ministry establish itself and face'the hostility of the supporters
of the Tungi family and the dismissed Europeans. Beside these
extra problems, however, His Majesty and the new ministry needed
more than just a week to acquaint themselves with the state of
the Government's affairs as they found it.
That Tupou I I 's first major work after his succession was the
expensive renovation of his palaces at Ha'apai and Vava'u clearly
indicated that he intended to spend a good deal of time away from
Tongatapu, and it was therefore no surprise when he did so.
Whether prompted by resentment of Tongatapu's traditional opposition
and superior attitude towards the social rank of Tupou I and his
House as 'Ha'apai chiefs' or by his natural fondness for Ha'apai,
Tupou II's long absences from Tongatapu disrupted and held up the
work of Government; they were clear signs of his inherently
irresponsible attitude towards his duties as King. With Parliament
meeting only once -hkr&c- yean and unable to anticipate all extra
expenses or legislation, Privy Councils were vital in keeping the
Government's business going. Besides, there were always appeals
against the rulings of the Supreme Court, and only the Privy Council
could deal with them. Even questions Cabinet had the powers to
deal with, such as Tungi's request for an extension of his lease of 14
Fasi, were often referred to the King for his decision.
14
A Privy Council matter that could not be postponed without
serious consequences to Government was the authorization of both
the annual and extra Estimates. As shown by the £3,400 excess
above the Estimated Revenue from the Department of Customs and Duties 15
alone in 1892, the Government's assessment of its income and
expenditure was usually quite erroneous. The need for extra
Estimates, and therefore for His Majesty and his ministers to hold
Privy Councils, quite frequently arose. Although these Estimates
were normally discussed in Cabinet before being presented in Privy
Council, their final form was usually worked cut by the Premier
and the King. The result was that Tupou II was inevitably well
informed about and absolutely essential to all the financial
arrangements of the country. Since he chose to make extended stays
at Ha'apai, the ministers, usually represented by Sateki, as well
as the Estimates, had to go to him. Besides the inconvenience
of such an arrangement, any benefit from discussion with all his
ministers was also lost. Furthermore, under these circumstances,
it was much easier for the King and the Premier to have their own
way with the Estimates and to be open to suspicion of having done so.
As was' to become increasingly clear, especially during Sateki's
Premiership, Tupou I I 's attitude to kingship was basically that of
the socially and ceremonially superior chief he was born to be.
It was his due to possess and enjoy privileges, and it was the task
of others to do the work. When he succeeded to the throne he was
more aware of its additional status, privileges and powers than of
its duties.
15
•Furthermore, His Majesty tended to have a literal interpretation
of the notion, particularly reinforced and identified with the
House of Tupou I since his conquest of Tonga, that the King owned
the country. Unfortunately, Tupou II still lacked the wisdom
and the sense of duty required to rescue him from the pitfalls his
background had left him very vulnerable to. Thus it was that he
neglected his essential part in Government when he wanted to pursue
his own interests at Ha'apai, and he saw little wrong in expecting
Government to provide for personal needs such as the cost of
repairing and painting his boat.
A week after the King's departure for Ha'apai, Sateki held
a meeting to which all Tongatapu males of poll tax age were summoned.
In his address, the new Premier focused his attention on two
subjects with which he was continually concerned. These were the
payment of taxes and observance of the l a w . ^ Obviously displeased
with the enormous number of taxes that were overdue, and the former
Government's failure to bring to trial and punish all defaulters
and other law breakers, Sateki exhorted his listeners to pay their
taxes or be prepared to face prosecution. To impress them further
with the unpleasant consequences of their misdemeanour, he reminded
them that the penalties for non-payment of taxes were either
imprisonment, sale of their property, or loss of their lands. As
illustrated by the 1045 prosecutions in May 1894 in the Nuku'alofa 17
courts alone, Sateki was a man of his word.
16
Ibid., 10 January 1893.
17
popularize the King and Government at the expense of the chiefs,
Sateki also announced the abrogation of the tedious and unpopular
custom of the commoners preparing food and presenting it to
visiting chiefs, and dancing in the lakalaka when summoned to - 18
do so.
After thus launching his programme and quickly taking stock
of Government's affairs and finances, Sateki went to Ha'apai on
31 January to report to the King and obtain his approval and
signature for the new year's Estimate. He returned to Nuku'alofa
a week later, shortly after which the Estimate for January to 19
December 1894 was published. The first Estimate drafted under