great disorder and fearful of foreign domination. At the solicitation of the great chief of the island of Tutuila he entered into an agreement with the latter whereby the harbor of Pago Pago—said to be the best in the South Seas—was ceded to the United States as a naval station, and the commander for his government assumed a protectorate over the dominions of the chief. Although the act was done without authority, President Grant sent the agreement to the Senate for its consideration, stating that the acquisition of the harbor would be of great advantage, but that a modification as to the proposed protectorate ought to be made before the agreement should be approved. The Senate, however, took no action upon it.
Doubtless influenced by the Meade agreement, Secretary Fish in 1873 sent a special agent—A. B. Steinberger—to Samoa to report upon its condition, especially with a view to the increase of commercial relations. Steinberger returned to the United States and submitted his report, and was again sent to the islands, bearing kindly messages and presents from the President to its chiefs. In his instructions he was told that he could not give the chiefs any assurance of a protectorate, as it was "adverse to the usual traditions of the government." With this second visit Steinberger's connection with the government of the United States ceased, but he had so ingratiated himself with the rulers as to be made their adviser, and for a few years was the controlling spirit of the island government. He, however, incurred the disfavor of the British and American consuls, because of too great an intimacy
