The Hawaiian gazette., 1895-09-13

Mr.. Thoms IN should visit the aged
king in Haspai, while Kubu and
Sateki should make an electioneering
tour through the outlying groups of
Vavau and the two Niuas TO hold
meetings and explain the state Of
affairs to the people
On the 9th of August Fatafehi' s
schooner, the Malokula, was declared
ready for sea and they embarked.
1.-The vessel was crowded with old
women, whose PROSTATE bodies made
the traverse OF the deck at night i'm
possible"
Passing the active volcano of Tofua,
which strongly resembles Stromboli,
they anchored the next day at Lifuka,
a low coral island covered with grass
and cocoanut palms to the waters
edge.
The Kava Ceremony.
On landing, they sent their Mdta-
bulc or master of ceremonies with
some KdUd roots to announce their
arrival. AS in Fiji and Samoa, so in
ToDgo KdUd drinking is a solemn GER
emony of state, with its strict rules of
etiquette, which have been handed
down unchanged for centuries. A mat
was then spread under the shade of
some large trees and the Kara ring
was formed, large ellipse, with the
king at one end and the great Kara
bowl at the other. Fatafehi and
Thomson were seated on the kings
left, while other chiefs and MdtdbuLes
took their places arc DrdiDg to their
rank, and the "igno6iLe Uulglts" sat
outside at the farther end of the
ellipse. Meanwhile, the Kara was
pounded on fiat stone instead of be
| ing chewed by women as formerly.
During the ceremony not word was
spoken except the stereotyped formu-
lac shouted back and forth between
the master of ceremonies and the
Kara makers, which have remained
unchanged since Mariners time,
ninety years ago.
When the root had been thoroughly
pounded, it was mingled with water
in the big bowl, and the liquor was
strained through a mesh of fibers of
hdu bark until all the solid particles
of the Kara root had been separated
were then filled with the beverage and
| CdIIltu W Ibc Cnltl5 pI0ScnIt III Iul u,
according to strict rules of precedence,
by the orders of the presiding Mdtd-
| buIe.
After the cups had made one round
of.tbe circle, the formality of the &C.
casion was sufficiently relaxed to per
NIT conversation. AS soon as the Sec
ond cups had gone round, the old king
rose, on which the Kara party dis
persed.
The next day Mr.. Thomson present.
ed his precious log of Fiji sandalwood
to the king, aud held his first inter
view, after which he was admitted to
the Privy Council as a " Tdngatd
Fdkahinohino," i. e. expouDder of the
dark ways of the 1odpaLdngi, or for
eigner. His colleagues held forth at
the "6olotu" in the church, and ad-
dressed meeting of the Government
officials in the court house on the ne
cessity of collecting taxes.
Fonos.
On returning TO Tongatabu they held
a series of fOnOs on the same subject.
Now, in Samoa a fono is council of
the heads of families or heads of vii
lagos for discussing the interests of
their village or district. In Tonga,
however, fonO is compulsory meet
ing of the people TO listen to the Or
ders of some person in authority.
| Their first fonO was held in Hihifo,
where several hundred taxpayers were
assembled in semi-circle, each with
| his cocoanut leaf to squat upon, while
the Ministers harangued them from
| the veranda of the chiefs house.
lGro ,, fhn,r enid. ,ot
taxes or terrible things will happen.
Tonga will lose her independence for
one thing, and the police will sell the
property of defaulters for another"
at Mua 500 or 600 people were as
sembled under the shade of the his
torical banyan trees, under which
Captain Cook had sat on the 18th of
June, 1777.
Here Thomson explained how Mr..
Baker had spent government money
on cab hire in Auckland and on
strong liquors. Mr.. Watkin, the ally
of Mr.. Baker and head of the Tongan
State Church Conference, had been
making incendiary speeches in Va
vau. Accordingly, he was given a
warning letter from the British High
Commissioner, and informed that he
would be held responsible for the
actions of his subordinates.
Philately as a Source of Revenue.
AS the taxes came in slowly, Mr..
Thomson resorted to trick for rails
ing the wind which he confesses with
proper shame. He decided to change
the Tongsn postage stamps. The
change was affected for s40, while the
sale of their old stamps, thus en-
HANGED in value, brought in some G20O
or more.
Other nations greater than Tonga
have tried this expedient, but Mr..
Thomson claims priority for his in
vention.
A Visit to Yavau.
The king after holding 3 great tono
in ToDgatabu, proceeded to Vavau to
hasten the building of a church there.
News came of renewed prosecutions
in the outlying Niuas, north of Va
vau, and OF misconduct on the part of
the governor of Vavau, Manase by
name, a third rate chief and jealous
prosecutor of the Wesleyans.
This led Mr.. Thomson and three
colleagues to visit that beautiful,
romantic island, with its wealth of
orange groves and wild precipices,
and its vivacious, sociable people.
Here the chief product is oranges, and
next to them cOpra
Accompanied by Takuaho and Fata-
fehi Mr.. Thomson called On the obsti
nate old governor, and after the Kara
had been duly drunk, they gave him
a severe lecture.
Finau, the hereditary chief of Va
van althonnh he haid No nnuarnnnant