Queen Salote's Kingdom

IN these days of frenzied finance, it is interesting to learn of a country without a national debt, a kingdom that pays its way, and a Treasury that boasts a surplus of about £200,000, com fortably invested.

Such is the happy state of Tonga, the only real island kingdom in the Pacific.

Nature has been more than lavish in her gifts to the Tongans, who are a charming people—kindly and courteous, of magnificent physique and dignified bearing.

Nukualofa, capital of this model State, lies beside a large lagoon on Tongatabu.

It is an attractive village, and gains interest by carrying all the machinery necessary for the working of an inde pendent kingdom. At the flagpole on the foreshore floats the Tongan stan dard. Not far from the wharf, and set in trees, is the wooden palace of the Queen, and the Chapel Royal. And, scattered within easy range, are the Treasury building, the tiny House of Parliament, the British Residency, and the offices of the Chief Justice and the Premier.

The Tongans should be the happiest race on earth. No one worries. Old age has no terrors. There is enough of everything for everybody.

Queen Salote is recognised in the Pacific as a woman of strong personal ity, with the interest of her 33,000 sub jects deeply at heart, and who does not hesitate to speak her mind when the occasion demands it. She is a forceful speaker, too, and, when she feels so dis posed, lets her legislators know what she thinks of their politics.

Queen Salote received her education at the Diocesan School in Auckland, and is an interesting and cultured woman, with a commanding appearance. The Queen has a private purse of about £2,000 a year on which to maintain her position.

F. T. Goedicke.