The report of the American commissioner, Mr. Chambers, on the results of the land commission, is printed in S. Ex. Doc. 97, 53d Cong. 3d sess. 465-470. It affords a view of the basis on which the division of the group was afterwards made. The claims before the land commission, in the whole group, numbered 3,942, of which 1,422 were German, 1,757 English, 307 American, 326 French, and 130 miscellaneous. The total acreage allowed was 135,000, of which twothirds belonged to Germans, who, as Mr. Chambers reported, were "the only foreign residents in Samoa who have, on any system, cleared, planted, and otherwise improved their holdings." The claims allowed to Americans amounted to 21,000 acres, the most of which belonged to a San Francisco corporation, which was insolvent and which had no agent in the group; and its lands were understood to be for sale. Mr. Chambers also stated that there were only nineteen bona fide American citizens resident in the islands, exclusive of officials, and that the commerce of the group was chiefly in German hands. The actual state of commercial and landed interests, and also of nationality among the foreign residents, was therefore recognized in the allotment of Upolu and Savaii to Germany, those islands, and especially Upolu, being the principal seats of commerce and planting; while, on the other hand, in the concession of undivided jurisdiction. to the United States over Tutuila and the adjacent islands, the exclu sive rights of the United States in the harbor of Pagopago were placed beyond dispute. President McKinley, in his annual message of December 3, 1900, stated that the "settlement of the Samoan problem," under the treaty of December 2, 1899, had “accomplished good results," and that "peace and contentment" prevailed in the islands. 12. HORSESHOE REEF; BROOKS OR MIDWAY ISLANDS; WAKE ISLAND. Horseshoe Reef. § 111. In a conference at the foreign office, in London, Dec. 9, 1850, Mr. Abbott Lawrence, minister of the United States, referring to the need of a lighthouse near the outlet of Lake Erie, stated that it was found that the most eligible site was "Horseshoe Reef," within British jurisdiction, and that he was instructed to ask whether the British Government would "cede to the United States the Horseshoe Reef, or such part thereof, as may be necessary for the purpose of erecting a lighthouse," and, if not, whether the British Government would itself erect and maintain a lighthouse there. Lord Palmerston replied that his Government was prepared to advise Her Majesty to cede "such portion of the Horseshoe Reef as may be found requisite for the intended lighthouse, provided the Government § 111.] HORSESHOE REEF; MIDWAY ISLANDS; WAKE ISLAND. 555 of the United States will engage to erect such lighthouse, and to maintain a light therein; and provided no fortification be erected on the said reef." It was accordingly agreed that the Crown should make the cession on the conditions named. The lighthouse was erected in 1856. United States Treaty Volume, 1776–1887, p. 444. In 1884 the Canadian Government granted the United States Lighthouse Board permission to build a crib for a lighthouse near Bar Point, at the mouth of the Detroit River. (Mr. Frelinghuysen, Sec. of State, to Sir L. West, Brit. min., March 20, 1884, MS. Notes to Great Britain, XIX. 430.) Brooks or Midway Islands, situated about 1,100 miles west of Honolulu, and within the limits assigned by the maps to Brooks, or Midway, the Hawaiian group, were formally occupied by Capt. Islands. William Reynolds, of the U. S. S. Lackawanna, Aug. 28, 1867. An account of their discovery and occupation is given in S. Ex. Doc. 79, 40 Cong. 2 sess., and Sen. Rep. 194, 40 Cong. 3 sess.; and further information in regard to them may be found in a message of President Cleveland to the Senate of Jan. 27, 1888, which was sent in response to a resolution of that body calling for correspondence touching the occupancy of Midway harbor in Midway Island, but does not appear to have been printed as an executive document. Mr. Moore, Acting Sec. of State, to Mr. Cousins, M. C., July 11, 1898, 230 MS. See, also, Mr. Adee, 2nd Assist. Sec. of State, to Mr. Lodge, Jan. 11, 1898, 224 . The settlement of a colony of six Japanese on the Midway Islands "cannot be regarded by this Government as affording any basis for a claim to the islands by the Japanese Government." (Mr. Hill, Acting Sec. of State, to the Sec. of the Navy, Jan. 10, 1901, 250 MS. Dom. Let. 162, enclosing copy of a dispatch from the United States minister at Tokio of Dec. 13, 1900, stating that he had addressed a note to the Japanese min. of foreign affairs, saying that the islands belonged to the United States.) "The United States claims jurisdiction over the atoll, Wake Island. known as Wake's Island, latitude 19° 17′ 50′′ north, longitude 166° 31′ east, possession of which was taken by the U. S. S. Bennington on January 17, 1899." Mr. Hill, Assist. Sec. of State, to Mr. Page, Feb. 27, 1900, 243 MS. Dom. Let. 246. After the passage above quoted there is the following paragraph: "There are several small islands south and west of the Hawaiian group said to be occupied by American citizens, but the United States Government has never asserted rights of jurisdiction or administration over such islands by reason of their occupancy." To the same effect is Mr. Day, Sec. of State, to Mr. Cousins, July 13, 1898, 230 MS. Dom. Let. 153. 13. GUANO ISLANDS. (1) LEGISLATION OF CONGRESS. § 112. Sections 5570-5578 of the Revised Statutes, embodying the provisions of the Act of Congress of August 18, 1856," contain special rules on the subject of Guano Islands. Section 5570 provides: "Whenever any citizen of the United States discovers a deposit of guano on any island, rock, or key, not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other Government, and not occupied by the citizens of any other Government, and takes peaceable possession thereof, and occupies the same, such island, rock, or key may, at the discretion of the President, be considered as appertaining to the United States." Section 5571 reads: "The discoverer shall, as soon as practicable, give notice, verified by affidavit, to the Department of State of such discovery, occupation, and possession, describing the island, rock, or key, and the latitude and longitude thereof, as near as may be, and showing that such possession was taken in the name of the United States; and shall furnish satisfactory evidence to the State Department that such island, rock, or key was not, at the time of discovery thereof, or of the taking possession and occupation thereof by the claimants, in the possession or occupation of any other Government, or of the citizens of any other Government, before the same shall be considered as appertaining to the United States.” Section 5572 enables the widow, heir, executor, or administrator of a discoverer, who dies before perfecting proof of discovery or fully complying with the provisions of the statute, to obtain the benefits of the discovery. By section 5573, "the discoverer, or his assigns, being citizens of the United States, may be allowed, at the pleasure of Congress, the exclusive right of occupying such islands, rocks, or keys, for the purpose of obtaining guano, and of selling and delivering the same to citizens of the United States, to be used therein, and may be allowed to charge and receive for every ton thereof delivered alongside a vessel, in proper tubs, within reach of ship's tackle, a sum not exceeding $8 per ton for the best quality, or $4 for every ton taken while in its native place of deposit. a As to the origin of this act, see papers and statements by Mr. Henry S. Sanford, S. Ex. Doc. 25, 34 Cong. 3 sess. 35, 93; S. Ex. Doc. 10, 36 Cong. 2 sess. 465-466. By section 5574, the discoverer, his personal representative, or assignee, must give bond, in such penalty and with such sureties as the President may require, to deliver the guano to citizens of the United States only, and for use therein, at the price prescribed, and to provide all necessary facilities for that purpose within a fixed time. This section, however, was suspended for five years from and after July 14, 1872.a By section 5575, the introduction of guano under the statute, and the vessels concerned therein, are subject to the laws regulating the coasting trade. "SEC. 5576. All acts done and offenses or crimes committed on any such island, rock, or key by persons who may land thereon, or in the waters adjacent thereto, shall be deemed committed on the high seas, on board a merchant ship or vessel belonging to the United States, and shall be punished according to the laws of the United States relating to such ships or vessels and offenses on the high seas, which laws, for the purpose aforesaid, are extended over such islands, rocks, and keys. "SEC. 5577. The President is authorized, at his discretion, to employ the land and naval forces of the United States to protect the rights of the discoverer or of his widow, heir, executor, administrator, or assigns. "SEC. 5578. Nothing in this title contained shall be construed as obliging the United States to retain possession of the islands, rocks, or keys after the guano shall have been removed from the same." The act of August 18, 1856, reenacted in title 71 of the Revised Statutes, is constitutional and valid. Jones v. United States (1890), 137 U. S. 202. In connection with guano legislation, see reports of the Secretary of State, June 29, 1850, S. Ex. Doc. 59, 31 Cong. 1 sess.; Sept. 27, 1850, S. Ex. Doc. 80, 31 Cong. 1 sess.; March 1, 1854, H. Ex. Doc. 70, 33 Cong. 1 sess.; Jan. 24, 1855, S. Ex. Doc. 31, 33 Cong. 2 sess.; Feb. 5, 1859, S. Ex. Doc. 25, 35 Cong. 2 sess. Calvo, Droit Int. (cinq. ed.), I. 432, § 300. For articles on guano, see De Bow's Rev. XIX. 219; Chamber's Jour. I. 135, 383; Living Age, XXXVI. 199. Section 6 of the guano islands act of August 18, 1856, reenacted in section 5576 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, does not assume to extend admiralty jurisdiction over land, but merely extends. the provisions of the statutes for the punishment of offenses committed on the high seas to like offenses committed upon guano islands appertaining to the United States, and thus asserts the power of the United "See, also, act of March 3, 1865, sec. 8, 13 Stats. 494; act of July 28, 1866, sec. 3, 14 Stats. 328; opinion of Speed, At.-Gen. (1866), 11 Op. 514; also acts of March 15, 1878, 20 Stats. 30; April 18, 1884, 23 Stats. 11; Jones e. United States (1890), 137 U. S. 202, 224. States to preserve peace and punish crime in all regions over which it exercises jurisdiction. Jones v. United States, 137 U. S. 202 (1890). It was therefore held that under sections 730, 5339, 5576, R. S., murder committed on a guano island which had been determined by the President to appertain to the United States, might be tried in the United States court for the district into which the offender was first brought. The question having been asked by the owner of the right to work a deposit whether his manager might be invested with power to preserve order on the island and to require proper quarantine regulations to be observed by vessels coming from infected ports to load for the United States, reply was made that if the legislation of Congress was not sufficient for the purpose, no power was known to exist in the executive department of the Government "either to prescribe additional laws or to empower others to do so." Mr. Bayard, Sec. of State, to Messrs. Glidden & Curtis, Dec. 29, 1886, 162 (2) CONDITIONS OF ANNEXATION. To enable the President to exercise the power conferred on him by the act of Aug. 18, 1856, the following facts must be established: "1. That a deposit of guano has been discovered upon the island by an American citizen. 2. That the island is not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other government. "3. That it is not occupied by the citizens of any other government. "4. That the discoverer has taken and kept peaceable possession thereof in the name of the United States. "5. That the discoverer has given notice of the facts, as soon as practicable, to the State Department, on his oath. "6. That the notice has been accompanied with a description of the island, its latitude and longitude. 7. That satisfactory evidence has been furnished to the State Department, showing that the island was not taken out of the possession of any other government or people." Black, At.-Gen. (1859), 9 Op. 364, 367. These conditions were previously enumerated by Attorney-General Black in a Mr. Fish, Sec. of State, to Mr. Samson, April 12, 1870, 84 MS. Dom. Let. 153; |