Petition.

To the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

The Humble Petition of the Undersigned Respectfully Sheweth:—

1.	That your petitioners are for the most part settled and resident colonists of Fiji desirous of developing the resources of this portion of His Majesty's Empire.
2.	That they represent a colony containing a population of about 4000 Europeans who own or occupy more than one-tenth of the area of the cultivatable lands of the colony, with several millions of pounds sterling invested in agriculture and commerce.
3.	That consequent on the form of Government, namely, a Crown Colony of a severe type under which they live, they have been suffering for many years under severe disabilities and burdens.
4.	That your petitioners submit that the history of this colony proves that the present form of Government, from its inception, has retarded the development of the splendid resources lying dormant in these islands.
5.	That while they are heavily taxed to meet the requirements of an expensive Government, they are deprived of all control over revenue and expenditure and of voice in the Council of the Legislature, and further, your petitioners respectfully submit that since the initiation of the Government of this colony in 1874 the civil rights of most of His Majesty's subjects have been liberally enlarged elsewhere, and more especially so in the adjacent colonies of Australia and New Zealand, while your petitioners are subjected to the indignity of being as aforesaid still deprived of any voice in the Councils of the Government.
6.	That in matters judicial the Department is presided over by one Judge from whose decision there is no appeal page viii except to the Judicial Committee of Hits Majesty's Privy Council, the cost of which is prohibitive to most of His Majesty's subjects here.
7.	That your petitioners are to a great extent deprived of the cherished British right of trial by jury.
8.	That the agricultural and commercial interests, both of Europeans and natives, suffer severely from the peculiar and anomalous Laws and Native Regulations.
9.	That your petitioners desire to state in the most emphatic manner that His Majesty's native Fijian subjects are cruelly misgoverned under the present extraordinary system causing them to be dc facto slaves of the Government; that they suffer under a perpetual tyranny and are deprived of personal liberty and individuality, and consequently are demoralised.
10.	That during the last fifteen years the native population has decreased from 115,000 to 08,000; that it is the strong conviction of your petitioners that this alarming and rapid decrease of 17,000 is due in a large measure to the communistic nature of their Government.
11.	That the Fijian native is heavily and unfairly taxed in comparison with the Europeans, especially considering his primitive methods of production—for the native adult population numbering about 19,600 is levied upon to pay a direct tax of £19,000 the same being a most expensive, wasteful and injurious method of raising revenue; in addition to which the native pays a large proportion of the revenue of H.M. Customs, which amount is estimated to be not less than £20,000.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.