Lala Sukuna Quotes
Let us not ignore the fact that there is another community settled here in our midst. I refer to the Indians. They have increased more rapidly than we. They have become producers on our soil. They are continuously striving to better themselves .… They have shouldered many burdens that have helped Fiji onward. We have derived much money from them by way of rents. A large proportion of our prosperity is derived from their labor
The strife between the indigenous Fiji people and the Indian immigrants was not as serious when Indian immigration to Fiji began. The immigrants rented land from the natives at good prices and did the hard work of tilling the land. They had a different work ethic and developed the Fiji economy substantially. However, the Indians became more wealthy and better educated. The minority group became equal or dominant in most aspects of Fijian society and inter-ethnic strife and jealousy eventually developed. This became the modern problem of Fiji.
Lala Sukuna, 1888-1958, Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman, Speech to the Great Council of Chiefs, 1936
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Note that there was still a serious attempt to coexist with the Indians and to pay for lands that whites moved into. This would change radically in the administration of Andrew Jackson who would replace Adams.
Before the French Revolution, Jews could freely practice their own religion in France but they could not hold citizenship, become professionals, or a host of other privileges of citizenship. Clermont-Tonnerre and other liberals argued that Jews should be given citizenship. The Jacobins--conservative Catholics close to the Papacy--opposed granting citizenship to Jews or Protestants. One argument that the Jacobins gave was that each of these sects would be separate nations within France and not necessarily have French national interest as a priority. Clermont-Tonnerre gave this response which has been the French philosophy about minority citizenship since then. Their thought was that anyone may become a French citizen as an individual but he or she should do so because he/she wants to accept French values and support the French nation. This view worked quite will over the years until the large immigration of Muslims starting in the 1960s where many new immigrants just wanted to live in France and earn a living there, but did not want to identify with French national aspirations or adopt French culture or values. America, had no such demands and those immigrants who tended to identify primarily with their country or culture of origin and not assimilate were allowed to do so, but the American way of life was so attractive that many immigrants did adopt it and even if they did not, their children almost inevitably did. That has not happened in France.
Although chief executives of most other countries are commonly abused in the national legislature, Mexico had no had a serious opposition much less public derision of the President before then.
Congress was debating the Naturalization Act of 1790. Laurance and many others (see {616376}) argued that there should be no qualification requirements on immigrants as every person coming to America added to the strength of the nation. Congress reached a compromise between those who favored unlimited naturalization and citizenship and those who wanted heavy restrictions. It required a 2 year residence, a certification of good character and an oath, modest by modern standards.
Penn observed the fact that most American social relationships are not multicultural in that Blacks in a restaurant tend to eat with other Blacks, whites and Hispanics the same. While America has a multicultural and diverse work environment and use of public services, it is still rare to see very integrated churches, social clubs, parties and other social activities. While Penn’s observation is correct, the trend is towards much more socialization on racial, religious, cultural, and geographical basis. There is much more intermarriage than in the past and with integrated families, many of the other social pluralism will follow. It was once thought that intermarriage would be the last barrier to fall and would follow from school, church, and other social integration. However, it appears that it is the other way around.
This is one of the first Policy Statements of the new Republic about the Indians. Essentially, although the government policy was reasonable and fair, public opinion was totally different and the leadership could not persuade the people on this point. One complicating factor was the fact that most of the Indian tribes had overtly or covertly sided with the British in the Civil War. Many Indians were exiled to Canada. Even the Indians who were American allies, had their lands encroached upon however.
The intentions of the Founding Fathers towards the Indians was decent, respectful, and well intentioned. However, there was not enough of a system of enforcement or the will to enforce when the greed of the average whites grew too great. Many settlers saw these vast lands and could not see any harm in using a few acres for their farm. And if there had been only a few, there would have been little trouble. However, the settlers kept coming and coming and soon the Indians began to push back. In a sense, it was a class problem. The members of the Continental Congress who wrote the Northwest Ordinance were educated, affluent men who had plenty of land. Most of the men who contested for the Indian lands had little land or were newly affluent and saw few limits to America.
Ratu Sir Josefa Lalabalavu Vana'ali'ali Sukuna KCMG KBE was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the post-independence leadership of Fiji. He did more than anybody to lay the groundwork for self-government by fostering the development of modern institutions in Fiji, and although he died a dozen years before independence from the United Kingdom was achieved in 1970, his vision set the course that Fiji was to follow in the years to come.
