War was imminent,when the consuls interfered,and any war were preferable to the terms of the peace which they procured.By the Lackawanna treaty,Laupepa was confirmed king,and Tamasese set by his side in the nondescript office of vice-king.The compromise was not,I am told,without precedent;but it lacked all appearance of success.To the constitution of Samoa,which was already all wheels and no horses,the consuls had added a fifth wheel.In addition to the old conundrum,"Who is the king?"they had supplied a new one,"What is the vice-king?"Two royal lines;some cloudy idea of alternation between the two;an electorate in which the vote of each province is immediately effectual,as regards itself,so that every candidate who attains one name becomes a perpetual and dangerous competitor for the other four:such are a few of the more trenchant absurdities.Many argue that the whole idea of sovereignty is modern and imported;but it seems impossible that anything so foolish should have been suddenly devised,and the constitution bears on its front the marks of dotage.
But the king,once elected and nominated,what does he become?It may be said he remains precisely as he was.Election to one of the five names is significant;it brings not only dignity but power,and the holder is secure,from that moment,of a certain following in war.But I cannot find that the further step of election to the kingship implies anything worth mention.The successful candidate is now the TUPU O SAMOA -much good may it do him!He can so sign himself on proclamations,which it does not follow that any one will heed.He can summon parliaments;it does not follow they will assemble.If he be too flagrantly disobeyed,he can go to war.
But so he could before,when he was only the chief of certain provinces.His own provinces will support him,the provinces of his rivals will take the field upon the other part;just as before.
In so far as he is the holder of any of the five NAMES,in short,he is a man to be reckoned with;in so far as he is king of Samoa,I cannot find but what the president of a college debating society is a far more formidable officer.And unfortunately,although the credit side of the account proves thus imaginary,the debit side is actual and heavy.For he is now set up to be the mark of consuls;he will be badgered to raise taxes,to make roads,to punish crime,to quell rebellion:and how he is to do it is not asked.
If I am in the least right in my presentation of this obscure matter,no one need be surprised to hear that the land is full of war and rumours of war.Scarce a year goes by but what some province is in arms,or sits sulky and menacing,holding parliaments,disregarding the king's proclamations and planting food in the bush,the first step of military preparation.The religious sentiment of the people is indeed for peace at any price;no pastor can bear arms;and even the layman who does so is denied the sacraments.In the last war the college of Malua,where the picked youth are prepared for the ministry,lost but a single student;the rest,in the bosom of a bleeding country,and deaf to the voices of vanity and honour,peacefully pursued their studies.
But if the church looks askance on war,the warrior in no extremity of need or passion forgets his consideration for the church.The houses and gardens of her ministers stand safe in the midst of armies;a way is reserved for themselves along the beach,where they may be seen in their white kilts and jackets openly passing the lines,while not a hundred yards behind the skirmishers will be exchanging the useless volleys of barbaric warfare.Women are also respected;they are not fired upon;and they are suffered to pass between the hostile camps,exchanging gossip,spreading rumour,and divulging to either army the secret councils of the other.This is plainly no savage war;it has all the punctilio of the barbarian,and all his parade;feasts precede battles,fine dresses and songs decorate and enliven the field;and the young soldier comes to camp burning (on the one hand)to distinguish himself by acts of valour,and (on the other)to display his acquaintance with field etiquette.Thus after Mataafa became involved in hostilities against the Germans,and had another code to observe beside his own,he was always asking his white advisers if "things were done correctly."Let us try to be as wise as Mataafa,and to conceive that etiquette and morals differ in one country and another.We shall be the less surprised to find Samoan war defaced with some unpalatable customs.The childish destruction of fruit-trees in an enemy's country cripples the resources of Samoa;and the habit of head-hunting not only revolts foreigners,but has begun to exercise the minds of the natives themselves.Soon after the German heads were taken,Mr.Carne,Wesleyan missionary,had occasion to visit Mataafa's camp,and spoke of the practice with abhorrence."Misi Kane,"said one chief,"we have just been puzzling ourselves to guess where that custom came from.But,Misi,is it not so that when David killed Goliath,he cut off his head and carried it before the king?"With the civil life of the inhabitants we have far less to do;and yet even here a word of preparation is inevitable.They are easy,merry,and pleasure-loving;the gayest,though by far from either the most capable or the most beautiful of Polynesians.Fine dress is a passion,and makes a Samoan festival a thing of beauty.Song is almost ceaseless.The boatman sings at the oar,the family at evening worship,the girls at night in the guest-house,sometimes the workman at his toil.No occasion is too small for the poets and musicians;a death,a visit,the day's news,the day's pleasantry,will be set to rhyme and harmony.Even half-grown girls,the occasion arising,fashion words and train choruses of children for its celebration.Song,as with all Pacific islanders,goes hand in hand with the dance,and both shade into the drama.
