ABSTRACT

‘Take but degree away, untune that string, And, hark, what discord follows! each thing meets In mere oppugnancy: the bounded waters Should lift their bosoms higher than the shores And make a sop of all this solid globe: Strength should be lord of imbecility, And the rude son should strike his father dead: Force should be right; or, rather, right and wrong, Between whose endless jar justice resides, Should lose their names, and so should justice too.’ Troilus and Cressida, Act I, Scene 3. Employmentm by Europeans has come to be accepted as normal routine, and till the Pacific war began the bulk of the youths offered themselves for service at about the age of sixteen. The average period of absence was six years, but those who became interested in their jobs often remained away for longer. 1 The majority were still bachelors, but the older men sometimes took their spouses to the labour compound, where a small section was set aside as married quarters. One or two single women worked as nursemaids, but the Administration discouraged the engagement of females.