234 THE PLANT WORlvD 



the Spanish flag, and that he pay a certain sum quarterly to the govern- 

 ment for the support of the hospital for lepers. It is claimed that Don 

 Jose did not comply with these conditions. Don Antonio had sent em- 

 ployes to Alamagan with the permission of Governor Marina, in July, 

 1897, for the purpose of planting and gathering coconuts. On the 2d of 

 April, 1898, the conditional grant was made to Don Jose Portusach of 

 the usufruct of Agrigan, Pagan, and Alamagan, small islands lying near 

 the northern end of the Marianne chain. On June 27, 1898, five days 

 after the seizure of Guam by the United States, Captain Harrison paid 

 Don Jose Martinez for copra he had taken from Alamagan. Martinez 

 still kept his men on the island and paid their taxes for them into the 

 the public treasury at Agana. On the 12th of the following December, 

 Captain Harrison took copra from the island without pa^dng for it, where- 

 upon Martinez obtained a possessory title to the island from the Asesor 

 Letrado, and Portusach one week later received a grant of the same island 

 by the self-appointed Governor Sisto, in consideration of a certain sum 

 of money. When, in the following March, Captain Harrison again took 

 copra without paying for it, Martinez brought action against him. Cap- 

 tain Harrison refused to obey the summons of the court, and the matter 

 was reported to the senior army officer in command of the United States 

 forces in the Philippines. As Guam is under the jurisdiction of the 

 Navy, the matter was referred to the admiral commanding the Philippine 

 squadron, and he in turn referred the matter to the Governor of Guam. 

 The Governor has ordered me to decide upon the merits of the case ; and 

 I have taken evidence to determine, if possible, who is right and who is 

 wrong. Verily, some have greatness thrust upon them. I am afraid I 

 was not intended for a judge. 



As Shebata bought the copra from Martinez and sent for it in good 

 faith, it seems only just that Martinez should reimburse him for the 

 expense of sending a schooner to the island for copra which failed to 

 materialize. Later I will try to solve the problem of the ownership of 

 the copra. There is one thing which seems evident — if the Spanish 

 governor decided that Don Jose Portusach had not fulfilled the conditions 

 of the contract by which he was to have the usufruct of the islands in 

 question, I do not see by what right Sisto could grant him the title. 



Friday y October 27. — During my walks after office hours I have been 

 adding little by little to my herbarium. Jose and Vicente have learned 

 to change driers, and Susana seems to take great interest in the proceed- 

 ing, keeping an eye on the weather so as to get the driers indoors in time 

 to avoid rain-showers. Uremia simiata, the malvaceous plant with the 

 glands on the midrib of the leaves, is now in bloom. The small, rose- 

 colored flowers, like many others of the family, wither soon after bloom- 

 ing. The silk-cotton tree, called ' ' Algodon de Manila ' ' (Manila cotton), 



