THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1879.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 73, 22 February 1879, Page 2

THE SAMOA TIMES. "Sworn to no Master, of no Sect am I." SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1879.

The speech of the licut-Govenor of Fiji at the annual meeting of Chiefs, held some two months ago, is not altogether an uninteresting one. Mr. Dcs Vceux mentions the fact that in most of the Provinces the tax produce had been already deliTered. Taking into consideration the very severe drought which prevailed last year, and the fact that the food supply has been found ample, a proof is afforded that the Native Taxation scheme is from one point of view at least not the entire failure that some parens would make it to be. The following paragraph is one that will attraot much attention in Fiji. " Recollect that the advanced condition of European countries is mainly due to their wealth, and that that wealth would never have been created except through the sttmuhts t&brdcd by the laic of private property. I mean the law by which land cau be held by a single person who gains the chief benefit from its cultivation." These words raise afresh one of the questions which havo been in dispute ever since annexation took place. They raise the question whether the family or the individual should be the unit of Fijian society. Undoubtly it should he the latter. The point really at issue is •whether Fijian society is as yet sufficiently saturated with the elements of modern civilization as to admit of an immediate change from the patriarchal, communistic, villago system. We question if such is the case. Tho " stimulus afforded by the law of private property " if certainly productive of national wealth, but in tropical climates and among curtain races tho minority only is impelled l>y the sh'miiln.-,; the majority feels it not. The " stimulus " alluded to by (lie Lieut.-Covcnur applies to the negro in the Southern States, ami througbtout the West Indies generally. " Sambo " however j»ys no heod to it; acquires no proporfy; works only when absolutely needful, and thus necessitates the im-port,-it ion of the East Indian Coolie; there are exceptions of court? to prove the rule. The coolie inherits the habit of work from his ancestors, and is drilled iu it from his earliest days; almost every "dub native in India has survived afam-

ine. We question however whether the '' stimulus afforded by the law of private property " will as yet bo found strong onough to keep the average Fijiau up to the mark. It is not the correctness of : the principle that we doubt, but whether the I hue for its application has come. I Mr. Des Vgbux touches upon an interesting problem in the following words; 'lt has grieved me much to learn how many of you believe that the native must gradually die out before the white man. This notiou must be everywhere conibatted and dispelled. You ma v feel sure that the Queen would never have accepted from you the Sovereignty of tbe.se islands but for her belief that your people might bo saved." It serins to us that the native will die out before the black, 'brown aud yellow men whom modern civilization will introduce. The right to hold private property once established, the Fijiau owner will be at liberty to sell his land; while he is roaming about tho country looking for employment, his family will be neglected ; at every turn he will be outflanked by the wily Mongolian aud quick-witted Coolie. As tribal customs become obsolete, cosmopolitian habits will be formed; marriage with foreigners will become common, with a mixed race as the result: eventually perhaps the Fijian race will be absorbed by the foreign element. A social problem is being worked out in Fiji. And we rejoice that it is so. We aro pleased that England who has swept away so many inferior races, is making an honest attempt to save the Fijian people from destruction. Even if artificial means become necessary, though we doubt their power to save, so long as tho recipients of the benefit pay for it. Want of space forbids further comment on Mr. Des Voeux's speech. Tho chiefs rvcievc a firm assurance that there is no intent on the part of her Majesty's Government to abolish their system of self government; a very sensible modification of the labour contract queston is recommended ; the speedy return of Sir Arthur Gordon is alluded to, and an expression of faith in the continued prosperity of the country is coupled with an assurance of personal sympathy with all efforts of the chiefs to advance the happiness of the people at large.