This is a claim for compensation, preferred by the Government of the United States of America on behalf of one, Benson Robert Henry, an American citizen, arising out of the disallowance of his title to 480 acres of land in the Island of Fiji. We propose to state the facts of this case only in detail sufficient to explain the character of the claim and to elucidate our decision which turns, as will presently appear, on one single question, namely,whether on October 10,1874, the date of the cession of Fiji to Great Britain,the claimant was, in his own right, proprietor of the lands in question or any part of them.