270 AMERICAN DIPLOMATIC QUESTIONS 



and the following thirteen chiefs . . . who lately acted in be- 

 half of said party, and who are now in de facto possession of the 

 government, are recognized to be the provisional government of 

 Samoa, pending instructions from the three powers. 



2. The President [of the Municipality] to be the Executive of 

 the said Provisional Government. 



3. Nothing in this proclamation shall be taken as modifying or 

 abrogating the rights of the three treaty powers in Samoa, either 

 individually or collectively, or of their Consular representatives 

 as now existing. 



Given at Apia this 4th day of January, 1889. 



ROSE, 



Imp. Gov. Consul Gen. 

 L. W. Os BORN, 



U. S. Con. Gen., 

 ERNEST G. P>. MAXSE, 



H. B. M. Consul. 



So far as the affairs of Apia were concerned, the presi- 

 dent of the municipality, Herr Raffel, was thereby placed in 

 control as the executive officer of tjie provisional govern- 

 ment. 



This action was a decided victory for the German Consul, 

 Herr Rose, as it gave the color of virtue to the revolution 

 against the legally chosen Tanu. With Herr Raffel in con- 

 trol, and with the sympathy of nearly all Samoa behind them, 

 the Germans in Apia were in a position to bring about peace 

 with the probable acceptance of King Mataafa by the powers. 

 To accomplish these ends, moderation and a very keen 

 appreciation of what was fitting and proper to do under 

 the circumstances were necessary. However, both Herr 

 Raffel and Consul Rose, being men of uncertain temper and 

 somewhat wanting in tact, permitted their better judg- 

 ment to be so far overcome by the excitements of the moment 

 that the very next day after the proclamation they seized 

 the courthouse, barred the doors, and issued a notice that the 

 Supreme Court had adjourned until further notice from 

 the provisional government. In reply to this startling notice, 

 Captain Sturdee, of the English man-of-war, Porpoise, upon 

 which the chief justice had taken refuge, issued a statement 

 to the effect that the Supreme Court having been " illegally 



