Problems of the Pacific 



339 



progress of this plucky sailor's party 

 westward by way of the Ladrones to 

 the Philippines, and thence on and ever 

 westward until the globe was girdled 

 for the first time by human enterprise, 

 was not merely a signal fact but a preg- 

 nant prevision — a truly prophetic por- 

 tent whereof the vision aud interpreta- 

 tion were caught with marvelous insight 

 by the philosopher-poet Berkeley : 



Westward the course of empire takes its way ; 



The four first Acts already past, 

 A fifth shall close the Drama with the day : 



Time's noblest offspring is the last. 



A pity that the poetic measure and 

 current meaning of pre-Revolutionary 

 days should have met in " empire," the 

 end of the fourth ' 'Act ' ' (or stage in 

 human progress) and but the painted 

 scene for the fifth ! But, after all, the 

 essence of the fifth Act is empire, albeit 

 of freedom and humanity rather than 

 the mingled tyranny and trumpery 

 " such as Europe breeds in her decay." 



Magellan's fate, like that of many 

 other explorers, was tragic; the killing 

 of Captain Cook on Hawaii, and the 

 mutiny against Captain Bligh on the 

 good ship Bounty at Pitcairn Island 

 were typical — they served to stimulate 

 curiosity and cupidity, and guided the 

 ever-springing ambition of vigorous men 

 to go, to see, and to conquer. 



During the last century Caucasian 

 discovery proceeded apace along far too 

 many lines to be followed in an hour ; 

 but one of the lines was of such signifi- 

 cance as to demand a moment's thought. 

 While still in the flush of national 

 growth following the annexation of 

 Texas, the acquisition of California, 

 and the Gadsden Purchase, American 

 seamen sailed distant seas and looked 

 on new-seen isles as treasures trove ; 

 and the American Congress in 1856 en- 

 acted a law authorizing American citi- 

 zens to claim , acquire, and possess islands 

 discovered in the broad Pacific. Several 

 were so acquired; some were taken 

 formally and officially by the Navy of 



the United States. Notable among 

 these were two of the ' ' Line Islands ' ' 

 lying under the equator in mid-ocean ; 

 in 1858 Commander C. H. Davis, 

 U. S. N., took formal possession, in the 

 name of the United States, of Jervis Isl- 

 and, in longitude 159 58', and New 

 Nantucket (or Baker Island), in longi- 

 tude 176 32' (i. e., within little over 

 200 miles of the anti-prime meridian 

 dividing the western hemisphere from 

 the eastern), and formally reported the 

 annexation to the executive and legisla- 

 tive branches of the government amid 

 acclaim eclipsed only by that evoked by 

 his own record in the stirring days to 

 follow.* During that decade as in de- 

 cades before, Spain was relaxing dili- 

 gence in the Pacific, Russia was cling- 

 ing closely to northern shores, Portugal 

 had passed her prime, Germany was full 

 of the affairs of the Fatherland, the sun 

 of Japan was not yet risen, and there 

 was none but Britain to oppose the 

 bridging of the Pacific by American 

 enterprise. The day of Oceania seemed 

 to dawn; the legion islands seemed step- 

 ping-stones for the youthful giant 

 among nations, stepping-stones stretch- 

 ing to far Cathay and farther Ind. 

 Such was America's promising place in 

 the Pacific toward the end of the fifth 

 decade; but even before the opening of 

 the sixth the ardent growth-flush paled 

 before the threat of domestic dissension, 

 the energy of civilian and navalian 

 voyagers was concentrated at home, and 

 the nation withdrew for a season from 

 the Oceanian field. Thus fell an un- 

 reckoned tax of the Civil War — a tax 

 beyond easy summing, and one never 

 to be paid in full. The paralysis of 

 American enterprise in the Pacific was 

 complete ; gains ceased, losses began ; 

 the Stars and Stripes floated figuratively 



* An account of Commander Davis' peaceful 

 conquest with a description of the islands has 

 just been published by James D. Hague in the 

 Century Magazine, vol. lxiv, September, 1892, 

 p. 653 et sea. 



