Malietoa Tanu, and Mataafa, who had been brought back from exile, again inaugurated civil war. The German consul and resident subjects sympathized with Mataafa, and the American and British consuls sought to uphold the authority of the legitimate ruler. This awakened the former national antagonism, which had for some years been quiescent. The commanders of the American and British men-of-war, which had been sent to the scene of disorder, felt it necessary to land marines and restrain the aggressions of the natives. In the conflicts which ensued several American officers and sailors lost their lives, and a considerable amount of property was destroyed.
The governments of the three nations determined to seek an effective remedy for the intolerable condition of affairs, and they appointed a commission, consisting of one representative of each nation, to visit Samoa with full power to take whatever steps were necessary to restore order, and to suggest a plan for a permanent settlement of the government of the islands. The commission sailed from San Francisco in 1899. On their arrival their authority was recognized by all the consuls and by the Samoan officials and chiefs, and in a short time they were able to establish order. On July 18 they united in a report, accompanied by a new plan of government, which materially modified the Berlin act or treaty of 1889, but they expressed the conviction that it would be impossible to find a remedy for the troubles through the joint administration of the three powers.
It thus became evident that joint control of the
