Swayne spent the major part of his two years in the Protectorate touring the islands establishing, supervising and advising the new governments. Misunderstandings and abuses of authority were frequent
20 Maude, Local Government, 37.
21 Although the groups were, technically, separate Protectorates, they were always administered as a single unit and were usually
(even in legislation) given the designation of 'The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate'. This 'legal fiction', as it was later called by im Thurn, has been preserved for convenience of reference.
22 R.C. to H.C., Gilberts no. 6, 21 Dec. 1893 - loc. cit. 23 ibid.
f f
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;tv s i i i i . n o i.i I o ■••■>.■■! i n b i n , :•■>:■{•> o j i q a ; bu i.i i f i o i i t m q A
<•<1 i i ■) *> i ; I f ( i : i (! ' i i : : .. - : U r iM.i Xg. l i ti . f o :J j n i i.| O' . ' Of i l . M O a i O q i j O ' l n b : ; ( ! ! n o i i i b i r o c ->b ; m . : >;>..! pfi.-) r y ’ ; ,il i , : b n ß * <i.f o o i: 1 i b n r. • * 11: p ■/ ■? p. i , i ’ • .•:!! !• J v’O.yi b i n -.1 ; j i J t ( , i ' t . L J u r i j 1 i i : ; ;> o r l . j - i o O : ■ ) i n ! i : * u 7, f i - q : o ! t (. ! ( i : . ! V ) 1 ! o o q i . .ri p... i: i ■ > ;■ - . jj a o r i v o b O - i . i M i i b .. lO :1 OOH . ' i O i n o & ■ ■. i i '■ ■■: j ■ ‘ \ 11 * ; i 11!. i ‘ • i .1 1 i « > < p J > II , . . . . . ■ ■ i u i n o ' i ■ 1 v p o x • i 1.0)1; i v i h r . p ’ ■. •• n ; ■ I M 7 j t ; ■ ■ •' i . , f i A j V r c
and, as his term of office proceeded, Swayne found it necessary to assume a more active role than had been envisaged by Thurston.
Where possible Swayne insisted on the election of all officials at full maneaba meetings but always assumed the right to confirm appointments. On occasion he dismissed officials but then allowed
24
their successors to be elected. Where he felt strong action was necessary Swayne was careful to seek legal justification. For
example when the uea of Marakei and Tarawa were deported in 1894 and 1895 respectively, action was taken under the Order in Council of 1893. In neither case could the deposed uea be regarded as the most influential man on his island and both had sought to consolidate their positions by partial judgements and the use of their powers
25 under the Native Laws to suppress rivals.
In the southern Gilberts administration had traditionally been vested in the unimane. With the introduction of the Native Laws all the unimane from the various maneaba districts met as the Kaubure and, as Swayne observed, spent most of their time quarrelling. In the interests of orderly government the Resident induced the people to reduce the number of Kaubure from 181 to 34 at Nonouti, for
26
example, and from 120 to an unknown number at Beru. According to the constitution a president was to be elected by the Kaubure at each monthly meeting. Swayne found it impossible to persuade the southern Gilbertese to accept a permanent appointment as Chief of Kaubure
(envisaged as the equivalent of a High Chief) in view of their strong repugnance for any man who raised himself, or was raised, above his
fellows. A compromise was reached whereby Chiefs of Kaubure were elected for a two-year t e r m . ^
24 R.C. to H.C., Gilberts no. 79, 7 Aug. 1894 - WPHC, Inwards Correspondence, General, 198/1894; Gilberts no. 6, 25 Jan.
1895 - ibid., 46/1895.
25 R.C. to H.C., Gilberts n o . 79, 7 A u g . 1894 - loc. cit.
26 R.C. to H.C., Gilberts n o . 13, 30 Dec. 1893, enclosed in H.C. to S ,. of S ., n o . 8, 21 Feb,. 1894 - CO 225/45; Gilberts no. 79 7 Aug. 1894 - loc. cit.; not numbered, 1 July 1895 - WPHC, Inwards Correspondence, General, 215/1895.
27 R.C. to H.C., Gilberts no. 79, 7 Aug. 1894 - loc. cit.; Gilberts no. 3, 19 Jan. 1895 - WPHC, Inwards Correspondence, General, 41/1895.
35
Financial considerations had excluded the possibility of a
vessel for the British Resident, and Swayne, therefore, was dependent on irregular commercial shipping for his tours of the southern
islands. He made frequent use of the Archer, owned by Henderson and Macfarlane of Auckland, and appointed Clarke, the ship's supercargo,
28
as his tax collector in the Ellice. It was not until January 1895 that Swayne had an opportunity of distributing the Native Laws in the Ellice Islands and when he did so the position of the L.M.S. was strengthened by his insistence that all Magistrates should be able to
29
read the Laws printed in Samoan. Swayne accepted the domination of the Ellice Islands governments by mission interests and made no attempt to separate church and government affairs. Taxation for Protectorate funds was assessed at between £5 and £20 per island - considerably less than either pastors' salaries or contributions
30
to the L.M.S. vessel, John Williams. On occasions, however, the islanders asked Swayne to supervise the election of a new government to replace persons previously dismissed in 'palace revolutions',
31