the Fijians ?

Eatable

Lackadaisical

[?]lat Future for the Fijians ?

: have two regrets in leaving Fiji—we shall be very sorry to live further away from my ie, and we shall miss our paw for breakfast! t, candidly, do you think Fiji be fit for Europeans to live in, n years’ time, or sooner? mow people have been saying for some time; but the crisis oming nearer, as the Indians ase in numbers and the Fijians

in January, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Low t Fiji to live in New Zealand. Both d spent a large part of their lives Fiji. Mrs. Low formerly was Miss na Price, daughter of a planter in nua Levu. and she has much love

the Colony.

Mrs. Low has considerable literary ent, and she has written frequently the "Pacific Islands Monthly". This icle is part of a farewell letter which i sent to the Editor. It was not ended for publication—but Mrs. Low )ws Fiji and the Fijians as well as r European can, and her commentary the present condition of the country worthy of a larger audience. So we e the liberty of publishing it.

ase in arrogance, and an mess of the rights which have denied them for so long, lie, is it not, that the im int Indian coolies should have to the dignity of the bise, whilst the indigenous is have been kept under the ystem of chiefly rule? It is :ly undemocratic, and I should :o think of what would happen issia gets to hear of it! at will happen in Fiji when Fijians demand self-govern Will the vociferous Indians t, on the grounds that they are ightful owners of Fiji? An isting question to ponder, low that the PIM has a high m of the Fijians, and you are ione in that. They have some ira b 1 e qualities—they are

[ly, hospitable, happy, fearless

hard-working when in the and on a job they like, they are also the most irre ible, unreliable and exasperat eople you could ever wish to You should try working with (preferably on a plantation) td out what they are really cannot judge Fijians by their rs and their footballers —they ie cream of their race, who go as to become popular am iors of their country.

To my mind, the Fijians’ biggest fault is that they appear to have so little real love of their country —so little feeling for their land, or desire to develop it, as the Indians do. They are content to watch the Indians develop the land, and to work for them.

Which brings us back to the chiefly system—and the communal way ol life to which the Fijians are tied

and from which they cannot escape.

This system is greatly to blame for the Fijians’ lackadaisical out look. Of what use are possessions and money, when they have to be shared with friends and relations?

Why bother to work hard, when the fruits of one’s labour are claimed by others? We would feel the same—look how we love the Income Tax Collector.