Louisiana, when acquired from France, and the
 territories west of the Rocky Mountains, when
 acquired from Mexico, became the absolute
 property and domain of the United States, subject
 to such conditions as the government, in its
 diplomatic negotiations, had seen fit to accept
 relating to the rights of the people then inhabiting
 those territories."

 Indeed, it is superfluous to cite authorities
 establishing the right of the government of the
 United States to acquire territory, in view of the
 possession of the Northwest Territory when the
 Constitution was framed and the cessions to the
 general government by various states subsequent
 to the adoption of the Constitution, and in view also
 of the vast extension of the territory of the United
 States brought about since the existence of the
 Constitution by substantially every form of
 acquisition known to the law of nations. Thus, in
 part at least, "the title of the United States to
 Oregon was founded upon original discovery and
 actual settlement by citizens of the United States,
 authorized or approved by the government of the
 United States." Shively v. Bowlby, 152 U.S. 50, 38
 L. ed. 349, 14 Sup. Ct. Rep. 566. The province of
 Louisiana was ceded by France in 1803; the
 Floridas were transferred by Spain in 1819; Texas
 was admitted into the Union by compact with
 Congress in 1845; California and New Mexico were
 acquired by the treaty with Mexico of 1848, and
 other western territory from Mexico by the treaty of
 1853; numerous islands have been brought within
 the dominion of the United States under the
 authority of the act of August 18, 1856, chap. 164,
 usually designated as the Guano islands act, re-
 enacted in Revised Statutes, 5570-5578;
 Alaska was ceded by Russia in 1867; Medway
 island, the western end of the Hawaiian group,
 1,200 miles from Honolulu, was acquired in 1867,
 and $50,000 was expended in efforts to make it a
 naval station; on the renewal of a treaty with Hawaii
 November 9, 1887, Pearl harbor was leased for a
 permanent naval station; by joint resolution of
 Congress the Hawaiian islands came under the
 sovereignty of the United States in 1898; and on
 April 30, 1900, an act for the government of Hawaii
 was approved, by which the Hawaiian islands were
 given the status of an incorporated territory; on May
 21, 1890, there was proclaimed by the President
 an agreement, concluded and signed with
 Germany and Great Britain, for the joint
administration of the Samoan islands (26 Stat. at L.
1497); and on February 16, 1900 (31 Stat. at L. -,)


there was proclaimed a convention between the
 United States, Germany, and Great Britain, by which
 Germany and Great Britain renounced in favor of
 the United States all their rights and claims over and
 in respect to the island of Tutuilla and all other
 islands of the Samoan group east of longitude 1710
 west of Greenwich. And finally the treaty with Spain
 which terminated the recent war was ratified.

 It is worthy of remark that, beginning in the
 administration of President Jefferson, the
 acquisition of foreign territory above referred to
 were largely made while that political party was in
 power which announced as its fundamental tenet
 the duty of strictly construing the Constitution, and
 it is true to say that all shades of political opinion
 have admitted the power to acquire and lent their
 aid to its accomplishment. And the power has been
 asserted in instances where it has not been
 exercised. Thus, during the administration of
 President Pierce, in 1854, a draft of a treaty for the
 annexation of Hawaii was agreed upon, but, owing
 to the death of the King of the Hawaiian islands,
 was not executed. The 2d article of the proposed
 treaty provided as follows (Ex. Doc. Senate, 55th
 Congress, 2d sess., Report No. 681, Calendar No.
 747, p. 91):

 Article 2.

 The Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands shall be
 incorporated into the American Union as a state,
 enjoying the same degree of sovereignty as other
 states, and admitted as such as soon as it can be
 done in consistency with the principles and
 requirements of the Federal Constitution, to all the
 rights, privileges, and immunities of a state as
 aforesaid, on a perfect equality with the other states
 of the Union.

 It is insisted, however, conceding the right of
the government of the United States to acquire
territory, as all such territory when acquired
becomes absolutely incorporated into the United
States, every provision of the Constitution which
would apply under that situation is controlling in
such acquired territory. This, however, is but to
admit the power to acquire, and immediately to
deny its beneficial existence.

 The general principle of the law of nations,
already stated, is that acquired territory, in the
absence of agreement to the contrary, will bear
such relation to the acquiring government as may