Mr Chambers was opposed by the German faction, but Dr Raffel's action did not meet with the approval of the Government at Berlin, and he was recalled in February, 1899. In the meantime, Admiral Kantz of the American navy arrived on the United States cruiser, _Philadelphia_, and a proclamation was issued under which Matiafa's Government was declared to be illegal under the terms of the Berlin Treaty. A counter-proclamation was immediately issued by the German Consul, Herr Rose, the immediate result of which was that Apia was surrounded by a strong force of rebels, and riots occurred--in the course of which R. L. Stevenson's house was looted. The British and American warships opened fire and landed forces of bluejackets, who, after some severe fighting and losses, repulsed the rebels. On the 23rd March, 1899, Tanu was crowned King of the Samoan Islands in the presence of the Foreign Consuls, with the exception of the Representative of the German Government. Matiafa, with German moral support, continued in rebellion, and several Anglo-American parties of bluejackets and marines were ambuscaded, though the chief rebels' posts were captured. A state of anarchy now prevailed, and another international Commission was appointed in May, 1899, Mr Bartlett Tripp (President) representing the United States, Mr Eliot Great Britain, and Baron Sternburg Germany. Mr Chambers' decision was confirmed by the Commission, but Tanu had wearied of his kingship and voluntarily abdicated. Further fighting now occurred, but an agreement was signed in August, 1899, by the three Powers, under which the kingship was abolished and the Government of Samoa placed in the hands of an Administrator with a Council of the Consuls of Great Britain, Germany, and the United States, assisted by a native assembly and a High Court of Justice. The German, Dr Solf, Municipal President, was nominated as Administrator, and Mr Osborne, the United States Consul, was appointed to act as Chief Justice in the place of Mr Chambers who had resigned. Samoa remained under this triple administration until the 1st March, 1900, when by the Anglo-German Convention, embodied in the Samoa Treaty, the principal Samoan Islands were annexed by Germany, the Tonga, Savage, and Solomon Islands came under the rule of Great Britain, while Tutuila and the adjacent islands became the property of the United States. On the 1st March, 1900, the German flag was hoisted over Apia. Claims for compensation were presented for the destruction of property during the Matiafa rebellion; and these, having been submitted to the arbitration of the King of Sweden, were, in 1902, adjudged to be payable by Great Britain and the United States of America! The surrender of Samoa to Germany was a bitter pill to New Zealand, and the Imperialist Premier, the late "Dick" Seddon, expressed himself forcibly on the subject.