Botanist Degener

In Fiji On An Anti-British Hate

WE have received from Mr. Otto De gener, of Hawaii —that indefatigible producer of books with a botanic flavour —one of his latest contributions to Pacific bookshelves —namely “Naturalist’s South Pacific Expedition—Fiji.”

Mr. Degener spent 8 months in the South Seas, before World War 11, as a member of the scientific expedition organised by Mrs. Anne Archbold, and which travelled in the famous ocean-going junk, Cheng Ho. This colourful account of their voyage on the Cheng Ho, and of his search in Fiji for botanical specimens, is of interest to the general reader as well as to the botanist. Mr. Degener has a racy style and can tell an excellent story.

The book was published in 1949. and one Honolulu reviewer described it as “an account of botanising. of social studies, of cannibalism, of fire-walking, religion, native treatment for leprosy, Fiji drums, tatooing and pet doodlebugs. . . . Degener . . . discourses on the copra industry, witchcraft, native chewing-gum and jungle intoxicants.”

In this book, Mr. Degener rather strongly criticises British Colonial rule as he saw it in Fiji, and he contrasts the condition of the Fijians unfavourably with what he is pleased to describe as the emancipated Hawaiians. However, as no one is likely to accept Mr. Degener as an authority on the merits or otherwise of Colonial rule, it is not necessary to accept seriously his references to Colonial ism. His books on botany are interesting and valuable; but, as a writer on political affairs he goes into that class of Ameri cans who, in the past 50 years, by their persistent and ill-informed pre-occupa tion with Colonial affairs in South-east Asia, laid the foundations for the present unholy mess there.

There was no trouble in our North west Pacific frontier while Brown Brother was kept in his proper place under the system of Colonialism, and helped gradu ally to assume the responsibilities of self government; but, since the New Planners

have given us an independent Burma, and India, and Indonesia, and Philippines, our troubles have mounted high and are still mounting. ... If Mr. Degener’s idea of a well-governed Pacific Territory is seen in that rather mongrel array in Hawaii, then most people probably will vote for Fiji'as it is under British “Colonialism.”

Amvomt.' -cv j NYONE who knows the real Pij,, and *** light of that knowledge reads Mr. Degeners book, will question the honesty of Mr Degener s conclusions, in relation to British rule there.

It looks very much as if Mr. Degener is an Anglophobe who used his opportunities in Fiji to feed his anti-British hates There is proof of this in his persistent, unsupported accusation that the British! for their own selfish purposes, keep the Fijians m a state of peonage, and that the Fijians are miserably poor, ill-treated and dispirited. He refers on page 277 to Fiji as a colony whose white population with

very, very few exceptions considers the kai Viti sub-human”; and he quotes and heartily endorses the statement of a hate ridden negro: “The British Empire is one of the greatest enslavers of human beings ”

It is indicated that Mr. Degener tried to bounce one or two British officials, and was put back into his place with a thump.

H e formed a friendship with a Fijian youth, who called him “father”; but when he wanted to take the Fijian back with him to Hawaii, to be a sort of “son” and personal servant, the Fiji authorities very S sel £ refused Permission Whereupon r : Degener m capital letters, says the Fl i iar s are S uly lsland ? r ' so f ner i’ f and ?? ts loo .f.. wl t h a P aean of hatred of all tnin g s Hriusn.

Perhaps we had better leave it at that.

Mr. Degener publishes the book himself (see advertisement in this issue) and its price is ss—which, in our debased British currency, is over £2.