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THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
A H. Ri'K
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MOULTON OF TONGA
JAMES EGAN MOULTON.
BY
J. EGAN MOULTON
WITH THE COOPERATION OP
W. FIDDIAN MOULTON
FOREWORD BY
DR. RICHARD G. MOULTON
xonfton
THE EPWORTH
J. ALFRED SHARP
First Edition, rgti
PREFACE
IN sending forth this sketch of the career of Dr.
Egan Moulton of Tonga some explanation is due
to the reader with respect to the two names which
appear on the title-page. It is to my cousin's pietas
that the book is due, and his was the gathering of
the material and the writing of the original MS. But
every one knows the difficulties besetting the publica-
tion of books at the present time, and when the
MS. came to hand it was evident that it would
involve a volume of such proportions as would
endanger an effective sale, especially in view of the
fact that the subject of the memoir had been dead
for a dozen years. There was nothing to be done
but to condense it, which in some parts meant re-
writing the book. That has been my share in the
enterprise, undertaken, let it be understood, with my
cousin's full consent. But the material, the arrange-
ment, and the estimates are his; and even if I had
desired to alter them which I certainly did not I
should not have felt justified in doing so.
Dr. Egan Moulton's brother, Lord Moulton of
Bank, had promised to write a Foreword, which he
would have done con amore, for he had an un-
bounded admiration for his brother's gifts and
character. His sudden death left that page unwritten ;
but I am grateful to the sole surviving member of
that gifted band' of brothers, Dr. R. G. Moulton,
for taking up the task.
W, FIDDIAN MOULTON.
5
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
FOREWORD 9
I. EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION .... 13
II. THE LAND AND PEOPLE 35
III. THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE:
RISE, GROWTH, AND CURRICULUM . . 44
IV. THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE:
TUBOU COLLEGE SPEECH-DAY ... <fl
V. THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE:
THE REGIME 67
VI. THE GREAT CALAMITY:
THE VISIT TO ENGLAND .... 89
VII. THE GREAT CALAMITY:
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM . . 95
VIII. THE AFTERMATH 13!
IX. LIFE'S EVENTIDE 149
X. EPILOGUE 155
FOREWORD
I HAVE been asked to write a few words of
introduction to this sketch, and I do so gladly. But
in reality no "Foreword is necessary: this memoir is
one of the kind that explain themselves. I have
myself always had a distaste for the traditional
biography, which is made by elaborating unrelated
facts before they get forgotten. The true biography
presents facts in perspective, until the whole
crystallizes into a unit of impressions. Those who
read this sketch cannot fail to feel, as they read, a
clear personality and an impressive life-work.
The personality was singularly attractive. Indeed,
I have been accustomed to say privately, what I
suppose one must not say in public of a brother,
that Egan Moulton was the most interesting man
I have ever met. The first impression he gave was
of a man who had travelled; and travelling, for
conversational purposes, is measured not by geo-
graphical miles, but by the variety of human nature
encountered, and the power of entering into this
variety. My brother had an alert instinct for catch-
ing the exact point of view of everybody he met,
and drawing him out at his best. I believe, in spite
of the social prejudice to the contrary, that most
men talk best when they are talking 'shop.' People
of very ordinary powers, when drawn into genial
converse with Dr. Moulton, were thus kept at their
brightest, and were astonished to find how interesting
9
FOREWORD
they could become. And of course my brother had
a varied and attractive life of his own with which
he could reciprocate.
For somewhat similar reasons Dr. Moulton was a
great preacher. What I have in mind was not
great exegesis, or even an unusual oratorical appeal,
though in equipment of this kind there was nothing
lacking. But the ' sermon/ or ' lecture/ has its
own place among the varied forms of literature, and
calls for its own special talent. Egan Moulton had a
selective instinct for the unusual, the individual point
of view, which escapes men of more methodical
studies; such a point of view once taken, light was
brought to bear upon it from all sides until the whole
field of view seemed to glow. Merely to read out
the text would set the whole congregation sermon-
making. Or, I have known Dr. Moulton announce
that his text lay between the conclusion of a par-
ticular chapter and the commencement of the next:
we were shown what was left out of the Bible, and
a basis was found for the difference of scale between
sacred and secular. The sermon over, it would be
found that the Sunday-school scholar and the chance
Doctor of Divinity present had been equally attracted.
As to work, it would be life-work enough to
remember Egan Moulton as a missionary bringing
the gospel to a remote civilization. But in reality
the work was more than that of the missionary in
the ordinary sense. It is a common error to think
of a missionary, in comparison with the pastor at
home, as having a task of elementary education.
But to a thinker like Dr. Moulton evangelization could
never be separated from culture; sanctification and
edification must go together. The remoteness of
the civilization meant so much more of originality in
10
FOREWORD
the educational work; again and again, as the sketch
that follows shows, culture had to construct its own
tools. Thus the crown of my brother's life was his
work on the Bible. This was not what is ordinarily
understood by translation : the Bible had already been
translated into the Tongan language. What was
wanted was the enlargement of the Tongan language
to make it adequate to Biblical literature. When
I heard my brother speak of this part of his work
I was always carried back mentally to the mediaeval
centuries, when precisely similar work was being
done for the great languages of Europe, when Dante
and his contemporaries were, not writing their great
poems, but preparing the raw Italian to be a vehicle
of the poetry that was coming. Egan Moulton
consciously set himself to do similar work for Tongan
civilization. There was a native literature; often
inspired poetically, however debased in matter: my
brother studied this native literature, watching for
new connotations of words, or rhythmic possibilities
for the native poet of the future. Only in such
enlarged language could the prophetic literature of
Scripture find adequate expression. Here we have
philologic work of the highest order, in comparison
with which the philological work that sometimes
brings academic degrees may seem cheap.
Whether in the common round, or in the more
unusual work of education, it was inevitable that there
should be a strong bond of tenderness between the
Tongan people and the champion of their civiliza-
tion among the nations. A! life-work done under
these conditions might seem idyllic. But it was an
idyll that was suddenly transformed into a tragedy,
a tragedy in which only at the last moment was
the end overruled for good. This strange story is
FOREWORD
well told, and told with great restraint, in the pages
that follow. It brings home to us how individual
wrong-doing may spread the widest disaster, until the
clock of time has to be put back, and we find
ourselves facing something like the days of primitive
persecution. It is better to dwell on the other side
of the picture; how, in the counsels of providence,
Egan Moulton was permitted to live until the shadow
was rolled away; until the evil was disavowed by its
own authors, and there could follow a peaceful even-
tide, with the work founded by the father carried on
by his son.
The purpose of sketches like the present is not
what would be ordinarily described as the History
of Missions. It is more nearly the Romance of
Missions: the purpose of bringing home to every
Christian reader single aspects of the great mission
work 'in all their picturesqueness. In such a series
no one would omit a situation so singular as that here
described, and a life-work so devoted. For such a
life only one epitaph is adequate : this missionary will
be for ever known as MOULTON OF TONGA.
R. G. M.
IB
MOULTON OF TONGA
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
MOULTON of Tonga' is not intended to be a
biography in the ordinary sense of the term.
Its author has buc striven to lay before his readers
the story of the life of one who, he ventures to think,
might have risen to eminence in the educational
sphere under more attractive conditions, but who,
hearing the imperative call of God for workers in
the mission field, was obedient to the same, regard-
less of the cost. He never doubted that it was
God's finger which pointed that way, and it is
unnecessary to say that he never regretted his choice.
The present volume is an attempt to sketch the
actual working-out of that call in the career of the
one whose name it bears.
James Egan Moulton was one of that devoted band
of servants of God who have thought it no poverty
to leave home, and the mother country, and bright
worldly prospects in order to give the service of a
lifetime for the enlightenment of dark-skinned peoples.
It was not his lot to go out to struggle against a
savage environment, and therefore his career as a
missionary does not present a record of thrilling
adventure and hair-breadth escapes. Had the con-
dition of the islands to which he was sent called
for that kind of struggle, he would never have
13 B
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
flinched, for he had in him all the characteristics
which go to make the missionary martyr. But there
was no necessity.
When he landed in Tonga in May 1865 he found
there what had recently been a heathen race, but which
was emerging from the darkness of savagery into the
glorious light of Christianity a result due, under the
providence of God, to the indefatigable efforts of a
handful of devoted men. Indeed, by the time he
arrived on the scene the group of islands had become
nominally Christian, under the rule of their warrior
sovereign King George, who had himself embraced
the new faith and had been baptize.l.
It might be thought that, since the pioneering work
had been so efficiently done, the initial spur to a
keen missionary mind would have been dulled. But
if a religious work is to be consolidated the en-
lightenment of the heart must be followed by a
similar work upon the mind; and the darkness
of ignorance is as inveterate a foe of the gospel
as the benighted heart that dwells in the defilements
of savagery. In 1855 the far-sighted Tongan King
had realized the uselessness of a moral without a
corresponding intellectual development; and, quot-
ing from Hosea, he had cried, ' My people are des-
troyed for lack of knowledge.' That this was no
passing fancy is proved by the fact that, ten years
later, hearing from a European missionary concern-
ing the work of a young man from England, who
was at the head of the teaching staff of the Wesleyan
Educational Institution on the Parrarnatta River (after-
wards known so well as Newington College), he made
a special application to the Conference for him by
name. The Conference complied with the request
and sent the man the Moulton of this memoir.
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
James Egan Moulton came into this world under
influences which counted for much. His father,
after whom he was named, was the second son of
the Rev. William Moulton, who had married the
elder of the two daughters of Dr. James Egan. Dr.
Egan was assistant-master at the Academy presided
over by Mr. John Bakewell of Greenwich; and there
grew up an attachment between him and the head
master's daughter, who was distinguished for her
' remarkable knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.'
John Bakewell is noted as the author of the well-
known hymn, ' Hail, Thou once despised Jesus ! ' He
had been a preacher of the gospel in his native
county of Derbyshire before he had identified himself
with John Wesley, of whom he became an intimate
friend. The great evangelist, who was often Mr.
Bakewell's guest at Greenwich, detected the evident
attachment between the clever Irish scholar and the
equally remarkable daughter of his host, and urged
his friend to hand over the school to them so that
he himself might be free to preach the gospel without
any conflicting claims upon his time and energy. He
complied, and the gifted couple were united in
matrimony by Wesley himself. It is much to be
regretted that hardly any records of the Bakewell
family remain, for he was a preacher for over
fifty years, and the record of his experiences would
shed much light not only upon the growth of the
Methodist Church but also the social and religious
history of the people. But his humble disposition
shrank from the idea of the publicity of the printed
page; and he extracted from his grand-daughter, who
wished to record his life and work, a promise that
she would refrain from such a course.
It was with such a bias as this, towards the
15
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
gospel and culture alike, that the James Egan Moul-
ton of Tongan association came into the world at
North Shields in 1841. His father was a man of
so methodical a turn of mind in the discharge of
his duties as Chairman of the District, that he was
known as ' arrangements Moulton ' ; but he was
something more than an efficient administrator. Dr.
Benjamin Gregory, who knew him well, said of
him that ' his cheerfulness was radiant, and most
healthily catching; and being broadly built and
blessed with a steady flow of spirits he seemed
likely to enjoy a long and energetic ministerial career.
He was a thorough Methodist preacher, lively,
spiritual, energetic, indefatigable.' He was very pro-
ficient in mathematics, as well as in Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew. He had gone to Kingswood at the early age
of eight; and his scholastic attainments there were
so great that his name appears in the school records
as the winner of the gold medal and head of the
school. His stay at school was extended beyond the
normal tenure by a year, and at fifteen(l) he was
installed as one of the assistant masters. That he
excelled in the inherited and somewhat rare gift of
imparting knowledge may be gleaned from the tradi-
tion, handed down by a distinguished contemporary,
that the boys would rather do sums with him than
play games! Whether that be a literal fact or not
it is unquestionably true that he had a singular
teaching power, which, in very different forms, re-
appeared in his four distinguished sons William
Fiddian, Head Master of the Leys School, Cambridge,
and famous Greek Testament scholar; John Fletcher,
Senior Wrangler at Cambridge and now Lord Moul-
ton of Bank, G.C.B., F.R.S. 1 ; Richard Green, until
1 Lord Moulton has died since these pages went to press.
16
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
lately Professor of Literary Interpretation in the
University of Chicago, and now retired in England;
and James Egan, the subject of the present volume,
the only one of the brothers whose course of life did
not make possible the acquisition of a university
degree, but who manifested an ability in no respect
less than that of the others, though totally unlike.
As a child he was delicate, and it was not until
he had reached his teens that his physical constitu-
tion became at all robust; and even then, his great
enemy of after years asthma which harassed him
to the very last, had already made its appearance.
Only a few fragments remain concerning his early
days, but, as was the case with his brothers, the
influence of the home was the most potent factor in
his boyhood. The story of his education in the
elementary rules of arithmetic and algebra by his
father while in the act of shaving is quite in keeping
with other stories of that father's power of doing
three things at once hearing one son construe his
Latin, guiding another in the intricacies of Greek
grammar while he himself was wrestling with the
addition of figures in some official schedule I
And while the influence of the father was great,
that of the mother was perhaps greater still.
Catherine Fiddian was the daughter of Samuel
Fiddian, a brass founder in Birmingham, and her
attainments afford a striking parallel to those of Maria
Bakewell already referred to. Intellectually strong,
and with a spiritual nature of a very high type, she
was in every sense an ideal partner. Her remarkable
foresight, moreover, in relation to current topics, as
well as the courage with which she expressed her
opinions, made her count outside her home as well
as inside, and even members of Parliament were to
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
be found seeking her advice. She was a martyr
to headaches a characteristic repeated in at least
two of her sons; and when she was thus laid aside
Egan would take the younger children out of the
house into the fields to ensure greater quiet for the
sufferer; when in the fields he would tell them
vivid stories either delved out of books or produced
by his own imaginative faculty, which even in those
days was great. It was his joy in after life to
reflect that he had been able thus to minister to
his mother's relief; nor were these acts of filial
love without their grateful acknowledgement.
As a minister's son he naturally went, as his father
had gone, to Kingswood School, though he went at
eleven years of age while his father had gone at
eight ! He remained there four years, Henry Jefferson
being head master throughout the period. He had
a curious difficulty in mastering Euclid, and his
failure in this field was responsible for his being
placed in a lower form than he would otherwise
have entered. In other subjects he was far ahead of
his class-mates, but the haze that hovered around
the first four propositions was persistent and depress-
ing, and Mr. Jefferson said to him one day, ' Well,
Moulton, if you do not do better in Euclid I shall
have to alter my opinion of you.' But light dawned
at last, and in a somewhat unconventional fashion;
for he who had learnt arithmetic and algebra from
his father while shaving, suddenly entered into an
understanding of Euclid while in his bath! The
rationale of the fourth proposition broke like a flash
upon his hitherto beclouded mind. It became as
clear as daylight, and from that day Euclid ceased
to trouble him. His mind grew apace, and he rose
rapidly to a high place in the school : and it was
18
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
not any intellectual defects which stood in the way
of his passing on to the university.
Before leaving his schooldays two matters call for
mention in view of his future career. The first is
that it was while at school that he conquered his
painful propensity to stammering. It was a very
real handicap "when at school, and no one needs
to be told that his schoolfellows subjected him to a
persecution that knew little pity. But he refused to
be discouraged, and he made determined effort to
conquer the impediment. With characteristic strength
of will he offered to the great amusement of the
boys to recite at one of the school concerts. They
attempted to dissuade him with a volley of mimicry;
but it was all to no purpose. He persisted, and the
recitation was given with credit, to the surprise of
all. But the incident affords an interesting fore-
taste of the resoluteness and strength of will that
conquered so many difficulties in the Tongan period.
In the second place, when Mr. Jefferson offered
to take a Hebrew class in out-of-school hours, Egan
Moulton joined it. The importance of this depar-
ture cannot be over-rated in view of the work he was
called upon to do. The greatest of all his efforts
for the island race the Revision of the Tongan
Bible would have lost much of its worth had he
not been able to translate from the original
Hebrew, as well as the Greek, into the vernacular
of the islands.
On leaving school the way opened for him to go
to C'astle Donington in Derbyshire, where his uncle,
Mr. Joseph Moulton, kept a chemist's shop. To
him he was apprenticed for four years another price-
less preparation for his as yet unknown future, when
he was to be charged with manifold responsibilities
19.
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
for healing not only souls but bodies. The sojourn at
Castle Donington, moreover, was fruitful in other
directions as .well. His uncle was a man of parts
and piety, who, as he was wont to admit, had made
the vital mistake of his life in resisting the call of
God to the Christian ministry, for he realized that
thereby he had limited the sphere of his usefulness.
Whether he was correct in his estimate or not, he was
a man who had the qualities which would have
made him an ideal pastor. He was evangelical to
the backbone, and loved the house of God. He
was perhaps at his best in the old-fashioned class-
meeting, and his nephew Egan often testified to
the spiritual education which he received through
that channel. Neither did it stop there, for in
future years theological students in another hemis-
phere would bear witness to the spiritual uplift which
they received when, as their tutor, he led them in
class.
It was in this small sphere that the latent strength
of his character began to manifest itself, as well
as that versatility which was so marked a feature
of his public work throughout life. At Castle Donington
the charge of the musical service at the chapel was
entrusted to him and he was both organist and
choirmaster; and any one who knows anything about
choirs and their ways knows perfectly well that they
are capable of harmony or otherwise! For one
special occasion, when anthems had been carefully
prepared, the members of the choir formed a con-
spiracy to abstain from singing in the morning
anthem, the ground being that one of the chief
singers took unbrage at the solo being entrusted to
another! When the time for the anthem came and
the chord was struck, which was to have been the
20
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
signal for the soprano to lead off with the theme,
followed by the other principals, there was no
response. Then for the first time did it dawn upon
him that there was something amiss; but nothing
daunted he led off himself in his powerful baritone.
By this time conscience was troubling the other
principals, with the result that when their turn
arrived, one after another they came in at their
proper place, and the tout ensemble was so great a
success that no one in the congregation guessed what
had transpired in the singing-gallery!
But it was in connexion with foreign missions that
James Egan Moulton achieved his most outstanding
success at Castle Donington. The annual foreign
missionary meeting was a red-letter day there, as
it was wont to be in so many of our smaller places;
and for two years in succession two young men of
conspicuous ability and acknowledged oratorical
powers were invited speakers most acceptable to
the people with Mr. Moulton to bring up the rear.
Strange to say, for some unaccountable reason, on
both occasions those two speakers, who throughout
the year uniformly delighted their hearers, utterly
failed. They floundered about for a while, and then
sat down with the consciousness of having had a
bad time, while the less gifted speaker, handicapped
by his infirmity, raised the audience to a high pitch
of enthusiasm. Stranger still was the fact that on
the latter occasion he chose as his subject, ' King
George of Tonga,' when, as yet, no thought of enter-
ing the ministry had entered his head, still less the
thought of that particular field. As he was leaving
the building on the later occasion an old man, placing
his hands on his head, said, ' Young man, th' Lord
manes tha to be a missionary.' So it seemed and
21
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
so it eventually turned out, but as yet no such
thought had framed itself in his mind, and the stam-
mering tongue seemed to be a fatal bar. At last
he took the matter in earnest prayer to Him with
whom nothing is impossible. ' O Lord ! ' he cried,
' I am perfectly willing to work for Thee, but oh !
remove this impediment ! ' It was a petition be-
gotten in agony of soul; and then and there it
was answered. The impediment disappeared, and
no one who knew him in after life would ever
have imagined that he had been a stutterer. But,
more than that, the wonderful release from his dis-
ability decided for him, once and for all, his life's
work, and stamped upon his innermost soul that
reliance upon the power of God to help in every
emergency and extremity, which so markedly charac-
terized him in his later days of stress and storm.
The way now seemed clear for him to move along
the line which had of late been ever present with
him, and he placed before the Superintendent of the
circuit the matter of his desire to offer himself as
a candidate for the ministry. He was kindly re-
ceived by him, and all encouragement was given.
He acquitted himself with credit in his trial sermon,
and also in his examination before the Quarterly
Meeting. But there was one member of that meeting
who, for some reason that never transpired, had a
strong prejudice against him and strove hard to
bias others against him, with the result that there was
a small majority against his candidature going for-
ward. Those who voted thus acknowledged after-
wards that they could not explain why they acted
thus : they were probably swayed by the sheer force
of another's prejudice rather than by any convictions
of their own: but the result was the same, what-
22
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
ever the motive, and it spelled ' rejection.' But he
was not depressed. He had obeyed what he felt
to be a call, and had offered himself. If that offer
was not accepted by Him to whom it was made,
the responsibility was not his but God's, and his
mind was vat ease on the matter. But as the days
went on the old conviction returned with greater
force than ever, and certain changes in his business
arrangements removed some of the difficulties which
had baulked him before.
At the very time of his rejection by the Castle
Donington Quarterly Meeting the head of a shipping
firm in North Shields his birthplace wrote to him,
knowing nothing of what had transpired, offering
him an appointment in the office. The offer was
accepted, and Castle Donington with all its hallowed
associations was left behind.
Under the new conditions he showed marked ability
both in handling figures and in dealing with diffi-
cult and delicate situations, the nature of which
cannot be dwelt upon here. Suffice it to say that
his services were requisitioned as secretary of a
shipping association, in and around the district, and
his capacity was widely recognized. Fortune seemed
to smile upon him to so great a degree that busi-
ness experts prophesied for him a rapid rise to
wealth. But this was not to be, for to him there
was a higher ambition than the attainment of com-
mercial success, and that was the work of the Chris-
tian ministry. To the ordinary eye it was a ' great
refusal,' but to him it was a call of God, a con-
viction which contrary circumstances could not crush :
and to the surprise of all who knew him he turned
his back on the chances of commercial prosperity and
offered himself once more as a candidate for the
23
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
Wesleyan Methodist ministry, in spite of the mis-
givings of the Superintendent, who told him he could
do better service as a layman than a minister, because
his commercial prospects were so exceptionally good.
But no amount of reconsideration could alter his
purpose, and the minister soon came to recognize
that this was a deep-seated conviction, and he showed
him the utmost cordiality and sympathy.
Opposition came, however, and from a most extra-
ordinary quarter as it would appear to us to-day.
According to the ruling of the Conference it was
permissible for a Quarterly Meeting to send forward
only one candidate at a time. No trace of such a
rule is to be found in Dr. Simon's Summary of Metho-
dist Law, and if it was ever operative it was prob-
ably only in view of some special glut of candi-
dates, and has lapsed since. But it was put forward
as an obstacle to his candidature, as there were
already two others in the field; and they possessed
the added advantage not only of priority of offer
but priority of examination in consequence of their
names commencing with earlier letters than his!
But unforeseen developments took place before the
Quarterly Meeting was held. The first candidate,
for some reason or other, decided, of his own
free will, to retire from so trying an ordeal. As
for the second, suspicions had been aroused in the
minds of some of the brethren that his extraordinary
pulpit achievements were not his own work, but were
memorized from the sermons of some half-forgotten
master of the art of preaching. An exhaustive search
was made, and it was discovered that the suspicion
was only too well founded. Possessed of a mar-
vellous memory, he had appropriated the master-
pieces of a preacher whose sermons had fallen into
24
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
almost complete oblivion; and trusting to that ob-
livion had palmed the sermons off as his own. When
he was accused of this act of deceit, he made full
confession; and there was an end of the second
candidate. This strange elimination of rivals left
Mr. Moulton as the only candidate. He was unani-
mously accepted, and passed on to the next stage:
and the Camborne Conference of 1862, which or-
dained William Fiddian Moulton, the eldest of the
four brothers, accepted the second brother as a
candidate.
His offer was for foreign work, and he was put
down on the ' stations ' for China. But at that very
time King Thakombau of Fiji, desirous of obtain-
ing missionaries for his group of islands over which
the gospel dawn had just begun to break, sent an
urgent request for two men, and emphasized the
earnestness of the appeal by forwarding their passage-
money. Thus Mr. Moulton's appointment came to
be changed from China to Fiji: and learning that
the Rev. R. B. Lyth, a lately returned missionary
from those islands, was residing at Woodbridge, he
asked if he might have the privilege of residing
with him for a short time so as to acquire some
knowledge of the language used by the people
amongst whom he was called to labour. With him
he remained for six months, and made such progress
that he prepared and wrote a sermon in the
Fijian tongue during his voyage out to Australia,
which commenced in February 1863.
Like many a missionary who has sacrificed sacred
home ties in order to preach the gospel in less
favoured lands, his decision to go abroad involved
parting from the lady whom he was ultimately to
make his wife. Miss Emma Knight was the daughter
25
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
of Mr. James Knight of Newark, a fine specimen of
old-time Methodism. The youngest son of a farmer,
when only fourteen years old he was articled by
his father to a firm of solicitors in Newark, and in
that office he served with ability and faithfulness for
sixty years. Throughout that period he was closely
identified with every branch of church life. He was
the most conspicuous figure in the Barnby Gate
Chapel, and as a local preacher was highly respected
throughout the circuit. He filled almost every office
in the church, and when he passed away at the
ripe age of ninety-two he left behind him a noble
record of service. In this he has been worthily
followed by his son, Mr. W. E. Knight, who has
served his town and his church with conspicuous
devotion. The Wesleyan associations were still
further strengthened by the fact that Mr. James
Knight's wife was an Eggleston another family with
long Methodist antecedents and her brother, the
Rev. John Eggleston, was identified with the first
Australasian Conference of 1855, ultimately becom-
ing Missionary Secretary and President.
The journey out to Australia in those days was a
lengthy and weary business; and although the
Merrie England was as fine a type of sailing vessel
as could be found, thirteen weeks had to be spent on
shipboard. But the diary which Mr. Moulton kept
and sent home is full of interest despite the inevitable
lack of variety in respect of topic. He always mani-
fested a wholesome knack of making much out of
little, which is a real asset under conditions of
monotony. With most of the passengers, moreover,
he felt perfectly at home; but, as always happens on
shipboard and off there were one or two who
contrived to make themselves generally disagreeable.
26
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
Conspicuous among these was a young officer who
flung sneers at religion and rode the high military
horse, as if in no other profession was manliness or
courage to be found, least of all in the ministerial
ranks. But he had mistaken his man; for when
his petty persecution became insufferable Mr.
Moulton challenged him to a friendly combat in
respect of acts of daring which, at any rate to the
uninitiated, seemed full of danger. One of these was
a race round the taffrails of the ship, whilst another
was the mounting of the rigging and climbing to the
top of the main mast, descending on the other side.
In both of these contests the military man was
beaten, to his great chagrin.
But it must not be imagined that such diversions
occupied the bulk of the time for this missionary
aspirant on his voyage. There were subjects to be
mastered, which meant hours of withdrawal and of
application; and hence he might have been found
any morning high up in the cross-trees of one of
the masts, with limbs so interlocked in the frame-
work that dislodgement was well-nigh impossible, and
far away from the hum of voices. He was also deeply
interested in the science of navigation, and was often
found in the captain's cabin working out for the
first mate the calculations for the day as to the
ship's position.
His arrival in Australia at the end of June 1863
served to meet a serious difficulty from which the
Methodist Church was suffering at the moment. It
had previously been decided to establish a con-
nexional college, and a suitable building had been
obtained on an excellent site on the Parra-
matta River, about twelve miles from Sydney.
Further, the Conference appointed the Rev. J. A.
27
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
Manton, a saintly and scholarly man, as the Presi-
dent, but there was no head master available.
Application had been made to England on the
matter, but communications were so slow that there
was still a gap when Mr. Moulton arrived. As he
had all the requisite qualifications he was appointed
to the post, pending further developments. So to
Newington College he went, and we read in his diary
the laconic entry, ' Went to Newington College and
commenced that institution July 1863.' It is inter-
esting to note that less than a dozen years later
his brother William went to Cambridge and com-
menced that institution known as The Leys School,
which has so much in common with Newington.
Though under the Methodist Conference, both schools
have opened their door to boys of other communions ;
and this fact has unquestionably borne happy fruit in
wider co-operation in the world outside.
The testimony of those who were trained under
him points to a genius for making study interesting,
which is reminiscent of his father's earlier days. We
do not hear of any Australian boy so exemplary in
character as rather to prefer to work sums with Mr.
Moulton than to play games, but we do learn that his
methods were so efficient that an inspector, who
visited the school only a few months after Mr.
Moulton commenced his work, placed on record his
verdict that the boys had learned more in six months
there than boys in ordinary schools learned in two
years. One secret of his success undoubtedly was his
capacity to identify himself with the boys in all their
pursuits. During school hours he insisted upon
earnest hard work, but as soon as the hands of
the clock pointed to play-time he would pick up
the smallest boy, join in the rush to the play-
28
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
ground, and, in spite of his self-imposed handicap,
strive for the coveted honour of reaching it first.
This energy both in play and in work exercised a
powerful influence over his boys, and constituted a
standing appeal to them for strenuousness and
earnestness of endeavour; while in the social circle
and at the supper-table his gifts for music and for
conversation made him a welcome member of any
group, whether of boys or adults.
One episode of the Newington period deserves
mention in detail because of one self-revealing
characteristic. It was at this time that he had one
of his narrow escapes from drowning. His own
record is as follows: 'October 8, 1863. Delivered
this day, by the mercy of God, through the instru-
mentality of Andrew Howison and Robert McKeown,
from death by drowning at Haslam's Creek. Sank
twice, one of the boys says three times. Was kept
by God in perfect peace. Presence of mind the
whole time. Hallelujah ! ' The following letter, by
one concerned, sets out the whole story, and brings
to the front an interesting psychological phenomenon.
The writer was the Rev. R. McKeown, Rector of
St. Mary's, Waverley.
WAVERLEY,
October 14, 1911.
I am 'glad that something is to be done for
the memory of Dr. Moulton. It is worth perpetuat-
ing. ... It is very good of you to speak so
kindly of my performance at Haslam's Creek, but
really the ' heroic ' was elsewhere. I made a dash
for Mr. Moulton when I saw him sink.
He seized me first, and we sank together several
times. He said afterwards that he felt he was
29 C
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
drowning me, and he let me go. I swam ashore
and Howison tackled the job, with the same results.
Then three of us joined hands in a life line and
got both ashore. You will understand that we
were now on the wrong side of the Creek and
hadn't even a costume. Howison was exhausted,
so I took him on my back, and offered to do
the same for Mr. Moulton. But, notwithstanding
all he had been through he insisted on making
another effort to swim if I could fasten a rope
round him and go ahead. The rope saved disaster.
The heroism, as you will see, was with the
master and with Howison. The one thing fixed
in my mind when struggling in the water was
that a drowning man never lets go, and that I
was doomed. My surprise was great when I found
myself free, and my admiration greater when I
knew how the liberation had come.
We cannot pass from Newington College without
a reference to his influence upon the Divinity students,
for the Newington of that day was not only a public
school but it had its recognized place in the training
of candidates for the Methodist ministry. The in-
fluence which was potent with the schoolboy in the
things of the secular curriculum became more potent
still when he was face to face with the eternal
truths of the gospel; and he loved to use his
remarkable voice and his equally remarkable memory
in unfolding to students the richness of our inheri-
tance in Christian song. It goes without saying that
such a tutor was singularly approachable, and that
budding scholars and inexperienced preachers always
found him ready to talk about their work, and help
them in their perplexities.
3.0
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
This manysided ministry counted for all the more
because, although in theory he was only head master
of the school, he was in fact president of the College
as well. The Rev. J. A. Manton, the president, was,
as has been noted already, the type of a perfect
English gentleman, and was both a saint and a
scholar. But he was far from robust, and after a
few months of happy co-operation, during which a
strong bond of affection was formed between the
man of ripe experience and the youthful enthusiast,
Mr. Moulton found himself in sole command on
Mr. Manton's death in September, 1864. But he was
ably seconded by his colleague, Mr. Johnstone, and
Mrs Manton, with her choice and wholesome spirit,
was an asset so long as she remained at Newington.
The result was unqualified success for the school. The
numbers so rapidly increased that the limit of ac-
commodation for boarders was rapidly reached, and
there were fifty applications for the first vacancy.
The educational standard was high, as is shown by
the report of the inspector already quoted; the
moral tone was very good; and indeed the success
was so conspicuous that earnest efforts were made to
keep him in the colony. But he was a missionary
to his finger-tips, and nothing could turn him from
his determination to go to the mission field as soon
as conditions were favourable.
One condition became favourable very shortly, to
the joy of Mr. Moulton and another! When he
had landed in Sydney the previous year the fact
of his being unmarried had been a difficulty in the
way of his proceeding to the Fijian Islands, and
thus a factor in his being diverted to Newington.
Reference has already been made to his engage-
ment to Miss Knight of Newark; and no more
31
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
need be said than that time and distance had left
their mutual regard unaltered, and in the latter part
of 1864 she sailed on the La Hague for Sydney.
It was hard of course for her to leave home under
any circumstances : it was harder and more bitter
to find herself in Sydney looking in vain to find
the one face she sought! What happened exactly
no one knows, except that some one had blundered,
and that while Miss Knight was eating her heart
out in the harbour, Mr. Moulton was waiting in
breathless excitement for the message telling him
of the expected arrival of the ship a message that
never came until after its arrival. But a kind
friend, the Rev. R. Sellers, came on board and was
the first to welcome her. He took her on shore,
and placed her under the care of Mrs. J. Cowlishaw,
at whose house she spent her first night in Sydney.
On December 23 they were married in Wesley
Church, Melbourne, by the Rev. John Eggleston,
the uncle of both the bride and the bridegroom.
They returned to Sydney to await, as they thought,
their definite appointment to Fiji at the next Con-
ference. It must not be thought that leaving Newing-
ton College was a light task to Mr. Moulton. He
loved the work, and there was no doubt whatever
as to his success in that field. From a worldly,
social point of view the post was, moreover, a most
desirable one; and it is a high tribute to their
character that these two young people chose to
go forth to all the privations and perils of pioneer
work among island peoples when they might have
done useful service for their church under condi-
tions so much more congenial.
But Fiji was not to be his destination, any more
than China, for which he had originally been put
32
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
down. Amid the delicate and perplexing operations
of ' stationing ' a letter reached the President begging
that the Conference would send Mr. Moulton to
Tonga for the purpose of setting up an educational
establishment there, ' for the young chiefs of my
land.' The request bore the seal and signature of
King George Tubou of Tonga; and the directness of
the document lay in the fact of the specified name
of the choice.
King George had, ten years previously, realized
that ignorance was the most direct clog to a nation's
progress, and with pathetic insistence he had applied
Hosea's words, ' My people are destroyed for lack
of knowledge.' One of the European missionaries
resident there at the time must have heard of the
young Newington head master and his work, and
have suggested his name to the intelligent monarch.
When the matter was placed before Conference it
was unanimously decided to accede to the request;
and on the final draft of the Stations there appeared
the entry : ' Tonga : James Egan Moulton.' Turning
his back on Fiji, and burying for ever the manu-
script of that Fijian sermon, so carefully prepared
on his way out, Mr. Moulton and his wife embarked
in the Ocean on May 2, 1865, for that very group
of islands where the monarch was the ' King George
of Tonga' whom he had taken for his theme years
before as a young man speaking at a Castle Doning-
ton missionary meeting. Strange coincidence ! But
after all, was it a coincidence ? Probably not, although
there was no conscious association between the two,
so far as Mr. Moulton was concerned.
The voyage was a very protracted and dangerous
one. When nearing Tonga the vessel was caught
in a terrific storm which seemed to threaten the
33
EARLY LIFE AND PREPARATION
existence of the craft and its passengers. Eventually
they cast anchor in Nukualofa Harbour on the
thirtieth of May. It was with great relief that they
heard the grating of the keel of the ship's boat
on the sandy beach, but the unconventional method
by which his young bride was transferred to the shore
in the arms of a dusky native was somewhat dis-
concerting to the young husband. They found a
very warm reception waiting for them, led by the
Rev. J. Whewell, and their hearts were filled with
thankfulness for preserving mercies, and joyous antici-
pation of useful service.
34
CHAPTER II
THE LAND AND PEOPLE
BURIED away in the Pacific Ocean, far from the
ken of civilized man, a mere cluster of tiny
specks, standing between 18 deg. and 23 deg. south
latitude, and 173 deg. and 176 deg. west longitude,
lies a group of islands marked on the map as the
Friendly Islands, but now more generally known as
Tonga, from the largest. In them are contained
more than a hundred and fifty islands, of which
fifteen rise to a considerable height, thirty-five are
moderately elevated, and the remainder low. There
are three principal groups Tonga or Tongatabu,
with its elevated, picturesque and fertile adjunct, Eua,
situated to the South; Ha'abai, an archipelago of
islands, of which Lifuka is the centre and capital;
and Ha'afuluhao (better known as Vava'u, from its
largest island) in the north. Taking a direct line
from Eua to Vava'u, the group proper covers a
distance of, probably, no more than 200 miles, and
contains but about 200 square miles of land. There
are two other small, but very interesting, islands
lying outside this area; Niua Fo'ou (Boscawen), the
asylum of the dreaded Tongan Vikings, and Niua
Tobutabu (Keppel's), with its mystical fish, whose
very rare appearance, if seen by the human eye, was
the harbinger of good both in a northerly direc-
tion, more or less; while Pylstaart Island limits the
extent of the Tongan Kingdom to the south.
Generally speaking the character of the land of
35
THE LAND AND PEOPLE
this group is not atollic, but owes its existence to
subsidence causes. Not far away to the south of
Tongatabu the H.M.S. Penguin, the surveying ship,
discovered in 1898 the deepest ocean-depth then
known. 1 It is interesting also to observe that, on
the western fringe of this group, runs a chain of one
of the greatest volcanic ranges in the world. Its soil
is most prolific and every tropical fruit has its true
home here. Its climate, however, though superior
to any other of the islands of the Pacific, is humid
and enervating, and especially trying between the
months of December and March, the hurricane season.
But unlike the majority of other islands in these
seas, it is absolutely immune from the ravages of
malaria. From April and on to September, fanned
by the pleasing trade-winds, life is very enjoyable in
this respect, and particularly so in Tongatabu. A
passing visitor cannot but be struck with the luxuriant
growth, the exquisite variety and blaze of colour
of trees and flowering shrubs, the graceful wave of
the abounding and beneficent cocoanut palm, to-
gether with the glittering sheen of the sea, the blue of
the cloudless sky, the never-ending line of the white
stretches of sand fringing the shores and, at low tide,
foamed-tossed reefs.
And the people that looked with inquisitive eye
upon their new missionary? Well-made, strongly
built, some tall of stature but mostly of full medium
height, pleasing in form and feature, light of heart
with, apparently, few cares to distress; both men and
women showing a dignified gait and carriage and
a quiet courtesy of manner when accosted. How
unlike all this to the idea in vogue of a cannibal
people and heathen nation 1 And the thought upper-
1 Since then Japanese waters have won this distinction.
36
THE LAND AND PEOPLE
most in the mind must at once be, ' Whence this
people, with such marked characteristics of their
own?'
For how long the Tongan had been in possession
of his home in the Pacific before his emergence from
obscurity it is impossible to conjecture. The first
notice of his existence appears in an entry in the
journal of that famous explorer, Abel Tasman, who
touched at Tongatabu in 1643. He saw there, it
seems, no weapons of warfare; so, apparently, the
people lived in comparative peace with each other
and had not as yet caught the infection of cruelty
and bloodshed which afterwards characterized them
and for which their association with the Fijians
at a later period is held responsible. But earlier
than even Tasman it appears that Schouten and
Lemaire, with their high-pooped Dutch ships, an-
chored off Niua Tobutabu (Keppels) and repulsed
an attack made upon them by the natives. A hundred
and twenty-four years after Tasman, in 1767, Wallis
also touched, but only for one day, at the same
island. But these navigators do not seem to have
done more than pay a passing visit.
The credit, therefore, for having first obtained any
adequate knowledge of these islands and people must
rest with Captain Cook, who in 1773 brought up at
the western end of the main island, at Hihifo, and
anchored in what was afterwards known as Maria
Bay. He is responsible for the name of the whole
group, The Friendly Islands, in the very choice of
which this wary and intrepid navigator only showed
himself the prey of a misguided judgement. It is
well known how that, behind all their simulated show
of friendliness, they had even then formed a plot to
club him. In 1777 he paid a second visit; and the
37.
THE LAND AND PEOPLE
survey work that he did, and the comparatively
accurate soundings that he took and recorded, are a
marvel to all, considering the naturally imperfect
character of the instruments at his disposal at that
early age, and constitute a crowning proof of his
ability.
But the ultimate results of his first visit had a
much higher issue than that for which his exploration
was planned. We are told that the primary purpose
of Cook's first embarkation from England was in the
interests of science to view the approaching transit
of Venus at Tahiti under more favourable condi--
tions than the atmosphere of the homeland afforded.
In the providence of God like the search for the
lost asses of Kish it was made the medium of the
greatest of spiritual results. It subsequently led to
the outpouring of the gospel rays upon the darkness
of that island and the Christianization of the whole
of the peoples inhabiting the group. But we are
anticipating. Let us ask again, ' Whence came they '
and ' where was their original habitat ? '
The question is more .easily asked than answered,
for the solution is wrapped in mystery. Ethnologi-
cally, it is stated, there is a wide difference between
the Fijian and the Tongan. The former belong to
the great Melanesian family. The latter, some have
insisted, should be regarded as Malayan and, while,
without doubt, there is the sprinkling of that race
in the Tongan feature and cast, yet such a classi-
fication does not meet with the approval of the
expert; and hence for want of a better, they have
been termed Polynesians. On the other hand some
have earmarked them with the title of Malayo-Foly-
nesians. The latest and it certainly can lay claim
to ingenuity with a fair degree of justice is that of
38
THE LAND AND PEOPLE
Sawaiori (SAmoa, HAwaii, MaORI) a delineation,
coined for the purpose, combining a syllable from
each of the outstanding peoples.
As regards the peopling of Tonga, there seems
no reason to doubt that their previous resting-place,
immediately prior to their present abode, was Samoa.
The same may be, most probably, said of the Maoris
of New Zealand, who may well have drifted there
from Savai'i (Samoa). The Samoans, Tongans, and
Maoris are brothers and sisters; on that there seems
to be a consensus of opinion. Their language is very
closely allied and, in other respects, there is a
considerable similarity. The very name, Tonga,
means ' south ' ; and it does not require a very
vivid imagination to draw the conclusion that the
name was given with reference to the direction taken
from the land they had last left Samoa. Ha'abai,
the central group of islands, is only another form of
Savai'i.
But even what has been said does not solve,
absolutely, the question of their origin. It is gener-
ally acknowledged that in the past they have been
great travellers. And the seafaring propensity still
strongly characterizes them. They have, in the course
of many tenturies, journeyed far, and the com-
paratively close proximity of the islands down along
the Malay Archipelago would render a journey of
considerable magnitude not impracticable.
But as to their original home ? In the writings
of some of the earlier missionaries to Tonga, Mr.
West in particular, we read that the resemblances of
many of the Tongans to the Hebrew people in
features, customs, and practices has left its impres-
sion on their minds. The rite of circumcision (still
in vogue, by the way), and of the tabu; the offering
39
THE LAND AND PEOPLE
of the first-fruits; the institution of the priesthood;
the division of the year into months, even the inter-
calary month being noticed with its distinct position
and name recognized these and others, perhaps,
that could be mentioned seemed to suggest a pristine
connexion with the Hebrew race. To this it might
have been added that the Tongans have traditions
of the Flood; Maui, one of the gods worshipped, is
identical with Noah and one of the Tangaloa family,
a mythical hero, is identifiable with Tubal Cain,
for he is the great blacksmith. Whence could they
have obtained such ideas and preserved such records ?
They had no written language, and all history had
to be handed down by word of mouth. It seems
feasible enough to suppose that the ancestry of the
long past had continuously handed down the tradi-
tions that they sacredly guarded.
When, moreover, the Bible was being translated a
second time, the translator confined himself to the
Hebrew original as the basis of his operations. In
the process he was struck, from time to time, with
the fact that the Hebrew original and the Tongan
equivalent were almost identical. That his view
was correct was openly acknowledged by one well
fitted to judge, when the matter was referred to him
in England, with the further admission that the
Tongan possibly was the older form. This seemed
to point to the fact that the Tongan was originally
of Hebrew extraction, astounding as that statement
may appear: for there is scarcely any stronger
argument than language with which to determine
the racial connexions. The discovery seemed to
corroborate the impression long formed by the trans-
lator in question that the Tongans originally came
from somewhere in the south of Arabia.
4
THE LAND AND PEOPLE
The religion of the Tongans, as it existed when
first known to the civilized world, ' incorporated no
abstract principles of belief. It was rather a system
of despotism, in which deities, ceremonies, and
restrictions, had been indefinitely multiplied, till it
presented a chaos of dark superstition, into which
the population plunged headlong through slavish fear
and ignorance. . . . No spirit of benevolence per-
vaded the system. It abounded in punishments for
the present life and in dark threatenings for the
future. Bulotu, the Tongan Paradise, was reserved
only for the spirits of the departed chiefs and per-
sons of rank, who became, in turn, the servants of
the presiding genius of Bulotu. ... Of the fate
of the poor tu'a (commoner) there was no certainty.
. . . Savage rites, and deities who delighted in mis-
chief and blood; a cruel and rapacious priesthood;
a despotic and oppressive government; inhuman
faiths and absurd superstitions under these the
people were held in abject bondage.' 1
We cannot here describe in detail the early state
and condition of the Tongan people prior to the
coming of the gospel, or of the work done by the
brave and heroic band of pioneers, who were made
noble instruments in God's hands for this work
resulting in the pulling down of the strongholds of
Satan in these islands. Suffice it to say that a
faithful band of missionaries laboured from 1822
to 1865, amid countless difficulties and dangers, and
experienced the truth of the apostle's insistent declara-
tion that the gospel was ' the power of God unto
salvation.' The list of their names is a lengthy
one, reaching from that of Walter Lawry and
John Thomas to the subject of our sketch, and
1 West's Polynesia, p. 255, 256.
41
THE LAND AND PEOPLE
they form inseparable links in a noble chain of
heroic deeds.
It was as a result of their earnest and successful
efforts that when Mr. Moulton arrived in these islands
he found all traces of heathenism practically gone,
and \he men that were once ' possessed with the
demons,' were dwelling at peace, worshipping the
God of Heaven, with the conscious knowledge of
Christ as their Saviour, and holding the full assurance
of a life beyond the grave.
The land was endowed with prolific resources,
growing freely all tropical fruits and foods. The
cocoanut palm gave a prodigal supply, as did the
yam, the staple food of the country, while bananas
and kumalas (sweet potatoes) were easily and quickly
produced. The people were happy and contented
without the urgent demands or corroding cares of
the more civilized world: and nature met generously
all claims incidental to their native wants. The
week had its round of common tasks; for the
plantations called for physical labour, vigorous and
unrelenting until the yam-seed was planted, and then
there were the other pursuits such as house or canoe-
building or fishing which claimed their attention.
Then Saturday came with its call for providing food
for the Sabbath hence its Tongan cognomen of
tokonaki or ' preparation ' : so that Sunday, now the
Day of Rest, found them diligent in their obedience
to the call of the native drum for worship in the
House of God. Such were the conditions of the
people to whom Mr. Moulton came, happy in their
free and easy communal life in a land that God had
made for them bountiful in the extreme.
But in the very generosity of such an en-
vironment there is ever to be found a subtle
42
THE LAND AND PEOPLE *
menace to the spirit of a newly-born race. The
bias of human nature is not easily destroyed, and
although they had practically emerged from the
darkness of heathenism there was much to be done
before they could be regarded as established in
their higher standard of living. The ' infant period '
for such an island people is not to be reckoned as
a matter of a few brief years : and it is the refusal
to take cognizance of this fact that has led so many
to hurl their ill-informed criticisms against the work
of the missionaries and write them down at once as
dismal failures. The keen sighted ruler, King George
of Tonga, intelligent far beyond his age, grasped this
central truth, and it led, as we have stated, to his
urgent request for Mr. Moulton to take up the task
of supplying the much-needed want the intellectual
uplift of his people upon the spiritual basis laid.
Education of a very elementary nature had been,
it is true, initiated in the past, but, useful and necessary
though it was, it was felt to be scarcely adequate for
raising the intellectual power of a nation. It had
served its day. The time had come for a higher
standard, and the man had arrived who was to
make the experiment.
43
CHAPTER III
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
RISE, GROWTH, AND CURRICULUM
SUCH, then, was the state of these islands of the
'fronded palm/ when James Egan Moulton
and his young bride arrived on May 30, 1865, after
the stormy voyage narrated. The people were ripe
for intellectual advance and they provided a specially
interesting field for the experiment of the mental
development of an island-people on the evangelistic
basis formed.
The race upon which such a trial was to be
made proved itself to be worthy of the attempt,
though the materials were, at this early period, truly
raw and uncertain. It was virgin soil, however,
which has at once its advantages. It has been
shown that the mental capacity was equal to, if
not in advance of, the best of the other South Sea
Islanders : and certainly the field was distinctly
promising. Still, it was only in its embryonic state
and much depended upon the teacher himself and
his method.
To the educational enthusiast no more highly
interesting problem could be presented than that
of adapting European educational methods to meet
the needs of the Pacific islander, and few more
difficult. But the young missionary was not deterred
by the inevitable difficulties of the situation, and he
faced it with his natural courage and resourcefulness.
To teach in a foreign tongue, after the first step
of acquiring the language itself has been achieved,
44
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
there still remain great difficulties in the impart-
ing of instruction. The foreign atmosphere of
thought and ideas is so totally different that, while
one may easily undertake to make oneself under-
stood in common parlance, it is quite a different
matter to be able to think as they would think and
to explain as they would explain.
To the language then first, as the only possible
stepping-stone, Mr. Moulton applied himself with
characteristic zeal. The first Sunday, we are told,
he read the hymns and lessons. In three months he
preached his first sermon. This is index enough
of his capacity to learn a new language. The
tenacity of his memory in this department came as a
great boon to him, and he added to this by employing
a native instructor, so that the correct pronunciation
was at once readily acquired. Immediate difficulties
could be easily remedied by ready application to the
Rev. J. Whewell, who had first welcomed him to the
work, and in whose hospitable home he and Mrs.
Moulton lived for some time until a new house
was built, and built to a great extent by himself,
for carpenters were few and far between in those days
of pioneering mission life. The house was after the
Tongan model a long conical roof of thatch
supported on huge pillars with base buried a few feet
in the ground. The rest was European with its
weather-boarded sides, joists and flooring-boards : and
this part he carried through with his own hand. The
house was soon completed, a building that stood the
strain and stress of storm and hurricane for about
thirteen years, and finally was wrecked by one of those
unfriendly ' blows ' with which mission life is so
well acquainted. That it was severely tried a few
years before it died this unnatural death, the writer
45 D
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
has a very distinct reminiscence, when the whole
family and what goods were necessary were rapidly
transferred, one dark night when the hurricane was
at its height, to a small one-roomed European ,
structure in the College grounds, because the percep-
tible movement of the great pillars, on which the
whole roof rested, made such a hurried exit
imperative. But for twelve years at least before its
inmates left it empty to proceed to England, it was
the happiest of homes and saw the rapid rise and
extraordinary progress of the evolution of the College,
in whose grounds it stood.
As the forty years' commemoration of Tubou
College was celebrated in 1906, the actual inauguration
of the Institution may be said to date from the year
1866. The month was February. Its commencement
was small. David Tonga, well-known throughout the
Australian Commonwealth as a deputation with his
wife Rachel, was the first ' boy ' on the roll. He
with a few others formed the nucleus. Of these few,
one, though much behind in mental calibre, was, after
a time, utilized as a Tutor so that David might have
the benefit of additional instruction, the master
realizing at a glance that such a step would fully
repay him at a later date. Even at the outset, it
was to him that difficulties of diction, &c., were
referred. The idea would be explained at length, and
the quick intellect of the pupil would speedily grasp
the meaning, and, as quickly, would provide the
correct Tongan equivalent. Thus by slow degrees,
after this line-upon-line method, the transition from a
civilized mode of thought would be effected : but it
can easily be realized that even these small beginnings
were only attained by ceaseless and patient application
on the part of the teacher.
46
FRONT VIEW OF TUBOU COLLEGE.
INTERIOR OF TUBOU COLLEGE
RISE, GROWTH, AND CURRICULUM
From the very first it 1st evident that the
purposes of Mr. Moulton aimed at a very high ideal.
This finds illustration in the very title that he was
led to give to the Educational Institution, of which
he was the founder and moving power. Hitherto the
modest and common name of Training Institution or
Preparatory School had been in vogue, in which young
men were engaged in preparing themselves for ser-
vice in the Church, in some form or other. The!
early missionaries had invariably established schools,
as had been stated, but the standard at which they
aimed was naturally of a more elementary nature.
This was to be no more nor less than a College, a
word unknown to this island-race at the time and that
needed a full explanatory notice in the pages of the
early magazine which was identified with the estab-
lishment itself. Church and State, in their many
divergent channels of departmental usefulness, were
to centre their hopes and expectations upon it. From
it the Church would draw its supply of ministers,
stewards, officials, and teachers, both for day and Sab-
bath schools ; while from it also the Government would
seek its clerks, magistrates, and other officials. These
aspirations might seem inordinately presumptuous in
the days of small things; but, as he said to a
veteran missionary who sought to turn him aside,
' he would have these or none.'
Although, from all accounts, the schools in the
early days of Tongan mission history seem to have
enjoyed a fairly long life, yet for some years before
Mr. Moulton's arrival, such had been their uncer-
tain fate that their existence for the space of six
months and no longer had almost passed into a bye-
word. When, therefore, it was heralded forth to the
Tongan world that a College was to be started,
47
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
sarcasm was at once rife, when the wiseacres, with
would-be prophetic insight, would curtly say, ' I sup-
pose it will be a matter of six months only in this
case also.'
It was a subject for congratulation that, from the
very outset, the king gave his whole-hearted support
to the full scheme; for without that support it would
have had a hard task to survive the opposition which
came from the benighted, in mind and nature.
While there were no poor people in these lovely
islands, there was a distinct margin of difference
between the chief and the commoner. So long as
they remained in their own sphere of life, there
would be no difficulty, for the status of each would
be duly recognized. But it was otherwise when
each chose to enter the new educational establishment.
Outside there was one law for the commoner and
another for the chief. Such a system of partiality,
however, would be fatal to the discipline of school
regulations, which can know no such invidious dis-
tinction. New scholars poured in, and as these were
mostly from the lower ranks of the people, the diffi-
culty of status was not fully realized at first.
But one day it came to the ears of Mr. Moulton that
the king's grandson was expected soon to enter the
College, and the seriousness of the question at once
came home to him. He waited on His Majesty, told
him of the report that he had heard, and asked him
if it were true. It was. ' Well, Tubou, I want it
to be clearly understood at the outset that we have
only one set of rules in the college for all alike,
chief or commoner; if Wellington decides to enter,
he must be prepared to abide by its regulations,
despite his rank.' 'Certainly, Mr. Moulton,' was
the reply. And the grandson entered in due course.
48
RISE, GROWTH, AND CURRICULUM
That the king was true to his promise was
revealed a little later, when, in accordance with the
distribution of work, the chief in question was sent to
the head master's residence as kitchen boy for the
week. By some mischance, he burnt his finger.
Soon the outside world heard, with great consterna-
tion, of the tragic disaster! The king's attendants
came in haste to inform him of the fact, and his
deep interest in their story apparently put them of!
their guard, for they were led to pour forth at length
their hot displeasure at such menial work being
imposed upon their favourite. The indignity of it!
The king listened for some time, and when they
had finished he made them to understand very clearly
what he thought of their obsequious flattery, and
they went away in a chastened frame of mind. This
settled at a stroke, once and for all, a vital question of
College jurisprudence, and saved it from what might
have been a serious cause of weakness, had the deci-
sion been less drastic.
Work such as this constituted a gigantic task for
one who 'had scarcely been a year on the new
mission field. Among other things there was the
creation of school literature. With a few excep-
tions all the textbooks had to be written as time
permitted, after school lessons were finished. It is
during the engrossing work of this period that we
come across urgent entreaties from the mission
authorities in Sydney for him ' to take things more
easily.' And the caution seems to have been needed.
The mental capacity of the Tongans is remarkably
strong, as is generally admitted. It was soon dis-
covered that they had a decided aptitude for mathe-
matics and history. Their powers of memory were,
by their customary training, remarkable. From the
49
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
very first, mental arithmetic occupied a prominent
place in the school curriculum, and those that have
been present at some of the speech days will bear
testimony to the truth of the assertion that, in this
department, they have shown themselves wonderfully
proficient.
The capacity for languages was found to be
decidedly weak. Latin and French were attempted
in the early days, but soon discontinued, as it was
plainly evident that to expect success in these subjects
was to court disaster. English is still taught, but
we cannot speak with confidence of results being as
satisfactory as could be desired.
How varied was the course of study may be shown
by quoting from the ' Second Annual Report.' After
chronicling that there had been ' thirteen students
entering upon their third year of residence; that five
had distinguished themselves and had been placed in
the Graduate Class, one acting as assistant tutor,' it
goes on to say, ' The subjects for the examination
next June are, Euclid (ist and 2nd books); Algebra
(to simple equations); Arithmetic (to vulgar fractions
and decimals); Mensuration (surfaces and solids);
Histories of the ancient monarchies (Egypt, Assyria,
Babylon), with outlines of the history of England
and France; Religious knowledge (the Life of Christ,
history of the Hebrew monarchy; and Evidences of
Christianity); also papers on Geography, Grammar,
Chemistry and Astronomy.'
The organization of the college grew slowly and
naturally out of the necessities of the case. The
observant eye would readily single out the sharper
and more apt pupils under his charge, and these
would be more speedily advanced to higher classes
than those less intellectually gifted. So that from
50
RISE, GROWTH, AND CURRICULUM
the single class with which they commenced, the
college came to be divided into four separate divi-
sions or forms the Lower (Koliji Mui), the Middle
(Koliji Loto), the Examination Class (Kalasi 'Ahi'ahi),
and the Graduate Class (Kau Matematika). The
last-named, as the crux of the whole of the scholastic
life of the college, needs more than a passing notice.
When the raw student entered the door at the end
of the Large Hall, that class was the object of his
ambition. The glory attached to its attainment fed the
flame of his mental enthusiasm during the three
years of his school career. It was the corrective to
idleness and the inspiration of every department of
his work. The title itself is a Tonganized form of
our English word mathematics and was chosen by
tha originator as an appropriate one from the fact
that, in the examination which was held, and which,
if successfully passed, entitled the candidate to the
distinction distantly analogous to a university degree,
special emphasis was laid on the subjects belonging
to that department of knowledge, viz. Euclid, Algebra,
and Arithmetic. But besides these, they were required
to have manipulated satisfactorily two papers in
History, and three in Geography (Europe, Oceanica,
and physical geography). Fifty per cent, constituted
a pass. The class subjected to this test was what
was called the Examination Class. The successful
student was thereby privileged to wear a trencher,
and to have his name recorded in gilt letters on
the historic roll on the panelling to the left of the
dais (that to the right being restricted to the list
of captains), for which he was required to pay a
stated sum. He had the sole right, with the tutors,
of entry by the side door of the College, and from
his ranks were chosen the prefects, a most valuable
51
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
element, as we shall see later, in the successful
management of the institution.
The baneful system of ' cramming/ unfortunately
so prevalent of recent years, was obviated by the fact
that there was no higher power to frame a curriculum
which seemed to make it a necessity. 'Removes,'
generally speaking, were only possible and requisite
after a scholastic year, but there was no embargo
on promotion before that period where it was
warranted by exceptional ability. A unique example
of such an exception did occur in the case
of a more than brilliant boy, Filimone Tu'itubou,
who in a single year took the whole three-years'
course. But it is the only instance of its kind in
the annals of the College from its inception to the
present time.
By the adoption of such a curriculum any student
who had reached a ' Matematika ' status was one
who might truly be said to have received a good
all-round education. According to the rules laid down
by the principal, when a lad had succeeded in passing
the examination referred to, he was allowed the
privilege of an additional year's education, which
was carried on in the class into which he was entitled
to enter. After that extension of time had lapsed, he
was called upon to give his farewell address and to
leave the institution. Present as the writer has been
at many of these, in later years more especially, he
can witness to the deep emotion with which these
students severed their connexion with the College.
More often than not, however, the departing student
would already have received an appointment to take
charge of a government school or become a steward
in the church of some village in the country. In
some instances, he would be directly requisitioned
' 52
RISE, GROWTH, AND CURRICULUM
by the government as a scribe or clerk all of which
appointments were highly coveted, and moreover were
a proof that the institution was serving its purpose
both in Church and State.
An interesting and characteristic chapter in the
history of Mr. Moulton's early work at the College
is that which is concerned with the setting up of
the printing-press. Somehow or other every vestige of
the books printed by the missionaries thirty years
before had vanished, as had the printing-plant, arid
he failed in all his attempts to induce the authorities
at Sydney to meet for him what they considered
to be an unnecessary outlay. But his enthusiasm
eventually surmounted every difficulty. He was for-
tunate in getting hold of an old printing-press and
a quantity of type that was in a state of ' pie.' He
had all the varieties carefully sorted and placed in
their cases in which laborious work he was much
aided by the temper and disposition of the Tongan.
He set himself then to learn the technique of printing
the manipulation of the ' stick,' the discovery of
the due proportions of the ingredients for printers'
ink, and a score of other things absolutely new to
him. At last his ingenuity and his perseverance
conquered : the printing-press was in full swing, and
schoolbooks poured out in streams. The compositors
found it hard to keep pace with the supply from
the study table; and while the missionary was hard
at work translating the printer would come to and
fro bringing proofs for correction, and taking back
again new material to be set up.
It was only to be expected that the strongly-marked
musical tastes and aptitudes of Mr. Moulton should
find expression in his work at the College; and many
visitors from the outside world were amazed at the
53
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
results which he obtained in this field, for he who
had gone out to the islands when the population was
' perishing for lack of knowledge ' had the joy of
conducting the Messiah with a native chorus before
he left. The story of his efforts has a somewhat
unique interest, from several points of view. When he
decided to make chorus-singing an integral part of
the College curriculum he naturally fixed upon the
Tonic Sol-fa as the best medium to use, and he
wrote out a tune in that notation. A choir practice
was held, and the tune was duly operated upon: but
it was not a success, to say the very least of it.
The half-hearted attempts to learn the tune, and
the abashed manner in which they hung their heads
convinced him that something was wrong, and he
was thankful when it came to an end. Calling to
him David Tonga, who was his right-hand man for
everything in those early days, he asked what was
wrong. ' Oh, Mr. Moulton,' was the reply, ' that will
never do: it contains all the swear- words in our
language ! ' That was final ; and a new method had
to be invented to meet the case. The details of the
system would take too much space if they were set
forth here in full; suffice it to say that it centred
in the sequence of Tongan numerals from three to
nine inclusive, with the incorporation of the bar-lines,
colons, semi-colons, hyphens, &c., which are familiar
enough to all Sol-fa singers. The whole plan is an
interesting illustration of Mr. Moulton's extraordinary
ability in adapting the methods and principles of
western education to the requirements of an island
population; and it met with a great degree of
success. Works by the great masters were scored
in this new notation by the indefatigable head master,
as well as tunes, canticles, anthems, &c., for current
54
RISE, GROWTH, AND CURRICULUM
use. That this acquisition was retained after Mr.
Moulton's departure from Tonga is shown by the
fact that a few years ago the officers of a cruiser
happened to come ashore and visit the College while
one of these practices was in progress. After hearing
several well-known hymns sung they expressed a wish
to hear the method applied to some tune quite new
to the students; and the request was readily granted,
the choice being left to them. Their choice fell on
Dr. Dykes's St. Silvester ('Days and moments quickly
flying '), a tune which had never before been heard
in the islands. It was rapidly translated into Tongan
Sol-fa and written on the blackboard. The key-
note was sounded, and to the utter astonishment of
the visitors the choir sang the various parts with almost
perfect precision at the first attempt. The explana-
tion of these remarkable results is to be found in the
fact that the system is taught to all students on their
entrance into the College, and forms one of their class
subjects until they are well on in their course. But
even this would probably have failed to achieve its
purpose had it not been for the fact that the Tongan
has an aptitude for music, above the ordinary degree.
These musical developments made yet further de-
mands upon the equipment of the printing-rooms.
The new Sol-fa necessitated a special fount of type,
cast in London, and it very soon became evident that
the old ' Albion ' machine was not adequate to deal
with the new and varied output, and an up-to-date
' Wharf edale ' was installed, capable of working off
a thousand sheets per hour a phenomenon in the
Pacific Islands of that day! A College hymn-book,
tune-book, and anthem-book soon came into being,
a witness to the energy of the head master, as to the
receptivity of his flock and the indispensability of
55
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
the printing-press 1 Climatic conditions always mili-
tated against the full effectiveness of this branch
of the work; and in course of time fuller advantage
was taken of the greater facilities and better work-
manship of the English and Australian publishers.
But during the critical, formative period of the
College's growth its own printing-press played a most
important part, and did a work of inestimable value.
The same holds good of the binding of the books
for College use.
A telescope was also the treasured possession of
the College, which probably had the distinction of
installing the first observatory in the network of islands
in the Pacific. Of course it was the day of small
things, and the instrument which seemed to them
so large was actually somewhat insignificant; but it
meant much that in the early seventies, in one of the
hundreds of islands in that part of the Pacific, there
should be found at all a telescope and an enthusi-
astic teacher and an equally enthusiastic group of
native students. Eventually after contracting various
ailments and being finally disestablished by a hurri-
cane, it was sold in Sydney with a view to the
purchase of a better instrument. The present writer,
some years afterwards, found it standing outside the
Central Station at Sydney, its owner loudly insisting
upon its powers to reveal the surface of the moon,
and its extinct volcanoes. But the blase citizens of
Sydney never manifested a hundredth part of the
interest shown by the islanders as to the wonders of
the heavens.
CHAPTER IV
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
TUBOU COLLEGE SPEECH-DAY
EVERY scholastic institution has its gala days, and
Tubou College was no exception. The annual
Speech-day, moreover, had so many features of in-
terest differentiating it from similar occasions in
England that it will be worth while to give it special
prominence, in that it sheds much light upon the
conditions under which educational work was carried
on, and the mentality of the people. It was the
climax of the scholastic work of the year, and was
marked by the distribution of rewards and honours
of various kinds ; but it was also an event of national
importance. The king presided, and the parliament sus-
pended its session in order that the members might
be present. How much more so would the parents
and relatives of the students roll up in crowds! Let
us try to represent the scene.
Long before dawn the first move is made : and
a characteristic move it is! The whole College com-
pound is alive with bustling and hilarious students.
The ovens are piled with firewood and lit. Stones are
heaped on top. Cocoanut and banana leaves strew
the ground and are in much evidence. Quickly the
required heat is reached. The smouldering remains
are then raked out, and the hot stones, which, being
heavier, have deposited themselves below, are now
skilfully arranged in equal distribution around the
crater-like hole, which perhaps may measure from
57,
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
four to five feet in its largest diameter. On the
heated stones are placed pieces of yams of consider-
able size, Sweet potatoes, fish, and fowl adroitly
wrapped up in banana leaves and tied at the top;
whole pigs, Tongan puddings, also encased in the
banana fold, &c., &c., all are placed indiscriminately
within. Sticks are then placed crosswise over the
whole. Broad leaves then bestraddle these, over the
whole of which to keep in the heat earth or sand
is shovelled. The ' oven ' is then finished and
left(!) And no festival is complete without such
preliminaries.
The function proper commences at nine-thirty or
ten. The king and chiefs sit in state on the College
dai's, supported on either hand by those whose
privileged duty it is to accompany him on all such
occasions. The Head Master sits near: before him
the crowded hall with the College students and staff
at the further end.
A hymn sung, and a prayer offered by one of the
senior ministers, open the proceedings. The sight
is truly an inspiring one. The spectator from the
body of the hall sees on the crowded dais all the
highest personages of the nation. Behind the dai's
are the College windows, in the centre of which
stands a coloured portrait of the king himself; and,
below it, the mysterious-looking College crest the
hermit-crab with its tail in the acquired shell; while
round it, in almost a complete circle, in the form
of a scroll, runs a motto, a free translation of which
is, ' The Tongan's castle is the mind.' How the lot
fell upon this disgraced semi-parasite with its stolen
property of a home, might truly appear to be a
conundrum, but the originator of it was one who came
to be known as being of a decidedly original turn
58
TUBOU COLLEGE SPEECH-DAY
of mind ! He saw in this accommodating genius a close
analogy to the facility of the trained mind, even of a
Tongan, to accommodate itself to new conditions, and
to lay hold of and to utilize such conditions with per-
manent advantage and benefit to himself and his
country.
The morning session of the Speech-day is ever of
a formal nature. The College regalia is worn. The
special class, the ' Matematikas/ is distinguished from
the others by the wearing of the European dress,
trousers and coat and boots an enormity in very
truth, as far as the Tongan, or any other islander, is
concerned crowned by the College trencher as a
head-gear, when outside the precincts. The rest
are more comfortably dressed, in the soft shirt, the
white loin-cloth, and the blue kummerband all aiding
to set off the gracefulness of his figure and tread.
The first item in the morning's business is the
reading out of the class order. The method in
vogue in the general class-work is that of taking
of places, a method, it may be, now out of date,
but found, for all that, exceedingly effective in stimu-
lating healthy rivalry among the members of the
class. This ' Stone Age ' method has ever worked
admirably in Tubou College and suits the Tongan
character.
The lowest class is first called. In a semi-circle in
front of the dai's, and in the open space before it,
they stand, taking their school order at the commence-
ment of the academical year now just closed. Their
newly-acquired positions in the respective lessons are
then read out seriatim, which they take when
announced. Then the climax of interest is reached
when the new order, as resultant from their diligent
attention to their task throughout the year, is read.
59
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
The Head Master may sometimes ask for a rough
guess as to who had reached the honoured place of
Dux of the class. A random shot would often be
ventured, but, in any case, hearty commendation
would follow 'the announcement of the honoured
name. Thus would the names of the whole class
be called, one by one, each coming forward and
taking his appointed position. This would constitute
the new school order for the ensuing year, and rank
is not without its stimulating usefulness, even though
it be in the lowest class. This mode of procedure
characterized the ' reading of the marks ' of every
class, with the exception of the Examination Class,
whose turn, for obvious reasons, was always postponed
until last.
Such a procedure may be thought to verge some-
what on the tedious, but the weariness of such a
long-drawn-out process was never felt as an afflic-
tion by any, except perhaps members of the Euro-
pean community who chanced to be present, and to
whom much was not intelligible and for whom there-
fore there was no special interest in the proceedings.
The would-be monotony, however, was often broken
by exhibitions of mental calibre, such as the mental
arithmetic test (referred to later by Dr. Fison 1 ), by a
problem in algebra, by a proposition in Euclid pro-
pounded by the students of the highest form, by a
chemical experiment occasionally (so is it on record),
or by a trigonometrical measurement.
At last, however, the crucial moment came and the
Examination Class was called up. Taking their school
order as the other classes had done before them,
they awaited, with an anxiety of heart that was
plainly revealed in their countenances, the unknown
*P, 82.
60
TUBOU COLLEGE SPEECH-DAY
verdict. The process of reading out the positions
acquired in the various subjects throughout the year
was kindly dispensed with, the order of the aggre-
gated marks being at once announced and taken.
The stillness of expectation was intense as the Head
Master proceeded to reveal the results of the examina-
tion. The subjects taken have already been men-
tioned, so that a further repetition is no longer
necessary. Often the aggregated maxima would reach
a total of 1,200 marks and sometimes as high as
2,000 and 50 per cent, was required for a pass.
The excitement, when the names of the successful
candidates were revealed can hardly be described,
and the delirium of joy evinced by the relatives of
the student who came out at the top was most
demonstrative. A corresponding dejection was mani-
fested by those who failed, and they usually sidled
away into solitude to nurse their grief.
The writer remembers the sudden metamorphosis
of a student under this ordeal. His name was becom-
ing at every call lower down the list of successful
candidates, so that, becoming disheartened, he had
actually reached the exit door. When, however, he
heard the voice from the distant dai's proclaim the
good tidings that, after all, he had succeeded, he
gave a great bound into the air, turning right about
in the act, and, uttering a kind of a war-whoop, he
ran forward to join his fortunate fellows. The acme
of joy plays havoc sometimes with good manners, but
every one fully and freely forgave him all such per-
petrations under the peculiar circumstances.
The Head Master then presented the successful
students, one by one, to the chairman, who after
congratulating them on their success, would place
the coveted trencher the outward and visible mark
61 E
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
of distinction on the candidate's head, and the writer
has seen perhaps more than one recipient bestow an
affectionate kiss upon it.
When they had retired to their seats the chair-
man would deliver an address to the assembly, in which
he emphatically voiced his appreciation of all that
he had seen and heard, stimulating the unsuccessful
candidates with words of encouragement. Other
speakers would follow, and the proceedings would
terminate with a hymn and the Benediction.
To those who have followed the foregoing account
carefully, it will come as no surprise to learn that,
by this time, the hands of the clock would be point-
ing to half-past two. But time, on occasions like these,
is no object of immediate concern in these happy
climes, with no time-tabled trams and trains to catch
or any other important appointments to be considered.
Soon the once-crowded hall is empty. The king
and specially-privileged chiefs would then be con-
ducted to the Head Master's residence in these early
years to the Mission House in later days where they
would be his guests. We can leave them there en-
joying the meal served up in true European style.
Outside, however, there is a far different state
of affairs. The ovens have been quickly uncovered,
and baskets upon baskets of cooked food would be
brought into the College cricket-ground. The food,
when all presented, is then divided out by the master
of ceremonies. This is ever a most difficult task
considering the large concourse of people who had
gathered together from the four quarters of the
Tongan globe and who have all to be remembered.
But somehow, habit and usage come conveniently into
happy requisition and the feat is skilfully and, gener-
ally speaking, satisfactorily performed.
62
TUBOU COLLEGE SPEECH-DAY
The afternoon or what remains of it after the
meal is spent in a free-and-easy manner, generally
in a cricket match. The College students themselves,
or some of them, have important r61es to play after
dark in the entertainment for the visitors, and hence
the spare hours are utilized in putting the finishing
touches to their preparation. To this entertainment
a summons characteristically Tongan is given in due
time. It is sounded on two drums, the one a fifth
below the other, and each following a sequence of
its own, with a most curious effect. But it serves
its purpose most effectually in that it brings the
guests to the hall from the utmost parts of the
island.
The capacious hall, 120 feet long by 30 feet
broad, is packed uncomfortably. There is an air
of abandonment about every one. Plainly the form-
ality of the morning has been laid aside, and truly
the evening in every department is ' free-and-easy.'
There is a properly arranged programme, not gener-
ally in printed form, though, as an attraction to the
members of the European community, the writer
remembers having sent out (in later years than this
period touches) a batch of printed circulars coupling
with the invitation from the ' tutors of Tubou College '
(who were said ' to present their compliments ' and
to ' request the pleasure of - 's company ' at the
Miscellaneous Entertainment to be given by the
students, on such-and-such a day), with a short
heading of the various items pertaining thereto. To
be noticed among them were ' Recitations from Milton's
Paradise Lost* songs and part-songs, &c., &c.
Between 1893 and 1903 gymnastics formed a part
of the school curriculum, and hence dumb-bells, clubs,
and horizontal bar displays were introduced and were
63
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
greatly appreciated. To these at a later period were
added musical selections by the College brass band,
which enlivened the proceedings and gave a few
minutes' spell to prepare for the next important
item on the lengthy programme. The College singing
was always proverbial in the islands. Dr. Fison in his
report 1 has made appreciative reference to it. It was in
evidence in the entertainment to which we are now
referring. ' Hail, smiling morn ' (Spofforth) was a
general favourite as an opening number of the pro-
ceedings. The spectacle before the visitors' gaze must
be seen to be realized. The College regalia, as we
have said, has been thrown aside. Flowers in the
hair adorn the girls. Native cloth and beautifully-
woven mats of finest texture are in great evidence.
The Gala dress is strikingly native and, unhampered
by European enormities, the wearers move gracefully
about. Encircling the waist are seen the deftly-
plaited girdles of long fringes of pretty grass or the
heilala flower, ending in the tassle of hibiscus fibre.
A sash of similar make-up is thrown carelessly across
the shoulders. The hair is oiled and powdered with
the dust of the sweet and aromatic sandal-wood. The
girls, as an addition, place the long Tongan comb on
the back of their head, thrusting it safely and securely
in the mass of tangled hair that is their pride.
The whole assembly is orderly, attentive v and
appreciative to a degree. Dramatic excerpts from
Paradise Lost, rendered into the native tongue by
the Head Master, are always popular. Selections of
considerable length were ' played,' revealing consider-
able dramatic insight as well as an extraordinarily reten-
tive memory, and a gift for realism on the part of
those responsible for stage-management. Moreover,
'P. 79-
64
TUBOU COLLEGE SPEECH-DAY
the elocutionary powers of the students in these Milton
selections were highly commendable. Indeed it is
a well-known fact that these dark-skinned races, as
a rule, have this power in no mean degree. A
proof of this may be seen at what is known as a
Bolotu a ' Service of Song ' a meeting held on a
Sunday night to which choirs from various parts of
the country would assemble. Here, in their turn,
they would discourse music that was practically the
product of a native mind as to both words and music.
The favourite number took the form of a recitation,
rendered by the bard of the district who alone stood
up in the process. At the close of the stanzas
sometimes of a considerable length he would turn
round to his seated trained choir, who would at once
burst in with the refrain bearing on the subject
treated. Some of these choruses were highly melo-
dious, and the precision with which the various parts
were taken up affords proof that the Tongans, gener-
ally, have a just claim to be regarded as a musical
race. Interspersed also with these dramatic recitals
would be solos and choruses, to which would be
added an instrumental item on the harmonium, which
was quite a novelty in those early days (1866-1877).
Later years saw distinct progress in this department,
pianoforte solos and duets being much in evidence.
The hours of the night would, in this way, rapidly
pass, and at ten p.m. the programme would be
brought to a close. That the entertainment was a
popular one is borne out by the fact that, on a
similar occasion, some years later, a chief of Royal
blood sat through proceedings similar to those just
narrated and yet with this difference, that the free-
and-easy evening function lasted from 6.30 p.m. to
12.30 a.m.; yet, when an adjournment was made
65
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
by him to the head tutor's house to drink the
Tongan beverage, he was heard to say, ' Why did Mr.
Moulton close so soon ? ' And yet what other people
than islanders would willingly put up with
an entertainment lasting over six hours ? It was a
foolish extravagance, perhaps, but there had been a
long and varied programme preparing for some time
and various batches of students had been keenly
applying themselves to their allotted parts, and the
ruling hand the writer of this biography did not
think it fair to disappoint them after such preparation.
Such festivals were abundantly worth the effort put
into them by tutors and students, for a successful
College Festival was the theme of conversation for
many lips in many islands and homes for weeks, and,
in this way, was an effective advertisement of the
institution.
66
CHAPTER V
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
THE REGIME
THE glamour of the College-cap and its prestige,
the unconscious magical influence of the educa-
tional environment on the students as a transformer,
not only mentally but physically, was the most
powerful incentive to those who still had been inclined
to stand aloof from its advantages. The normal
College regime therefore demands more than a pass-
ing reference, and embraces much more than the
facts of the class time-table; for the class-room, how-
ever important, is not the whole college. Many a
student from this institution who has evinced only
a mediocre mental calibre, has passed into the ranks
of Church workers and has been a veritable acquisi-
tion to it. One of the most successful ministers
of the Wesleyan Church was one who never suc-
ceeded in gaining the coveted honour of Matematika.
Yet he was deservedly popular for his sterling worth
as a pastor, having patiently borne the brunt of
' being persecuted for conscience's sake,' and passed
on to his reward amid universal regret. At the
same time the above-mentioned Church is blessed
above measure by its band of noble ministers,
who, with but few exceptions, have first ' taken
their degree ' at the College before being called into
the ranks of the ministry.
Character, with brain capacity, is the coveted
inheritance of an effective Church. Tubou College
67
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
has contributed handsomely to this inheritance. Its
objective, from the very first, was to be a source of
supply to the State and the Church. Positions as
clerks in the government offices and as teachers in
the public schools were filled by its students : and so
were positions in the ministry slowly, at first, as
could only be expected, until the machinery was
in proper working order. This involves no disparage-
ment of the old order of ministers, which contained
some of the finest pastors one could wish to have,
whose spiritual fervour and fidelity to duty were
sublime. They lacked, however, the intellectual train-
ing that the new generation needed. Tubou College
supplied this deficiency, but its fullest realization could
not be seen until later years. Its perfect consumma-
tion required the slow process of growth, mental and
spiritual.
Some of the stages may be set out here in brief.
First and foremost without hesitation must be placed
the creation of the religious atmosphere into which
every student was thrust when his name was placed
on the College roll. Every collegian was enrolled in
some society-class, whether he was religiously dis-
posed or not, and this class would meet every Sunday
afternoon after service. The Lord's Day was per-
meated with worship. The day began with a prayer-
meeting at five o'clock in the College Hall, con-
current with that held in Zion Church by the local
minister and willing attendants. At nine a.m. the
students would be seen marching up to the historic
church in charge of the tutors and assistants. Here
they were the backbone of the singing, the tunes for
which they started without the help of any instrument.
The service ended, back again they would march to
their homes in the College grounds, would partake of
68
THE REGIME
their first meal, and rest until the big bell sounded
the call for their assemblage in the hall for scrip-
ture lessons, for which they had prepared. Some-
times a new hymn would form a part, or the whole,
of their obligation on this occasion. More often it
was a lesson on the ' Life of Christ ' or some por-
tion of the Old Testament prepared by the Head
Master and written out in the form of question and
answer. At three o'clock lessons ceased, and once
more they marched up Zion Hill. Immediately at
the close of the afternoon's service the whole College
would assemble in the large hall for the society-class,
which, once a quarter, was faithfully met for the
renewal of tickets. Dismissed from this, they returned
to their dwellings in the College compound, where
they partook of their second, and last, meal of the
day. Nightfall brought its further obligations, and,
if they were not again recalled to Zion for a spiritual
meeting there, the College Hall would be once again
their rendezvous, where the Head Master would hold
his Bible-reading. This, more often than not, would
be the rule. And to it would come, with great
eagerness and relish, others who did not belong to
the institution. The capacious building would be
packed to its outer door. For three-quarters of an
hour a Bible exposition would be given. Seated on
the dai's, Mr. Moulton would wait until one of the
tutors had read out the portion of scripture that bore
directly on his theme. Then he would proceed to
elucidate and unravel and unquestionably his forte
was exegesis. There seemed to be an inspiration in
the very seat itself (so he often would say), and,
repeatedly, time would seem to have lost its sway upon
him, as he poured forth the message to his rapt
listeners. Then, rising, he would proceed to the
69
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
harmonium and play a hymn-tune. The collegians
would join in taking their various parts, and the
building would soon resound with inspiring music.
A new hymn and tune would sometimes be intro-
duced, to the keen delight of the expectant audience.
An anthem, such as that referred to before, would
next be rendered or possibly a solo. The closing
rites of this instructive and interesting worship-hour
consisted in an inspiring prayer by one of the ministers
present. The threads of the discourse and its preg-
nant lessons would be interwoven with a strong
appeal for a practical recognition on the part of the
hearers. The Benediction closed what was always
felt to have been a ' good time.'
But the religious atmosphere did not end with
the Sabbath. On the Monday night at seven o'clock,
the College prayer-meeting was held. This would
last for upwards of an hour, and a similar meeting
would also be conducted on the Friday evening.
Such was the programme week by week. Occa-
sionally a devotional service of a similar kind would
be arranged on a Sunday night, when College tutors
and local preachers would give addresses. Some-
times the choice would fall on some of the students,
who had never yet occupied such a position. Full
of interest and usefulness such arrangements would be,
interpersed, as they ever were, with hearty singing.
It is not hard to conceive then, that with such
continual sowing the gospel seed would fall on good
ground and a harvest of conversion would follow:
and where such a joyous result ensued the young
life, thus newly created, would be carefully nurtured
through the agency of the Sunday class-meeting.
We do not suggest for one moment that every
student was thus made a ' new creature ' in Christ
70
THE REGIME
Jesus, but there is no doubt that the majority of
them were influenced thereby to higher things.
Then there was the important factor of the College
discipline. No institution can truly bear the name
where this important characteristic does not play a
controlling part. The unhandled colt, that all its
life up to the present has known no ruler but its
own sweet will, chafes at the hand that would strive
to subdue it to the inclination and pleasure of
another: and the analogy is suggestive when we
turn to the disposition of those who entered Tubou
College. Of all the many disadvantages from which
the Tongan youth suffers there is none more
deplorable than the absence of home training. The
discipline of the home is an unknown quantity; and
correction, when, by chance, it is brought into execu-
tion, is of a nature that is to be condemned, seeing
that it is, most commonly, the angry passion of
exasperation let loose. The punishment consequently,
though deserved, is disproportionately severe, and
therefore it tends to arouse the spirit of defiance.
The very form of address used by a child to its
parent is regrettable; for the Christian name only
is used on every occasion, instead of the endearing
term of ' father ' and ' mother,' which is unknown
in this regard. Moreover the child from infancy
gets what it wants; and out of this very indulgence
is created the germ of defiance which shows itself as
soon as, later on, it is in any way thwarted.
The difficulty with the boy grown up to young
manhood he is a taxpayer at seventeen in the
matter of discipline, needs no great exercise of the
imagination. The burden becomes accentuated when
we come to think of the more wilful temperament
of the son of a high chief thrown into an environment
71
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
where the word of one of lower rank than his own,
or even of a commoner armed with an authority to
dictate, by virtue of an academical distinction gained,
was law and must be obeyed. The position was
difficult to a degree, and called for the utmost tact.
Reference has already been made to the stand
taken by Mr. Moulton, when, in the early days of
the College, it was whispered that the king's own
grandson was soon to enter as a student. The chief
and commoner must stand on an equal footing;
both must bow inevitably to the rules and regulations
of the institution. This was pressed home at the
very outset when, as a new student, he was asked
to give the formal guarantee to strict obedience to
the same. Standing before the dai's in front of the
assembled school, he was required to give his solemn
promise by the raising of the right hand. From a
Tongan standpoint this was as binding on him as
the usual taking of an oath in the law-court. Then,
and not till then, his name was entered in the
enrolment book of the College. A book bearing his
name and academical number was then presented
to him. Obedience to the tutors and monitors was
as binding as to the principal himself.
The free and easy life of the outside world must
now be given up by the newly-enrolled student. The
sound of the drum and of the bell on a Sunday
have their concrete meaning. It may call to family
worship in the early morning or at nine at night;
or to roll-call when the names of all the students
were called by the monitor on duty, as he passed
along the raised central path on either side of which
the students resided. To such a call an adsum was
required to save the entry of the defaulter's name
in the imposition-book. It was the summons also
7.2
THE REGIME
to morning and afternoon school, to the prayer-
meeting of the Monday and Friday night, or to the
choir practice twice in the week. He might be
requisitioned for College work on the working day
(Tuesday) or be at the beck and call of the tutor
on the Thursday. He might be asked to fulfil his
week as ' kitchen boy ' ; not infrequently he might
be commandeered to take an urgent message, by
word of mouth or by letter, to any of the ministers
stationed in the outlying parts of the island, &c., &c.
Then, in planting season, when it was imperative that
the food for the ensuing year should be attended to,
the order would be given that all must be prepared
to answer to their names at a given hour at a
distant plantation. Saturday was an ' off day,' and
yet, as the Tongan name for it (Tokonaki) implies,
' preparation ' must be made for the morrow, the
Sabbath. This involved the sweeping of the whole
premises, the College square, the Mission House
grounds as well as the immediate vicinity of their
own habitations. This was, by the way, a govern-
ment regulation to be observed throughout the whole
island. Then there was food to be obtained for
the morrow. Hence the tramp to the plantation and
back for the supply. So that, though an ' off day '
it had its systematic and compulsory duties.
The first few weeks were the testing time to the
new student; and the demands were by no means
light to a nature that was unused to the such exac-
tions. Sometimes it was only the keen desire for the
acquisition of knowledge and the halo of prestige
with which every student of Tubou College was sur-
rounded that weighed down the scale in favour of
forbearance. On the other hand, to those who had
not that desire, the exactions proved too distasteful,
73
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
and they left the institution of their own accord. But
they did not truly realize how well off they were
until they found themselves face to face with the
scarcity of provisions outside; and then their envious
eyes at once turned to the plenty that prevailed
in the place which they had so foolishly left.
But alternating with the manual exertions referred
to were the joyous hours of school, for such they
were indeed. Student vies with student for priority
of place in each class, and the impression left on
the interested and impartial observer is that there
is unmitigated joy in this mental exercise.
No class time-table is in evidence. No stated
hour seems to be allotted to any special lesson. It
is a free-and-easy regime. But every moment is
utilized. A few minutes before the close of the
morning session even may be utilized by mental
arithmetic and the results entered in the class register.
An ancient pedagogue would rant and rave at such
a course : but the results have been found to justify
the method.
In the creation of this educational machine the
versatile Head Master so enthusiastic, so original,
so serious in his purpose had by far the largest
share, as indeed he had in the working of it. But
while Mr. Moulton was the acknowledged head, he
delegated to a committee of management, consisting
of tutors and monitors, the practical side of the
regime. This was termed ' The Monitors' Meeting/
which met after the prayer-meeting every Monday
night and from which he purposely absented himself.
In a systematic and orderly way did the com-
mittee of management proceed with its business. A
few simple but comprehensive questions, covering the
wide sphere of College arrangements, were drawn
74
THE REGIME
up during the first years of its existence: and the
same code is in vogue to-day, after nearly half a
century. The fact that it has so effectively met the
needs of the school for so long stamps the code
as eminently suited to the temperament of the
people it was framed to benefit. It was ever a
cause for thankfulness to the originator that so hard
a task, launched forth as an experiment at the first,
should have proved itself so signally effective through-
out a long series of years. The transactions of the
monitors' meeting were entered in detail in a minute-
book, which was handed over to the Head Master
every Tuesday morning for his inspection. Therein
was recorded, amongst other things, the verdict of
the meeting on the efficiency of the work done by
the monitors of the week. It was a matter of
almost vital moment to the division to which they
belonged as to whether they had acquitted them-
selves creditably or not. The honour of their division
was at stake, and this was ever a healthy tonic.
A review of the work done and the standard
attained during the first twelve years of Tubou Col-
lege may appropriately close these chapters on the
founding of the College. It will moreover be felt to
be a clear advantage that that review should be the
work of an outsider who not only had no connexion
whatever with the institution and its workers, but
who on his own admission came with a decided
prejudice of unbelief with reference to the alleged
virtues of the College. His endorsement therefore
will count for much. The articles in question
appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in June
and July 1875, and were written by Dr. Lorimer
Fison, a Cambridge graduate, as well as an Austra-
lian doctor of divinity, and at that time editor of the
75
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
Melbourne Spectator. It is given here in full as it
will serve to focus on one point what has been
already set forth: and this may be pleaded in justifi-
cation of including so lengthy a quotation.
His first introduction to the students of Tubou
College was on a bright Sunday morning in Novem-
ber. He had watched a large native congregation
disperse after the service, when his eye ' was caught
by a long line of fine bright-looking young men,
who issued from the church and came marching down
the hill, two and two, keeping step with admirable
time and precision.' 'By their side at intervals along
the line walked the native assistant tutors, men who
had been trained in the College and who had earned
their present position by good conduct and hard
honest work.' The procession was a sight to see,
and he watched it ' with delighted eyes.'
'During the remainder of my stay at Nukualofa,'
he says, ' I took every opportunity of gaining
information concerning the College; and the
courteous tutor, the Rev. J. E. Moulton, placed
all his spare time at my disposal, and gave me
every facility for ascertaining the system on which
he worked and for testing the requirements of
the pupils. So deep was the interest excited by
what I saw and heard, that I left the group with-
out having been able to come to anything like a full
satisfaction of my curiosity; for everything which
came under my notice made me eager for further
information and the more I learned the more I
wanted to know.
' The fame of Tubou College had reached me
several years before my visit to the islands. And
I have to confess that I took with me a strong
prejudice against it; for an impression had been
76
THE REGIME
made on my mind that Mr. Moulton's system
availed exclusively for a high-class education and
that the lower branches of study were neglected,
if not despised by him; whence it seemed to me
that his system could not be appropriate to a
people such as the Tongans, who are but just
emerging out of barbarism. In a short time, how-
ever, when I had the working of the system before
my eyes, and I was able to make personal inspec-
tion of it, its results sufficed to show that my
prejudice was utterly without foundation.
' He does not teach the higher subjects to all
his pupils. When the young men come to him,
they are placed in the lowest class, whence they
have to work their way upwards. Those of them
who manifest a capacity for the higher studies
soon come to the front; and thus each year forms
itself into two divisions, each of which he takes
through an appropriate course of instruction, by
no means neglecting the lower in favour of the
higher. He has adopted the study of Euclid as,
at once, a useful mental discipline and a test of
intellectual capacity, not, however, insisting upon it
as a test of universal application. All general
rules have their exceptions, but he has found by
actual experience what seems reasonable at first
sight, that a native who can take in and follow out
a process of pure reasoning such as a demonstra-
tion of Euclid's is generally capable of under-
standing and appreciating the facts of natural
science. Those of his men who show this apti-
tude are drafted into the higher classes, while the
others take their places in the lower forms, receiv-
ing a plainer education. Many of the latter have
proved themselves to be useful men and are doing
77 F
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
good work as teachers in the common schools, and
as clerks to government offices.
'The students are supplied from three sources.
Some are sent to Mr. Moulton from the various
islands of the group by the missionaries, under
whose hands they are supposed to have gone
through a preliminary course of training; others
are sons of chiefs, who are sent by the Government,
which pays a small sum annually towards the
expenses of their education. A third class consists
of exhibitioners from the public schools, lads who
have distinguished themselves at the yearly examina-
tions and thereby have gained the privilege of no
small value, the course being from three to five
years. These, as far as educational attainment is
concerned, are the most promising of Mr. Moulton's
pupils; for, from the fact of their having distanced
all their competitors in the schools, we may con-
clude that they are the brightest among the lads
of their year; moreover they come to him at an
earlier age than the rest of their students, while
their minds are in a plastic state, so that he can
mould them as he will. It is to be hoped that
their numbers will be increased, for not only do
they make the best scholars at the College, but
the gift of the exhibitions must be a powerful
stimulus to the lads in the public schools.
' The men sent by the missionaries are bound
to enter the mission work, but the exhibitioners
and those sent by the Government are free to
choose their own course, when they leave the
College.
'In addition to answering very fully and clearly
all the inquiries I could find time to make, Mr.
Moulton gave his students into the hand of another
78
THE REGIME
visitor and myself for two or three hours one
afternoon, allowing us to ask them questions bear-
ing upon the studies they had been pursuing.
' This examination was pleasingly varied by
musical performances. Several pieces were sung at
intervals by his pupils, his senior native assistant
tutor, David Tonga, playing the accompaniment on
the fine harmonium. These were well worth hear-
ing; but my delight reached its highest pitch
when he himself sat down to the instrument, and
his lads, gathering around him, gave us Mozart's
" Gloria in excelsis " and the Dettingen " Te Deum "
with wonderful accuracy as to both time and tune.
His music-books are printed by himself on a
system of his own, figures being used instead of
the ordinary notation. He was forced into this by
the necessity under which he lay of doing his own
printing within the College. Much of it, indeed,
in the earlier days of his tutorship had to be
done by his own hands.
' The first class of his pupils and the second
demonstrated respectively the eighth proposition
of the Third Book of Euclid and the forty-seventh
of the First. At his suggestion, I dictated the
letters for the various points in the diagram, select-
ing them at random from all parts of the alphabet;
and I was, indeed, hard-hearted enough to fix on
an alteration in the position of the diagram in the
second proposition, placing the right-angle at the
left-hand corner of the triangle instead of at the
apex. Hence, it is evident that, if the students
had merely learnt the demonstration by heart,
they must have been completely non-plussed. The
diagrams were drawn by David Tonga at their
dictation, Mr. Moulton putting them on, not in
79
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
regular rotation but calling upon first one and then
another without regard to the order in which they
stood before the blackboard. In each case the
construction was completed without a flaw and
the demonstration worked out in a manner that
would have warmed the heart of Euclid himself,
could he have been present in the flesh, and which
would have given special delight to his well-known
editor, Mr. R. Potts of Trinity College, Cambridge,
whose book has found its way to these islands of
the sea. At each step in the reasoning which
depended upon a foregoing proposition I asked for
either the number or the enunciation of that
proposition, and in every case either one or the
other was correctly given by some one of the
students. In short, they did their work admirably
very much better than the vast majority of boys
in my time could have done it, after passing
through six or seven years' course of instruction
in any one of our English public schools.
' Geometry was followed by theology, in which
the lads acquitted themselves very creditably,
following out an orderly and connected process of
reasoning, fortified by texts of scripture aptly and
correctly quoted. In physical geography they gave
us an interesting account of the great ocean
currents, tracing them on a large map drawn for
the purpose; and this they did in a manner that
showed that as far as they had gone, they not
only understood the subject but were deeply
interested in it. When it took them among the
icebergs, I felt not a little curious to hear what
they would call " frozen water," a thing for which
there could not be a word in their language, and,
to my great delight, a bright-looking young fellow
80
THE REGIME
who was dealing with that part of the subject,
spoke of ice as " vai-mohe " or " sleeping water,"
" and," said he, " when the bergs are drifted by
winds and currents to the warmer latitudes, the sun
shines upon the sleeping waters and they awake."
' After we had heard all the students had to say
about the ocean currents, my fellow visitor, at Mr.
Moulton's suggestion, asked several questions in
geography, which the young men answered with
great readiness. They pointed out the great moun-
tain chains and rivers, tracing their course upon
the map. The latitude and longitude of various
places being given, they found them out on the
globe and gave their names without making a
mistake in any one instance, and, at the visitors'
request, they marked out on the Mercator's map
the route of a vessel sailing from London to
Sydney and back again, giving reasons why such
and such a course should be steered, and why
another should be avoided. A few questions in
algebra were then given and they solved a simple
equation in capital style. The tutor then drew a
four-sided figure, and, having described it as a plan
of a plot of ground on the scale of one inch to
chain, asked them to find its area. Whereupon one
of the young fellows stepped forward and divided
it into triangles by means of a diagonal, upon
which he drew perpendiculars from the opposite
angle; he then produced a carpenter's rule, and
having measured the perpendiculars and the
diagonal, wrote down his measurements on the
diagram and hurried back to his place. Forthwith
the students' pencils began to rattle over their
slates and, in an incredibly short time, they calcu-
lated the area required. Next followed questions
81
FHE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
in mental arithmetic, which were propounded by
the tutor and answered by the pupils with a
rapidity so marvellous as to force upon me a
feeling of incredulity. The thing appeared to be
so manifestly impossible that nothing but the still
greater impossibility that Mr. Moulton should be
guilty of unfair dealing could have kept me from
coming to the conclusion that they were palming
off a sham upon us. In order to satisfy myself
beyond the possibility of a doubt or rather to
put myself in a position to satisfy the doubts of
others I asked permission to give a few questions
myself, and this was readily granted. Accordingly
I gave several of which the following will serve
as a fair specimen; an article cost i/i^d; what
is the value of 8 doz. ? A gallon of oil cost 2/6d- )
how much must I give for 11 tuns? This formid-
able-looking sum Mr. Moulton read off thus nearly
as fast as he could speak : 4, square it, add 7,
subtract 2, divide by 3, multiply by 8, subtract 2,
divide by 6, multiply by n, subtract 3, divide by
12, multiply by 3, add I, extract the square root.
What is it ? Within five seconds, measured by a
watch after he had asked " what is it ? " the whole
class came forward with the answer written on their
slates. They worked out the calculations mentally
as he announced the sum and wrote down the
result only. I said that the whole class rushed
forward, but there was one exception a poor
young fellow who had lost the thread of the cal-
culation, and who stood hugging his slate to his
breast with the pitiable expression of hopeless per-
plexity and unutterable misery on his face. I
could not help speaking a few words of encourage-
ment to him which were duly interpreted into the
82
THE REGIME
Tongan language. He looked at me with grateful
eyes, and the feeble ghost of a smile flitted across
his troubled visage. I would have gladly
prolonged the examination for another hour or two,
but no time could be spared, and I left the
lecture-hall with my mind full of the liveliest interest
in Tubou College and the warmest admiration
of its excellent tutor.'
' The College is quite a little town in itself, the
students' houses being built in two parallel straight
lines divided by a clean well-kept roadway, at the
head of which stands the Lecture Hall, a hand-
some building of Tongan architecture well fitted up
with the needful apparatus. This town is divided
into three sections, each bearing a distinguishing
title, and presided over by a native assistant tutor,
with certain officers under him, who are chosen
from the most trustworthy of the students. Each
section in turn takes charge of the town, and is
responsible for the strict carrying out of all rules,
any infraction of which is brought before a court
composed of the assistant tutors and officers who
inflict such punishment as, in their judgement, the
case requires. This court sits weekly, and its
preceedings are characterized by great fairness.
The name of any offender, together with the offence
of which he is accused, is posted up within the
College walls, so that he may know the charges
against him and be prepared with his defence. If
he does not present himself before the court, 1 his
absence is taken as a plea of guilty, but if he
1 Later a preliminary trial of the cases was held at 5 p.m.,
presided over by a tutor, and results presented to monitorial
court after prayer-meeting. Such procedure was found to be a
great saving of time and as effective.
83
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
thinks that he has a valid defence, or that he can
urge extenuating circumstances, a regular trial
takes place. Witnesses are called whom he may
cross-examine, and he is allowed to plead his own
cause; having, moreover, if he be dissatisfied with
the sentence pronounced upon him, the right of
appeal to Mr. Moulton, to whom all the gravest
cases are referred. Mr. Moulton informed me that
appeals are of very rare occurence and that only
once has he seen cause to reverse a decision thus
brought before him.
' After this judicial business has been disposed of,
the court resolves itself into a committee of man-
agement. Certain questions are asked as to the
carrying out of the College arrangements during
the previous week, and as to what order has to be
made for that which is coming. The answers are
recorded in a book kept for that purpose and the
entry signed by the native tutor who presides. This
book is a sort of journal, wherein daily entries are
made on a certain orderly system of all events
connected with the College; and at the weekly
meeting above-mentioned the entries are reviewed,
and those of them which have to be permanently
recorded are transferred to the book appropriated
to that purpose. Thus a daily meteorological
record is carefully kept, Mr. Moulton having pro-
cured instruments and taught his students how
to use them. Within a fence near the lecture-hall
stands the anemometer, with its little discs per-
petually whirling. At its feet are various kinds of
thermometers, a rain-gauge, and a evaporation
dish, and from all these daily readings are taken
by the students (monitors on duty only) at stated
hours, recorded in the journal, and finally posted
84
THE REGIME
thence, after examination by the native tutor on
duty, to a book specially devotecf to meteoro-
logical records/
' The history of the College is both interesting
and instructive in no ordinary degree. It is a
record of great difficulties patiently encountered
and valiantly overcome by a man who is not
only an enthusiastic lover of educational work
but capable also of that steadfast perseverance
through the day of small things . which is not
often found combined with ardent enthusiasm.
' Mr. Moulton has had to do something harder
than ordinary teaching. He has had to clear
virgin forest-land for cultivation, but also to invent
and manufacture nearly all his tools; and the
labour which this represents is something enor-
mous. His work has been not only to teach new
ideas to pupils drawn from a nation just rising
out of savageism, but also to set forth those ideas
in a language previously ignorant of them, and
therefore without words to express them. And
even to this imperfect vehicle of thought he was
a stranger at the beginning of his work.'
To the narrative of the ways and means by which
the difficult process referred to was attained
Dr. Fison confesses himself a delighted listener. It
consisted in the stammering out of explanations in
reference to his object-lesson before a blackboard
with chalk in hand and of watching the face of his
most intelligent pupil, David Tonga. When it lit
up, the teacher perceived that he had grasped the
point in question, and the pupil then became the
translator to the class, the words used by him being
carefully noted. Mistakes made from time to time
85
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
were also subjected to the correction of the same
useful medium.
It may have been, as it was undoubtedly, very
slow work, but it had its compensations, for it was,
as Dr. Fison says, by this means that 'he acquired
the language of which he has now (ten years after) a
thorough scholarly knowledge, knowledge which he
is turning to good account, not only by compiling
text-books for the College but also by preparing a
grammar of the Tongan language, which I venture
to predict will be hailed as a valuable acquisition
to philology, for special interest is now being mani-
fested in the dialects of savage tribes.'
' Mr. Moulton's victory is all the greater in that
he has had to grapple with something more than
the difficulties inseparable from a work such as
he has done. He has to encounter the objections
of his brother missionaries, who, while they felt
the highest admiration of his scholarship and his
ability as a teacher, were afraid that his system
of education would have a mischievous effect upon
his pupils. They feared that the native mind had
not sufficient ballast in it to warrant the carrying
of such sail, and that the sudden acquisition of
knowledge would result in a disastrous capsize.
Nor will any one who is acquainted with the South
Sea island character be disposed to say that their
fears were altogether groundless; and there are
not wanting those who assert that there is a
special reasonableness in such fears concerning the
Friendly Islanders; for the national failing of the
Tongans is admitted on all hands, by their
friends as by their detractors, to be an over-
whelming conceit of themselves. And if when
86
THE REGIME
uneducated they thought themselves to be so
wonderful a people, we need not wonder that the
missionaries speculated with considerable trepida-
tion as to the probable effect upon them of a
system of education such as that which Mr.
Moulton rapidly developed.
' One such missionary, after visiting Tonga and
making searching inquiry into the system on which
Mr. Moulton works, made a public recantation of
his preconceived ideas, and was, moreover, stirred
up to enthusiastic laudation of Tubou College and
everything connected with it. Others, also, who
shared these prejudices, have found them removed
by a closer acquaintance with the system. As
to its dread influence upon the native mind, I did
hear complaints from certain quarters of arrogant
self-sufficiency displayed by a few young men who
had passed through the College; but I found, on
inquiry, in every case that they were men who
had not manifested intellectual capacity for the
higher branches of study, and who had therefore
'gone out on the pole.' They had not learned
enough to discover that they knew nothing. Mr.
Moulton assures me that his best scholars appear
to grow humbler as they advance in their studies.
The training and expansion of their minds enable
them to see how wide are the fields of knowledge,
whose outer verge alone they have been able to
gain; and high-class education seems to have upon
them the effect which it ought to have upon all
men, showing them ever more clearly how vast
is the unknown compared with the known; how
little we know and how much we have yet to
learn.'
' In conclusion,' Dr. Fison goes on to say, ' 1
87
THE FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE
have only to say that amongst the pleasant reminis-
cences of my visit to Tubou College, there linger two
profound regrets. The first of these is that the
circumstances of my visit were such as to prevent
me from learning all that I wished to know con-
cerning the College; and the second, that its excellent
tutor has not a wider and more important field for
the exercise of that rare gift which he possesses in
so eminent a degree.'
The educational regime and curriculum and the
system employed by Mr. Moulton in connexion with
the College have, we think, been amply proved,
both by time and by critic, to be eminently suited
to the nature and disposition of the Tongan race.
The establishment of the College thus being firmly
secured, the subject of this biography laid great
plans for the future advancement of his work. There
was the wide field of translation before him in the
matter of text-books and other literary effort: and it
was this which led up directly to a new and tragic
period in his ministry.
88
CHAPTER VI
THE GREAT CALAMITY
THE VISIT TO ENGLAND
IT was nothing less than tragic that Mr. Moulton's
visit to England in the furtherance of his
translation schemes should have proved the means by
which vindictive jealousy should have been enabled
to carry out a deeply-laid and cleverly devised scheme
for the undoing of his work. But so it was: and
the tragedy of it all is deepened when it is remem-
bered that the arch-plotter was a fellow minister the
Chairman of the District, in fact, under the Wesleyan
Conference, until well, we will not anticipate.
Reference has already been made to the hearty
co-operation of King George with Mr. Moulton in
his College projects: and certainly no former mis-
sionary had occupied such a place in the old mon-
arch's affection and esteem as he had. It was this
phase that was so especially distasteful to the prime
mover in this plot; but to this must be added the
fact that the promoter, as Chairman of the District,
found the same person to stand in his way when he
strove to carry out designs which could not be con-
sidered legitimate, from the standpoint of a Christian
minister. With Mr. Moulton present, it seemed
impossible for him to carry out to its fulfilment his
own purposes : and his proud spirit could not brook
any interference or intrusion. It was, therefore,
necessary to remove that human ' thorn in the flesh.'
89
THE GREAT CALAMITY
The king was ageing, but he was the bosom friend
of his opponent.
It was in the year 1876, at the District Meeting,
that the scheme was launched. The matter was
then raised with reference to the desirability of the
revision of the Bible. There was no disparagement,
in the suggestion, of the magnificent labours in this
regard, of the veteran John Thomas, or of the
other early missionaries who had co-operated to effect
the first translation of the great Book. But
that it needed revision was clearly apparent.
And not less apparent was the fact that to no one
better could the onerous task be entrusted than the
Head Master of Tubou College.
The District Meeting was unanimous. To the
congeniality of the work was added the further bait
of a furlough which entailed a visit to the Old
Country, so that the work might be seen through
the press, which, indeed, meant something in those
days of sailing-vessels.
The offer as set forth by the prime mover was
great, and it was readily accepted. Had the true
purpose of this wily move been suspected, it would
have been met with a blank refusal : but Mr.
Moulton was not one to credit others with corrupt
motives, and he suffered for his faith in his fellows.
The parting with Tubou College was an affecting
one. But that with the king was none the less so,
and, when taken with subsequent events, the mon-
arch's last words and actions were not without great
significance. ' I fear, Mr. Moulton,' said he, ' that
when you get away to Babalangi (civilization) you will
not be likely to return.' Mr. Moulton quickly dis-
abused the speaker's mind of his fears. But he was
not quite convinced, and went so far as to present
90
THE VISIT TO ENGLAND
his departing friend with a most valuable curio, the
historic club, the weapon which had been his trusty
companion in all those heroic deeds which gained for
him the ascendancy of the whole of the five groups
of islands. It was not quite the old weapon, how-
over, for he had had it smoothed and polished. With
it, also, was presented an ironwood walking-stick, also
polished. They had been fast friends in the past, and
the tie of friendship was not less strong when they
parted.
The party that left Tonga on June 2, 1877, con-
sisted of four adults and five children, including a
native, David Finau, who had done brilliantly in the
College and had passed into the ranks of the ministry.
It had been Mr. Moulton's firm determination, from
the very first, that no translation should be done
by him without a native assistant, as only through
that medium could the best work be effected
a plan he now adopted and which he continued to
adopt all through his long connexion with the Tongan
people. And results all along the line have proved the
wisdom of this step. England was reached in the
middle of August, and the family made its way at
once to Newark, whence Mrs. Moulton had set forth
thirteen years before.
After a few weeks of rest Mr. Moulton decided to
take up his residence at Richmond, Surrey, as being
within easy reach of his publishers in London. Here
for two-and-a-half years, within close proximity, too,
of Richmond College, where his eldest brother had
been classical tutor, he spent a most enjoyable time,
for his heart was full of the spirit of translation work,
and furthermore, David Finau proved a great ac-
quisition in this department. The latter possessed,
in no mean degree, the mind and spirit of a keen
91
THE GREAT CALAMITY
debater, and had both clearly marked opinions and
fearlessness in expressing them. This proved of
untold value to the translator, though it led to many
a battle royal.
As a break, visits would be paid to the great
Metropolis, and the sight and glamour of that imperial
city of the world would be revealed in all their marvel
to the mind of David Finau, who had actually
begun life in heathen surroundings. He had the
foresight, too, to keep a diary of all he saw, as
well as careful notes of all he learnt of the New
Testament through daily intercourse and much
discussion with his enthusiastic teacher. These
were a mine of untold value to him when, as
a minister in charge of the head circuits of the group
in after years, he was able to bring them to his
aid when holding Bible-readings.
His intellectual capacity was of no mean calibre;
and he was endowed with the gift of natural elo-
quence. He was in great demand at foreign mission-
ary meetings, and his speeches made a deep
impression on all who heard them. As an extempore
speaker, few, if any, of the Tongans were his equal,
and his evangelical zeal was of the hottest temper.
It was ever Mr. Moulton's joy and pride to find that
those he chanced to select as his amanuenses invari-
ably upheld the reputation of the institution in which
they had been educated and which he had inaugur-
ated, whenever they chanced to appear before an
English public.
It was an unfortunate development that, owing to
certain restrictions imposed by it, he was unable to
have this Tongan translation of the New Testament
brought out under the authority of the British and
and Foreign Bible Society; all the more so because
92
THE VISIT TO ENGLAND
the generosity of that Society, in its association with
Tonga, had been previously shown on two occasions.
In 1853 they had gratuitously printed and sent out
to those far-off mission-fields 10,000 copies of the
New Testament, and in 1862 they had made a
similar donation with respect to the publication of
the Old. The difficulty arose, it is believed, over
the original text to be used in the translation work.
The Revised Version had not then appeared, and
Mr. Moulton was unwilling to take the Authorized as
the basis, but preferred the text of Westcott and
Hort. This was not allowed by the Society's rules,
and so, being determined to translate from the original
Greek, he was reluctantly compelled to act inde-
pendently of the Society, which involved the imposi-
tion of the burden of publication on Tonga.
The months of 1879 were drawing to a close, and,
with them, the translation and printing of the New
Testament, when disconcerting news from David
Tonga, who had been left in charge of Tubou College,
reached Mr. Moulton. As a matter of fact, the plans
laid so deeply had been slowly and surely developing,
until matters were now reaching a crisis. The eye
of the Chairman had been turned towards the College,
which was separate from the Church in its manage-
ment, and the tutor in charge was constantly on the
horns of a dilemma in his attempts to resist the
encroachment.
David Tonga is ever spoken of as the finest}
product of the Tongan race, and he well deserved the
praise. He was the personification of the ' iron-hand
and the velvet-glove.' Strong of character and ever
courteous in manner, self-restrained yet never flinch-
ing, he was the idol of the King, the chiefs and
people. It was only through his tactful management
93 G
THE GREAT CALAMITY
that the College held its own until its real head
returned.
The urgent letters from Tonga referred to made
return now imperative, and in April of 1880 Mr. and
Mrs. Moulton, with three of the family, embarked on
the Cotopaxi en route for Sydney. They took the
first opportunity of a vessel which was sailing for
Tonga via Fiji, and they reached their destination
during the latter part of the year after an absence
of three years from the scene of their former labours.
As far as he himself was concerned, Mr. Moulton had
carried out his part of the contract undertaken, and he
had his translation of the New Testament in book
form to show on his return. He had not been
hampered by the prohibitive restriction of a two-
thirds majority of the translators before a new ren-
dering could be sustained; so that many of the
marginal readings of the Revised Version are found
in the Tongan revision. The work had been accom-
plished in two and a half years, and has the charm
of being pure and unadulterated Tongan.
But on his arrival, it was easy to perceive that
things were not, by any means, what they had been.
The changes reported were of a very momentous
nature. Mr. Baker, the Chairman, had left the
Mission House, and was installed in the Premier's
office. This was the beginning of the crisis. The
heavy cloud of trouble that had been gathering for
three years was soon to burst; and when it did
burst it called into being new qualities in the many-
sided personality who is the subject of this memoir.
94
CHAPTER VII
THE GREAT CALAMITY
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
IT seems that the changes to which we have
referred were the outcome of strong representa-
tions from the High Commissioner of the Western
Pacific to the Conference of N.S. Wales against the
conduct of the chairman of the Tongan District.
This led to an inquiry by a deputation into the
charges laid against him, charges that practically
were upheld. As a consequence, Mr. Baker resigned
his position as a Conference minister, and his resigna-
tion was accepted. Had such a course entailed his
withdrawal from the islands, then the sad story of
the secession and the consequent persecutions would
never have had to be told. As it was, it resulted
only in the unfortunate transformation of a minis-
ter of the gospel to a minister of the crown; for
he had gained such an ascendancy over the aged
kingj and he had used the privilege to such a
great extent, that he became, in the eyes of the
monarch, so necessary to him in the management of
his kingdom that he was looked upon as indis-
pensable. That the new premier was a man of
undoubted ability cannot be denied; but every-
thing was marred by a spirit of vindictiveness and
tyranny, which ruined every opportunity for abiding
usefulness. He who might have made a name for
himself to be revered by a grateful and appreciative
people, ended his life in disgrace and oblivion.
95
THE GREAT CALAMITY
But the die was cast as far as he himself was
concerned. He made the choice and had to take
his chance of the consequences. It is with no small
degree of pain that one studies the early mission
reports, as presented by him, of the interesting
religious development of this island-people and con-
trasts them with the ethical deterioration that subse-
quently took place in the heart and life of ,the
same individual.
As has been stated, the change of conditions was
at once discernible. The strained relations between
the king and his old friend augured no future good,
and were, at first, inexplicable; or only to be under-
stood by the suspicion that another personality was
dominating the mind and will of the aged sovereign.
He became a puppet under the control of a stronger
will, the ultimate result of which was to leave a sad blot
on the character of the greatest names in the South
Seas, one which every missionary, and the commander
of every visiting warship, no matter of what nation-
ality, could not but hold in the highest respect. But
let it be understood at the very outset that the
stigma in connexion with the troubles that ensued
does not carry very much weight to those who were
on the spot and knew the real hand that pulled
the strings, and was responsible for the unfortunate
events of this time. When thus understood, King
George stands acquitted of the open acts of violence
and tyranny which were performed, ostensibly, in
his name and with his authority.
The storm did not actually burst until 1885, but
the period from 1880 to that time was fraught with
great difficulty, and it daily increased. No action was
omitted that would impede the progress of the Wes-
leyan cause. The schools throughout the country,
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
which, hitherto, had been successfully carried on under
the efficient supervision of the Wesleyan Mission,
were now taken over, but only after very strong
protest, by the neWly-formed government under Mr.
Baker. Charges innumerable were levelled against
Mr. Moulton at the District Meeting, but, when these
were inquired into by the ensuing Conference, he
was honourably acquitted on them all, and by a
unanimous vote. To make matters worse, the king
made a move to prohibit the missionary meetings
for the year being held. As the income of the
mission was solely dependent upon this one annual
collection, this spelt financial bankruptcy. With great
difficulty, however, the arguments of Mr. Moulton
prevailed with the king, who withdrew his objection.
But things still continued to go from bad to worse.
The strained relations between them became greater.
It is most amazing that he who had made such
urgent entreaty to his friend when leaving the island
not very long before to return, and had further
emphasized his earnestness by a valued gift, should
now, after no long lapse of time, refuse to see him.
But so it was, to Mr. Moulton's great regret; and
many years were to elapse before King George and
he again met in personal intercourse.
But even such a strange antipathy can be solved
without much difficulty. It seems that a suspicion
had been aroused in the monarch's mind by the well-
known enemy that Mr. Moulton was secretly working
for the annexation of Tonga by England. That the
autocratic king should resent such a course of action
cannot be wondered at, if there had been any grounds
for that suspicion. But there were none. It was the
fabrication of a perverse and vindictive mind that
could suggest such a possibility. Mr. Moulton had
.97,
THE GREAT CALAMITY
never been in such love with the changes that had
taken place in Fiji, for instance, that he could wish
for the introduction of similar policy in the islands
to which he was so devoted. It was furthest from
his thought, and was the one thing especially that
he was working to prevent. But the king did not,
and could not, know this, and it served the plotter's
purpose well to leave him thus in the dark.
But amidst all the difficulties and disabilities, Mr.
Moulton pursued his work. His undivided attention to
the College, as heretofore, was now impossible, and
to the double task he applied himself with charac-
teristic energy. And the energy found an outlet in an
unlooked-for direction. One night at the College
prayer-meeting as he sat with his back against one
of the great ironwood posts that helped to support
the roof, he felt it move, as a heavy gust of wind
struck the building. The post had served its time
and had rotted. The others were probably in a
similar plight. And the thought flashed across his
mind. ' We must erect a new and more capacious
building; and now or never.' The great difficulty
was with regard to the procuring of the great posts,
each of which, when rounded off to their proper
proportions, would weigh, approximately, about two
tons. And ironwood trees of the size required were
few and far between. The authorities were against
him, and the task contemplated would have been
difficult even in peaceful times with no opposition.
What chance now ?
But providence over-ruled the difficulties, and the
posts were provided from various parts of Tonga-
tabu (the main island) with two from Vavau, obtained
by the kind help of the king's grandson, Wellington,
who was himself a graduate of the College and still
98
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
friendly. The transfer of that from Eua, the pic-
turesque and lofty island across the straits, and
some twelve miles away from Nukualofa, the capital,
was accomplished with great difficulty. The passage,
to begin with, is an exceedingly dangerous one, and
especially so when the wind is in a certain quarter;
and further, the specific gravity of the water was not
great enough to guarantee the buoyancy of the iron-
wood post. And so it came to pass that, as they
were towing it across in a whaleboat, the ropes
broke and the huge beam began to sink. It was
speedily recovered and brought to the surface by
dexterous and dauntless swimmers, and at last was
safely landed.
That from a village across the lagoon, under the
charge of David Tonga, was brought on the
shoulders of the lads themselves in the deep water in
relays, some diving to relieve those already engaged
in order to allow them breathing time. So this great
post also was finally deposited in the College grounds.
It was a great relief to all, but to Mr. Moulton
especially, when the eight uprights had been safely
gathered in. The most difficult part of the great
task was done and done amid touching manifesta-
tions of heartfelt devotion on the part of the College
men.
In process of time the new, the present, capacious
building, a model of Tongan architecture, was duly
erected, thatched and finished to the great surprise
and wonderment of all; and to none more than to
the king himself, who could justly estimate from that
great feat the spirit that possessed the party he was
now opposing. To the harrowing cares of this disturb-
ing period was added the sad loss by drowning of
Mr. Moulton's second daughter. On the occasion
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THE GREAT CALAMITY
referred to, he was attempting to cross the dangerous
passage to Eua on such a quest. The weather be-
came very 'dirty/ and, to make matters worse, the
boat commenced to leak badly. To return to the
mainland was impossible; to attempt the treacherous
entrance at the landing-place was the only alternative
left as being comparatively close, but even that, with
the wind in its present quarte 1 , had very little to
recommend it. But this was done. It was becom-
ing dark. Kind friends on shore lent their aid with
lighted torches to indicate the narrow passage at the
edge of the reef, now rendered doubly dangerous by
the anger of the waves that pitilessly attacked. The
rowers worked manfully, and, with a strong combined
pull, the boat rushed into the seething mass of
boiling foam. The steersman, however, unfortun-
ately seems to have lost his head, for, at a critical
moment, the rudder was wrenched from his grasp
and from its sockets and the boat was capsized.
Mr. Moulton found himself on the verge of a whirl-
pool, whose eddy nearly sucked him in. He was for-
tunate in being able to grasp a portion of a jutting
rock, which saved him, and in having had the presence
of mind to manipulate successfully the taking in of
breath when the opportunity offered. A native vainly
tried to get near enough to seize hold of him. All
to no purpose. At last he was compelled to say, ' I
can't save you, Mr. Moulton ' : to which he received
the reply the last words the drowning minister re-
members before lapsing into unconsciousness ' Then,
give my love to my wife.' But providence was near
at hand to help. It seems that the words came with
such a pang to the native that he was instantly urged
to make another frantic effort. He felt a rock
beneath him, and, with this as a foothold, he cried
100
out though the words were unheard 'I can save
you now,, Mr. Moulton.' And he clutched at and
caught Mr. Moulton almost miraculously.
When he had safely reached the beach, he learnt
that all the rest of the party had been saved with
the exception of his own daughter, Emma, a girl
of fourteen, whose body he saw being carried ashore
by natives. For hours various attempts were made
to restore animation but without effect. It would seem
that, in the confusion of the moment, a native offered
to take her, when she would, assuredly, have been
saved. But, remembering a girl friend of hers, who
was close beside her, she gave up the opportunity to
her a noble example of true self-sacrifice. It was
a sad ending to a day of duty; and a heavy task
for Mr. Moulton to perform, when he returned to
Nukualofa with the silent form to break the news
to the devoted mother.
In 1884 the Rev. E. E. Crosby arrived from
England to reinforce him, but, of course, being new
to the language and customs of the land, he was at
first greatly handicapped. But he rapidly became
invaluable to the superintendent at a time when he
sadly needed sympathetic help and assistance. The
cloud that had long been impending at last burst.
The evolution of the schemes of the past few years
culminated in a diplomatic coup d' etat. It was the
stroke of a master-hand and brain that could strike
at the psychological moment. The opportunity
offered itself. It was accepted : and the blow struck
with effective force.
The king had been in Vavau, but had left it for
Ha'abai for the set purpose, it was said, of erecting a
new Wesleyan church at Lifuka, the capital, to replace
the old, and on the same site. The premier could
THE GREAT CALAMITY
not resist the temptation, and persuaded the king to
build, on an adjoining allotment, a magnificent edi-
fice in the name of a new cause, to be known as
The Free Church, and of which this was to be
outstanding embodiment. The king acceded to the
suggestion, and gave it his whole-hearted approval.
It was an unwarrantable slip, and was the concoction
of a clever brain but of an evil disposition. But the
king, who alone could have thwarted it, was old, and
the personality of his adviser, in things political
or otherwise, was too overpowering to brook a denial.
The Free Church thus came into being and had a
local habitation and a name.
No exception can be taken to the inauguration of
a new Cause, 'did the king so desire it. He, of
course, was at perfect liberty to take such a step.
But to stoop to actions that trespassed on rights of
his subjects which had been conceded to them by
a duly-signed constitution with a guarantee of abso-
lute freedom in religious matters, was illegal and
directly unconstitutional. But his authority was
supreme in the land, and his word had ever ^been
law.
The action in Ha'abai was repeated all over the
group. Public meetings were held and addressed
by the king in person and by Mr. Baker, and all
were commanded to turn over to the new Church
that had been formed. They, unfortunately, were
able to persuade the Rev. J. B. Watkin to join
them, and, with a good knowledge of the language
and dispositions of the native, he was a strong addi-
tion to the cause.
The Wesleyan, the old cause, was stigmatized by
a scornful epithet, which being translated means
' dependent ' ; the reason being that its funds were
102
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
sent out of the country, and they were thus at the
mercy of the Mission Board, who disbursed the funds
under the direction of the N.S. Wales Conference.
This was, ostensibly, the weightiest reason adduced
for the action of disenf ranchisement a protest against
the refusal of the Conference to fall in with their
demands. Sir Charles Mitchell in his report seems
to believe that they had reasons for their annoyance.
But it is well to remember that the prime mover
in this coup cT&tat was himself the worst offender
in this respect, viz., of sending large amounts to
the foreign mission exchequer which, by the way,
was, and always had been, the modus operandi of
all missions in their relations to head quarters, who
disbursed from the total missionary income, sums of
money to the various stations concerned, in propor-
tion to their respective needs. Nor must it be for-
gotten either that, while he was chairman, when
he committed such an injustice, the burden never
drew forth a complaint from the people, who, on the
contrary, were only ever mindful of the great and
untold blessings they had received from the execu-
tive and the church on the mainland. Bearing this
in mind, it is not very difficult to be assured of
the real quarter from whence this so-called grievance
originated. In after years, when he was compelled,
under force of circumstances, to sever his immediate
connexion with the church he had set up for a short
while, and afterwards made the attempt again to
associate himself directly with it and had been re-
buffed, he made the frank and we believe the honest
avowal that the prime motive that had influenced
him in this deplorable action had been his own
interests and his own glorification.
Nor can any charge be sustained against the General
103
THE GREAT CALAMITY
Conference on the ground that they refused to meet
the wishes of the king by granting the Tongan
District a measure of independence as regards its
own finances; for in 1881 the body referred to went
so far as to create Tonga as a separate circuit in
connexion with the New South Wales Conference,
enjoying the privileges and freedom of the colonial
circuits ; which suited the case of the Tongan Church
admirably. This resolution came into force in 1882,
whereas it was not until 1885 that the Free Church
was set up; so that the evidence on that score falls
to the ground. Hence both the New South Wales and
the General Conferences must be exonerated from the
charge of having caused the split. The king was
induced to make demands of them both that were
not in keeping with their judgement of what was
fair and just. The principal of these was that Mr.
Moulton should be removed as the cause of friction
and Mr. Watkin be allowed to remain. The General
Conference agreed to the withdrawal of both, but this
did not meet with the approval of the king, who
strongly insisted upon the retaining of the latter.
It is impossible to gauge correctly the very diffi-
cult conditions which Mr. Moulton had to face at
this time. Everything was against him. It seemed
a ' forlorn hope ' to attempt to keep the flag flying,
when the king and government were ' up against him.'
Mr. Watkin, too, had joined the Free Church party,
and held the high position of its president. The
cabinet, whose every portfolio seemed to be held by
Mr. Baker himself, frequently met and passed laws,
which immediately came into force, against the Wes-
leyan community. For instance, there was the law
which forbade a closer proximity to each other of
two churches than 200 yards. This was palpably
104
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
unfair to the Wesleyan party, for their places of
worship had already stood on their sites for many
years, and the invariable rule, observed religiously
by the opposing faction, was to erect all their new
buildings within the prescribed distance and thereby
to rule out the old-established cause. This law also
delegated to the mayor of the town, always a Free
Churchman, the sole right of arranging the hour of
each service, since they must not be allowed to clash,
and this led to many a weary inconvenience in con-
sequence. It amounted to more than ' weary incon-
venience ' when a whole congregation was fined five
pounds apiece for attending a Wesleyan service!
Other similar restrictions and persecutions were, un-
fortunately, very common. The feelings of the oppos-
ing churches became very strained. There was no
justice to be expected in the law-courts. Wesleyans
were debarred from holding any official position in
the government or in the country towns. Those who
held titles were deposed, unless they retracted and
joined the king's church. Tempting offers of a
higher emolument proved too strong for many of
the Wesleyan ministers, and they joined the other
side. Some did so unwillingly, but the word of
the king, or of an influential chief, had too great
weight, and they went. Nevertheless, there were
those who were loyal to a degree that involved the
loss of earthly possessions and status and even of
friends a faithful few, ministers and laymen, who
were strong enough to obey the dictates of their own
conscience, even though it involved persecution and
material loss. They all declared they would have
given their lives in battle for their king, but their
religion was a matter between themselves and their
God.
105
THE GREAT CALAMITY
But they paid for it. The king had met with a
determined opposition on the part of some of his
people. It was unexpected, and could not be toler-
ated. He was resolved to force them into obedience.
There were some who committed the unpardonable
sin of signing an appeal to Queen Victoria asking for
Mr. Baker's removal. These were banished to an
island, but were afterwards released by a British
man-of-war. The strong stand, too, made by the
Wesleyans in opposition to his repeated commands
only exasperated the king the more. He came from
'one of the adjoining islands prepared to hang all
who remained loyal to the old cause. It was heralded
throughout the various villages that every Wesleyan,
man, woman or child, sick or well, was to appear
in the king's compound the next day. But they were
unmoved by the threat and came. An early prayer-
meeting in the historic church on the hill, Zion, was
packed, and was on fire with spiritual fervour. Led
by a young chief, they fairly rushed down the hill
to the appointed spot and impending doom.
The king was staggered by their numbers. He
could not think of thus wantonly depleting his tiny
kingdom by the removal of so many. He therefore
contented himself with sternly admonishing and then
dismissed them. But the strain became more and
more heavy upon the lessening numbers of the
Wesleyan Church. This was felt especially in
the matter of finance, where hitherto it had had no diffi-
culty in meeting its liabilities. But, nevertheless, the
few bravely shouldered the heavier burden in this
respect.
But soon other handicaps were introduced. The
pernicious laws levelled against the enfeebled Cause
kept up a continuous volley of fines, in which the
1 06
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
Church was invariably involved. Some of the
villages could not now boast of a single adherent;
yet the law relating to the ' keeping of the premises
swept and weeded ' still held good, and, although a
caretaker was installed to attend to such matters, he
was speedily dismissed, yet the fine was inflicted
nevertheless. It would be wearisome to narrate in
detail the various other methods to which the govern-
ment stooped in order to further its interests and to
render bankrupt the church to which it was so hostile.
Banishment to outlying islands where food was scarce
was also resorted to, one such ' criminal ' being
exiled for being so presumptuous as to pass the
remark that ' the soil belonged to Jehovah.'
It was during this trying period that the Govern-
ment College was established in direct opposition to
Tubou College. It was carried out on the same
lines precisely: and this was rendered possible by the
fact that an ex-collegian was placed at its head.
Over him was appointed a European principal. Its
site was in close proximity to the older institution,
and the students of the same carried out, for years,
a most tantalizing tirade of abuse and insult against
those of the other. As special enticements and attrac-
tions, those entering the new college were exempted
from the payment of the full poll-tax, 2 per annum,
and were required to find only one-half; while the
government often would ease even this burden by
providing work for these same students as an alterna-
tive. Both these concessions were denied to the
students of Tubou College.
In the midst of it all, Mr. Moulton continued to
labour with the greatest ardour for both the Church
and the educational institution. He applied himself
with unabated zeal to the work of translation. School
107
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text-books, histories, the Pilgrim's Progress, as well
as story-books for the Sunday school, appeared.
Tongan hymns, written on themes suggested by the
environment of the hour, continued to appear, and
were passed on from the College to the Church.
The story is told by an eye-witness that these ' songs
of Zion ' were an untold boon to those banished, as
we have stated some were, to solitary islands. The
eagerness with which they asked, as the boats
approached bearing them food, ' have you brought
us another hymn,' and the joy at heart when the
answer could be given in the affirmative, may be
taken as sufficient proof of this.
The institution by the government of the militia
in these dark days was a form, too, of persecution, in
that when the specified age limit was reached, release
was granted as a matter of course to Free Church
men, but was denied to the Wesleyans.
The new Church, then, was thus firmly established,
and its numbers grew rapidly. The active support of
the government made its life easy, and fellowship
with it was at once the medium whereby the good-
will and pleasure of the king might be obtained.
But the tyranny of a strong hand is exposed to
great risks, the most dangerous of which lies in
hyper-activity. And the high-handedness of the
premier overstepped the mark, which hastened the
crisis. The particular move the first in his ulti-
mate fall was the acquirement of a property that
belonged to the Royal House. Four miles from the
capital, near the Lagoon, is situated Tufa Mahina, a
lovely spot, and one that, like Naboth's vineyard, was
coveted. The king was persuaded to hand it over to
Mr. Baker. It was an unwise step, as it aroused the
spirit of the natives as nothing else, perhaps, would
1 08
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
have done. For, they reasoned, if such a chief's
property can be touched with impunity, whose else
is safe from such grasping hands ?
At this time some prisoners escaped from prison,
commandeered a boat, and, armed with rifles, got
away. But it was the strong opinion of all that they
had not gone far. Every available man in the island
went in search of them for some considerable time,
but without any result. This was in the latter part
of 1886. Rumour had it that they were safely
ensconced in the eastern end of the island and were
daily becoming expert in the use of the rifle. Things
quietened down somewhat in October, and they were
forgotten for a time.
A new development in the militia occupied the
attention for the hour. A magistrate was sent up one
day when the soldiers were at drill on a specific mis-
sion. All were ordered to take an oath, and the
Free Church quota did so without demur. But there
was a protest on the part of the Wesleyans. ' What
was the nature of the oath ? ' they asked. If allegiance
to the king, they had no compunction whatever in
the matter and would immediately take it: but swear
a blind oath never! The protest was referred to the
premier, who gave no satisfaction; he who refused
was to be thrust at once into prison. As a conse-
qunce, many of the Tubou College students were
incarcerated and took their trial some days after.
Some were then acquitted altogether, while others
why, it is hard to say were sentenced to six or
eight months' imprisonment. But the action of the
judge even then did not seem to please the premier,
who ordered a fresh imprisonment of those who had
been acquitted, with a new trial for all, whose sen-
tences he himself dictated to the obedient and fawn-
IOQ H
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ing magistrate. As a result, some of the victims
received two and three years, others one. One of
these was found working in leg-irons on a small island
near Nomuka, while those who refused to turn over
to the Free Church were seen still employed as
government prisoners after their term had expired.
We need not dwell on the injustice of such a
procedure.
The Christmas of this year passed as usual. The
carol singing by the Tubou College students, possess-
ing a charm ever its own, was carried out. The New
Year, too, was ushered in by the government band,
who played the old year out with the strains of ' the
Dead March in Saul,' while the churches spent the
moments in silent prayer and then mingled more
joyous strains with the voices of the congregations,
who sang, ' Come, let us anew.' But a well-remem-
bered night is that of the thirteenth of January, 1887,
on which an attack was made by the escaped
prisoners on the premier's life, as he drove along
the beach from his home to his office. The attack
miscarried, for Mr. Baker escaped unscathed, though
his son, who gallantly faced the would-be assassins,
was seriously wounded by the discharge in the arm,
and a daughter, who heroically attempted to protect
her father, received, in the act, a bullet in the thigh,
was thrown backward on the ground by the action
of the startled horse, and received serious injuries.
The upshot of all this was an extended campaign
of revenge. It was alleged, without any just founda-
tion of fact, that the plot against the premier had
been set on foot by the Wesleyans. The intention
of the escaped prisoners, it was afterwards discovered,
was only known to an adherent into whose house they
had forced an entrance for the night. And even he
no
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
had expostulated without success at such an intrusion,
and made off the next day as a protest. There was
one other also, the self-sacrificing minister referred
to previously, who happened to be then working
out his unjust sentence close by, and who had casually
paid a visit to the house just mentioned. He it was
who, in reply to a statement made by one of the
culprits that they had come down to shoot Mr.
Baker, said, ' Go to the bush with your devil's work.'
These were the only persons who could be said to
have had any knowledge of what was contemplated.
In the case of the one, he did no more than to
allow, under the pressure of the pointed rifles, the
would-be assassins an asylum for the night under
his roof; in that of the other, he was faced with a
perplexing dilemma. He had to go to his work
early, and he could not satisfy himself that the
intention was genuine. So many similar empty threats
had been bruited abroad for some time past and
without any definite result achieved, that he scarcely
felt justified in laying the information lest he should
thus, unwittingly, involve some persons in serious
difficulties. He worked away all day, weighing the
matter, and still was undecided what to do for the
best. Shortly after his return to his home, he was
startled to hear the shot fired and the warwhoop (the
natural mode of sounding an alarm amongst the
Tongans) raised. Only then did he know that the
alleged threat had been, alasl carried into effect.
The record of the next few weeks we would fain
leave untold. When the premier had recovered from
the momentary shock, which completely unmanned
him for a while, he sent in all directions for warriors
to hasten in search of the perpetrators of the das-
tardly deed. The old war-spirit was at once ajoused.
in
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In war-paint and almost nude, with Wesleyan excep-
tions, they came, firing shots and raising their awful
soul-terrifying warwhoops. Not content with the force
that Tongatabu, the main island, could supply, a
schooner was immediately despatched north, to
Ha'abai and Vava'u one and all were to come, was
the message, as many as could bear arms.
But there really was no need for this, for the
men had been secured as a matter of fact, they
had given themselves up, and were safely lodged in
gaol by the Friday of that exciting and trying week.
There was quite time enough to countermand the
order, for the schooner was within call, having vainly
attempted to get away before a ' head wind.' But
no such step was taken. Why? The soul was not
thus to be satiated that was all. The consequence of
this was that every available cutter from the two
northern groups of islands was requisitioned and
a force of five or six hundred warriors, all in war-
paint and infused with the war-spirit, were soon landed
at the capital. They had to be fed. The easiest
method of provision for such a host and it was a
most congenial form of revenge upon his hated
opponents was to turn them loose upon the enemy;
and this was done. The next few weeks was one
series of awful stories of lawlessness. The plantations
and properties and belongings of the Wesleyans in
the country districts were ravaged and ruthlessly
plundered; men and women found themselves sur-
rounded by a band of warriors, who, with loaded
and pointed rifles, demanded of them the immediate
answer whether they would be Free Church or Wes-
leyan, and with the added emphasis of ' Speak, or
we'll shoot you.' Is it to be wondered at that many
turned under such a menace? The chiefs vied with
112
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
each other to stamp out Wesleyanism. Women were
flogged with buggy-whips, and men were cruelly
beaten and painfully tied up with their hands behind
them and left in the broiling hot sun until they
fainted. Some of the ministers, whose only crime
was loyalty, had to run the gauntlet of spiteful
warriors armed with clubs, while others were cruelly
rammed with the butt end of rifles.
During these proceedings the prison was full of
victims who underwent their trial in a closed court
with a packed jury. As a result, seven men were
sentenced to death for their complicity in the
' assassination ' : which unjust sentence was carried
out one sad day on an island in the harbour, where
the poor unfortunates bravely met their doom, being
shot head-first into their graves. Thirty others would
have been similarly treated but for the timely arrival
of a British warship which frustrated the execution
of the judgement passed upon them.
An attack was made upon the College itself. A
message came from the king that it was to be
disbanded; that every student was to return to his
own home. Warriors poured in to the College resi-
dential premises, and the looting began. ,,Mr.
Moulton hurried to the scene as quickly as possible
after dispatching his son to the consulate to make his
appeal and lodge his protest, for it was leased property
that was being threatened.
Meanwhile he showed himself equal to the task of
keeping the foes at bay. This he did in a most
unconventional way. It seemed to come to him as
an inspiration, and he promptly acted upon it. He
immediately pulled a piece of paper from his waist-
coat pocket, quickly found a lead-pencil in the same
quarter, and, rushing up to the first delinquent,
THE GREAT CALAMITY
demanded of him his name and forthwith recorded
it. Then to the next, and the next, and so on. Such
a procedure struck them as being shrouded with
such awe-inspiring mystery that it had the required
effect of sobering them for a while; for long enough,
at any rate, to allow of the arrival of the acting-
consul, who at once ordered the British flag to be
hoisted. This was quite sufficient to stay the pro-
ceedings and call a halt.
But the king's commands as regards the students
had to be obeyed, and would brook no denial.
Summoning them, therefore, into the College Hall (the
writer well remembers the occasion, for he was
present) Mr. Moulton gave out the hymn, ' Light
after darkness.' A brave start was made, and the
tune struck up, but the majority did not get further
than a verse or two at most. It was pathos personi-
fied to see the tears streaming down the cheeks
of stalwart men and youths, as they thought of what
was before them. The only voice that could be
heard was that of the Head Master, who, as once
again later, showed his wonderful command over
his feelings on such a trying occasion and sang the
rest of the hymn through himself. After a short
passage of scripture had been read by one of the
head boys and the Lord's Prayer chanted the usual
mode of opening the School he addressed them.
Let them not be downhearted; they had had a
long spell of College routine; let them look upon the
enforced break as a sort of holiday of six or seven
weeks' duration and then term would commence
afresh. He concluded with a prayer and dismissed
them.
But all through his heart had been inexpressibly
heavy. It was the greatest blow of his life, and it
114
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
was an unjust one. It was at the king's special
request that the College had been established; and
it was by his express command that it was now
disbanded.
Things went from bad to worse. Day by day
fresh news kept reaching him of those who had turned
over. Some of these were amongst his most trusted
followers; but he knew well that only by fear and
threats had their loyalty been made to falter. The
churches were all closed throughout the land. No
service was held in Zion for six weeks. The fire
of persecution burned too fiercely to allow of this.
Mr. Moulton could not bear to see or hear of the
brutal treatment meted out on every hand: and to
have rung the bell for divine worship would have
brought on him a sense of guilt in having subjected
the loyal few, who remained, to further punish-
ment. So he possessed his soul in patience and
waited.
Things reached a crisis, however. Rather than see
them hammered from day to day, he felt it would
be far better to suggest some asylum for the faithful
few. The king had now gone so far as to refuse
to have any Wesleyans at all in his kingdom. Acting
on this, and in conjunction with the consul, he wrote
to the king asking leave for those who still remained
loyal to the Church of their choice to be sent to
Fiji. This was refused. It is well to remember this
fact. But the command was that they must leave
the Tongan Group. A government schooner was in
harbour, and all Wesleyans were ordered to embark.
They were- to be exiled. To what island was not
revealed, but it was generally believed that the lonely
and waterless island of Pylstaart was to be their
destination. Mr. Moulton made every provision for
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this contingency. Tanks were bought and food
placed on board for the purpose. On the shore
the noble few, some sixty or seventy souls, met.
Mr. Moulton offered prayer, committing them to
God's tender compassion and care; and with sad-
dened heart saw them board the schooner, and they
finally sailed away for somewhere! A gentleman,
however, in sympathy with the persecuted church
also boarded her at the last moment and ascertained
from the captain that his orders were Fiji. A
similar contingent were sent as exiles from Ha'abai
and Vava'u, and among them, in addition to the
Rev. David and Rachel Tonga, went Salote, the
king's own daughter.
The less said about their voyage the better. The
food provided for the Wesleyans was commandeered
by the captain for his crew, and in a sorry plight
they reached Fiji. Here, with British humanity, the
governor treated them with the greatest kindness,
caring for them, and finally giving them the island
of Koro for their present habitat. There we will
leave them, exiles for conscience sake, protected by
the kind, strong arm of England, with none to
interfere with their right to worship God in what-
ever church they desired. The Tongan captain
referred to, however, was cross-examined: his replies
were taken down in shorthand and afterwards used
against his own evidence given in Tonga some weeks
later.
Such an experience might easily have been suffi-
cient to crush an ordinary man. But, despite his
anxiety and depression of soul, mind, and body, Mr.
Moulton still plodded along. Six weeks afterwards,
as stated above, he determined to commence the
Sunday services at Zion. The bell was accordingly
116
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF NUKUALOFA (CAPITAL).
ZION CHURCH, NUKUALOFA.
Taken from Roof of Mission House.
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
rung, and to his great surprise, quite a large number
an astonishing one under the circumstances was
found gathered there. But the very sound of the
bell had put the opposition on the alert. Police with
rifles were soon at the doors, and took down the
names of all who had dared to enter, to be submitted
to the king.
It must not be supposed that Mr. Moulton himself
had not also been subjected to insult all through these
trying times. When the persecution was at its height,
he permitted the belongings of some of the Wesleyans
in Nukualofa to be thrown over the Mission House
fence to save them from the marauding bands. The
government took exception to this. The persons of
some were hot immune from either warriors or
relatives, and they found an asylum in the same
leased grounds. Girls were still willing and anxious
to help in the housework, the heavier work being
done by a man on these same premises. But this
did not now meet with the approval of the premier,
who desired to subject his opponent to the hardship
of a boycott. Guards were found at the Mission
House gates one morning, ostensibly to protect Mr.
Moulton's life from mythical harm (such was the
reply given in answer to a protest made through
the consul on the subject), but really it was to watch
and take the names of all who had taken refuge
there or still continued so to do. Mr. Moulton then
applied for special English constables to guard these
guards, which application, eventually, had the pleas-
ing effect of removing the evil; and he was then
left unmolested. But persecution still continued. Nor
was it confined only to Tongatabu, the main island.
Ha'abai and Vava'u suffered very considerably in this
respect. Might in very truth seemed to be Right.
THE GREAT CALAMITY
Nevertheless there had been quiet forces at work,
which finally brought relief to some extent. Early
one Sunday morning the gun from the pilot station
revealed the fact that a vessel was sighted. The
government flags proclaimed it to be a man-of-war.
Shortly after it dropped anchor in the harbour and
proved to be the H.M.S. Diamond from Fiji, with
the High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, Sir
Charles Mitchell, his Secretary, and the Chief Justice,
on board.
It was February and the middle of the hurricane
season, a most unusual time for such a visitation.
But the telegram from the Home Authorities, it
appears, had been very urgent, and the injunction
had been to proceed to Tonga without delay and
inquire into the alleged persecutions that had taken
place there. This was the outcome of a pamphlet
bearing on the question that had been sent to every
Member of the House of Commons.
Arrangements were made by the High Commis-
sioner with the respective parties concerned as to
the commencement of the inquiry and the scope it
was to cover. Means for bringing over witnesses
from the various islands were undertaken. For five
consecutive weeks the inquiry continued. His Excel-
lency left no stone unturned to get at the root of
the matter. At the close of that period, although
most important witnesses from Vava'u had not arrived,
owing to the breakdown of a steamer sent to bring
them, the inquiry was closed. There was no further
need for those from the north, for the persecution
had been amply proved. This and more appeared
in a lengthy report which was embodied in the
Blue-Book sent to the Home Authorities. Mr. Baker
was ' worthy of deportation/ but that power the
118
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
High Commissioner did not put into execution on
account of the fact that he thought the king needed
him for the administration of his kingdom. But
promises were made to His Excellency that there
should be no more persecution. Permission also
was given by the king for the re-opening of Tubou
College, though the number of the students was
limited to under forty.
Appreciation of Mr. Moulton's bearing and con-
duct in these times of great difficulty was shown
by the fact that the High Commissioner attributed
the prevention of civil war to his pacific measures
and counsels. And this was true enough. More than
once he was urged by Wesleyan chiefs, stung to the
quick by the wrongs and insults to which the church
and its adherents were subjected, to loosen the rein
and permit them to fight. Right was on their side
and, though fewer in numbers, yet victory would
crown their whole-hearted efforts. But the hand was
firm. To all these urgent pleadings the same dogged
reply was given : ' No, only have patience and we
shall win in the end. What you ask would ruin
the Cause.' And they so trusted his guidance that,
though they chafed sorely at the exercise, they
implicitly obeyed. That they were able so success-
fully to curb their feelings is a glorious tribute to
the calibre of their Christianity as well as to their
implicit confidence in their leader. The persecution
was a refining fire, and the noble band of Wesleyans
in this tiny group of islands came through the test
superbly. Mr. Crosby, as has been said, proved
himself a loyal ally all through. He greatly helped
to lighten the burden of his superintendent or to
make it as light as it was possible under such
deplorable conditions. He had been sent to take
119
THE GREAT CALAMITY
charge of Vava'u, where he did yeoman service in
keeping the Church alive.
The Diamond had sailed away, and on board
went those whose death sentence had not yet been
carried out. It was hardly thought wise to leave
them behind. But no sooner had the warship de-
parted than it was very evident that the promises
made were not to be faithfully kept. Though not
to such a degree as before, the undercurrent was
still strong, and the difficulties of church work were
thereby rendered exceedingly great.
Tubou College, however, was re-opened, and solid
work was done as far as possible. Prior to this,
important changes had been introduced. Women
students had been permitted to enter the College and
to carry on their education with the others. This
came into vogue soon after Mr. Moulton's return
from England. Of course, there was a great out-
cry at first raised against such a dangerous innova-
tion. But the logic of facts stared Mr. Moulton in
the face, and he was not one to be easily turned
aside from his purpose by opposition, when he had
no doubt in his own mind of the necessity ..of a
step. The facts were these. He found that, after
he had spent his energies on the education of the male
students, some of his best, after having passed through
the College course, would be led, by outside inter-
vention (for marriages are arranged by the relatives in
these islands and the proposal of marriage by proxy)
to marry a girl outside, and the match would be
totally unequal. Mr. Moulton, therefore, determined
to include the education of the Tongan girl, so that
the student man and wife might be equally yoked.
The plan has succeeded splendidly. There was
awakened thereby in school hours a healthy rivalry,
120
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
and the very influence of the College environment
had a most beneficial effect on the girl student.
There have been cases when the dux of the class,
and even of the College, has been a girl.
Out of school hours, the women students retired
to their own premises near the Mission House. They
were taught household duties there in turn, week
by week; and the afternoons were devoted to sewing,
drawing, &c. They were further taught music. Many
of them to-day are ministers' and students' wives, and
the training they have received needs no other adver-
tisement than that which is afforded by the contrast
with the ordinary Tongan home. And yet it has to
be recorded that, now and again, the very object in
view in this matter was frustrated by the relatives.
The College student had an enviable status, especially
when the Matematika Examination had been success-
fully passed, which, only naturally, attracted aspirants
from the uneducated. But, generally speaking, the
main object was attained.
It was during these hard times that Mr. Moulton
inaugurated and successfully carried on what was
known as the Helohelo Class. This consisted of
Old Boys who had passed their matriculation. The
fear was and common experience tells that such
is not groundless lest, after having left the environ-
ment of Tubou College, there should be a tendency
to become ' rusty ' amidst the heavy demands of
other duties. Such a state is ever to be deplored,
and especially in the ranks of the ministry. To
counteract such a possibility the advanced class was
formed. On one of the free days of the week
(Thursday, for instance) Mr. Moulton delivered lec-
tures to those who had the will and disposition to
assemble from various parts of the islands. An
121
THE GREAT CALAMITY
obvious drawback was soon noticed, which was that
those desirous of sharing in the privilege but who
resided in Ha'abai or Vava'u, were placed at a
disadvantage because of the distance. This during
the first few years of its introduction could not be
obviated, but after 1895 tne difficulty was met thus.
Opportunity was taken when Synod was over
and at this important annual meeting there was ever
a large gathering of Old Boys, collegians as well
as ministers to deliver lectures morning and after-
noon for a week. The substance of these was taken
down by each according to his several ability,
although in later years Mr. Moulton would himself
write out a fuller resume of the course delivered. This
was typewritten, and a copy was sent to each island.
From this as an original the students concerned each
took copies, and, at a stated time, an examination was
held on the same, the marks obtained being re-
corded. After a few years the strong were separ-
ated from the weak, being advanced to a higher
division. The acme to be reached was the coveted
'Helo,' the Grecian Hero. Between the M atematika
and that ideal lie the Helohelo stages, the Proba-
tionary being the first, with H.H. 1 , H.H. 2 , and
H.H. 3 , as marks of successive advancement, and as
a result of success in the examinations.
The plan has worked wonders, not only in the
intellectual development of the student, but also in
the stimulus it has been to both ministers and lay-
men at a period of incalculable difficulty. It acted
as a strong preventative to some whose courage
was on the wane; and besides all this, it was the
coping-stone that gave additional prestige to the
educational status of the institution in the eyes even
of its opponents. It might be mentioned also that
122
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
the Helohelo students had the privilege of wearing
the academic gown, while the H.H. 3 had the added
right of donning a hood.
With the increase of sphere came increased pressure
of work. There was no relaxation in translation. The
Bible, histories, hymns these and more were dili-
gently dealt with. The new departure of including;
women resulted in the introduction of solo singing.
This, also, was a bold step from the point of view
of Tongan etiquette. It was by no means in accor-
dance with custom from a native standpoint for a
girl to stand alone on a dai's to sing. But that
Rubicon was at last crossed. Amelia Fifita was the
first, and she charmed the audience by her render-
ing of ' Charity ' (Stephen Glover) and other songs.
By the addition of female voices, soprano and alto
parts were thus rendered possible. The first had
hitherto been taken by men's voices, while the latter
had been omitted.
One of the hardest day's work that Mr. Moulton
did was during this period. It was borne in upon
him that the premier was contemplating a serious
attack on church properties. These had hitherto
been protected by a legal document signed by the
king, at the premier's instigation ten years previously,
in 1875; but by the very nature of the changes
that had taken place, the conditions of the Model
Deed had not been satisfied. Some of the trust
properties had no trustees, and the blow was to be
struck at this point. Now in the island of Tonga-
tabu alone there were something like fifty trusts,
and it was a large order to call meetings and appoint
trustees at the various places in a single day. Failure
to do so would have been disastrous to the security
of the church property. Fortunately, the arrange-
123
THE GREAT CALAMITY
ments made were loyally supported. Taking boat
before dawn, the first series of meetings was held at
Kolonga, fifteen miles away. Trustees were duly
appointed for all the villages in close proximity to
that centre. Jumping into a buggy that was in
readiness there, Mr. Moulton drove to Mua, the
capital of the eastern section of the island. There a
similar set of meetings was held and the necessary
appointments made. The mission boat, by which he
had proceeded to Kolonga, was in waiting here also,
and in due course he arrived at Beka on the Lagoon
near home. He was soon at the College, where he
found representatives from all the remaining parts
of the island awaiting him. Trustees were appointed
for every church in the western and central divi-
sions. The sun had well gone down before the
strenuous day's work was ended. It left him, of
course, thoroughly exhausted physically, but his mind
was at rest, for the situation had thereby been saved.
The premier's attempts to touch the mission property
was rendered abortive, to his great annoyance.
To the disabilities narrated were added the mental
worry of church finances. The bane of crippled
numbers, despite the fact that the ' remnant ' gave
magnificently at their annual collections, was seen in
the not unnatural consequences crippled finances.
And the aftermath of the Secession had brought a
large bill of disabilities in its wake, consisting of fines
and large food accounts. The objective of the enemy
had been plainly to bankrupt and thus banish out of
Tongan existence a Church that was so antagonistic
to his will. And it did seem at times as if that
was about to be only too truly accomplished.
But the Wesleyan Church is a brotherhood, with
a potency of association which, while it may not
124
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
always be fully revealed, yet, in its real form, exists
for all that. It only awaits the tocsin of urgent
need to bring it into active operation, and to show
its intrinsic worth in a manner that has surprised
the world. The strong personality guiding the opposi-
tion forces in Tonga, despite his acknowledged
administrative ability, had been guilty of overlooking
this important element of Wesleyanism. His eyes
had been too much blinded by the seemingly un-
interrupted flow of the current of success, and hence,
probably, it had escaped his ken. But Mr. Moulton
had not (overlooked it. Might had been Right
hitherto, as often before; but he felt that, if there
were a God in heaven, the tide would turn. The
Church was of divine origin, and would come out
of the fire, if not scatheless, at any rate, though'
scarred and wounded, alive. His faith was un-
doubtedly strong, and his optimism unconquerable;
and linked with these he had ' the greatest thing in
the world,' love, as shown at this stormiest of times,
to the people whose interests he espoused in
matters material, as well as intellectual and spiritual.
And such a strong enrolment of God-given forces
combined to carry him and the Church through its
difficulties.
Pressed, but not depressed, by the straitened finan-
cial stress, which ever at this time stared him in
the face, he attended the N.S. Wales Conference.
The Tongan had become one of the ' burning ' ques-
tions of that Assembly every year of late, and loyally
it played its part. It was ever patient in its hearing
of the sorrowful tale that had to be told : and
earnest in its dealings with the case when presented.
On this occasion it showed no small practical interest
in the deplorable financial state of the crippled cause,
125 I
THE GREAT CALAMITY
as revealed by the fact that in one day ;i,ooo was
generously donated by the members of the Con-
ference to the Tongan Church. Permission was also
given whereby the whole State might be canvassed
for funds. With Henry Taliai, a student of Tubou
College, wrTom he had brought up with him for the
purpose, Mr. Moulton toured the colonies and added
another thousand pounds to that already received.
He could not give more than a few weeks to the
effort, being compelled soon to return to the scene
of difficulty.
But in Tonga, despite the promises made to the
High Commissioner, matters were still far from satis-
factory. The king's opposition and dislike to Mr.
Moulton was abnormally accentuated; but, as a mat-
ter of fact, it was almost impossible to arrive at
reality so long as the influence which operated so
powerfully on the monarch's mind and hand re-
mained near and around him.
The General Conference of 1888, held at Adelaide,
was memorable to all who attended it, and to the
interested section without, who watched its move-
ments in connexion with the Tongan question. The
debates were hot over the proposed removal of Mr.
Moulton from Tonga. It was stated that it was the
wish of the king, that his presence in Tonga was
inimical to the interests of peace, and so forth. A
split in the Conference seemed impending, and feel-
ing ran high. There were those who felt it an
injustice to the brave and loyal Wesleyans to remove
one who had served them and the Conference so
faithfully during such a trying ordeal. Mr. Moulton
was strong in his determination to remain. Who
could be sent at this crisis to fill his place was
the question, and the demand was imperative for a
126
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
strong man, and one who was conversant with the
language. Further, to act as was suggested would
be tantamount to a reflection on Mr. Moulton's ad-
ministration, and the Conference repudiated such an
idea. Opinion seemed to be pretty well divided and
the case desperate. One of the patriarchs of Aus-
tralian Methodism, the Rev. John Watsford, ap-
proached Mr. Moulton privately and said, in a tone
of grave concern, ' Brother Moulton, can't you suggest
an alternative? Otherwise, I am afraid, there will be
a serious split in the Conference, unless some way
out of the difficulty is found.' A sleepless night of
agonizing prayer followed; and light at last dawned.
At the Conference the next day Mr. Moulton stood
up and stated that he would be willing to withdraw
from Tonga on condition that Mr. (now Dr.) George
Brown was sent in his place. Instantly there was a
deep feeling of relief. The air was freer. It did
seem to be the only feasible solution of a crucial
difficulty. Mr. Brown, after careful thought, decided
in the affirmative, and the Station-sheet of Tonga
was thus altered, subject to confirmation at the ensuing
New South Wales Conference.
Some one has called this 'the great self -denial'
and the sacrifice it involved to Mr. Moulton makes
it assuredly worthy, we think, of such a descrip-
tion. He was conscious that the change proposed
would not in any way affect the condition of the
Wesleyan Church in Tonga; for, though his
opponents had been strong in their emphatic assevera-
tion that his presence was a menace to all peace
there, yet he was perfectly aware that the grudge
was not confined to the narrow limits of his own
personality, but rather to the Wesleyan body as a
whole, as represented by the Conference. He was,
127
THE GREAT CALAMITY
further, unwilling to sever his connexion with a
people whom he loved and with whom he had passed
through such a fierce fire of trial. He had made
plans for the future and had educational schemes
and work in hand and in prospect. And his heart
was, therefore, very sore at the thought of having to
leave all such behind him. But he made the sacrifice,
perhaps the greatest in his life, and agreed to withdraw.
We need not linger on the painful parting between
the missionary and people. A long, and an especially
close and peculiar association with each other
for over twenty-three years could not be broken
without the severest pang. The last meeting
which they held together was in every way
pathetic, and once more they sang their plaintive
dirge. Dr. Brown, in his biography, has called
attention to the remarkable self-control displayed by
Mr. Moulton when, accompanied by a large con-
course of people, he bade farewell to them at the
wharf. Keen eyes watched the whole proceedings
with the aid of opera-glasses. But the ordeal was
bravely faced, and the steamer at length bore away
from the wharf. When a short distance away, Mr.
Moulton struck up ' Light after darkness ' the hymn
that was associated so closely with another sad occa-
sion a year or so previously and the tune was
taken up by the waving natives on shore. Again there
was a collapse : and, as before, Mr. Moulton was
the only one who seemed able to control his feelings.
Yet, despite that unconquered exterior, there must
have been a spirit inexpressibly bruised. He was
leaving the land which had been the sphere of all
his religious and educational triumphs, and the people
who were his children in the gospel. And it might
be for ever I
128
THE BURSTING OF THE STORM
It was a sad close to a term of service that had
been conspicuous for its devotion and fidelity to
duty a cruel irony of fate. He had come at the
king's earnest request and had carried on, to un-
precedented success, the work entrusted to him. It
was ostensibly from the same quarter that his en-
forced exit had been brought about. His enemy
for so many years had apparently triumphed. But
his own triumph was greater, for his removal was
the outcome of a self-denial and sacrifice that can
never die, the sinking of his own will and desire
for the anticipated good of the people he loved a
sinking, which in his own judgement, by the way,
would not bring the desired end. He thus bowed in
his loyalty to the consensus of opinion of his minis-
terial brethren in the General Conference.
But his work had not been a failure. The intel-
lectual superstructure that he had attempted to rear
on the solid foundation of the gospel had been re-
markable in its quality. It had already played* a
potent part in its effect on the land as a whole and
on the life of the Church in particular. And though
now removed from the sphere where his efforts
would have directly added further benefits in the
same direction, the mark of his work had been
indelibly made on the life of the nation and people.
But, indirectly, his purpose was still to work for
them and to extend the literature that it had been
his joy to give them. In the carrying out of this
purpose he could find some degree of consolation to
counteract, in a measure, the poignancy of the hour.
The steamer on which Mr. Moulton and family
had embarked passed on to Fiji. Here, while await-
ing the departure of the Sydney boat, the oppor-
tunity was seized of paying a flying visit to Koro,
129
THE GREAT CALAMITY
where the exiles had their home. Who can describe
the feelings of joy when they met their beloved
pastor ? His stay, though short, was full of encourage-
ment to them, and he left them with hearts greatly
cheered. With him came John Fekau, a collegian
of great mental ability, to help in translation work.
Not many days after he reached Sydney, where he
took up his residence at Summer Hill. At his sugges-
tion the Foreign Mission Board sent for David and
Rachel Tonga, who shortly afterwards arrived and
were employed in deputation work throughout the
Commonwealth. Their vivid stories of the persecu-
tions aroused the feelings of intense indignation to a
great pitch, and their meetings everywhere were a
substantial help to the funds of that important
society.
130
CHAPTER VIII
THE AFTERMATH
MR. MOULTON arrived in Sydney in the month
of August 1888, and for the few months that
still remained, before Conference could appoint him
to a circuit, he took up his residence at Summer
Hill with his family around him complete, with the
exception of one of his sons, who, however,
joined the home circle in the following December.
For eight years it had been dissevered one of the
innumerable sacrifices contingent on all missionary
work; now, happy in the bosom of his family, he
entered as energetically into his translation work as
before.
The following Conference gave him a city circuit,
Mt. Lachlan, and although his services here only
lasted for a period of a single year, yet the work
he did has left its mark, to judge by the testimony of
those who in after years refer to it with thankfulness.
Even then he was compelled, on account of an
enemy that had long harassed him asthma to seek
for a short respite at Bathurst, when his duties were
faithfully undertaken by the Rev. William Jeffries,
who had just arrived from England, and who, from
that time to the present, has been conspicuously
connected with Australasian Methodism. From 1890
to 1893 he became a supernumerary, but still was
connected with Tonga in his capacity as Book-room
Steward. His translation work never ceased nor
THE AFTERMATH
did he fail to anticipate that, some time or other,
the way would again open for his return to the
land and people he loved with such devotion.
The door quite unexpectedly opened for him in
the year 1 890 ; though it was after he had left Australia
for England, that a turn in the tide of affairs in Tonga
made this possible. The visit to the Old Country
was quite unexpected, and was the result of a kind
invitation from his brother. It was a chance not to
be missed, and the time was opportune, for he had
no circuit obligations to hamper him. And it was
while he was thus on this unexpected visit to England
that the change of events in Tonga occurred. It was
on this wise.
Mr. Baker, it seems, had not been satisfied with
having temporarily ousted his opponent, but he must
needs incur the guilt of maligning the name and
prestige of the British representative in Tonga. The
libel was in connexion with events bearing upon the
attempt upon his own life in 1887. He, very inad-
visedly, gave official support to a reflection made
upon the consul, who, it was stated, had had the
rifles used against him concealed under the Con-
sulate. Sir John Thurston had succeeded Sir Charles
Mitchell as High Commissioner of the Western Pacific,
and had had many years' experience in Fiji. He
was an expert therefore in the native character and
temperament. He forthwith took steps, and extorted
from Mr. Baker but not without some difficulty it
would seem a humble apology, which amounted to
a retractation of the statements made.
Some little time afterwards, His Excellency had
occasion to pay a visit to Tonga, and while there,
the principal chiefs seized the opportunity of making
a strong appeal to him to remove Mr. Baker, who
132
THE AFTERMATH
was represented as being inimical to the highest
interests of the island and people. After serious
thought and calm deliberation, Sir John decided
to accede to the request made, and, to Mr. Baker's
surprise, one morning he was served with a notice
of deportation for two years. The shock was em-
phasized by the realization that a body of blue-jackets
were on guard around the palace, where, for many
years now, he and his family had taken up their
established quarters, and also- at his own (the
premier's) office. He had to face the unwelcome
fact that his sun had at last set, and his long reign
had come to an untimely end.
The excitement all around when the truth was
noised abroad was intense. The revulsion of feeling
was but natural, and led sundry officials into ex-
tremes, when they experienced a sense of liberty
unknown before during the reign of tyranny. The
Hon. George Tuku'aho, a chief of very high rank
and an ex-student of Tubou College, was appointed
premier. There was a sigh of relief all over the
island at the welcome change, and few hearts felt
sad when the Union Company's steamer left, carrying
with it as a passenger the man who had played for
so long such a high-handed game in the political
life of Tonga and its people. Nor were the people
ungrateful to the High Commissioner for his action.
They loaded him with presents of a native character,
and publicly thanked him as their benefactor, ere he
left for his official home.
But, before he did so, an amnesty was readily
granted by the king; political prisoners were set
free, and, amongst the first of these, the exiles in
Fiji. These were sent as soon as possible in a
steamer graciously chartered by the Fijian Govern-
133
THE AFTERMATH
ment, and there are those who still remember the
character of the scenes that ensued when, at last,
they reached their native shore. The meeting of
Princess Charlotte and the king, her father, in this
connexion, was a most pathetic one. Religious mat-
ters began to right themselves slowly but surely,
and no one can shut his eyes to the fact that from
this time the two churches that had long been
severed began to draw together.
And Mr. Baker? Well, we may, perhaps, be
pardoned if we continue his history still further,
for it can be told in a few words. He left Tonga
a deposed premier, but rich in the spoils of many
years of uninterrupted financial advantages, which
he had used to the full. But, after five or six years,
he returned once again to the scene of his former
triumphs a bankrupt man, with practically nothing.
His request to be admitted into the Free Church
circle was refused. He tried, but failed, to gain the
ear of the young king, even though the latter owed
his occupation of the Tongan throne to his diplomacy,
old King George being still alive. Thus baffled, he
took advantage of the misfortunes of a rejected prin-
cess, in her claim for the king's hand, to espouse
her cause. He started another new church, calling
it ' Victoria's Church,' which she readily joined. By
this means he was able to influence a minority to
support him, and raised a considerable sum of money.
He made the attempt, too, to persuade Bishop Willis
of Honolulu to join hands with him and the princess,
but without success. The bishop was without a
diocese at the time, owing to the recently established
American oversight of the island; but although he
came over on a visit, and ultimately did identify
himself like most of the Europeans with the Church
134
THE AFTERMATH
of England, he repudiated any connexion with the
new movement.
The opposition, however, being somewhat strong in
Tongatabu, Mr. Baker removed to Ha'abai, and was
well received there by his own. There was a flourish
of trumpets at first, but it soon died away, and he
found himself sorely put to it to obtain means for
subsistence for himself and his grown-up family. At
length he died at Lifuka, and a Seventh-Day
Adventist elder, who chanced to be passing through
on the steamer at the time, officiated at his grave.
So to the very land where his name had ,been
held in awe and his word for many years had
been law, he eventually was compelled to return,
bankrupt in pocket and prestige; and in the very
island where he had made his coup d' Stal years
before, there he died in want and dishonour. ' The
mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding
small.'
No one was more astonished, perhaps, than Mr.
Moulton when the changes that had taken place in
Tonga reached his ear. But his joy at the transition,
which had brought back the exiles from Fiji and,
practically the 'restoration,' was great; and yet not
greater than his gratitude to Almighty God, who
had, in His own wise way, wrought such a trans-
formation. His visit to England was not without
its flushes of pleasure to him. Apart from that
relating to the renewal of personal relationships
broken for many momentous years, his cup of joy
was made full by the gratifying manner in which
John Fekau, the native he had taken home with him,
had acquitted himself before the English public.
He was one of the Tubou College students, and of
course, the reputation of that institution was at stake.
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THE AFTERMATH
Its Head Master ever jealously guarded its interests,
but his fears were needless, and his student worthily
walked in the footsteps of his predecessor, David
Finau. He excelled himself when he addressed a
meeting at Cambridge, at which members of that far-
famed university were well represented. He seemed
to realize the importance of the occasion and rose to it.
In the early months of 1891 Mr. Moulton was
back again in Sydney. He made a silent resolve to
pay a flying visit to Tonga, as a hush to the oft-
repeated opinion that the king was still opposed to
his re-appointment. He seemed to be blessed, on
crucial occasions, with the invaluable power, not only
of discerning the psychological moment but also of
acting upon it. It was so on this occasion. Mr.
Moulton felt the time had come for the projected
visit to Tonga, and to the king. And he went.
He landed in Nukualofa, and, shortly afterwards,
an audience with the king was granted. It was as
he had surmised. The aged monarch received him
graciously, and the reconciliation was complete.
The old-time relations were revived, and the fare-
well was most cordial. It was the last time that
they met, for, on Mr. Moulton's next visit to the
island, the king had been dead for four years.
Thus providence had graciously granted what all
ardent followers of the Tongan question had for many
years devoutly wished and prayed for ; and the breach
formed between the two friends of former days was
now, at last and for ever, healed. While there was
joy in heaven over such a happy consummation, on
earth it Was none the less great, and the little
loyal church in Tonga, as did its larger counterpart in
New South Wales, joined fervently in its chorus of
thanksgiving.
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THE AFTERMATH
The year 1893 was an important one on the annals
of Tongan history, for, on February 17, the Grand
Old Man of Tonga, after a short illness, ' slept with
his fathers,' and Taufa'ahau, his grandson, bearing
his own revered and awe-inspiring name, reigned in
his stead under the title of King George Tubou II.
The passing of the old king was marked by the
most terrible rain storm known in the islands for
many years ; and the Tongan often declared that ' the
heavens themselves seemed to be weeping at the
passing of Tubou ' !
Mr. Moulton's son, who has preserved these records,
had been appointed to the charge of Tubou College
in April of this same year, and he can vouch for
the truth as to a superabundant downpour, for he
took the trouble of computing the recorded readings
of the rain-gauge in the institution for the subsequent
ten months, and can certify to the fact that no
inches were registered during that period. The death
of the old king meant the removal of one of the
greatest, if not the greatest, personalities of the
South Pacific. He had been responsible for the
consolidation of the Tongan group, and had made
possible the remarkable changes that had taken place
through the medium of the levelling influences of
the gospel of Christ. His mind was among the
first to grasp the patent shallowness of the heathen
worship, and to his vigour and individual effort
must be attributed the rapid change that was effected
upon the minds of the other chiefs of high standing,
even before he took up the reins of government over
the people whom he so successfully ruled for nearly
forty years. He saw the transition of his island
from heathenism to civilization, from the darkness of
ignorance and superstition to the light of a know-
137.
THE AFTERMATH
ledge and a liberty analogous to that enjoyed by the
foremost nations of the world, if on a somewhat
lower scale. And to him belongs the glory of
furthering such a desirable end. The intellectual
enlightenment without which there could be no ad-
vancement was ever his earnest care : and he seized
the opportunity when it presented itself, of remedying
the defect.
After his conversion, the only apparent charge
against his character was on account of his share
in the persecution. We have written in vain, how-
ever, if it has not already been very clearly and
unmistakably shown that the false step was the direct
result of the dominating personality and persuasive
powers of another, who played upon the declining
vigour and disabilities contingent upon old age, in the
interests of his own position, and who took unfair
advantage of his ascendancy to make the agent the
scapegoat of his bold machinations.
Mr. Baker's own unsolicited statement, made when
he found the door of entry to the Free Church
closed to him, is sufficient evidence of where the
guilt lay. He said, ' I did it all for my own
aggrandisement ' ; and this is supported in a pathetic
fashion by the fact that the king himself, when re-
viewing the past, was known to have volunteered the
remark, ' We have sinned ; let us be fervent in prayer ! '
The news of King George's death greatly affected
Mr. Moulton. The memories of the early days out-
crowded the bitterness of later years : for it was the
king who had been his consistent helper when obsta-
cles to his college schemes were put forward by the
chiefs and others. The College magazine was in the
printer's hands and the issue almost complete. There
was no room therefore for more than a few lines of
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THE AFTERMATH
appreciation, inserted as it passed through the press,
with the promise of a more suitable In memoriam at
a later date. Unfortunately pressure of work inter-
fered with the carrying out of this purpose. This
is a matter for deep regret, as the early relationship
between the two had been very intimate, and the
stories of adventure would have given both value
and piquancy to the memoir which he had fully
intended to write.
It is a strange coincidence that the same month
and year which saw the passing of the great king
of Tonga were those identified with the exaltation
of Mr. Moulton to the highest position that the New
South Wales Conference could bestow upon any of
its brethren that of the Presidency. To that high
position of trust was added the responsibility and
burden of the presidency of the denominational edu-
cational institution, Newington College. The first
man to act as its Head Master (1863) was now
chosen to be its president. Both positions were un-
sought and were, practically, thrust upon him. He
was no aspirant for the first (nor for the second, for
that matter) : for, as he told his brethren when, by
an overwhelming vote, they had placed him in the
Chair, his only aim in his ministerial career had
ever been to be 'a workman that needeth not to
be ashamed.' With the second was associated the
tutorship of the theological students, a charge of the
greatest importance, in view of the future development
of those who were in due course to join the ranks
of the active ministry.
He guided the sessions of Conference with a firm
though kind hand; and if, at times, as not unfre-
quently occurred even in so orderly an assembly, the
atmosphere was somewhat surcharged with electricity,
139
THE AFTERMATH
the air was cleared and the normal state restored by
a winning smile. That he worthily upheld the
honour and dignity of the Chair will be amply
exemplified by the resolution passed at the Conference
of 1894 on the subject.
His term of service at Newington College deserves
more than a passing word. When he took charge
of it in 1893, the financial burden of the institution,
ever onerous, was rendered still more so by the
serious bank crashes for which that year was con-
spicuous. Patiently and fearlessly he undertook the
task. At no period of its history had the school
been at such a low ebb. There were but twenty
boarders, and the day boys had dwindled consider-
ably. However, he worked away indefatigably and
slowly the numbers rose. Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, B.Sc.,
was associated with him at this period as Head
Master, and materially helped in the difficult task
before them.
The new President was, as ever he had been, the
' schoolboys ' man. He was acquainted with all their
peculiar ways. He loved the boys and sought their
highest welfare. He could be firm, however, when
the occasion demanded. He was interested, too,
in their sports. The swimming-baths; the splendid
cricket ground; the College flag with the Wyvern
crest; the grass lawns near the flagstaff that slope
so gracefully down towards the cricket grounds
these all came into being during his regime, and
tell of his interest in the institution and its students.
With its central building of massive stone and the
lofty tower that adorns it, its gymnasium and twenty
acres of playing-grounds, it can easily hold its own
with the other great public schools of the Australian
metropolis from an external point of view. The review
140
THE AFTERMATH
of its past history at the jubilee, held in 1913, has
shown it to have been a remarkable asset in the
life of the Commonwealth also as regards brain and
moral culture. Ability and character are the two
outstanding results of the work of the institution, and
Mr. Moulton has a right to share in the kudos of
those who were instrumental in shaping the course
of the lives of such. Many who were under him at the
old site on the Parramatta River remember him with
admiration and reverence, and those who were placed
under his supervision at the new, at Stanmore, have
openly shown that they have entertained a similar
regard for him.
But amid all the pre-occupations of other tasks
Tonga was never far away from his thoughts. Kolo
Finau, a Collegian, was now his amanuensis, and he
found time for Tongan translation and hymnology
despite his many other claims. The present writer
was at the head of Tubou College at the time that his
father was appointed to Newington, and can vouch
for the fact that the hymns and scholastic work that
came from his pen, while not, of course, so prolific
as of old, reached high-water mark as regards their
quality.
In 1895 the return of the Rev. J. A. Bowring,
who had been Chairman of the Tongan District for
five years, left the way open for Mr. Moulton's
cherished wish. He could be ill spared now from
Newington, but a compromise was effected whereby,
while still occupying his present position, he was
appointed once again in charge of the Tongan District
which ever since the year 1882 had become a
District in connexion with the New South Wales
Conference, and was no longer a mission in the
general sense of the term.
141 K
THE AFTERMATH
It was a burden as arduous at it was self-imposed
that made him Chairman of so important a field
as the Tongan District while still President of Newing-
ton and theological tutor. But it was better for his
peace of mind than that he should be cut off from
the work to which he was so devoted. Hence he
was glad to accept it even under such conditions;
and so as not to jeopardize the interests of the institu-
tion, made the arrangement to pay an annual visit
of a few weeks to Tonga, in which he could hold
the synod and attend to educational and other work.
Great was the welcome he received on his first
visit, and from none was it warmer than from the
Old Boys of the College. The succeeding synods
were a source of great spiritual power, and at their
conclusion lectures were delivered for a week to
the Helohelo (old students) class. Their own notes
of the same were taken at the time and were marked.
The lectures themselves were afterwards written
out and typewritten in extenso, and a copy of each
was distributed to each of the three large groups
of islands. There the contents were copied out by
each student concerned, and this formed the basis
of the next examination held on a date specified.
The subjects of these were varied, but amongst them
we might mention the history of England (to
Henry II), comparative physiology, the grammar of
the Tongan language, and, in mathematics, surds,
binomial theory, and logarithms. With the excep-
tion of one year, in which there was a lapse because
of illness, these courses were continued regularly
for ten years, until 1906; and one can safely assert
that at no time in the history of the College was
such a high standard reached.
During this successful period of work was inaugur-
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ated the Komemo (an adaptation of Commemoration)
in which past and present students took part. The
first, held in 1898, was a brilliant function, and made
a lasting impression on the island as a whole.
Nothing like it had ever been seen before. In antici-
pation of the attendance, panelled sides, suspended in
sections from above, replaced the nailed weather^
boards of the western side of the hall. These could
be opened and supported at will by iron bars, which
rested on substantial studs. From the top plate, or
resting on the thatch, a lean-to was improvised, twelve
to fourteen feet wide and covered with branches,
as a protection from the sun's rays, the sides of
which, being left open, gave ample room for a large
body of enthusiastic spectators to stand and watch
the proceedings within the hall. It was proved a
wise innovation; for it was an immense crowd that
gathered to witness this new departure.
The commemoration lasted three days. The official
opening in the morning was the most impressive,
as it was the most formal, of the functions. A
large stand, sloping to the floor, stretched from the
wall of the eastern side to the centre of the building
in the central portion of the large hall. On these
sat the graduates, past and present, while the crowds
occupied every other available space.
The solemnity of the Roll-Call will ever be remem-
bered. On each side of the dais at the further end,
and looking down upon it from an exalted position,
stand the names in panelled splendour and in the
corresponding order of years. As they were read
out, one by one, they were duly responded to by
their possessor on the stand.
To some there could be no reply, but they were
not forgotten, for the captain of their respective years
H3
THE AFTERMATH
had been delegated to answer for them; and of
such it was said ' He has died.' The muffled roll
of the kettle-drum for a few seconds, terminating
with the deep thud of the big drum, accompanied
the solemn announcement. After the Roll-Call had
been concluded, the College brass band struck up the
'Dead March in Saul,' the audience reverently stand-
ing. Then followed Mr. Moulton's speech, a review
of the work of the past thirty-three years, which was
listened to with rapt attention. As there were others
who spoke, it was long past noon before the function
concluded. Of the subsequent proceedings nothing
much need be said. Of food there was plenty and
' they did all eat and were satisfied ' an element of
prime importance in the management of all Tongan
festivals.
The evenings of two days were given over, the
first to the present College students, the second to
those of the past. Both were entertainments with
characteristics all their own, the former being an
'extra-special edition/ as the occasion demanded, on
the lines of the College Speech-Day already described.
There will be no need, therefore, to attempt any
further description of it.
The afternoon of one of the days was occupied
with one of the most interesting functions that any
one could be privileged to witness. It was absolutely
Tongan in its first part, and consisted of the offerings
presented in honour of the occasion.
The native women interested had been, for months
previously, busy making native cloth. Now the time
had come for them to present it. A long line, two
deep, of women attired in gala dress approached by
the gate leading from the public road into the
College square. Huge lengths of the native cloth
144
THE AFTERMATH
were opened out and stretched, held up here and
there by women on each side. The male portion,
with native cloth around them or hanging from the
shoulders and entwined around them (reminding one
somewhat of the Roman toga), accompanied the
bearers. On each side, in war attire, and with
short-handled tomahawks or imitation clubs, ran
youths, backwards and forwards in the line, twisting
their weapons dexterously round and round, turning
them to one side and then behind them, receiving
them on the other, occasionally flinging them into
the air and skilfully catching them. All the lengths
of cloth were finally deposited before the guests of
honour, until at last a large pile was heaped up.
A speech followed, delivered by a person of rank. It
was intensely interesting for its archaic form, the
use of which has been forgotten by the present 'genera-
tion. The native cloth was afterwards sold and
realized a very considerable sum, for it is a com-
modity in great request among the natives themselves.
The Helohelos also had been preparing for months to
add their mite on this auspicious occasion. This
took the form of a monetary contribution, which was
collected in the usual way. As a result the proceeds
of the whole amounted to no small sum, which was
to be used in aid of the advanced educational
work.
The proceedings as a whole were a sight not to
be missed, and the programme arranged was carried
out with the greatest enthusiasm and order, for the
Tongans are the slaves of formality, and here we
had it in its pure, unadulterated, and true Tongan
form. With the proceeds a chemical laboratory was
subsequently erected, the frame of the building being
cut in Auckland and sent down all ready for erection.
THE AFTERMATH
This was done on the occasion of the second com-
memoration a few years later, and the students of
the Helohelo classes carried through the work them-
selves. A third 'Commem.' was held just prior to
Mr. Moulton's final departure from the islands a
step to which he was ultimately driven by considera-
tions of health.
The value of these functions lay mainly in the
fact that they renewed and intensified the zeal for
scholastic work. They stimulated mental effort in
some, and in others they aroused a sense of shame
at being outstripped by their fellows, and thus they
were of value on many sides. In connexion with this,
his latest institution, it may be mentioned how great
a gratification it was to the Collegians, old and new,
and to the Church at large, when they learned in
1899, on one of his visits, that their loved teacher
and pastor had received the degree of Doctor of
Divinity from the Victorian University of Canada
a distinction which his work as an educational
pioneer as well as a Christian missionary amply
merited. It is only fair to Dr. Moulton to state that
he did not seek this recognition any more than he
had done other distinctions. He was as much sur-
prised as any one when he opened the letter acquaint-
ing him of the fact: and he never did succeed in
finding out how the distinction came to be conferred
upon him. He could only surmise that his work in
connexion with Tubou College and the copies of
literary work that he had done, and which he had
forwarded to the Chicago Exposition some years
before, had been the medium.
Meanwhile, he had been working had and consis-
tently at his translation work. The needs of the
Sunday school, as well as of the College, were remem-
146
THE AFTERMATH
bered in this respect, but the bulk of his attention
was concentrated upon his magnum opus, the com-
pletion of the translation of the Bible. For twenty-
five and a half years, amid many trials and dis-
tractions, he had been at work on this great task,
and now at last it was finished. On Christmas Eve,
1902, he had the joy of posting to England the final
pages. It would have been a very heavy piece of
work for one man to accomplish under the most
favourable conditions; but when the history of those
difficult years is taken into account it stands out as
nothing less than a miracle of patience and perse-
verance. The Book of books, translated from the
original tongues, still remains as his rich legacy to the
Tongan people.
Yes; his legacy. For the long period spent under
the trying climatic conditions of an island in the
tropics, accentuated by the stress and strain belong-
ing to the years of the persecution, had told seriously
upon his health. In 1906 the doctor in Tonga told
him that it was imperative that he should leave, or
serious consequences would follow. He felt the truth
of the warning, and decided to withdraw from the
work and seek, for the few years still left to him,
the quiet retirement in the home at Lindfield that
he had established. It was a wrench to both pastor
and people, for they recognized his heroic service
on their behalf. He had given the best years of his
life to them, and it was only the imperative warnings
of advancing years and failing health that forced him
to part from them. But there was some consolation
for them in the knowledge that there would still be
Tongan translations and other works from his pen,
which would serve to maintain to some degree the
connexion; while in his capacity as Bookroom.
147,
THE AFTERMATH
Steward he would be in constant touch with them.
Absent from them in body he would be ever with
them in spirit, until God's voice should call him and
he 'Crossed the Bar.'
148
CHAPTER IX
LIFE'S EVENTIDE
Conference of 1906 readily, and yet with
JL genuine regret, granted Dr. Moulton's request
for retirement from active service. It showed its
high appreciation of his long and devoted services by
a resolution to that effect, which was entered upon
the Minutes of Conference and read as follows:
' On the retirement of the Rev. J. E. Moulton,
D.D., from the active ministry of the Church, the
Conference records its high sense of the value of
the services rendered by him in many directions
during the past forty-three years. Concerning his
character, gifts, and work, we glorify God in him.
Connected with the Tongan District since 1864,
Dr. Moulton has a record as a missionary and
an educationalist that is almost unique. Apart
from other services, the extent and value of his
work as translator of the Holy Scriptures and
standard literature into the Tongan tongue, to-
gether with his contributions to Tongan hymnals,
is such as to lay that island nation under permanent
obligation to him. As President of Tubou College,
he did more than mere scholastic work; he im-
parted high ideals to the students of both sexes who
came under his influence, and as Chairman of the
District, he exercised a wise, sagacious and fatherly
149
LIFE'S EVENTIDE
care over a people whom he loved and served with
singular devotion. In the troublous times through
which our work there unhappily passed Dr. Moul-
ton comported himself with a fidelity, wisdom,
serenity, and courage that eventually won the ad-
miration of all parties. During a temporary resi-
dence in New South Wales, Dr. Moulton filled
the position of President of Newington College, and
Principal of the Theological Institution, where his
influence upon the students who were under his
care was stimulating, refining, and inspiring in a
rare degree. With extensive scholarship and wide
reading, he combined an unaffected modesty and an
unfailing geniality that made his presence every-
where that of a good diffused. The Conference
recognized his worth by calling him in 1893 to
its presidential chair, and we feel that, in his retire-
ment, we are losing from the ranks of our active
ministry a brother of unique personality and gifts.'
Eulogistic references were made by the ' fathers '
to his work, which they designated as unique, and
the voice of a younger member added his quota
of respect and admiration as a representative of the
generation of ministers who had been brought under
his beneficial influence.
To some there is granted in the providence of
God, a prolonged and felicitous eventide, but in this
case it was denied. His old enemy, asthma, that had
for nearly forty years been so relentless in its
attacks, now was more ruthless still; and the re-
maining few years they were only three and
especially the last eighteen months, were years of
constant suffering.
To his home at Lindfield he retired. It was a
150
LIFE'S EVENTIDE
foregone conclusion that the cottage he had built
should be distinguished by a Tongan name and one
with a significant meaning. ' Fale'ofa ' or ' House
of love' was his choice, and was truly characteristic
of his idea of what the atmosphere of the home
should be. Amid heated arguments the choice phrase
' flowers of affection ' would be appealingly and
lovingly used across the dinner table; and it was a
corrective to disputatiousness which may, even in a
devoted family, tend to break bounds. An alterna-
tive plan, be it noted, quite as effective and as
frequently adopted, was, 'let us sing; Hymn ' !
Very characteristic ! 1 Here he lived in the comfort of
the new home that he had himself carefully planned
so as to bestow the maximum of comfort upon the
self-denying partner of his life and work. Here in
the study he did Tongan translation and was happy.
But it could be noticed that, while mental faculties
were unimpaired, his physical powers were failing fast.
In August of 1907 the family, with one exception,
were present, for they thought the end had come:
and although he rallied to a limited degree, the re-
maining eighteen months were a season of great
suffering. Shortly before the Conference of 1909 he
put his Bookroom accounts in order and handed them
over to his successor ; and that act seemed to be ' the
last straw.' From that time forth he appeared to have
no strength for aught else than to get his breath,
so severe was his complaint.
Throughout this last illness the Tongan Church
bore his name on their lips continually in prayer,
and their letters revealed the concern they felt at his
protracted suffering. In such a state he continued
until May, when it was plainly visible that life was
ebbing fast and only the will that had been so
LIFE'S EVENTIDE
dominant all through his remarkable career was
responsible for his tenacious grip of life. Hence the
medical verdict as to the approaching end had once
and again to be revoked. But at last, after a day
or two of almost total unconsciousness on Sunday,
May the 9th, 1909, at 1.40 a.m., the great and weary
struggle of many months was over, and James Egan
Moulton of Tonga passed over into Another Country.
He had navigated stormy seas with conspicuous cour-
age for just over sixty-eight years, and now he had
cast anchor in the Haven of Everlasting Rest.
The funeral was largely attended. After a short
service at the house, Newington College Cadets bore
the casket to the Lindfield Methodist Church, where
a most impressive service was held. The Rev. C. J.
Prescott (President and Head Master of Newington
College) gave an address, in which he referred feel-
ingly and eloquently to Dr. Moulton as a preacher,
educationalist, missionary, and man. At the grave
at Gore Hill, where he was laid, the Rev. E. J.
Rodd (Principal of the Ladies' College, Burwood)
and the Rev. E. E. Crosby, B.A., his former colleague
in Tonga, also delivered appropriate appreciations.
The hymn, 'Abide with me,' fittingly closed the rites
that could be paid over the grave of the saint and
hero, who was laid to rest. It was fitting that, on
such an occasion, the College flag, presented during
his presidency, should cover the casket: and no
less so that the strong arm of youthful cadets of
the institution with which he had enjoyed such close
and intimate connexion should bear him to his last
resting-place. And most of all, assuredly, that, al-
152
LIFE'S EVENTIDE
though through the irony of circumstances no Tongan
native should follow the bier of their departed chief-
tain (his last amanuensis having been recalled owing
to the death of his child), Tonga should not even
then be forgotten. A rich gafiqafi (a high chief's
mat of the finest texture) enshrouded his body; and,
buried with him, also, was a copy of his Tongan Bible
and hymn-book. Moreover, with an exquisite sense
of fitness Mr. Crosby read the Committal prayer
from the Tongan prayer-book, for the translation of
which the departed missionary himself had been
responsible. The Revs. Charles Stead and C. E.
James, the latter a former missionary in Tonga, also
took part.
But the connexion of Tonga with these last rites
was not yet closed. Those islanders sorrowed with a
great sorrow when the news reached them, and this
sorrow was not confined to the members of the
Church whom he had so carefully nurtured. The
passing of Dr. Moulton was considered as a national
loss, and the flag flew at half-mast at Government
House for three days.
The ensuing Tongan District Synod passed appre-
ciative resolutions bearing on the loss they had
sustained; but their appreciation proceeded to take
more practical form, the result of which was that,
after some months, the sum of ^150 was generously
collected for a memorial stone, or rather, two; one to
mark the distant grave at Gore Hill, North Sydney,
the other a present and an appropriate reminder of
his association with Tubou College. The latter, in
close proximity to the windows near the dais, was
officially unveiled by His Majesty King George
Tubou II at the ensuing Synod (1910) and bears the
following inscription :
153
LIFE'S EVENTIDE
SACRED TO THE MEMORY
OF
DR. MOULTON,
Founder of TUBOU COLLEGE.
Born at NORTH SHIELDS, ENGLAND, on
January 4, 1841, and died at LINDFIELD, N.S.
WALES, on May 9, 1909.
He rests at Gore Hill, North Sydney.
He commenced his labours in Tonga in May 1865, and
retired from active work in 1906. He devoted his life to
the highest interests of the Tongan people, to raise them
intellectually and spiritually.
' REST AFTER LABOUR.'
A tablet also adorns the wall of Zion Church, a
fitting memorial too, of the close pastoral association
with the people he dearly loved and faithfully served.
Both the stones are of granite, and that at Gore
Hill, in addition to the usual inscription, chronicles
the fact for future generations that it was 'erected
by the people of Tonga, for whom he laboured for
nearly forty-four years.' And it will ever be as
' Moulton of Tonga ' that he will be remembered.
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CHAPTER X
EPILOGUE
IT is obviously difficult for a writer to frame esti-
mates of the worth of one bound close to him
by ties of kinship, for dispassionate judgement is out
of the question. And yet three considerations may
be pleaded for doing it. Firstly, if this writer does
not do it, it may not be done at all; secondly, no
one knows the facts so well as one who is within
the circle; thirdly, all the convictions formed by
those within tally with the appreciations expressed
by those who are without, which proves that the
estimates have not been the mere outcome of warm
affection within the family. In these concluding
pages an attempt will be made to gather up what is
most essential, both in respect of himself and his work,
as viewed by those who saw him from outside.
Dr. Moulton occupied a very high place in the
esteem of those who knew him best. Among his
brethren in Conference he was an outstanding figure,
while in Tonga so prophetic were his utterances on
momentous issues that one chief, who had been a
heathen, looked upon him almost as a god. A Cam-
bridge professor, who had had a very low opinion
of missionary effort, when he had heard the story
of Tubou College, gave unstinted praise, and modi-
fied altogether his attitude towards foreign missions.
Judicial authorities of the highest acumen, at whose
house the subject of this memoir was guest, mar-
velled at the work he had accomplished, while at
1.55
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the same time they maintained that in such a sphere
his talents were wasted! But he was never spoilt
by eulogy; and to the last his humility was one
of his conspicuous characteristics.
He was an optimist through and through, and his
optimism was his salvation. The first hymn sung at
his grave-side, 'Give to the winds thy fears,' was a
happy choice. It breathed the very spirit that domin-
ated his life. This grace of hopefulness sustained
him and saved him from chronic melancholia, while
it saved the Church and people, again and again, from
utter despair. One remarkable example may be
noted. When the suspicion was abroad in the islands
that the Wesleyan Church was on the verge of finan-
cial collapse he completely changed the trend of
opinion by purchasing from Paris a magnificent two-
manual harmonium at great cost. This may be
charged against him as a gross extravagance at a
critical period, but it saved the situation. The same
optimism characterized his management of the Ton-
gan Bookroom and publishing enterprises. They
might be put down as rash and unbusinesslike,
especially in view of the fact that Mr. Baker refused
to pay for the school books which his government had
ordered. But he knew his people, and had no doubt
as to their willingness to shoulder their end of the
load if he would shoulder his the work of transla-
tion. When he told the Tongan ministers of the
growing debt their reply was, ' Don't be afraid, Mr.
Moulton, leave that to us and our children; only go
on with your translation work for our sake.' He did
so; and they did their share too, for within a month
of his death they liquidated the whole of the Book-
room debt a matter of six hundred pounds.
The weary waiting for the tide to turn, of course,
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was a heavy demand on his patience and faith. The
autocratic rule brought to bear against him and
his people, and the myriad petty annoyances from
the same quarter, were more than enough to try the
patience of a saint; but he put up with them.
The key to all this was a pervading love which
would go so far as to treat a Tongan as himself.
The ministers were, in a real sense, his brethren: the
people, in a real sense, his children. When David
Finau went to England, Dr. Moulton made him
feel that he was on an equality with himself. Though
reluctant to do so, the pundit occupied the same
bedroom at the host's house. Such ' condescension,'
as he termed it, made a lasting impression upon him
and upon the people at home, who heard of it
with astonishment. This disposition of heart was
largely responsible for his influence over the people,
in that it generated an implicit confidence in him
which was never abused.
His scholastic attainments were considerable, as
all who knew him will admit. People said of
him, as they did of his brother William,
that it was difficult to discourse on a
subject with which he did not seem to be con-
versant. His memory was so retentive that facts once
culled were never forgotten. His field of choice
was wide. History and science were especially fas-
cinating to him, but the Bible, with its deep truths,
had a charm all its own. During his Kingswood
days he read the Bible through six times. As older
he grew, the harder and disputed passages riveted his
keenest attention. Though resident in the Antipodes,
remote from the world of thought, he kept abreast
of the times and followed closely the fierce struggle
over the higher criticism. Years before Drummond's
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EPILOGUE
Natural Law in the Spiritual World appeared in print,
he had moved in the similar channel of thought,
and his Bible-readings and sermons to the dusky
islanders were saturated with similar teachings. No
limited or 'narrow sphere confined him, and yet
his faith in the inspiration of the Bible was firm to
the end.
His Sunday evening Bible-readings in Tubou
College were an intellectual as well as a spiritual
feast, and they were marked by both instructiveness
and originality. That they were always listened to
by a crowded and rapt audience serves to show the
influence he was exerting on the mental calibre of
a once heathen nation. He had succeeded in awak-
ening powers that they did possess but which had
lain dormant. This fact stamps his life's work as a
success, and it was the end he had set out to reach.
But this does not stand alone. The greatest work
he was permitted to do was that of blending the spiritual
and mental in one consistent whole, and the character
of the nation has, as an immediate consequence,
been changed. One striking instance of this comes
to mind. The very fact of the loyalty of the Tongan
Wesleyan Church to the Conference in direct opposi-
tion to the king's will reveals a higher moral fibre
than ever could have been expected from a native
people. Conscience, hitherto, had known no higher
will than subservient obedience to the king's decree.
The majority of chiefs and people who turned over
and joined the Free Church, while, in a measure,
their action was dictated by a fear of the conse-
quences of disobedience, did so largely because it was
the wish of their sovereign. But a new era dawned in
Tonga, when a faithful band, willing to die in battle
for their royal master, yet refused to have their right
15.8.
EPILOGUE
of religious liberty trampled upon. They preferred to
worship ,God as their consciences dictated, in a
church they loved, because it brought the Light.
This new feature staggered the king. It was the
dawn of a new life, and, bitter as was the tragedy
of dislocation and loss, yet viewed now over the vista
of years, the trials are seen to have been but the
fire in which the true gold was purified and freed
from any alloy. And the Wesleyan Church of to-
day is the stronger morally for the refining process.
Throughout the years of trial Dr. Moulton's literary
and educational work shines out most conspicuously:
and nothing in his career is more amazing than that
it was so. But he was no weakling. Behind that
quiet engaging manner, there was a fire burning,
not of bitter anger at frustrated hopes, but of an
unextinguishable enthusiasm that knew no defeat.
Throughout the dark days the Church, as well as the
College, was his care. Though depleted numerically,
the same machinery remained at work. But the
altered conditions entailed greater responsibilities on
the native ministers. They must 'hold the fort 1
where, hitherto, the European missionaries had
reigned. An educated ministry was therefore more
than ever necessary; and Tubou College, with its
intellectual and spiritual agencies was the assured
medium. With aim concentrated- upon this con-
summation he toiled incessantly. Books poured forth
for their aid; Sunday-school teachers were likewise
assisted. Educational treatises were prepared, and
the printers kept busy. And all the time the re-
translation of the Bible from the original tongue was
going on: hymns were composed, and College choir-
practices conducted. This mass of heterogeneous work
would have been out of the question had not Dr.
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EPILOGUE
Moulton possessed, in a high degree, the essential
gift of concentration. From a heavy morning's work
of teaching in the College, he could at once fling him-
self into tasks of translation, or other literary enter-
prise. No moment found him idle.
The Helohelo (advanced) class, first inaugurated at
the commencement of the troubles, served to carry
out still further his plan of an educated ministry,
by bringing him into touch with Tubou College stu-
dents who had finished their course and had left
the institution. This has proved the 'fountain of
ministerial supply. His lectures to them covered a
wide sphere of subjects. For upwards of eight years,
while the persecution was at its height, they were
continued. His removal to New South Wales severed
not only his connexion with the island itself (excepting
as the Book-room Steward) but rendered the con-
tinuance of these lectures impossible. But his re-
appointment in 1896 again gave the coveted oppor-
tunity, and for ten consecutive years there was no
break in the chain. Probably, from an educational
standpoint, these last years were the best.
It had ever been his fear lest, when the ordinary
College curriculum ceased, the retired students should
lapse into intellectual slothfulness through having
no definite aim before them. For this reason he
redoubled his energies in the Helohelo work the
channel which he saw was most conducive to this
desirable end. Year by year he excited their interest
by giving them fresh subjects of study, and the
yearly examinations on these subjects proved a
most powerful incentive to consistent work. The
Tubou College Magazine also was a medium of intel-
lectual stimulus, and, besides the serials, all more or
less in a lighter vein, there were included also
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EPILOGUE
articles on the latest scientific discoveries and other
matters of interest.
The men thus fed and stimulated were of a stan-
dard that, with their evangelistic qualifications, made
them desirable and effective pastors of the Church
fold. In the earlier days it had been found necessary
to requisition eight European brethren to cope with
the demands of this important mission field. In the
present writer's day, the work was superintended by
one brother only, with the help of a larger staff
of Tongan ministers. Herein lies the vindication of
the College and its founder.
Readers of these pages will not need to be told
that hymnology was a potent factor in keeping the
spiritual life of the Church in Tonga strong and
alert. While the intellectual facilities of the College
were available to the few, the hymns that emanated
from it reached out to all : and to those who, during
the troubles, were banished to solitary islands the
hymns proved an unspeakable boon. Dr. Moulton
seemed to have been specially inspired during these
dark days, and the work he did in this direction
kept at white heat their loyalty to the Church of
their choice. While we consider the translation of
the Bible as his greatest achievement, the hymn-
book, containing two hundred and sixty-four hymns
from his own pen, certainly makes a good second.
Here also, as in his other works, he gave them of
his best as a translator.
It was certainly no easy task at first to discover a
means whereby this agglutinous language might be
harnessed and brought into direct submission to the
laws of metrical exactitude. Efforts at direct translation
were found to be abortive, and hence this method had
to be abandoned. The groundwork of all success was
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the selection of a theme, whose development was
afterwards to be worked out. But the language,
though euphonic and rhythmic, did not appear to
lend itself to the true syllabic measure of the line;
there was ever a tendency to an extra beat. This
drawback, however, was finally obviated by an
ingenious device, which in no way disturbed the
smoothness of the scansion, and was easily grasped
by the natives themselves. It was practically the
process of elision, where the offending syllable was
more or less swallowed. In the printed hymn-book it
is marked by italics, and, occurring most often in the
last syllable of the line, sometimes appeared in other
parts as well. In these hymns the Tongan Church
became possessed of a rich legacy. The literary
value is high, but higher than all is the spiritual power
which the collection evinces. The hymns most dear
to the Churches of the English speaking people
have their counterpart in the Tongan hymn-book, and
the appreciation of them by the people is as marked
as in our own country. The singing in the Ton-
gan churches is hearty, and helps to make the
worship of the sanctuary a real means of grace.
A shortened form of the Church of England
Morning Service is printed as an appendix, to which
are added the ' offices ' as in the English books : and
the whole, with the exception of three hymns, was the
work of Dr. Moulton.
In addition to the literary work referred to above,
that which had especial reference to the Church and
Sunday school must not be overlooked. While prim-
arily engaged in the building of a College, yet when
appointed chairman, as has been said, a larger sphere
was opened up and had his earnest attention. And
he did not forget then to 'feed the lambs.' For
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EPILOGUE
the Sunday schools he translated the first and second
Catechisms and numerous small story-books of the
Peep-of-Day and Basket of Flowers type, while, for
the infants, he prepared Picture Maps. In this way he
succeeded in making this important branch of our
Church organization show very active life.
As a preacher he was in great demand. Not that
he was what, in the ordinary sense of the word, might
be termed eloquent; but his treatment of difficult
texts and subjects had a breezy originality of its
own. Some of these sermons acquired great popu-
larity. Foremost amongst them, perhaps, was that
on Jonah. In some of the towns which he visited
during his Presidential year, the liberty was taken,
quite unknown to him, of full advertisements of this
subject for the forthcoming Sunday; so that, on his
arrival there, these notices met his amused gaze.
But others were equally unconventional in their view-
point and expression, and an unlikely text such as,
' On that night could not the king sleep ' showed him
at his best. All the sermons which arrested atten-
tion in Sydney and elsewhere had been given to the
Tongan people during the long years of residence in
those islands. That they were appreciated there is,
in itself, an index of the intellectual capacity of the
native mind, as well as a crowning proof of the
height to which he had been instrumental in raising the
people of this little kingdom. To them he was the
prince of preachers for the insight he was able
to give them as to the hidden mysteries and beauties
of Sacred Writ. His scientific illustrations were
strikingly apt, and his discourses replete with know-
ledge, and with spiritual applications of it which
wrought powerfully upon his hearers.
But he peculiarly excelled in those expository
163
EPILOGUE
Bible-readings held in the College on Sunday evenings.
These have been described in foregoing pages and
need not be dwelt upon save to say that the rapt
attention of the crowded audiences witnessed to the
fact that the teaching went home.
What he knew he could impart to others, and this
held good both of religious and secular subjects. One
has often been led to marvel how, at the very
commencement, in his first efforts to introduce
geometrical or arithmetical formulae and such like,
he was able to bring the native mind, in its crude
state, to grasp the truth of the symbol th . But it was
achieved, as was the Tonganizing of English ideas
and phrases, classical names and scientific phraseology.
Not only in his viva voce lectures would he thus
awaken keen interest and attention, but on the many
occasions when he reduced his subjects to writing,
this same power was manifest in almost as great a
degree. The pages of the College magazine will
witness to the truth of this estimate.
It has already been said that in after years it
will be by his re-translation of the Bible that he will
be longest remembered. This great work was not
only a revelation of scholarship but of character: of
a dauntless courage and a determined will that re-
fused to be turned aside from a holy purpose.
But, apart from the initial task of translation, how
colossal an undertaking it was! This will be better
understood if it be remembered that as far as this
work of Dr. Moulton's was concerned, finality
was only actually reached when the sheets
had passed no less than five times through his
hands! The work thus is a monument of prodigious
care and assiduous attention to detail ; and it is a work
which will remain for all time. An attempt was once
164
EPILOGUE
made and that six years after the reviser's death, be
it noted to impugn the fidelity of the translation.
It is well that Dr. Moulton ever kept to a hard-and-
fast rule that he had made from the very initiation
of his literary work, which amounted to his absolute
refusal to make any such effort without the aid of
a competent Tongan amanuensis. There is little doubt
that, in his own personal knowledge of the Tongan
language, he had no compeer. But to this he added
the safeguard of an educated helper from among the
people themselves. He believed and he was right
that no European, however capable and armed with
the further qualification of long years of residence
among the people, could, unaided, be a faithful ex-
ponent of the best that was possible of a foreign
nation's idiomatic phraseology. Rigid attention to
such a wise proviso alone might be safely received
as a strict guarantee of security so far as linguistic
accuracy is concerned, but it is further strengthened
by the unanimous vote of the unbiassed Tongan
reader as to its purity of diction.
The results of such an expenditure of labour as
the Tongan Bible entailed were not without other
important compensations. Two only need be men-
tioned; first, that the extraordinary wealth of the
Tongan language was conspicuously proved, and,
secondly, that considerable light was thrown on the
origin of the island-people. The translator had ever
been an advocate of the former, and had had his
suspicions aroused as to the true answer to the latter
question. But, in the course of his many hours of
wrestling with Hebrew and Tongan equivalents, the
resemblance of many of the words in form, amount-
ing to actual identity, came home to him with great
force and confirmed his own previous opinion that the
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EPILOGUE
Tongans were originally a Hebrew people. When
he referred this conviction to his brother, the late
Dr. W. F. Moulton, an authority in such matters, the
opinion was endorsed by him but with this added
admission that the Tongan, in some cases, was the
older form. Thus such laborious delving was not
without its nugget, and no one would grudge him a
great 'find,' for he had worked hard enough to
merit it.
In his capacity of Chairman he early instituted a
system of Church finance which has proved highly
satisfactory ever since its inception. One might say
that the real income of the Church was dependent
upon the missionary collections held annually. There
were three important departments essential to the
successful working of the Church financial machinery.
These were the Synod, the Circuits, and the Trust.
Since the native temperament was averse to weekly,
that is, Sunday, offertories and constant financial
demands, he conceived the happy ideal of having the
necessary interest in all three satisfied by a single
concentration of effort once a year on the part of
each village and town throughout the group. The
amounts raised in each were equally divided between
the Synod, the Circuit, and Trust. The quota of the
Trust was devoted solely to Church purposes on the
spot; that of the Circuit came into a general circuit
fund in connexion with each large island of the
group; that of the Synod was utilized for the larger
and all-embracing needs of the whole group, such as
the building of parsonages, the Bookroom expenditure,
and Connexional levies, &c. The scheme has ever
worked admirably. Later it was also decided to hold
half-yearly collections to strengthen the General Funds
and the Trusts of each large island.
1 66
EPILOGUE
The charge of narrow-mindedness can never obtain
in the case of Dr. Moulton. The enforcement of
prohibition on native members in respect of tobacco
and of kava, their beverage, to the indulgence of
both of which they had been for many years
accustomed, had been speedily settled by the early
missionaries, who forbade it as unworthy of a
Christian. To Dr. Moulton that appeared to be an
uncalled-for hardship, and there was a revolt within
him when local preachers and members were
suspended for disobedience to that mandate. There
was a true sense of relief, therefore, when it was left
an open question. It is, indeed, very questionable
whether their loyalty and devotion to God as a
consequence suffered in any way thereby. The kava
and its effect stand on a totally different plane from
European intoxicants, and, as regards the obnoxious
weed, its deleterious effect upon the Tongan was
never very marked. At the same time Dr. Moulton,
as other missionaries before and after him have done,
strongly denounced the far too common habit of
smoking among the native women.
And he was as lovable as he was broadminded.
Even for the man who strove to crush him and his
work, he felt only pity when disaster came upon him.
No signs of exultation were ever shown by him, and
he never dwelt on the wrongs he had received at his
hands, though they had brought grey hairs so rapidly
and early upon himself.
By his ministerial brethren he was a brother
beloved, and, while he had the strong courage of his
opinions and openly expressed them, the friendly
relationships, as far as he was concerned, were never
impaired. His treatment of his native brethren we
have alluded to. They were never made to feel they
EPILOGUE
were moving in a different plane. He treated them
as equals, and this very self-abnegatory attitude was
the secret of his immense influence over them. To
them he was a colossus of intellectual and spiritual
power and his humility overpowered them one and
all. Here again his ' gentleness ' had made him
' great ' a phrase applied, by the way, also to his
brother William in a memorial address.
Whence came all the characteristics which went to
make this personality? Whence the 'How of this
thus-ness ' to use a favourite expression of his own ?
It may be summed up in one clause. It was ' because
the Lord was with him, and that which he did the
Lord made it to prosper.' He was first and foremost
a man of God. His spiritual life was transcendent.
He heard the Call to go and preach the gospel to a
foreign people, and he persevered through every
opposing obstacle. He was loyal to his God, and,
though offers of commercial prosperity were made
him, first in England and then in Tonga and it is
not generally known that King George made a strong
appeal to him, in the earlier years of his work, to
become the Prime Minister of- his little kingdom
yet he ever refused, for the one sole reason, that
God had called him to the ministry. And being loyal
to his God he ever communed with his God. The
long night watches at the mission house, Nukualofa,
amid the absorbing and well-nigh crushing burdens
of the persecutions, would repeatedly have revealed
Dr. Moulton wrestling in prayer with his Maker,
until day dawned and strength and inspiration were
given. And loyalty to God gave impetus to fidelity
to the work with which He had entrusted him. This
was a burning passion within him, which drove him
along avenues of usefulness, with a will behind him
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EPILOGUE
that knew no master, until the last enemy, Death,
overtook him and laid him low in the sixty-ninth year
of his age.
So, though dead, he may still be said to speak in
the life of the nation he had raised and to whom h
had given a literature ; in the College he had founded
and in the men who, when educated, passed into the
ranks of the Church and State; in the Bible and
hymns and the large number of other books which he
has left behind as a legacy to both College and
people. But he lives most in the hearts of ja people for
whom he toiled with unswerving devotion and whom
he treated as his own for forty-four years, a verit-
able father to them with a heart as large as his
interest.
He may be enrolled among the chosen men of God,
who can justly be ranked among the great, but who
toiled not in the great centres of civilization, but in
the solitary group of islands far from the busy world ;
mere specks on the geographical map, but where there
were once a heathen people, benighted and yet with a
soul that cried out to a living God for light. And
in course of time the True Light came, ushered in,
before the period of our sketch, by brave and heroic
men, to be followed in due course and by God's
ordinance, by one who, on the foundation of a
spiritual basis laid, was to add an intellectual
superstructure.
Was he satisfied? No truly great man is satisfied
as to his own work. To him it was still unfinished;
and the more he did the greater the fields which
opened out to his gaze as possible spheres of service.
But it may be claimed for him that his main wish
in life was amply gratified which was 'to be a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed. ?
169
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