President Benjamin Harrison appointed Ide Presidential Commissioner to Samoa in 1891. The formal title of the post was American Land Commissioner in Samoa, one of three representatives (of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain) responsible for adjudicating land claims by foreigners in the islands, as provided for in the Treaty of Berlin (1889). Ide reached Apia on May 16, 1891, but only held the office for six months, until he resigned because of a serious illness in his family and left the islands on November 12, 1891. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote to him two days beforehand, saying "I hear with great regret of your departure. They say there are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it, but I doubt if they will come to our hook. It is not only that you have shown so much capacity, moderation, tact, and temper; but you have had the talent to make these gifts recognized and appreciated among our very captious population. For my part, I always thought your presence the best thing that the treaty had brought us."[7][8]
Ide returned to the islands in 1893 as Chief Justice, another position provided for by the Treaty of Berlin. He accepted the appointment in August, and sailed for the islands two months later. As Chief Justice, Ide presided over trials of both native Samoans and foreign nationals of the three Treaty of Berlin signatories. He also had the power to recommend criminal and taxation legislation to the government of Samoa.[7] He resigned in 1896, but there was a delay in the arrival of his successor, requiring him to continue in office until 1897.[6] At his departure, the Samoa Weekly Herald editorialized that Ide had been a just and able judge. Similarly, King Malietoa told Ide that "You will not be forgotten in Samoa, you will be remembered as the good Chief Justice who knew our ways and laws and customs and who was kind to us".[7][8]
Ide was one of the Commissioners of the Taft Commission, appointed in 1900.[11][12] Like the other Commissioners, he arrived in the Philippines in June of that year,[13] and assumed official legislative power on 1900-09-01.[11]
In 1901, Ide and the other commissioners gained executive power when they were appointed to the cabinet of territorial Governor William Howard Taft. Ide was appointed Secretary of Finance and Justice, and served until 1904.[14][15][6]
Ide was appointed Vice-Governor of the Philippines in 1904.[6][11] In November 1905 he became Acting Governor General after Luke Wright, then Governor General, took leave.[6][14] Wright formally resigned in April 1906, and Ide formally succeeded him Governor-General.[14]
Ide was Governor-General until September,[6][14] when he resigned and was recalled to Washington D.C.[14] In part, Ide's few months as Governor-General were a political face-saving exercise (as was Wright's resignation). Taft had visited the Philippines in August 1905, and after that visit that Taft intended major changes to the Philippine Commission. Wright and Ide were two of the Commissioners he intended to replace, and allowing Wright to resign and Ide to serve briefly as Governor-General were seen by contemporary observers as face-saving moves.[16] The issue Taft sought to solve was a conflict between the Commission members and the Federalistas. The Federalistas disagreed with and disliked both Wright and Ide. However, while they found Wright's Governor-Generalship outright offensive, they were happier with Ide's ten months in office. Hailing his resignation from office, La Democracia (as quoted in the September 5, 1906 Manila Times) praised Ide and his work, and stated that "in his social relations, Mr. Ide has reestablished the good times of Taft, which the latter's successor tried to make us forget".[16]
On October 26, 1871 Ide married Mary M. Melcher, daughter of Joseph and Sophia Melcher of Stoughton, Massachusetts. They had four children before her death in 1892: Adelaide (Addie) M., Annie L., Harry J. and Mary M.[17][18][19]
During his time on Samoa, Ide became friends with Robert Louis Stevenson, who was heavily engaged in the politics of the region and a frequent commentator on Samoan affairs to the world at large.[20][21][22] One day, Ide mentioned to Stevenson the feelings of his daughter Annie about having been born on Christmas Day and so having no birthday celebration separate from the family's Christmas celebrations. Stevenson drew up a formal deed of gift, properly sealed and witnessed as a legal document, and then published in the press, donating his birthday to Ide's daughter.[20][22][23] The daughter and Stevenson corresponded further on the matter in November 1891, with Stevenson assuring her that "I am sure [your father] will tell you this is sound law." The affair was the root of a strong bond between the Ide and Stevenson families.[20]
^John E. Findling (1989). "Ide, Henry Clay". Dictionary of American diplomatic history (2nd ed.). Greenwood Press. p. 254. ISBN9780313260247.
^ abAlexander DeConde (1978). "Ide, Hendy Clay". Encyclopedia of American foreign policy: studies of the principal movements and ideas. Vol. 3. Scribner. p. 1047. ISBN9780684160412.
^ abPrentiss Cutler Dodge (1912). "Ide, Henry Clay". Encyclopedia, Vermont biography: a series of authentic biographical sketches of the representative men of Vermont and sons of Vermont in other states. Burlington: Ullery publishing company. p. 233.
^ abcdefDavid Shavit (1990). "Ide, Henry C.". The United States in Asia: a historical dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 259. ISBN9780313267888.
^ abcAmerican Council of Learned Societies (1959). "Ide, Henry C.". Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 5 (Hibben–Larkin). Scribner. p. 458.
^ abGeorge Herbert Ryden (1933). The foreign policy of the United States in relation to Samoa. Yale historical publications. Vol. 24. Yale University Press. pp. 533–534, 540–541.
^ abcHenry Morse Stephens (2008). The Pacific Ocean in History. BiblioBazaar, LLC. pp. 255–257. ISBN9780559703027.
^David Bernstein (2007). The Philippine Story. READ BOOKS. p. 85. ISBN9781406744644.
^Warwick Anderson (2006). Colonial pathologies: American tropical medicine, race, and hygiene in the Philippines. Duke University Press. p. 253. ISBN9780822338437.
^ abcdeDean C. Worcester (1914). The Philippines: Past and Present. Vol. 1 (Reprinted 2008 by BiblioBazaar LLC ed.). p. 16. ISBN9781426458507.
^José S. Arcilla (1994). An introduction to Philippine history (4th ed.). Ateneo de Manila University Press. p. 97. ISBN9789715502610.
^ abMichael Cullinane (1989). Ilustrado Politics: Filipino elite responses to American rule, 1898–1908. Ateneo de Manila University Press. pp. 111, 246. ISBN9789715504393.
^"Biography of Henry Clay IDE". Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of Vermont. Ullery. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company, p 218. 1894.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Selected Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, ed. by Ernest Mehew (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2001)
^"A Samoan Girl's Letter". The Outlook. Vol. 61. Outlook Co. 1899. p. 226.
^William Butler Yeats (2005). John S. Kelly; Ronald Schuchard (eds.). The Collected Letters of W.B. Yeats: 1905–1907. Yeats Collected Letters Series. Vol. 4. Oxford University Press. p. 823. ISBN9780198126843.
^"Ide, Henry Clay". Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 14. Americana Corp. 1966. p. 660.
William H. Jeffrey and E. Burke (1904). "Ide, Henry C.". Successful Vermonters. Vermont: The Historical Publishing Company. pp. 17–19.
republished as: William H. Jeffrey (January 2003). "Henry C. Ide". Successful Vermonters. Tom Dunn.
Jacob Ullery (1894). "Henry C. Ide". Men of Vermont: Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of Vermont. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company. p. 218.
Leslie, Mrs. Shane - Girlhood in the Pacific Samoa-Philippines-Spain London MacDonald undated c.1943 The memoirs of Ide's daughter Marjorie.
Arthur F. Stone (1935). The Life of Henry Clay Ide. Bighampton, N.Y.: Vail-Ballou Press.
Ide's published works
Henry C. Ide (June 1899). "The imbroglio in Samoa". The North American Review. 168 (511). University of Northern Iowa.
Henry C. Ide (December 1907). "Philippine Problems". The North American Review. 186 (625). University of Northern Iowa: 510–524. JSTOR25106039.