Cession Day Ceremony

At New Memorial

From Our Own Correspondent

Suva. Oct. 13

CESSION DAY was observed in Fiji to-day, in accordance with the cus tom of celebrating the signing of the Deed which ceded the Fiji Group to Queen Victoria (on October 10, 1874) on the nearest Monday.

The day was of special interest this year because of the commemoration ceremony at the new memorial outside the entrance of the Supreme Court block of the Gov ernment Buildings in Suva. An almost square pedestal of cream Lami stone, the memorial which links the name of Queen Victoria with those of Cakobau and the other signatories of the dead, is unostentatious, dignified, and even less noticeable against the grey impressiveness of the Government Buildings than was the former derelict memorial at the site of the now-demolished Old Government Buildings. The four inscribed marble tablets from the old memorial have been incorporated in the new monument.

The dedication ceremony to-day was as simple as the new monument itself.

The principal speakers were the Acting Governor (Mr. J, F. Nicoll), the Secre tary for Fijian Affairs (Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna) who interpreted the Acting Governor’s speech, and Ratu George Cakobau, who is a direct descendant of the Tui Viti who, as King of Fiji, was the key figure in the events leading to Cession. Ratu George spoke for the des cendants of the Fijijan signatories of the Deed.

Fijian Police formed a guard-of honour: and the band of the Fiji Military Forces also attended.

High Chiefs, and a number of descen dants of signatories of the Deed of Ces sion, took a prominent part. Members of the Government departments ( in uni form) and representative citizens occu pied a central enclosure. The balconies and long corridors of the Government Buildings were reserved for school groups.

The attendance was predominantly Fijian. Indian representatives were so scarce as to be easily overlooked alto gether.

“ALL the immigrants, and their des cendants, of every race in this country have good reason to bestow their loyalty on Fiji, for it has treated them kindly,” the Acting Governor said m his address, “they have prospered more than they could have expected to do in their homelands.

“The Fijian people deserve the warm thanks and everlasting gratitude of all the incomers for the way in which they have been received and treated.”

In his reply, Ratu George Cakobau said : i —• Hi l h Chi e fs v who ceded Fiji, and we, their descendants, have always been proud of our British connection. Long before there was any pressure from with out, on these islands, there was an in tense desire to become a part of an Empire which was not only ruled by a great white Queen but which contained a people whom our Chiefs regarded as true men.”

“ B arbary, ’’ which Captain N. D. Matheson (formerly master of the well-known New Zealand and Islands trading schooner “Tagua”) recently bought in Suva from its American owners, arrived at Tutukaka, North New Zealand, on October 14, after an 11 da vs’ sail from Suva.