A Royal Birthday

"Both men and women are of a common size with Europeans . . . The women . . . were the merriest creatures . . . and kept chattering without the least invitation . . . From the waist upwards they are generally naked, and it seemed to be a custom to anoint these parts every morning . . . They are seldom disturbed by either foreign or domestic troubles [and] appeared healthy, strong and vigorous--a proof of the goodness of the climate in which they live"

--Captain Cook's Voyages

Last week, 177 years after Captain Cook's ships dropped anchor there, the tall, brown people of Tonga, still strong and vigorous, were enthusiastically celebrating a royal birthday: Salote, the strapping (6 ft. 2 in.) Queen of the Tongans and a Dame Commander of the British Empire, was 50 years old.

Tongans could celebrate Queen Salote's birthday with good reason. In her 32 years' reign, Salote has capably and efficiently continued the tradition of a peaceful Polynesian dynasty-that has ruled

Tonga's 150 islands (total area: 250 sq. miles; pop. 45,000) for almost 3 1/2 centuries. Tongans have no housing problem, no unemployment; they get free medical and dental care. Education (including English, Tongan history, singing and native arts) is compulsory from the age of six to 14.

Debt & Taxes. Under Queen Salote's diligent administration, Tonga has built up sizable overseas investments. The islands, which became a British protectorate in 1900, have no income tax, no public debt and a remarkably low crime rate: one murder in 30 years. At the age of 16, every male Tongan gets eight acres of land, for which he pays an annual tax of about $7 U.S. to the Tongan government and a token rental to his chief. Tonga has its own passports, its own currency and its own postal system (including the station, famed among philatelists, of "Tin Can Island").

In the last 50 years, Tonga has experienced only two real crises, one minor and one major. The minor crisis was World War II (Tonga formally declared war on Germany in September 1939, with a proclamation that began: "We, Salote . . ."). In the spring of 1942, U.S. troops went ashore on Tonga with orders to "take the island and destroy the enemy." The invaders were met by a group of friendly Tongans who explained that they had heard of Pearl Harbor long before, had promptly tossed all of the islands' 100-odd Japanese into jail in the capital city of Nukualofa. Later, thousands of other Allied soldiers stopped off at the Tongan Islands on their way to & from the Pacific battlefronts. During this time, Queen Salote wisely instructed her people to retire to the interior, safely avoided any entanglements, economic or romantic, between the Tongans and the G.I.s.

Cricket & Crisis. Tonga's major crisis occurred at the turn of the century, when the British introduced cricket to the islands. The Tongans were so fascinated with the game that they abandoned their work en masse. Even toddlers and old men insisted on playing, while the copra mildewed on the ground and the pigs ate the overripe bananas. A special meeting of the Tongan cabinet was called to meet the crisis and the cabinet decided to ask the British consul for advice. The consul suggested that the Tongan Assembly pass a law limiting the playing of cricket to two days a week. The cabinet took his advice, the law is still on the books, and the Tongans have lived happily ever after.

*A dynasty rich in Hanoverian names. Queen Salote's great-great grandfather was George I (1797-1893). He was succeeded by his great-grandson George II (1874-1918). Queen Salote's name, the Tongan equivalent of Charlotte, was given her in honor of her great-great grandmother who, in turn, was named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg, Consort of Britain's George III.

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