of American and British war ships became imperative to restore order, at the cost of sanguinary encounters.  In this emergency a joint commission of representatives of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain was sent to Samoa to investigate the situation and provide a temporary remedy.  By its active efforts a peaceful solution was reached for the time being, the kingship being abolished and a provisional government established.  Recommendations unanimously made by the commission for a permanent adjustment of the Samoan question were taken under consideration by the three powers parties to the General Act.  But the more they were examined the more evident it became that a radical change was necessary in the relations of the powers to Samoa.

The inconveniences and possible perils of the tripartite scheme of supervision and control in the Samoan group by powers having little interest in common in that quarter beyond commercial rivalry had been once more emphasized by the recent events.  The suggested remedy of the Joint Commission, like the scheme it aimed to replace, amounted to what has been styled a tridominium, being the exercise of the functions of sovereignty by an unanimous agreement of three powers.  The situation had become far more intricate and embarrassing from every point of view than it was when my predecessor, in 1894, summed up its perplexities and condemned the participation in it of the United States.

The arrangement under which Samoa was administered had proved impracticable and unacceptable to all the powers concerned.  To withdraw from the agreement and abandon the islands to Germany and Great Britain would not be compatible with our interests in the archipelago.  To relinquish our rights in the harbor of Pago Pago, the best anchorage in the Pacific, the occupancy of which had been leased to the United States in 1878 by the first foreign treaty ever concluded by Samoa, was not to be thought of either as regards the needs of our Navy or the interests of our growing commerce with the East.  We could not have considered any proposition for the abrogation of the tripartite control which did not confirm us in all our rights and safeguard all our national interests in the islands.

Our views commended themselves to the other powers.  A satisfactory arrangement was concluded between the Governments of Germany and of England, by virtue of which England retired from Samoa in view of compensations in other directions, and both powers renounced in favor of the United States all their rights and claims over and in respect to that portion of the group lying to the east of the one hundred and seventy-first degree of west longitude, embracing the islands of Tutuila, Ofoo, Olosenga, and Manua.  I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a convention, which besides the provisions above mentioned also guarantees us the same privileges and conditions in respect to commerce and commercial vessels in all of the islands of Samoa as those possessed by Germany.