474
in the form of another Government raising objections,
We have smothered any possibility of protest from the
Japanese Government by employing Hasebe who, at our
instigation, put in an application for annexation to
his authorities, who ignored the application official-
ly, as we now learn they have done in another case.
Hasébé was the first applicant in the field for Japan-
ese annexation.
We shall await your reply with anxiety, and in
the meantime will send you our joint power of attor-
ney, as soon as it can be got ready. We think this
may be necessary to enable you to act freely for us.
We should have approached the local Colonial Authori-
ties in this matter, but in any case they would have
had to refer the matter to me, which would entail a
tedious delay that we cannot afford to risk.
The Island has always been a serious danger to
navigation, as the Note upon the detail chart will
show; and many wrecks have occurred there. It is
therefore our intention later on, should everything go
as we wish, to erect, at our own expense, some sort
of a lighthouse or beacon upon it.
The Atoll is only 40