Papers mainly relating to Powell's work as Deputy Commissioner for the Western Pacific at Samoa 1885-1887. They include: official documents, letters and reports on his travels in the Pacific and New Guinea and on the administration and politics of Samoa; manuscripts and cuttings on Samoa; the Pacific labour trade; the annexation of New Guinea; accounts of the Samoan hurricane of 1889; and photographs of Samoa. Correspondents include J.B. Thurston.