Queen Elizabeth’s

Fine Gesture To Salote of Tonga

rE usually alert commentators of the world’s newspapers seem to have missed the significance of the change of plans made in con nection with the visit of Her Maj esty Queen Elizabeth II to Tonga.

As first announced, the Queen was to end her Suva visit late in the evening of Friday, December 18; sleep aboard the Gothic in Suva Harbour; sail for Nukualofa at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, the 19th; and the Royal party were to arrive in Nukualofa on Sunday morning, 20th, and depart there from about 3 p.m. Sunday.

This would have given Queen Eliz abeth a quiet day at sea (Saturday) after her strenuous programme in Fiji; but it was discovered, follow ing the publication of the tour arrangements, that it would create quite a serious problem in Nukua lofa.

Most of the Tongans, including the Royal Family, are staunch Methodists and strictly observe the Sabbath, The arrival of the Queen of England, on a formal visit to Tonga, was an unprecedented hon our that called for every resource of Tongan courtesy and hospitality there must be feasting, dancing and welcome on a magnificent scale.

But (wailed the good church people) how could the Tongans really put their hearts into such a welcome if all the time they were conscious of

Sabbath-breaking?

Some folk treated it lightly; but, for the rulers of Tonga, it was a very real and embarrassing prob lem; and the echoes of it, sometime before Queen Salote returned from the Coronation, had reached Sir Ronald Garvey. Governor of Fiji, who has the welfare of Tonga within his official care.

No one knows what happened.

But we do know that at one stage the Tongan authorities seriously contemplated calling the Tongan Parliament together to enact a special Bill providing that, on that occasion, the Sabbath day should be observed not on Sunday, but on the preceding Saturday, or the fol

lowing Monday.

The Governor of Fiji is a shrewd tactician and we suspect that, some how or other, news of his dilemma reached Royal circles in London.

The next thing that was heard was Salote’s surprise announcement that Queen Elizabeth would arrive in Tonga on the Saturday morning in stead of Sunday morning and all was well with the Tongan Sabbath.

The Tour arrangements had been altered see report elsewhere.

It is probable that never before in international history was a more notable compliment paid by a great

monarch to a very small Kingdoms than the decision of Queen Eliza beth of England to forego her quiet: day at sea (on Saturday, December 19) in order that London’s idol* Queen Salote, and the tiny nations of Tonga, should be saved embar rassment over the observance ofl their Sabbath.