INTRODUCTION
The Christian Church has, for its principal charge,
the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But
this preaching of the Gospel stands in a most intimate
relationship with the proclamation of the “LAW
OF GOD” that is to say, God’s claim upon
the ordering of human life in all it’s aspects.
God’s righteousness and man’s justice
have the same ends in view – the maintenance
and the restoration of those relationships which
give to every human being his/her proper status.
A BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE CONSTITUTION OF 1875
The Constitution was the completion of a process
that began more than 50 years earlier. The following
are some of the important events during those eventful
decades:
1820 - Taufa’ahau became the Tu’i Ha’apai.
He was only a young man of 23 years of age.
1826 - The arrival of the Wesleyan missionaries John
Thomas and John Hutchinson.
1831 - Taufa’ahau was baptised as Siaosi.
1833 - Taufa’ahau became the Tu’i Vava’u.
1835 - Taufa’ahau set free his people in Ha’apai
from serfdom. (E.E.V Collocott p. 113)
1839 - The Vava’u Code – the first written
code of law in Tonga.
1845 - Taufa’ahau became Tu’i Kanokupolu.
1850 - The Code of Law for all of Tonga:
- it established the supremacy of the King, and
- it limited the powers of the chiefs.
1862 - The Code of Law is chiefly memorable for its
declaration of the emancipation of the Tongan people
from the power of the chiefs. A Parliament, consisting
of chiefs and representatives of the people was set
up.
THE RELIGIOUS/SOCIO/POLITICAL BACKGROUND
It is extremely difficult to appreciate the greatness
of Taufa’ahau and the importance of his work
without any knowledge of the background of the
life in Tonga at the beginning of the nineteenth
century.
Very briefly, the following are some of the important
features of the time:
1. The Tongan people believed in many gods. Some
of them were Tangaloas, Mauis, Hikule’os, Taufa’itahi,
Mafile’o, Pulotumoelangi, Haehaetahi, Toafunaki,
and Huluhulu.
2. The first Tu’i Tonga (‘Aho’eitu)
was believed to be the son of the Tangaloa ‘Eitumatupu’a.
Because he was half-god, he was regarded as sacred.
3. All the land in Tonga was a gift from the gods
so it belonged to ‘Aho’eitu and his descendants.
4. The chiefs were those who were related to the
Tu’i Tonga line throughout the centuries. They
belonged to different groups or “ha’as” Ha’a
Ngata Motu’a, Ha’a Havea, Ha’a
Latuhifo, Ha’a Ma’afu, and Ha’a
Ngata
5. The power of the chiefs over the commoners (95%+
of the population) knew no limit. Pulotu was the
place where the chiefs’ souls went after
they died. They sometimes come to the world of
the living
in different forms like a shark or flying fox.
6. The commoners (95%+ of the population) had no
souls. They had no rights. They were commonly referred
to, even today, as the “kainanga-e-fonua” or
the ‘eaters of the soil’.
7. For nearly 1,000 years, 95%+ of the Tongan people
always lived in fear and without any rights. Their
lives were dominated by customs and culture and religious
superstitions.
THE CONSTITUTION: PART I - DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
1. Since it appears to be the will of God that man
should be free as he has made all men of one blood
therefore shall the people of Tonga and all who sojourn
in this Kingdom be free for ever. And all men may
use their lives and persons and time to acquire and
possess property and to dispose of their labour and
the fruit of their hands and to use their own property
as they will.
2. No person shall serve another against his will… for
no person shall be in servitude under the protection
of the flag of Tonga.
3. There shall be but one law in Tonga for chiefs
and commoners, for non-Tongans and Tongans. No laws
shall be enacted for one class and not for another
class but the law shall be the same for all the people
of this land.
4. All men are free to practise their religion and
to worship God as they may deem fit in accordance
with the dictates of their own consciences…
5. It shall be lawful for all people to speak, write
and print their opinions and no law shall ever be
enacted to restrict this liberty. There shall be
freedom of speech and of the press forever.
The Declaration of Human Rights in the Tongan Constitution
of 1875 shows very clearly that Tupou I had accepted
the Christian teaching of the worth, dignity, and
equality of all people. No wonder that many of
the chiefs were hostile to the Christian religion.
They
knew that the new religion would weaken their authority.
However, Taufa’ahau made no secret of his
keenness to spread the new faith and to put its
principles
into practice.
HUMAN RIGHTS
According to the Bible, the origin of human rights
is Creation. Man has never ‘acquired’ them.
Nor has any government or other authority conferred
them. Man has had them from the beginning. He received
them with his life from the hand of his Maker. They
are inherent in his creation. They have been bestowed
on him by his Creator.
The preamble of the UN Universal Declaration of Human
Rights affirms that “recognition of the inherent
dignity, of equal and inalienable rights of all members
of the human family, is the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world…” Article
I declares that “all human beings are born
free and equal in dignity and rights…”
All human rights are at base the right to be human.
The Christian faith has something important to
add to this, namely that our Creator redeemed man
at
great personal cost, through the incarnation and
atonement of Jesus Christ. And the costliness of
God’s redeeming work reinforces the sense
of human worth which his creation has already given
us.
“For there is one God and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself
as a ransom for all men”. (I Timothy 2:5/6)
The late Archbishop William Temple some years ago
wrote:
“There can be no Rights of Man except on the
basis of faith in God. But if God is real, and
all people are his children, that is true the worth
of
every one of them. My worth is what I am worth
to God: and that is a marvellous great deal, for
Christ
died for me. Thus, incidentally, what gives to
each of us his highest worth gives the same worth
to everyone;
in all that matters most we, are all equal.”
HUMAN EQUALITY
We have equal rights because we have the same Creator.
Both the dignity and the equality of human beings
are traced in Scripture to our creation. God is the
impartial Judge. He does not regard external appearances
or circumstances. He shows no favouritism, whatever
our racial or social background maybe. Jesus neither
deferred to the powerful and rich, nor despised the
weak and poor, but gave equal respect to all, whatever
their social status. He was once described:
“
Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You
are not swayed by men, because you pay no attention
to who they are; but teach the way of God in accordance”.
(Mark 12:14)
Considering the hostile opposition that Taufa’ahau
faced from many of the conservative heathen chiefs,
the “Declaration of Rights” in the 1875
Constitution was a remarkable achievement.
THE CONSTITUTION: PART II - FORM OF GOVERNMENT
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
The term “Constitutional Monarchy” is
used to describe the monarchy of the United Kingdom.
The following are some of the main characteristics
of the British or the Westminister Parliamentary
System:
1) After every general election for Parliament,
the political party which wins the election (or,
if there are no parties the majority of members of
the new Parliament) chooses a Prime Minister to hold
office for the term (3 or 4 years as the case may
be)
2) The Prime Minister in turn appoints the Ministers
from members of Parliament who support him.
3) The Prime Minister and Ministers are always responsible
to Parliament and not to the Head of State or Monarchy.
4) Generally speaking, the Head of State or Monarchy
has no power to select or remove the Prime Minister
or any of the Ministers of the Cabinet. He/She also
has no power to interfere directly in their work.
5) The Head of State’s function is to give
effect, symbolically, to the power of the people
expressed through Paliament and Cabinet. The Head
of State signs the bills and documents of government
on the instructions of the Prime Minister and Ministers.
The Head of State reflects national unity and offers
leadership to the nation as a whole.
6) When the Head of State sits with Cabinet to form
an Executive Council (called Privy Council in Tonga),
the Council carries out only formal functions, such
as the formalities of approving orders, regulations
or appointments which have already been decided by
Cabinet. Thus, the executive power of government
rests with Cabinet.
Some people refer to the Tongan Form of Government
as a Constitutional Monarchy. Equating it with the
Westminster System described very briefly above.
This suggestion is incorrect for reasons which is
our task to examine next.
CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT UNDER HIS MAJESTY
The government of Tonga is a ‘Constitutional
Government under His Majesty… his heirs and
successors” (Clause 31)
Professor Guy Powles summaries the monarch’s
powers under the Tongan Constitution in this way:
1) The monarch is immune from impeachment under
a charter which cannot be changed without his consent.
(Clauses 41, 49, 67, & 79)
2) The monarch may act unilaterally and is not bound
by convention to act on the advice of Ministers in
respect of the following powers:
a) To appoint and dismiss Ministers including the
Premier. (Clause 51)
b) To summon and dissolve the Assembly at anytime
and to appoint its Speaker. (Clauses 38, 61 & 77)
c) To refuse to assent to any law. (Clause 68)
d) To appoint nobles and to grant “tofi’a”.
(Clauses 44 & 104)
e) To suspend habeas corpus, proclaim martial law,
make treaties and command the forces (short of declaring
war – Clauses 9, 39 & 46), and
f) To control marriages of the royal family. (Clause
33).
Professor Powles continues to write saying:
“While, in practice, Cabinet is concerned
with the day-to-day government of the country, the
King may dominate the Privy Council and may delegate
to his Premier and Ministers what he chooses. These
are the laws in conformity with which the sovereign,
on coronation, swears to govern”.
This section of the constitution is extremely feudal.
It concentrates power in the hands of the monarch
and the appointees. It can be criticized because
it allows a despot to be a despot. It allows the
monarch to confer patronage and privilege and thereby
redistribute wealth to the benefit of persons he
prefers and it gives him wide powers to force his
will on the representatives of the people, even to
the extent of disenfranchising the elected representatives
by dissolving the Legislative Assesmbly.
It is quite understandable that in 1875 Tupou I
wanted to make sure that those high chiefs who opposed
him in his reforms were properly controlled. However,
it seems quite incredible that a constitution containing
such provisions as this one does, can still be regarded
today (117 years later) by some Christian leaders
who preach the Christian Gospel, as suitable for
elightened Christian people living at the close of
the twentieth century.
One finds it difficult to avoid the conclusion that
Parts II and III of the Constitution can only have
been intended for the privileged and, while making
some token democratic gestures, is designed to preserve
old Tongan traditional inequality, entrenched power
and position.
THE CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Much of Parts II and III of this Constitution cannot
stand in the sight of a righteous God who demands
justice, mercy and humility. It cannot satisfy the
Biblical requirement of absolute justice in human
affairs. Here is a document which could allow totally
unjust decisions of the Legislatives Assembly to
be completely legal. This is enhanced by the realisation
that less than One-Third of the Legislative Assembly
is elected by more than 99% of the whole population.
Clause 59 states that:
“The Legislative Assembly shall be composed
of the Privy councillors and Cabinet ministers….
The representatives of the nobles, and representatives
of the people”.
In actual fact membership of the Legislative Assembly
is like this:
- 12 members appointed by the King (Premier, 9 ministers
and 2 governors
- 9 nobles elected by less than 33 nobles, and
- 9 members elected by 99% of the population.
There is no necessary link here between law and
justice. In our beloved Tonga today, there is still
structural injustice after a century of so-called
constitutional rule. Political and economic power
is concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority able
to command financial rewards out of all proportion
to their actual work. This is why privilege argues
against social change; and why the pursuit of justice
always labours under the disadvantage of appearing
subversive, and those who would work to eliminate
the injustice are therefore always placed at the
moral disadvantage of imperilling its peace. However,
we dare not overlook the fact that there may be law
and order where there is no justice, and indeed that
sometimes the forces of law and order are themselves
precisely the forces of injustices.
POWERS
The Tongan constitution makes no recognition of
human weakness (SIN) at least as it applies to those
who exercise a political role. Where are the ‘checks
and balances’ of a U.S.A.-style constitution,
or the restraints of “custom and precedent” as
they apply in the U.K? Both of these constitutions – each
model in its own way recognize the dangers of absolute
corruption of power, whether in the hands of monarch,
noble or commoner!
One would expect to see, in such a community as
that ruled under a constitution similar to that of
Tonga, that nepotism would be obvious. Favouritism
would be shown towards friend and family of the monarch
(as in Saudi Arabia). The Christian understanding
of sin suggests that it is very difficult for even
the finest of human beings to resist the temptations
of absolute power. Even the most just and fair constitutions
have not been able to completely guard against such
abuse of power, but at least they try to provide
a remedy, which in this case, does not seem to be
present.
There is, surely, an ever-present danger that in
Tongan society the rewards are less likely to go
to those who contribute most to society, but rather
to those who occupy favoured positions and are therefore
most able to reap the ‘spoils’ of the
privilege.
SERVICE
‘Leadership’ is a concept shared by
Christians and the world. We must not assume, however,
that Christian and non-Christian understandings of
it are identical. Nor should we adopt models of secular
management without first subjecting them to critical
Christian scrutiny. For Jesus introduced into the
world an altogether new style of leadership. He expressed
the difference between the old and the new in these
terms:
“You know that those who are regarded as rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high
officials exercise authority over them. Not so with
you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among
you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be
first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give
his life as a ransom for many”. (Mark 10:42/45)
The Cross of Jesus Christ is the Flag of Tonga.
And yet, the Christian ideal of servanthood is not
enshrined within our political system. This is a
notion which is acknowledged in some way or other
in most advanced political systems. The Constitution
of Tonga provides for quite the opposite, and it
would take a very special monarch to reign as a Christian
under its provisions.
The emphasis of Jesus was not on the authority of
a ruler-leader but on the humility of a servant-leader.
The authority by which the Christian leader leads
is not power but love, not force but example, not
coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power,
but power is safe only in the hands of those who
humble themselves to serve.
CONCLUSION
It would seem that the Constitution of Tonga is
a very inadequate instrument for the satisfaction
of the aspirations of an enlightened population living
at the end of the Twentieth Century for two main
reasons:
a) It makes series of untenable assumptions about
human beings, which cannot be subscribed to in any
advanced society.
b) It does not satisfy the philosophical, ethical
or theological standards appriopriate to a society
which could, in the fullest sense, describe itself
as Christian.
Tongan society must surely need something more adquate
than this Constitution as it prepares to move into
the Twenty-first Century.
Our efforts to make man’s law express perfectly
the law of God can never attain complete success.
In the past the churches have often failed, condoned
injustice and been deaf to the demands of God.
Yes, much can be done to bring society nearer to
what,
in the will of God, it should be. Our hope however,
is not in what man can do, but in what God is doing.
Our faith is that the God of love made flesh in
Jesus Christ is the actual ruler of all peoples.
THE PRINCIPLES FOR REFORM OF THE CONSTITUTION OF
TONGA
1. The lawmaking power shall be vested in the people
through their representatives in Parliament.
2. Each person’s vote shall be of equal value
a) Each person means every person aged at least
21 years regardless of gender, rank or title.
b) Each M.P. should represent approximately an equal
number of electors.
c) Each M.P. has a vote of equal value on all issues.
3. The Executive shall be chosen
from among the M.Ps and shall have the support
of the majority of
M.Ps.
a) The Executive shall consist of ministers, who
will form the Cabinet.
b) The Executive/Cabinet shall consist of not more
that one-third of the number of M.P.s
c) One member of the Executive shall be designated
the Premier, and be chosen by all M.P.s
d) Portfolios shall be alloted by the Premier.
4. The Executive shall be accountable.
a) The Executive shall initiate bills, provide for
their implementation.
b) Financial accountability…………..
c) The Auditor-General shall be an officer of Parliament.
5. The King shall be the head of state, shall approve
the laws, but may not delay approval for more than
20 days.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Collocott E.E.V Ko e Ta’u ‘e Teau (William
Clowes & Sons, Limited, London)
Latukefu S. Church and State in Tonga (Australian
National University Press, Canberra 1974)
Powles G. Accommodation of Traditional and English
Law
(Paper presented at A.N.U., 14-17 January 1987)
Shaw I. Social Issues and the Local Church
(Evangelical Press of Wales – 1988)
Stott J. Issues Facing Christians Today
(Marshall Morgan & Sciott. U.K., 1984)
Whitehouse W.A. The Biblical Doctrine of Justice
and Law
(SCM Press Ltd., London, 1955)
Wood A.H. History and Geography of Tonga
(Reprinted by Border Morning Mail, Victoria, 1972
NOTE
1. Stott J. Issues Facing Christian Today, 1984
p. 142
2. Ibid. p. 145
3. Powles G. Accommodation of Traditional and English
Law. P. 16.
4. Ibid.
5. Civil Action No:
73/’86 (Between ‘Ipeni
Siale and 25 Members of Tonga’s Legislative
Assembly) The 1991 Amendment of Clause 29 (Naturalization)
of the Constitution.
