LA JUSTIFICACIÓN DE LA EMPRESA

64

action for the British Government. One was to allow matters to

remain as they were until Tupou's death when England would annex the

Protectorate, making due provisions for Tupou’s heirs and the Royal

Family. Secondly, Great Britain could revise the existing Treaty to

give her Agent a leading part in the administration of Tonga's internal

affairs. Thirdly, Great Britain could dismiss Sateki and replace

him with a man of whom the British authorities approved. The last

course, and the one that Allardyce and Hunter appear to have

favoured most, was for Great Britain to annex Tonga at once. Quite

correctly, they noted that annexation to New Zealand was unacceptable

to the Tongans; annexation by Great Britain, however, was already

accepted in Tonga as inevitable and the commoners were looking

forward to it. The King, so Allardyce quoted from a letter he had

received from Hunter, 'if he realized that annexation was unavoidable,

would accept his deposition and a pension, though probably with bad

, 65 grace .

When this report reached England, the Colonial Office, which till

then almost decided to bypass Australia's objections and give Tonga to

New Zealand as they had originally intended, instructed the new

High Commissioner, Sir H. Jackson to warn Tupou in very strong terms

that the existing state of affairs must not c o n t i n u e d

64

Ibid.

65

Ibid,

66

J. Chamberlain to Lord Landsdov/ne, 31 October 1902, C.0.225, Colonial Office Papers.

Jackson was also to ask Hunter to find out more about the feelings

of the three principal islands of Tonga regarding annexation to

New Zealand, without giving any hints that this was likely to take

place quite soon. On 6 March 1903, Jackson cabled Tupou's

indifferent reply to the British Government's warnings to London.

In a brief note addressed to the Consul, Tupou had said that he

had nothing new to say about the British authorities' complaints.

A week later Jackson sent London another cable saying that the whole

of Tonga was expecting Great Britain to do something about Tupou's

light dismissal of her recent warning, and that delay would weaken

the existing respect for British control. Jackson recommended the

immediate revision of the existing Anglo-Tongan Treaty to give Great 67

Britain the controlling power in internal affairs.

For this to be done, however, would have meant that Tonga, as

Hunter and the High Commissioner had wanted, would come completely

under the Imperial Government. But Britain did not want this and 68

preferred to pass Tonga on to New Zealand instead. Consequently

the Colonial Office told Jackson that he should not take the extreme

measure he was proposing. If, however, during his coming visit to

Tonga, he felt that the continuation of the existing state of affairs

was impossible, then he was to obtain from Tupou a Treaty whereby the

King was bound 'to ask and act upon the advice of the British Consul 69

on all questions', especially those affecting Europeans and their

rights and the collection and control of revenue.

Sir H.M. Jackson to J. Chamberlain, 28 March 1903, C.0.225 Colonial Office Papers.

Colonial Office Minutes, 1 September 1902, C.0.225, Colonial Office Papers.

Foreign Office Minute, 19 March 1903; Copy, Foreign Office

Fiji and received his report on his enquiries at Ha'apai and Vava'u,

informed the Colonial Office that Mateialona, who was 'reported to be 70

the ablest and most enlightened of the Tongan of f i c i a l s a n d also

Finau 'Ulukalala felt that if Tupou and Sateki persisted in their

present course Britain would be forced to annex Tonga. With regard

to the form of Government Hunter repeated what he had said earlier -

the people would prefer to retain the existing form of Government if

only it were rid of its abuses. The foreigners, especially the

Germans, felt that they were worse off than before 1900 when they

were at least able to call on their own Governments for help. Given

Hunter's report and perhaps his own disappointment with the Colonial

Office for not permitting him to take the more decisive act-ion he had

recommended, Jackson now told London that since it was unlikely he

would learn anything more than what Hunter had reported, and owing also

to his heavy load of work in Fiji, he had decided to postpone his visit

to Tonga.

On 12 May Tupou, disregarding the overwhelming European and Tongan 71

opposition to Sateki, created him the Noble Veikune. His Majesty's

reason for doing so was to reward the Premier for his years of

faithful service. It was Sateki's tenth year of premiership and he

had certainly made it easy for Tupou to act towards and take from the

Government as he liked. To Tupou, Sateki was

H.M. Jackson to J. Chamberlain, 28 March 1903, C.0.225,