. It would seem that suicides, like everything ebe in Tonga, are epidemic, for those who are acquainted with the native character must often have been struck with the fact that crimes go almost as epidemics. One monlh we hear of nothing but stealing, another month of nothing but swearing, another of fighting, and thus, perhaps for a while, it will be so with suicides, but we trust the epidemic will be short, if not altogether ended. The usual quarterly meetings of the Tonga tabu Circuit were he'd at Hihifo on the 19th January. They were not able to be held at the usual time, in consequence of the missionaries being detained at Haabai at the district meeting. The usual sermon in connection with the meeting was preached on the previous evening by the senior native minister, Da-id Kata. The quarterly meeting of local preachers commenced at six o'clock in the morning, and rotwithstanding there were upwards of 300 local preachers present, yet there was not one solitary cas;; of breach of discipline, speaking volumes of the piety of our native preachers. There were some twelve or more young men received on the plan as exhortcrs, many of whom, we rejoice to say, are the sons of those who have been foremost in our work. The secretary reported a slight numerical increase, and the junior circuit pteward reported that, after having paid the salaries of all the leading ministers and catechists, there was a balance in hand of upwards of £IOO.