nions to Great Britain, the principal condition being the payment of the American claims (about £9,000) in consideration of which he offered 200,000 acres of land. The consul went to London, taking a deed of cession. A year later he returned to find the islands in a state of turmoil owing to Tongan aggressions. Having restored order he went far beyond his powers as consul in assuming administrative responsibilities, generally with good results. In 1860 an officer was sent from England to investigate the offer of cession, but advised against its acceptance. In 1862 it was declined and the consul was recalled.

Meanwhile, settlers had been arriving from the Australasian colonies. A few returned when they saw the true state of things, but many stayed to establish the first cotton plantations or to pasture sheep. All needed land and labour and difficulties arose owing to the lack of any organised government. In 1865 the high chiefs were induced to unite in a confederacy of independent chiefs, but this fell to pieces after a year or so. The need for some form of government was now greater than ever, and in 1867 Ma'afu successfully established the Confederation of North and East Fiji. Cakobau replied by setting up a Kingdom of Bau on an ambitious scale, but after a few years the constitution was largely a dead letter. An attempt was made two years later to revive it, but without

success.

The American civil war caused a boom in cotton prices and exports rose rapidly. New settlers arrived and to augment local labour supplies men were imported from the New Hebrides and the Solomon Islands. This prosperity brought problems with which the native government was unable to deal. There were abortive attempts by the settlers to establish some form of government, but these were largely concerned with security of life and property.

The merchants and middlemen of Levuka had most to gain from a stable government and in June 1871 a small group of them staged a coup d'état, setting themselves up as an administration under Cakobau's doubtful authority. Such an attempt by a few white men to govern their compatriots without their consent was bound to be resisted, and the main body of settlers opposed it from the first and with increasing bitterness. The Fijians for their part were passive. Their chiefs were relegated to a nominal position in the government; their people were treated merely as a source of revenue and of labour; and within two years whole districts had been reduced to a deplorable state.

By the end of 1873 a constitutional crisis developed: trade was almost at a standstill; the Treasury was empty and the country on the verge of bankruptcy; and some of the highest chiefs were considering secession. On three previous occasions, the intervention of British warships had kept the government from falling to pieces: now the chiefs appealed to Britain to bring order out of chaos. Sir Hercules Robinson thereupon visited Levuka as the Queen's representative. An unconditional deed of cession was drawn up and completed and in October 1874 Fiji was proclaimed a possession and dependency of the British Crown. For about a year the new colony was administered by a provisional government with a skeleton staff of officials. However, early in 1875 an epidemic of measles raged through the islands, carrying off about a third of the population and when Sir Arthur Gordon arrived in June he found the Fijians generally dispirited and the hill tribes angry and unsettled. Trade was depressed, and the settlers' high hopes of annexation were unrealised. Revenue was far short of expectation, although temporary relief was given by an Imperial advance. In the face of so many pressing problems Gordon gave first place to restoring the

confidence of the Fijians and his success was apparent when, early in 1876, a rebellion among the hill tribes of Viti Levu brought offers of help from loyal chiefs and people everywhere. The problem of native taxation was solved by a novel system of communal plantations, the taxes being paid in kind, but the settlers complained that this policy restricted their labour supply and robbed traders of their profits. Gordon, however, refused to sacrifice the interests of the Fijians to the immediate needs of planters and middlemen, and throughout his term he was subjected to bitter attack and obloquy. Nevertheless, he accomplished what he set out to do, confirming and protecting the Fijians in the ownership and occupancy of their lands, and ensuring for them a rightful place in their own country.

With loan money exhausted and sugar not yet fully replacing cotton as the main plantation crop, the early eighties were years of depression and of discontent among the planters. Efforts to secure a change of government by federation with Australia or New Zealand failed in 1883 and again in 1885. By that time, however, larger sugar mills were in operation and indentured labourers from India had been introduced. Despite a sharp fall in prices during 1886-87 exports of sugar reached 15,291 tons in 1890 and by 1900 they were twice as much and valued at £394,000. Exports of copra and bananas rose rapidly. In the general prosperity opposition was quieted and the attention of the Government was directed towards preventing the decline of the Fijian people. Among other measures adopted, Fijian youths were given a limited training as medical practitioners and by 1906 a sustained upward trend of the population became evident. The turn of the century brought renewed agitation for federation with New Zealand, and when this issue was seen to be impracticable there was a demand for elective representation in the Legislative Council. This was granted for the European population in 1904. The improved economic position made other reforms possible: new lands were opened up, native taxation was lightened and a school was established for the sons of the chiefs. While much was also done to ameliorate the lot of the Indian indentured labourers, nevertheless there were alarming reports of social and moral evils among them. Investigators found that these evils were inherent in the indenture system and in 1917 the Government of India abolished it. All unexpired contracts were cancelled from the 1st January 1920 and after a period of unrest, owing mainly to the high cost of food, the Indians settled down as free cane-growers and farmers. The planters, on the other hand, fell on hard times: the price obtainable for their copra was uneconomic; an Australian tariff excluded their bananas; and their sugar estates were being cut up into small holdings for Indian growers.

The last forty years have seen considerable development, mainly along the lines suggested by these events. So far as the European section of the population is concerned, the centre of gravity has shifted from the plantations to the towns and industrial centres. The development of mining and secondary industries, and of special services, has brought many trained men from overseas: nevertheless, while the total population has increased substantially since 1921, the European section of it has increased to a lesser extent. The Fijians for their part have maintained a steady rate of increase. The coming into operation of the Fijian Affairs Ordinance in 1945 marked the beginning of a period in native administration when the Fijian people assumed greatly increased responsibility for the management of their own affairs, each province becoming in effect a unit of local government with its own councils, courts, treasury and executive officers.

The co-operative movement, which is gaining momentum, offers a practical means of enabling the people to retain the essential features of their traditional way of life and at the same time play their part in the economic life of the country and meet the impact of modern commerce.

The Indians, too, have prospered greatly. In twenty-five years their numbers doubled without any significant accretions from immigration and they are now the largest single section of the population. They are still settled mainly in or near the sugar producing areas, where there has been an increasing shortage of agricultural land for occupation by tenant farmers. Measures to make suitable land available, and at the same time to protect the interests of the Fijian owners by reserving amply for their present and future needs, were proposed by the Fijian Council of Chiefs and embodied in 1940 in an ordinance under which all Fijian lands were vested in a Board to be administered on behalf of and for the benefit of the native owners.

In the constitutional field there has been considerable progress. In 1929 Letters Patent granted elective representation in the Legislative Council to the Fiji Indians and eight years later they were granted equal representation with the Fijians and Europeans.

Economically there have been important changes. What was for long virtually a sugar economy has been broadened by the development of dairying and mixed farming; mining has become one of the principal industries, the Tavua field being among the major finds of the period anywhere in the world; and secondary industries have been soundly established. These developments have been reflected in increased revenue, making possible an extension of public works, education, sanitation, and medical services. In at least some of these fields Fiji has assumed a regional role in the south-western Pacific. The Fiji School of Medicine, the Fiji School of Agriculture, and the newly opened University of the South Pacific in Suva, all draw students from other English-speaking territories in the region; while the leprosy hospital at Makogai provides (though on a diminishing scale as the incidence of the disease declines) for patients from many other Pacific territories, and the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva takes occasional patients from territories where medical facilities are less advanced than in Fiji. This central position has been strengthened by recent developments in sea and air communications, and Fiji has become a crossroads of the Pacific.

Rotuma, a dependency of Fiji discovered in 1791 when a search was being made for the mutineers of the Bounty, was offered to Great Britain by the three principal Rotuman chiefs in 1879 and was formally annexed on 13th May 1881.

CONSTITUTION

The Constitution is set out in the Fiji (Constitution) Order 1970. The Constitution contains provisions relating to the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, the powers and duties of the Governor-General, the Cabinet, the House of Representatives, the Judiciary, the Public Service, and finance.

It provides that every person in Fiji regardless of race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, creed or sex is entitled to the fundamental rights of life, liberty, security of the person and the protection of the law, freedom of conscience, expression, assembly, and association; protection for the privacy of his home and other property and for the deprivation of property without compensation. The enjoyment of these rights, however, is subject to the proviso that they

do not prejudice the rights and freedom of others, or the public interest.

The Legislative Council is presided over by a Speaker who may be elected either from within the Council or from persons outside who are qualified to be elected to the Council. A Deputy Speaker must be elected from among the Legislative Council members.

Justice is administered by the Fiji Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the Magistrates' Courts of the First, Second and Third Classes and Provincial and Tikina (District) Courts. Appeals from the Courts of the territory in criminal and civil cases lie to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. At present the Constitution provides for the constitution of the Supreme Court of Fiji as a superior court of record presided over by the Chief Justice and such other Judges called Puisne Judges as may be appointed from time to time by Letters Patent. The Supreme Court exercises within the territory all the jurisdiction, powers and authority which are vested in or capable of being exercised by Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in England.

The Fiji Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals from the Supreme Court and from the High Court of the Western Pacific. The Governor-General appoints legally qualified persons to hold Magistrates' Courts of the first class and fit and proper persons to hold courts of the second and third classes. Charges against children and young persons unless they are jointly charged with adults are brought to juvenile courts. Provincial and Tikina (District) Courts constituted under the Fijian Affairs Ordinance exercise limited civil and criminal jurisdiction.

CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

A Constitutional Conference was held at Marlborough House in London from 20th April to 5th May 1970, attended by members of the British Government and Fiji political leaders at which it was agreed that Fiji would become independent on 10th October 1970—the 96th Anniversary of the Deed of Cession. The Fiji Delegation informed the Conference that Fiji whould apply for membership of the Commonwealth on becoming independent. The Conference resulted in agreement on an Independence Constitution of which the main provisions are as follows: Governor-General. The Queen will appoint a Governor-General as Her representative in Fiji.

The Cabinet. The Cabinet will consist of the Prime Minister, the AttorneyGeneral, and any other Ministers whom the Governor-General might appoint on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Governor-General will also be required to appoint as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives either the leader of the largest Opposition party or, if there were no such party, the person whose appointment would be most acceptable to the leaders in the House of the Opposition parties.

Parliament. The Fiji Parliament will consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate will consist of 22 members—eight nominated by the Council of Chiefs, seven nominated by the Leader of the Opposition and one nominated by the Council of the island of Rotuma. Their appointments will be for a six-year term, except that, of the 22 nominated after independence, 11 will be appointed for a term of only three years. The President and Vice-President of the Senate will be elected from members who were neither Ministers nor Assistant Ministers. Upon Independence, the existing Legislative Council will become the

House of Representatives. Parliament will be dissolved five years after the date of the first sitting of the existing Legislative Council and a general election will be held for the 52 members of the new House of Representatives. They will be elected on the following basis: Fijian-12 members elected on the Fijian Communal Roll; 10 members elected by voters on the National Rolls. (The National Roll will consist of all registered electors on the three communal rolls). Indian-12 members elected by voters on the Indian Communal Roll; 10 members elected by voters on the National Roll. General-3 members elected by voters on the General Communal Roll; 5 members elected by voters on the National Roll. ('General' means persons who are neither Fijian nor Indian, e.g. Europeans). The House will elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among its non-ministerial members. The official language of Parliament will be English, but any member may also address the Chair in Fijian or Hindustani.

Constituencies. Fiji will be divided into 12 constituencies, each returning one communally-elected Fijian member; into 12 constituencies each returning one communally-elected Indian member; and into three constituencies each returning one communally-elected General member. For the National Roll elections there will be 10 constituencies, each returning a Fijian and an Indian member, and these will be combined into five pairs for the purpose of each returning one General member. Constituency boundaries will be delimited by a Constituency Boundaries Commission.

The Fiji Independence Bill was given an unopposed Second Reading by the newly elected House of Commons on 14th July 1970, and the Bill received the Royal Assent on 23rd July 1970.

LAND POLICY

Land in Fiji is owned by the Crown, private freeholders, and Fijians. The Crown owns 87,000 acres of freehold land plus a further 85,000 acres of land declared vacant by the Native Lands Commission and commonly known as Crown Land Schedule B, and 147,000 acres of Fijian land whose owning units have become extinct, known as Schedule A land. Much of the Schedule A land, plus some of the Schedule B, has been recommended for reservation for Fijian units which are short of land. Crown freehold may not be sold except in very special circumstances and only then with the approval of the Secretary of State. Crown land may be obtained by way of lease.

The area of land owned by Fijians is 3,748,000 acres, owned communally by more than 6,600 recognised land-owning units. Administrative control of it is vested in the Native Land Trust Board by virtue of the Native Land Trust Ordinance. The Board is presided over by the Governor and contains a majority of Fijian members. A proportion of Fijian land has been reserved from leasing under a policy of securing to the owners adequate lands to provide for their future needs. This reserved land may be leased only to members of the Fijian race. Fijian owned land outside reserve may be leased by the Native Land Trust Board to anyone.

In July of 1966 new legislation was passed giving tenants of agricultural land better security of tenure, protection against unduly high rents and certain rights of compensation when leases are not renewed to them on expiry. A minimum period of ten years is prescribed both for original leases and also for renewals of leases (of which there can be two).