Intensive Cultivation

And Fewer Babies

Tonga’s Solution to Overpopulation

THE Tongan Group has a population of about 50,000, a birth rate of about 41 per 1,000, a very low infant mortality rate, a density of population of 200 per square mile (Australia has 2.5, China 106, India 232) and a law that says that every male Tongan at 16 is entitled to a grant of 81 acres in the country and a town allotment. Put all these facts to gether and you have a first-grade problem in over-population.

Far-seeing Crown Prince Tungi, to whom the welfare of his people is every thing, can see the problem, as it is begin ning to exist now, and as it will become in another generation or so. With charac teristic realism, he has not wasted time on words, but is tackling the trouble in practical fashion. His approach is two fold. First, he is trying to devise a means of increasing the exportable foodstuffs of his Kingdom and with this in view he re recently visited the peanut growing areas of Queensland and inspected all kinds of mechanised farm implements. He esti mated that while a pure coconut economy in Tonga returns only £3O per annum to the acre, peanuts grown in Tonga’s amazingly fertile soil will return £4OO (Australian) to the acre when the peanuts are exported to New Zealand.

The second method of tackling Tonga’s overpopulation is the limiting of popula tion —what we call birth-control. And, it is evident at once, that the first method of dealing with Tonga’s troubles will be far easier to put into operation than the second. The Tongans are a natural people, with the traditional Polynesian love of children; the deliberate limitation of families is an idea that is quite foreign to them.

However, there has been no feeble wav ing of hands and waste of words but something has already been done to place the problem squarely before the people, telling them of the solution, and its alter native. This is in contrast to Fiji, where nothing appears to have been done since the Governor, a considerable time ago, bluntly told the Indians that limitation of families was the only solution to their problem and that of the Colony.

Birth-control was discussed in the last session of the Tongan Legislative As sembly and by way of introducing it to the people and instructing them, public discussion by way of debates was adopted.

The first debate took place recently in the Government College Hall before a packed house of both sexes, Prince Tungi and his brother Prince Tu’ipelehake, and preachers and clergy of the local churches.

Judges of the debate were: The Hon. Tu’iha’ateiho (Min ister of Works); S. F. Kaho (Police Magistrate) and M.

E. Tonga (Private Secretary to the Queen and Privy Council).

THE photograph shows the

team who supported birth control in the re cent debate. They are (from left): Hon. V. L. Vaha’akolo, MP; Sgt.-Major H. Mohetau (Police Department); T. T.

Tonga (Police Magistrate) and S. Tu’akoi (a local Tongan lawyer).