Case of Isaac M. Brower (Claim No. 44)

Extract

This claim is presented by the United States on behalf of Isaac M. Brower for the sum of $1,250, with interest. It arises out of the disallowance of Brower's application for a Crown grant to certain lands in Fiji. The facts are as follows:

In 1863, two American citizens, Thompson and Gillam, purchased from a Fiji chieftain known as Tui Cakau, a group of small islands, six in number, forming a part of the Fijian group. The islands were designated on the charts as the Ringgold Islands, the native appellation being Yanuca-i-Lau, meaning “bad islands.” They were not inhabited. Not more than three of them were of any potential value, the rest being described as “ mere rocks” (Memorial, p. 439), or “ sand banks” (Memorial, p. 424). The natives appear to have gone there intermittently to get turtles.