Conditions In Tonga

Residents Challenge Our Correspondent’s Views

THE following two letters have been received from readers in Tonga and follow up those previously written by them—published in the November issue and our correspondent’s reply, which appeared in the February number

To the Editor.

Sir, —It was not my intention to follow up my letter which appeared In your issue of November 20, but several of the remarks in your correspondent’s article, published in the issue of February 20, compel me to do so.

He states I apparently want him to classify and tabulate such things as duties, etc. I want nothing of the sort. But why does he have a cheap jibe at the Government Printer at the way the Government Gazette is bound, when it is done in a manner comparable favourably with this class of document pub lished elsewhere.

He takes exception to my inference that the Kingdom is not prosperous and he states there is no unemployment. The Kingdom may be prosperous from his point of view, but as to unemployment, although there are no Europeans unemployed the place is full of natives seeking work.

Your correspondent states I make a sweep ing and aggravating statement that hun dreds of taxpayers do not possess land. Non sense. I do not wish to refer to native mechanics or taxi drivers for information on this point. My authority for making the statement is the Queen’s speech at the opening of Parliament last year, at which time it was well known there were considerably over 1,000 taxpayers not only without land but were dependent upon their friends and rela tions for their tax money and indeed for their very existence. And does not your cor respondent know there are new applications for land every year. I am aware there is plenty of land, but is it available? The Gov ernment controls a portion only. Probably a revision of the entire land system is re quired.

I am not a seer, therefore cannot prophesy future values of copra, but in view of the world’s supply of edible oils an increase is unlikely. I have been watching those bananas grow and I find they are not doing too well.

It is pleasing to learn that at least one newspaper correspondent appreciates the good work the Missions are doing, but basing his estimate of present day contributions to the Missions on an incident which happened 54 years back, leads me to the opinion his refer ence to Sir Charles Mitchell’s report, Issued in 1887, was for some other purpose. I state and I am prepared to settle the point in a sportsman’s way, that in not one year of the past six years have the Missions received in the aggregate contributions to the sum of £20,000, let alone the £30,000 sug gested. Further, contributions are voluntary and one is not prosecuted if he fails to contribute.

Is the Tongan just taxed, or overtaxed?

Your correspondent states the income of a nation seems to elude all attempts at meas urement. Tongan conditions do not place any difficulty in arriving at a fairly accurate figure. Beyond the salaries he receives from his Government and earnings from European traders and a small sum he reeeives for rents of land, the Tongan’s income is derived from copra, and with few exceptions he does not receive one penny piece over and above what he gets from his land.

The statement in your correspondent’s art icle, notwithstanding the swollen receipts, shows the native pays to his Government 25 per cent, of his income. Is not this figure high?

Some months back a local controversy took place regarding the iniquitous copra export tax of 20/- per ton. Competent authorities asserted the tax was borne by the native.

Your correspondent, summarising his article on the question in your issue of December 16 last said “And now we have the position clearly defined. It is the poor buyer and not old ‘Dummy’ who is swelling the Government

coffers to the extent of £16,000 per annum.”

In his article in your issue of February 20 he admits the native does pay it. These Yes-No statements tend to throw suspicions on a correspondent’s bona-fides.

Mr. Editor, with your permission I will endeavour to give your readers the true posi tion of the Tongan to-day, as regards pay ments to his Government. Figures for 1926- 1929 are useless in view of the financial position of to-day. I will base my value of copra on the price paid on Tongatabu—I am not concerned with “beach” figures, as every one knows the native at outlying Islands does not get “beach” prices, for instance, to-day’s figure at Niuas is 50/- per ton less than “beach” prices—and refer to Treasurer’s fig ures, as far as I am able, other figures I will base on careful and liberal computations.

The position is:

About 24 per cent, of his income.

Of the imports, nine-tenths are consumed by the native, and on which he pays the Government, through the trader, a further 12½ per cent., making in all 36½ per cent, of his income the Government gets. A small percentage may be allowed for unsold im ports.

The London Nineteenth Century Review, of June, 1930, says: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr.

Snowden, broadcasted, ‘The people of Great Britain are the most heavily taxed in the world.’ ”

The same journal, commenting upon the British budget, says: “Before the war it was estimated that the part of the national in come taken in taxation was 11 per cent.; at the present time it is variously estimated at 20 to 25 per cent.’’

I trust your correspondent will not feel embarrassed on reading the above, and also that he will file and docket the figures as Exhibit 3, as presumably he has docketed his own as Exhibit 2.

“Intensive Cultivation.”

Is your correspondent serious, or does he mean, “extensive cultivation.”.. Of the 30 in habited islands of the group, comprising 138,000 acres of good, bad and indifferent land 18 of a total area of 8,747 acres maintain a population of 5,151 people. (Government fig ures) .

Apparently there is some cultivation going on of which your correspondent does not know of. However, the Government have a highly paid Agricultural Department whose function is to attend to this matter.

Your correspondent suggests that if the native will not take up land the Govern ment should be persuaded to grant better facilities to Europeans to obtain leases, etc.

What better facilities could they obtain than those enjoyed by present European holders who, almost without exception, are willing to dispose of their holdings at any figure almost.

Has experience not taught your corres pondent that “railing” at Governments, who after all are the servants of the people, is the only way people desiring a betterment of their condition can obtain redress.

The trading community of Tonga, through their Chamber of Commerce, are doing their

bit towards giving the native real service, as is evidenced by the resolution recently passed by that body relative to Government expenditure.

The glowing reports of the prosperity of Tonga, made from time to time, may attract readers to consider an idea of migrating to these parts. My advice to them is to “hasten slowly” and make other and fuller enquiries before arriving at a decision.

I am, etc..

Ikai Kaka.

To the Editor.

Sir, A cheering apophthegm states that “Those who are dissatisfied are the sole benefactors of the world.”

The question between your correspondent and the writer is not whether an individual Tongan is satisfied with his lot, or the felicity of his conjugal relations, and mean derings into irrelevant matters must be re garded as camouflage Indulged in for the purpose of confusing the real issue.

Why I imagined that intelligent readers would infer the only logical and possible inference from what your correspondent wrote was, because I believe your readers are really intelligent, and could not possibly infer other wise. As the inference is disclaimed we must agree to leave the matter to the opinion of your intelligent readers.

Unemployment implies Industrialism. The statement that “Tonga is definitely one of the very few countries in the world at the present time that has no unemployment” only invites ridicule. Tonga is not and cannot possibly become an industrial country. In common with other South Sea Islanders, Tongans are practically without exception self-employing, and the word unemployment is a misnomer. There is nothing singular or unique in Tonga’s position, the Pacific and Indian Oceans are studded with countries many of whose inhabitants reach into mil lions, equally as fortunate as Tonga in having no unemployed, and far more so that they have escaped the spoliation which built up the £ 140,000 —the much vaunted surplus—the bane of Tonga, an Insuperable barrier to any suggestion of Government economy.

Your correspondent insists upon the pros perity of the Kingdom. Paradoxical as it may seem, there are more unemployed than at any previous time in the Kingdom’s history—that they might be employed on their own “abi” or that of someone else, is ad mitted, but the stern fact is that they are asking daily for work, if only for a few days.

And in direct contradiction to the insistence that Tonga Is prosperous is the fact that at the present time nearly a half of the king dom’s inhabitants are subsisting on Govern ment rations. As showing the progressive ness of the country we are told that copra exports for 1928-29 far exceed 1926-27. The fact that the two former years were intensely drought-stricken was discreetly withheld.

Mission Collections

I trust that the custodians of the particular Mission will fully appreciate the faint praise which prefaces the “Ad captandum” refer ence to happenings over half a century ago.

I cannot be accused of holding a brief for Missions, either in the abstract or for any particular type. In my opinion Tonga is intensely Church-and-Priest ridden, but “Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.”

The Church is poor, voluntary, intensely national and popular, and is surely entitled to such voluntary offerings as the Tongans gladly give. Now for my considered opinion on Church collections, at the present time and for the past several years, they have not exceeded the half of your correspondent’s estimate.

Picture Shows

There are four picture shows in the King dom and I am able to certify that last year’s returns for one of them only just reaches £30 per month gross, a liberal estimate for the premier show would be double that sum. To the best of my belief one has been closed for some time past, owing to hard times, and at the fourth it is only possible to obtain an audience when a brutal and degrading fight is staged. I unhesitatingly affirm that the whole four do not obtain more than one fourth of the sum estimated. I am quite disinterested and have not been to a show for the past five years.

There is no “extraordinary coincidence” in the figures showing that “the average tax payer seems to pull in £55 a year.” It would be very “extraordinary” if they did not seem to show this result. Serious dis agreement has already been shown with two of the conjectural estimates. European rent als are open to the same charge of over estimation, but your readers will be able to assess the value of the remaining figures for themselves.

“Intensive Cultivation”

May I ask what precisely is meant by this catch-phrase? I am fairly acquainted, theor etically, with the methods employed by French gardeners, who use 80 tons of manure per acre, but intensive cultivation in the South Seas is bizarre in the extreme. If we tried to make two coconut trees grow where only one grew before, would be to invite prosecution for the intensive cultivator. If there is available data relating to any commercial commodity—which would prove remunerative —adaptable to Intensive cultivation in Tonga, why not disseminate it?

The slogan “Grow More Wheat,” has been a materially contributing factor in producing the present Australian situation. I think it would be wise to eschew slogans. If there are possibilities in this direction why should the trading community be advised to “im press the Government?” Have they met with sufficient rebuffs from this source in the past and, any way, what is the Agricultural De partment doing?

Watch These Bananas Grow

This would be a very relevant observation now, but at the time it was penned “watch them die” would have been far less ironical.

At that time the poor devils who are trying to grow them were at great expense carting water in order to keep them alive. Growing bananas is not all beer and skittles. Are you, Mr. Correspondent, doing anything to help a cargo of bananas to materialise?

The value of your correspondent’s articles can be best appraised by those resident here, and my efforts constitute an honest attempt to exhibit the other side of the shield.

“You write,” said a popular novelist of the Victorian era to one of his compeers, “as if you believed everything to be bad.” “Nay,” said the other, “but I do believe that every thing might be better.”

Such a belief naturally breeds a spirit which the easy-goers of the world resent, and one is taxed with being ungenial, dis contented, etc.

It is then that the apophthegm at the head of this “effusion” ministers comfort and im parts courage.

Tonga-Maa-Tonga.

Receipts.

16,000 tons copra £132,000 Salaries from Government Rent of Land to Europeans by 24,000 Nobles and others 2,000 Earnings from traders, ships, etc. 12,000 £ 170,000 Government requires £84,555 Of which £19,000 is received from sources other than native 19,000 Deduct Duty and Wharfage on £65,555 Im ports 24,900 Payable by native £40,655