of the charges against him but the decision to replace him was not changed. Captain Sebree arrived in Samoa and took up his new post on November 27, 1901. Acting governor Unlike Tilley, who had been the first acting governor of the territory, Sebree was very concerned about his legal status. Officially, he was only commandant of the naval station then under construction, although the deed of cession of the territory acknowledged his theoretical authority to govern the people. He was concerned that lawsuits could be brought against him or future acting governors until the situation was clarified and made official by the United States government. To this end, he made a recommendation to the United States Congress to assemble a panel to consider the territory's status and requested that an Assistant Secretary of the Navy come to the territory to meet with him. Both requests were refused. A further example of this ambiguity came in March 1902, when Sebree received orders to give up command of the Abarenda to give him additional time as commandant and "governor". To these orders, he responded that he still had not been officially made "governor" and that, if he were to act as a governor, he should be given the proper credentials and legal authority to do so. The Navy did not respond directly to Sebree's request, but he was given command of USS Wheeling three months later. Despite his protests, Sebree did act as the governor of the territory. During his administration, the United States Congress approved $35,000 to pay off debts related to construction costs for the naval station, and planning began for the construction of a lighthouse on Aunu'u. The Fita Fita Guard, the local militia that Tilley had organized, continued its training, and Sebree arranged to train some members of the force as a military-style brass band. Sebree also attempted to improve local agriculture and even petitioned the Department of Agriculture for assistance, but was turned down. Petition for civilian government Tensions escalated between foreign traders on Samoa and the local populace, due in part to controls which Tilley had put in place to protect Samoan farmers from exploitation. Dr. David Starr Jordan, a prominent American biologist doing research in the territory, was so concerned by these tensions that he sent a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt asking that a trader not be made governor of the territory, if