Chapter XIV
the gospel of work

The success which came to the Methodist cause up to and after the battle of Kamba, in so far as it was due to missionaries at all, was the result not of any brutal policy of propagating the Gospel by means of aggressive warfare; but of the good work they accomplished through the skilful use of medicine, the training of native agents, the translation of the Scriptures, and the foundation of an elementary system of education by which, imperfect as it was, the natives old and young alike learnt how to read and write. To these laudable services some at least of the missionaries would gladly have added another of highest importance had sufficient money been available; viz, the training of the natives in such practical work as would have helped materially not only in fortifying their religion and strengthening their character, but also in preparing them for playing a useful part in the wider civilization with which they were becoming more closely associated every year.

In these important and interesting letters Williams and Calvert were trying to persuade the London Committee "to send out some clever, hard-working, good-tempered local preachers with special reference to the temporal needs of the people." But their letters reached England at a very inopportune time. At the beginning of 1844 the Society was running deeply into debt, and the Committee had decided on a policy of rigorous retrenchment. The technical instruction which Williams and Calvert advocated would have involved expense for teachers and equipment. It was not to be thought of.

But apart from that it does not appear from a study of the records that any other missionary in Fiji, with the possible exception of Hazlewood, took the same view. John Hunt was strongly of the opinion that the Gospel was the only means for the effective civilization as well as the christianization of the natives, and he was chairman of the Dis-page break

Kalsakou Chief of Fila, New Hebrides

page 233trict Meeting. The majority of the missionaries no doubt agreed with him. They had left England full of the ideas they had assimilated in the course of their training. They remembered what a change had come over their lives at the time of their conversion, and how the Bible had sustained them afterwards, and they expected it would be the same for the natives of Fiji. So it was for the few who took up the regular work of preaching, and made it their career as the missionaries themselves had done; but for the vast majority of their "converts" it was very different. They needed some regular practical work to strengthen their characters, and make their religion permanent. The natives made little use of their intellects; but they were skilful people: every record we have goes to prove that; and means should have been found to strengthen their natural aptitude. The missionaries had deprived the natives of a number of their old sustaining interests, and contact with civilization still more. Many of their occupations were rendered useless or not worth while. New interests appropriate to the new religion could only be acquired slowly. Meantime their life was becoming more and more attenuated until there was hardly enough left to make it worth living, or to save them from pining away, victims of heart-sickness.

On my visit to the New Hebrides in 1928 I had an interesting conversation with Kalsakou, chief of the little island of Fila close to Vila and immediately opposite the British Residency. Pointing toward the mainland opposite he said: "When I was a boy, there were two large native settlements over there; now the people are all gone, all dead." "What killed them?" I asked. "Heart-sickness, heart-sickness" was his reply. When later on I visited the tribe at the island of Meli about seven miles to the west of Vila I found the native chief Ngata turning his hand to any kind of work as an example to his people, in the conviction page 234that nothing but work would save them from extinction. In 1908 the population of the New Hebrides was estimated at 120,000; when I was there in 1928 it was 39,000! How far heart-sickness has been responsible for this terrible mortality it is impossible to say; but no doubt Kalsakou was right in suggesting that it has carried off large numbers, not only directly, but also indirectly by weakening their powers of resistance to other ailments and diseases.

And so it has been in Fiji though not to the same extent as in the New Hebrides. The missionaries of the thirties and forties of last century did not dream that this would be one of the effects of their discouragement of native recreations; nor did the majority of them realize that the best way to have tided the natives over the transition period in passing from the old life to the new would have been to take advantage of their natural aptitude for skilful work, and train them as early and assiduously as possible in useful arts and crafts. When Thomas Williams and James Calvert advocated this so strongly they were thinking mainly of the stabilization of their religion, and that, so far as it went, was important—far more important indeed than even Thomas Williams or James Calvert realized; for as William Lang-land teaches in his great allegory Piers the Plowman there is nothing so good for the soul as doing well. Not one of the missionaries would have subscribed to that. They believed that there was nothing so good for the soul as reading the Bible, praying, singing and listening to sermons about original sin, incarnation, atonement, efficacy of prayer, witness of the spirit, justification by faith and the infallibility of the Bible. Had they known that the Almighty ages ago decreed that all living things should advance toward perfection by the struggle for existence, and that the salvation or survival of the fittest depended on success in that struggle; in other words that it was one of page break

Ngata Chief of Meli, New Hebrides

page 235the most important of God's laws that men should work and strive, they would probably have made work one of the first articles of their creed, and preached it even more persistently than justification by faith.

But they did not, neither did the Methodist public that supported them, nor the Methodist Committee that directed them. Charles Darwin had not then published his Origin of Species, and even if he had they would have rejected it as contrary to Scripture. What they believed and what John Beecham believed was that the grand instrument for civilizing the natives as well as saving their souls was the Gospel: "True civilization is the certain result of the successful preaching of the Gospel among a heathen and barbarous people." There is good reason for believing that while he never wavered in this opinion, John Beecham did learn to take a more comprehensive view of the means by which the salvation of souls was to be attained. In a letter to Dr Lyth on 18 November 1853 he quoted an extract from one of Thomas Williams's letters about the natives losing their interest in religion when they had read such books as were available. "That shows the need of a native literature," said Beecham. "A barbarous people cannot be thoroughly enlightened and elevated without a supply of available books to enrich their minds with useful knowledge, enlarge their views and fit them for practising the arts of civilized life."

That extract shows that in 1853 there was sympathy in London for the opinions which Thomas Williams and James Calvert had so forcibly expressed in 1843 and 1844; but neither John Beecham nor any of the missionaries in Fiji ever gave to regular work, willingly undertaken, the place which it deserves in any scheme for effecting the salvation of human souls. The missionaries insisted on the observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest, and they wrote glowing page 236reports to London of the ready way in which the natives accepted it. The news was hailed with delight in Methodist circles in England. But if they believed that the natives kept the Sabbath solely or chiefly in order that they might commune with God they were mistaken. Had the missionaries proclaimed another Sabbath in the middle of the week the natives would have gladly accepted that too. The reason is that singing, praying and listening to sermons was much easier and more enjoyable than work in their gardens. The missionaries must surely have known this. If they did not the chiefs did. Old Tuithakau spoke the mind of many of the chiefs in Fiji when he told the missionaries plainly that the lotu natives spent too much of their time praying, and too little at their work.

Much more has been made of the observance of the Sabbath by the natives of the South Seas than it is worth. It is of course far better that men should be reminded of their obligations to the Almighty one day a week than that they should ignore Him altogether; but these strict Sabbatarians would have done better still had they tried more assiduously to inculcate the belief that every day is God's day, and that any day can be made holy by honest work done in the right spirit as well as by singing, praying and reading the Scriptures, if not better. That is not heresy, it is biblical teaching; for if man is commanded therein to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, he is also commanded to labour and do all his work six days a week. Six days a week! What a proportion of the lives of men and women is and has been spent in work; and it has not yet been found possible in this world's economy to prescribe much less; nor is it likely that the interests of morality, or even of human happiness, would be served by limiting the time. "The true source of human happiness," says one of the Ancients, "is congenial work." I have never been able page 237to identify the individual who made this valuable contribution to the store of human wisdom; but it serves my purpose to quote it here for I believe it expresses a profound truth which the modern world is in some danger of forgetting. It would appear from some of the policies advocated by candidates for Parliament in Great Britain and some of the dominions that work is regarded as a curse not a blessing, and that the way to win votes is to advocate measures that make for the survival of the careless, the lazy and the unfit; and even discourage people from striving to make themselves fit in the divinely appointed way. The missionaries of this period in Fiji certainly did not go as far as that; but their correspondence reveals a disproportionate amount of interest in the Sabbath as compared with the six working days of the week, and this was no doubt because work occupied no conspicuous place in their scheme of salvation. In this respect there has been a great improvement in the character of mission work carried on in Fiji. On my visit to Davui-levu, the most important of the Methodist training centres in Fiji, I found great activity in those departments of the work that were maintained with the specific object of training native students in trades that would enable them to earn a living. The spiritual value of regular work is not overlooked now either by Protestant or Roman Catholic missionaries.

But there is another and more fundamental reason why the natives should learn as speedily as possible to play a useful part in the civilization to which they now belong; and that is nothing less than the survival of the race. Their old life has gone for ever; but nobody who knows the Fijians well wants them to disappear from the face of the earth. They are a very attractive people. All the hideous customs and practices that made them notorious toward the middle of last century have passed away; but most of their page 238good qualities remain—their courtesy, hospitality, camaraderie, joyousness, love of adventure, submission to authority. One thing they lack—the very thing that is needed to ensure their survival in the struggle for existence—the will to work on, doggedly if need be, in occupations that are monotonous and involve drudgery. The Fijian is capable of great exertion—for a short time, and he takes readily to those branches of work that appeal to his sporting instincts, such as sailing on the sea and fishing; but the Indian and the Chinaman can beat him easily in occupations that require constant vigilance, sustained effort and an abiding sense of responsibility. The Fijian must overcome these defects if he is to survive. The vast majority of white men have to discipline themselves to monotony and drudgery in the struggle to make a living. So must the Fijian. Success in the struggle for existence demands it, and there can be no doubt that the environment in which the Fijian is placed to-day is eminently favourable to the operation of the law of the survival of the fittest. In numbers the Indian population is not far behind the Fijian now, and it is increasing more rapidly. They have already got control of some industries to the practical exclusion of the natives. There are Chinese and other coloured races, and still the supply of labour is unequal to the demand. Will the Fijian race realize the gravity of the situation?

The Young Fijian Society under the direction of Mosese has been formed, and has already done well enough to attract the attention of the government. The salvation of the race may come through some such organization. It must come eventually from the Fijians themselves, and most of all by a recognition of the supreme importance of work. It is by regular, responsible and efficient work more than by any other means that the Fijians will develop within themselves the qualities that are essential for survival. Medical page 239men, missionaries and governments, by a discriminating assistance and enlightened policy, can help them to be fit, and increase their chances of survival; but in the last resort, the salvation of the race can only be ensured by forces that work from within outwards. Just as the muscles of the arm must be developed by power exerted from within, so must the mental, moral and spiritual qualities be strengthened and developed by spontaneous and sustained effort of the man himself.

The British government, solicitous for the welfare of the natives and deeply conscious of the claims of native races in respect of the lands over which they have rights of prior occupation, has ever been reluctant to force the native to work against his will, even by the imposition of a mild form of taxation. It has, perhaps, carried this policy so far as to have rendered the natives less fit to succeed in the struggle for existence. It would appear that the Dutch government has acted more wisely, at least in Java. There the natives have been disciplined to work, and the native population of over thirty millions has no need to fear the extinction of the race. They are flourishing, and in all parts of the south-west Pacific which I have visited, there is a greater demand for their labour than that of any other people. It may be that the Javanese have inborn qualities that have been denied the races of the south-west Pacific; upon that I am not qualified to give an opinion. What is clear is that the Javanese have found their place in the economy of the great world. Why is it that the natives of Java flourish and increase, while so many races of the south-west Pacific have been threatened with decline and even extinction? The problem is worthy of the best thought that enlightened nations can devote to it. The causes are no doubt many and various; but I am strongly of the opinion that the capacity of the Javanese for efficient sustained labour is one of them.

There is a deal of enervating sentimentalism in this modern world which passes for kindness; but there is no real kindness in a policy that shuts its eyes to the value of wholesome reasonable discipline, and nurses able-bodied children into a condition of lassitude and inefficiency. That is cruelty, not kindness; just as it is cruel to coddle and spoil a healthy child. The British government has done and is doing much to help the natives of Fiji. It has secured them in the possession of their lands; it is educating them and employing them in the public services. All this is good provided the race as a whole is learning to help itself, and make the best use of the opportunities offered for its physical, mental, moral and spiritual advancement. But the possession of their lands, and the rents they derive therefrom will not ensure their survival, unless they use those advantages in such a way as will enable them to survive in competition with others. There is a far greater Power operating in this world than any human government, a Power so great that by comparison the strongest and most capable of human beings are but as little creeping ants upon the earth. That Power has decreed that living things from the lowest to the highest shall be subject to the law of the survival of the fittest. There is not the slightest reason to suppose that it will be suspended in favour of any race of human beings, or any species of animals. It has been operating from time immemorial, and it will go on operating until perfection is attained by evolution. That is not likely to be on this side of eternity, for the struggle is going on in the mental and spiritual as well as in the physical world. The existence of that law means in plain simple language that men and races who wish to survive must work hard enough to develop the powers that are latent in them and so enable them to compete successfully with others. Do the Fijians realize this? If not, all their singing, praying and study of page 241the Scriptures—valuable and ennobling as they are—will not save them. In addition to that which the brave old missionaries taught in the middle of last century, there are the discoveries of scientific investigators since their time to reckon with if souls are to be saved, and races are to survive. To the Gospel which they preached must be added the Gospel of Evolution with its claims on the faith, foresight, energy and endurance of men and nations.