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British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Fur seal arbitration
Bering Sea Tribunal of Arbitration
"Case presented on the part of the government of Her Britannic Majesty to the Tribunal of Arbitration constituted under Article I of the treaty concluded at Washington on the 29th February, 1892, between Her Britannic Majesty and the United States of America" -- First page "([United States] 53d Cong., 2d sess. Senate. Ex. doc. 177, pts. 1-16)" -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 126.
504 pages : tables ; 24 cm
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FUR SEAL ARBITRATION. PROCEEDINGS Tribunal of Arbitration, CONVENED AT PARIS TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA AND GREAT BRITAIN CONCLUDED AT WASHINGTON FEBRUARY 39,1893, DETERMINATION OF QUESTIONS BETWEEN THE TWO GOV- . ERNMENTS CONCERNING THE JURISDICTIONAL RIGHTS OF THE UNITED STATES WATERS OF BERING SEA. VOLUME IV. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1895. /^SO 50. 3 536* CASE PRESENTED ON THE PART OF T GOVERNMENT OF HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY CONSTITUTED UNDER ARTICLE I OF THE TREATY CONCLUDED AT WASHINGTON ON THE 29TH FEBRUARY, 1892, H-ER BRITANNIC MAJESTY AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. WASHINGTON; GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. GENERAL CONTENTS. The case now submitted to the Arbitrators on the part of the Government of Her Britannic Majesty contains a statement of the facts which that Government considers to be material to enable the Arbitrators to arrive at a just conclusion upon the points submitted to them by the Treaty of Arbitration. It contains also some general propositions which that Government believes to be in accordance with the established principles of International Law, and upon which it intends to rely. The case is arranged as follows: Pages. Introductory Statement and Outline of Argument 1-9 Arrangement of Case and Heads of Argument 9-12 Chapter I, Head A: The User, up to the year 1821, of the Waters of Behr- ing Sea and other Waters of the North Pacific 13-36 Chapter II, Head B: The Ukase of 1821, and the circumstances connected therewith leading np to the Treaties of 1824 an d 1825 37-58 Chapter III, Head C: The question whether the hody of Water now known as Behring Sea is included in the phrase "Pacific Ocean," as used in the Treaty of 1825 between Great- Britain and Russia 59-76 Chapter IV, Head D: The User of the Waters in question from 1821 to 1867. 77-90 Chapter V, HeadE: What rights passed to-the United States under the Treaty of 30th March, 1867 91-102 Chapter VI, Head F: The action of the United States and Russia from 1867 to 1886 103-120 Chapter VII, Head G: Various contentions of the United States since the year 1886 121-134 Chapter VIII. Has the United-, States any right, and, if so, what right, of protection or property in the fnr seals frequenting the Islands of the nary 3-mile limit? 135-140 Chapter IX. General Conclusions upon the whole Case 141-157 Chapter X. Recapitulation of Argument 158-160 Conclusion 161 Schedule of Claims: Statement of claims for compensation from the United States' Government on account of the seizures of British Canadian Sealers in the Behring Sea during the years 1886, 1887, 1889, and 1890. The appendix to the case consists of four volumes, the contents of which are as follows: Vol. I. Miscellaneous documents quoted in the case. Vol. II, Part 1. Selections from correspondence between Great Britain and Russia, 1821-1825. Part 2. Selections from correspondence between the United States and Russia, 1822-1887. Part 3. Treaties: Russia and United States, 1824; Great Britain and Russia, 1825; Russia and United States, 1867. Vol. III. Correspondence respecting the Behring Sea seal fisheries. Papers presented to the British Parliament. Treaty and convention between Great Britain and the United States of February 29 and April 18, 1892. Vol. IV, Part 1. Map of the northwest coasts of America and the Aleutian and Kurile islands, published in the quartermaster-general's department, St. Petersburg, 1802. Part 2. Map of the northern portion of the North Pacific Ocean. 1 CASE PRESENTED ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY TO THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. The differences between Great Britain and the United States of America, the subject of this Arbitration, arise out of claims by the United States of America to prevent and interfere with British vessels fishing in the waters of Behring Sea other than the territorial waters thereof. Prior to the year 1886 British vessels had, in common with the vessels of the United States and those of other nations, navigated and fished in the non-territorial waters of Behring Sea without interference. SEIZURES OF BRITISH SHIPS. In 1886 the British schooner " Thornton | was arrested when fishing 70 miles south-east of St. George Island, the nearest land. The vessel was libelled in the United States District Court of Alaska by the District Attorney, the charge formulated being that the vessel was "found engaged in killing fur seals within the limits of Alaska Territory and in the waters thereof, in violation of Section 1956 of the Revised Statutes of the United States." The vessel was condemned, and the master and mate were imprisoned and fined. The British schooners " Carolena" and " Onward" were seized about the same time when fishing under similar circumstances, and were subsequently condemned by the District Court. 2 The Judge (in summing up the case of the | Thorn- s/s°sth£nai''Ena ton ") ruled that the law above mentioned applied to Do^Nofioe, P£ all the waters of Behring Sea east of 193° of west longi- BookftrnHed tude. State's,No.2,1890, Certain other vessels were all also subsequently seized in I^enakf'va! non-territorial waters, and the fishing of British vessels n£ was interfered with under the circumstances hereinafter stated. Great Britain protested against this action on the part of the United States, and negotiations took place, which eventually resulted in-the Treaty and Convention entered into at Washington on the 29th February and the 18th April, 1892. The Treaty is as follows: CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. TREATY OF 1892. Her Maiesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Irelancfand Le United States of America, being desirous toprovide for an amicable settlement of the questions which have arisen between their respective Governments concerning the jurisdictional rights of the United States in the waters of Behring Sea, and concerning also the preservation of the-fur-seal in or habitually resorting to the said sea, and the rights of the citizens and subjects of either country as regards the taking of fur-seal in or habitually resorting to the said waters, have resolved to submit to arbitration the questions involved, and to the end of concluding a Convention for that purpose have appointed as their respective Plenipotentiaries: \ Her Maiesty the Queen of the United Kmgdoni of Great Britain and Ireland, Sir Julian Pauncefote, G. C. M. G., K. C. B., Her Majesty s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States; and the President of the United States of America, James G. Blaine, Secretary of State of the United States; Who, after having communicated to each other their respective Full Powers, which were found to be in due and proper form, havo agreed to and concluded the following Articles: Article I. The questions which have arisen between the Government of Her Britannic Majesty and the Government of the United States concerning the jurisdictional rights of the United States in the waters of Behring Sea, and concerning also the preservation of the fur seal in or habitually resorting to the said sea, and the rights of the citizens and subjects of either country as regards the taking of fur seal in or habitually resorting to the said waters, shall be submitted to a Tribunal of Arbitration, to be composed of seven Arbitrators, who shall be appointed in the following manner, that is to say: two shall be named by Her Britannic Majesty; two shall be named by the 3 President of the United States; his Excellency the President of the French Republic shall be jointly requested by the High Contracting Parties to name one; His Majesty the King of Italy shall be so requested to name one; and His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway shall be so requested to name one. The seven Arbitrators to be so named shall be jurists of distinguished reputation in their respective countries; and the selecting Powers shall be requested to choose, if possible, jurists who are acquainted with the English language. In case of the death, absence, or incapacity to serve of any or either of the said Arbitrators, or in the event of any or either o'f the said Arbitrators omitting or declining or ceasing to act as such, Her Britannic Majesty, or the President of the United States, or his Excellency the President of the French Republic, or His Majesty the King of Italy, or His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, as the case may be, shall name, or shall be requested to name forthwith, another person to act as Arbitrator in the place and stead of the Arbitrator originally named by such head of a State. And in the event of the refusal or omission for two months after receipt of the joint request from the High Contracting Parties of his Excellency the President of the French Republic, or His Maiestv the King of Italy, or His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway to name an Arbitrator, either to fill the original appointment or to fill a, vacancy as above provided, then in such case the appointment shall be made or the vacancy shall be filled in such manner as the Hia-h Contracting Parties shall agree. 8 Article II. fcoSrf meet at p^ris r-tMn twenfcy days after *e fnfthnCfa^- 411 questionsconsiderateTribunal,Sc ud Arbitrators ' * be determ™d *y * majority of all the CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Each of the High Contracting Parties shall also name one person to attend the Tribunal as its Agent to represent it generally in all matters connected with the arbitration. Article III. The printed Case of each of the two parties, accompanied by the documents, the official correspondence, and other evidence on which each relies, shall be delivered in duplicate to each of the Arbitrators and to the Agent of the other party as soon as may be after the appointment of the members of the Tribunal, but within a period not exceeding four months from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this Treaty. 4 Article IV. Within three months after the delivery on both sides of the printed Case, either party may, in like manner, deliver in duplicate to each of the said Arbitrators, and to the Agent of the other party, a counter case, and additional documents, correspondence, and evidence, in reply to the case, documents, correspondence, and. evidence so presented by the other party. If, however, in consequence of the distance of the place from which the evidence to be presented is to be procured, either party shall, within thirty days after the receipt by its Agent of the case of the other party, give notice to the other party that it requires additional time for the delivery of such counter case, documents, correspondence, and evidence, such additional time so indicated, but not exceeding sixty days beyond the three months in this Article, provided, shall be allowed. If in the case submitted to the Arbitrators either party shall have specified or alluded to any Report or document in its own exclusive possession, without annexing a copy, such party shall be bound, if the other party thinks proper to apply for it, to furnish that party with a copy thereof; and either party may call upon the other, through the Arbitrators, to produce the originals or certified copies of any papers adduced as evidence, giving in each instance notice thereof within thirty days after delivery of the Case; and the original or copy so requested shall be delivered as soon as may be, and within a period not exceeding forty days after receipt of notice. It shall be the duty of the Agent of each party, within one month after the expiration of the time limited for the delivery of the counter case on both sides, to deliver in duplicate to each of the said Arbitrators aud to the Agent of the other party a printed argument showing the points and referring to the evidence upon which his Government relies, and either party may also support the same before the Arbitrators by oral argument of counsel; and the arbitrators may, if they desire further elucidation with regard to any point, require a written or printed statement or argument, or oral argument by counsel, upon it; but in such case the other party shall be entitled to reply either orally or in writing, as the case may be. In. deciding the matters submitted to the Arbitrators, it is agreed that the following five points shall be submitted to them, in order that their award shall embrace a distinct decision upon each of said five points, to wit: . 1. What exclusive jurisdiction in the sea now known as the Behring Sea and what exclusive rights in the seal fisheries therein, did Russia assert and exercise prior and up to the time of the cession of Alaska to the United States? 5 2. How far were these claims of jurisdiction as.to the seal fisheries recognized and conceded by Great Britain? 3 Was the body of water now known as the Behring Sea included in the phrase "Pacific Ocean," as used in the Treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia; and what rights, if any, in the Behring Sea were held and exclusively exercised by Russia after said Treaty? CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 4. Did not all the rights of Russia as to jurisdiction, and as to the sea fisheries in Behring Sea east of the water boundary, m the Treaty between Zf United States and'Russia of the 30th March, 1867, pass unimpaired to the United States under that Treaty? 5 PHas the United States any right, and, if so, what right, of protection or property in the fur-seals frequenting the islands of the United States in Behring Sea when such seals are found outside the ordinary 3-mile limit? tttt Article VII. If the determination of the foregoing questions as to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States shall leave the subject in such position that the concurrence of Great Britain is necessary to the establishment of Regulations for the proper protection and preservation of the fur-seal in, or habitually resorting to, the Behring Sea, the Arbitrators shall then determine what concurrent Regulations outside the jurisdictional limits of the respective Governments are necessary, and over what waters such Regulations should extend, and to aid them in that determination, the Report of a Joint Commission, to be appointed by the respective Governments, shall be laid before them, with such other evidence as either Government may submit. The High Contracting Parties furthermore agree to co-operate in securing the adhesion of other Powers to such Regulations. Article VIII. The High Contracting Parties having found themselves unable to agree upon a reference which shall include the question of the liability of each for the injuries alleged to have been sustained by the other, or by its citizens, in connection with the claims presented and urged by it; and, being solicitous that this subordinate question should not interrupt or longer delay the submission and determination of the main questions, do agree that either may submit to the Arbitrators any question of fact involved in said claims, and ask for a finding thereon, the question of the liability of either Government upon the facts found to be the subject of further negotiation. Article IX. The High Contracting Parties having agreed to appoint two Commissioners on the part of each Government to make the joint investigation and Report contemplated in the preceding Article VII, 6 and to include the terms of the said Agreement in the present Convention, to the end that the joint and several Reports and recommendations of said Commissioners may be in due form submitted to the Arbitrators, should the contingency therefor arise, the said Agreement is accordingly herein included as follows: Each Government shall appoint two Commissioners to investigate, conjointly with the Commissioners of the other Government, all the facts having relation to seal life in Behring Sea, and the measures necessary for its proper protection and preservation. The four Commissioners shall, so far as they may be able to agree, make a joint Report to each of the two Governments, and they shall also report, either jointly or severally, to each Government on any points upon which they may be unable to agree. These Reports shall not be made public until they shall be submitted to the Arbitrators, or it shall appear that the contingency of their being used by the Arbitrators can not arise. Article X. Each Government shall pay the expenses of its members of the artide mmiS81011 m mvestiSatio11 referred to in the preceding Article XI. The decision of the Tribunal shall, if possible, be made within three months from the close of the argument on both sidls Arbitratn™ whf16 m TO*™« and dated> and shall be signed by the Arbitrators who may assent to it. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The decision shall be in duplicate, one copy whereof shall be delivered to the Agent of Great Britain for his Government, and* the other copy shall be delivered to the Agent of the United States for his Article XII. Each Government shall pay its own Agent, and provide for the proper remuneration of the counsel employed by it and of the Arbitrators appointed by it, and for the expense of preparing and submitting its case to the Tribunal. All other expenses connected with the Arbitration shall be defrayed by the two Governments in equal Article XIII. Article XIV. The High Contracting Parties engage to consider the result of 7 the proceedings of the Tribunal of Arbitration as a full, perfect, and final settlement of all the questions referred to the.Arbi- Article XV. The present Treaty shall be duly ratified by Her Britannic Majesty and by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof; and the ratifications shall be exchanged either at Washington or at London within six months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible. In faith whereof, we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this Treaty, and have hereunto affixed our seals. Done in duplicate, at Washington, the 29th day of February, 1892. [l. s.] Julian Pauncefote. [l. s.J James G. Blaine. OUTLINE OF ARGUMENT. The general outline of the argument submitted to the Tribunal of Arbitration on behalf-of Great Britain will be as follows: That Behring Sea, as to which the question arises, is an ' opi-n sea in which all nations of the world have the right to navigate and fish, and that the rights of navigation and fishing cannot be taken away or restricted by the mere declaration or claim of any one or more nations; they are natural rights, and exist to their full extent unless specifically modified, controlled, or limited by Treaty. That no mere non-user or absence of exercise has any effect upon, nor can it in any way impair or limit such rights of nations in the open seas. They are common rights of all mankind. In support of these principles, which are clearly established, and have never been seriously disputed by jurists, authorities will be cited. That in accordance with these principles, and in the exercise of these rights, the subjects and vessels of various nations did from the earliest times visit, explore, navigate, and trade in the sea in question, and that the exercise of these natural rights continued without any attempted interference or control by Russia down to the year 1821. CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 8 That iu 1821 when Russia did attempt by Ukase, i. e., by formal declaration, to close to other nations, the waters of a great part of the Pacific Ocean (including Behring Sea) Great Britain and the United States immediately protested against any such attempted interference, maintaining the absolute right of nations to navigate and fish in the non,territorial waters of Behring Sea and otner non-territorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. Both countries asserted that these rights were common national rights, and could not be taken away, or limited by Ukase, Proclamation, or Declaration, or otherwise than by Treaty. That in the years 1824 and 1825, in consequence of these protests, Russia unconditionally withdrew her pretensions, and concluded Treaties with the United States and with Great Britain which recognized the rights common to the subjects of those countries to navigate and fish in the non- territorial waters of the seas over which Russia had attempted to assert such pretensions. That from the date of such Treaties down to the year 1867, (iu which year a portion of the territories which had been referred to iu and affected by the Ukase of Russia in the year 1821, was purchased by and ceded to the United States), the vessels of several nations continued, year by year, in largely increasing numbers, to navigate, trade, and fish in the waters of Behring Sea, and that during the whole of that period of nearly fifty years there is no trace of any attempt on the part of Russia to reassert or claim any dominion or jurisdiction over the non-territorial waters of that sea, but, on the contrary, the title of all nations to navigate, fish, and exercise all common rights therein was fully recognized. That on the purchase and acquisition of Alaska by the United States in the year 1867, the United States were fully aware and recognized that the rights of other nations • to navigate and fish in the non-territorial waters adjacent to their newly acquired territory, existed iu their full natural state, unimpaired and unlimited by any Treaty or bargain whatever. That, from the year 1867 down to the year 1886, the United States, while they lawfully and properly controlled and legislated for the shores and territorial waters of 9 their newly acquired territory, did not attempt to restrict or interfere with the rights of other nations to navigate and fish in the non-territorial waters of Behring Sea or other parts of the Pacific Ocean. That, under changed conditions of territorial ownership and in view of certain new circumstances which had arisen m consequence of the growth of the industry of pelagic seal- in g in non-territorial waters, the United States reverted in the first instance, to certain claims based upon those of the Russian Ukase of 1821, which the United States, together with Great Britain, had successfully contested at the time of their promulgation; but in the course of the discussions which have arisen, these exceptional claims to tne control of non-territorial waters were dropped and in CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. their place various unprecedented and indefinite claims put forward, which appear to be based upon an alleged property in fur seals as such. Finally, that while Great Britain has from the first strenuously and consistently opposed all the foregoing exceptional pretensions and claims, she has throughout been favourably disposed to the adoption of general measures of control of the fur seal fishery, should these1 be found to be necessary or desirable with a view to the protection of the fur seals, provided that such measures be equitable and framed on just grounds of common interest, and that the adhesion of other Powers be secured, as a guarantee of their continued and impartial execution. ARRANGEMENT OF CASE. It will be convenient to state the arrangement and order of the Case here presented on behalf of Great Britain. Article VI The first three points of Article VI 1. Wba Sea, and to the Ui t exclusive jurisdiction in the s ited States ? ime 2. How 10 3 clu 1825 betv the Behr said Trea far were these claims of jurisd ognized and conceded by Great . Was the body of water now k ded in the phrase "Pacific Oce reen Great Britain and Russia ng Sea, were held and exclnsiv B It is proposed in the first instance to deal with these points, which relate to the original claims by Russia to certain rights in Behring Sea, and the action of Great Britain respecting these claims.- HEADS OF ARGUMENT. The questions therein raised will be considered under the following heads: (A.) The user up to the year 1821 of Behring Sea and Chapteri. other waters of the North Pacific. Head A' (B.) The Ukase of 1821 and the circumstances connected chapter n. therewith leading up to the Treaties of 1824 and 1825. HeadB- (C.) The question whether the body of water now known gia^ter rn as Behring Sea is included in the phrase " Pacific Ocean," e as used in the Treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia, (D.) The user of the waters in question from 1821 to g^fj;17. It is then proposed to consider point 4 of Article VI, CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. This point will be considered under the following heads: (B.) What rights passed to the United States under the Treaty of Cession of March 30,1867. (F.) The action of the United States and Russia from 1867 to 1886. \ \ iSstt—I I (G.) The various contentions advanced by the United. States since the year 1886. Point 5-of Article VI is as follows: I 5. Has the United States any right, and, if so, what right, of pro- it tection or property in the fur seals frequenting the islands of 11 the United States in Behring Sea when such seals are round outside the ordinary 3-mile limit? _ _ This will be briefly considered, but the proposition which appears to be embodied in this question is of a character so unprecedented that, in view of the absence of any precise definition, it is impossible to discuss it at length at the present time. It will, however, be treated in the light of such official statements as have heretofore been made on the part of the United States, its discussion in detail being necessarily reserved till such time as the United States may produce the evidence or allegations upon which it relies in advancing such a claim. Article "VII is as follows:— Article VII. If the determination of the foregoing questions as to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States shall leave the subject in such position that the concurrence of Great Britain is necessary to the establishment of Regulations for the proper protection and preservation of the fur-seal in, or habitually resorting to, the Behring Sea, the Arbitrators shall then determine what concurrent Regulations outside the jurisdictional limits of the respective Governments are necessary, and over what waters such Regulations should extend, and to aid them in that determination, the Report of a Joint Commission, to be appointed by the respective Governments, shall be laid before them, with such other evidence as either Government may submit. The High Contracting Parties furthermore agree to co-operate in securing the adhesion of other Powers to such Regulations. The terms of this Article make it necessary that the consideration of any proposed Regulations should be postponed until the decision of the Tribunal has been given on the previous questions. Beyond, therefore, demonstrating that the concurrence of Great Britain is necessary to the establishment of any Regulations which have for their object the limitation or control of the rights of British subjects in regard to seal fishing in non-territorial waters, it is not proposed to discuss the question of the proposed Regulations, or the nature of the evidence which will be submitted to the Tribunal. With regard to the points raised under Article VIII 12 (which refer to questions arisiug out of claims for damages), it will be contended on behalf of Great Britain that the seizure of the ships was unlawful, and the Arbitrators will be asked to find that in each case the seizure took place in non-territorial waters, that such seizures were made with the authority and on behalf of the Government of the United States, and that the amounts of damages which Great Britain is entitled to claim on behalf of the. owners, masters, and crews are the respective amounts stated m the Schedule of particulars appended to this Case. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER I. Head A.—The User, up to the year 1821, of the Waters of Behring Sea and other Waters of the North Pacific. It is shown in the following series of historical notes, chronologically arranged, that the waters subsequently included in the claim made by Russia under the Ukase of 1821, had been freely navigated over, and frequented for purposes of trade and for other purposes, by ships of various nations, from the earliest times. Further, that the discovery and exploration of these waters and the coasts and islands washed by them, was largely due to the navigators of various nations, and in particular to those of Great Britain. AREA TO BE CONSIDERED. The waters affected by the Russian Ukases of 1799 and 1821* include not only the entire area of Behring Sea (though that sea is not specifically mentioned by any name in either Ukase), but also other parts of the Pacific Ocean, and in considering the nature of the user of the waters now in question, the entire area affected by the Ukase of 1821 is included, the facts relating to all parts of this area being of equal significance. It will be noted in this connection that the limit claimed under the Ukase extended southward to the 51st parallel of north latitude on the American coast; and that, therefore, any events occurring to the north of 54° 40', which is the southernmost point of the territory now known as Alaska, are well within this limit. The Pacific Ocean as'a whole, was, in the last century and in the earlier part of the present century, variously named the Pacific, or Great Ocean or South Sea, the last name arising from the circumstance that it had been reached by sailing southward round the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. "behring sea." Behring Sea is, and was at the time of the negotiations which arose immediately on the promulgation of the Ukase of 1821, recognized by geographers as a part of the 14 Pacific Ocean. The name by which it is now known is that of the navigator Behring, but in earlier times it was often named the Sea of Kamtchatka. The sea washes the northern parts of the coasts of North America and of Asia, and is regarded as extending from Behring Strait on the north to the Aleutian and Commander Islands on the south. Its area is at least two- thirds of that of the Mediterranean, and more than twice 14 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. that of the North Sea, while its extreme width is 1,260 miles. From north to south it extends over about 14° ot latitude, or more than 800 miles. From the south it is approached by numerous open seaways one of which is 175 miles wide, another 95 miles, five more'from 55 to 22 miles, and very many of smaller width. On the north, it communicates with the Arctic Ocean by Behring Strait, 48 miles in width. Behring Sea is the common highway<*o the Arctic Ocean with its valuable fisheries. It is Great Britain's highway to her possessions in the north via the Yukon River (of TreatyofWash- which the free navigation is guaranteed by Treaty), as well i8^°n,A?tfoieas the route for such communication as maybe held or xx^i. attempted with the northern parts of the coasts of North America to the east of Alaska, and with the estuary of the great Mackenzie River. HISTORICAL OUTLINE. In 1728 and 1729, Behring, in his first expedition, out- toBaDoCf °Aia™a"line<i? somewhat vaguely, the Asiatic coast of Behring Sea, P0137.° as a' and practically proved the separation of the Asiatic and American continents, ibia.,pp.63-74. in 1741, Behring's second expedition, which sailed from Okhotsk, resulted in the discovery of the American coast. Unsatisfactory as the voyages of Behring and his associate Chi rikof undoubtedly were from a geographical point of view, it was upon their results that Russia chiefly 15 based her subsequent pretensions to the ownership of the north-western part of North America. Hunters and traders followed Behring's lead, and Behring Island, and various islands of the Aleutian chain, were visited from the Kamtchatkan coast. Alaska, p. 141. jn 1763, Glottof, on a trading voyage, ventured as far east as Kadiak Island. ibid., pp. 157, In 1764 to 1768, Synd, a Lieutenant of the Russian navy, made an expedition along the coast to Behring Strait. Of the period from 1769 to 1779, Bancroft writes in his History of Alaska: ibid., p. 174. From this time to the visit of Captain Cook, single traders and small Companies continued the traffic with the islands in much the same manner as before, though a general tendency to consolidation was perceptible. igibid., pp. lot- The extension of Russian influence did not pass unnoticed by Spain, and in 1774 Perez was dispatched from Mexico on a voyage of exploration, in which he reached the southern part of Alaska, ibid., P. 197. in 1775, Heceta, also instructed by the Viceroy of Mexico, explored the coast of America as far north as the 57th or 58th degree of latitude, taking possession of that part of the continent in the name of Spain. these pages by the short For the period discussed in this Chapter reference may be made SSSffiafe, ^HTSJJ&nT*of tbe UDited state8'" 2ndediti-> CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. jj In 1778, Captain Cook, sent by the English Government, c°°k. voya reached the American coast of the North Pacific with twoocea^meuw Vessels. London, 1874. In pursuance of his instructions, he explored the coast from about 44° of north latitude as far as the region of Prince William Sound and Cook River or Inlet, taking possession of the coasts there. At Cook Inlet he found evidence of Russian trade but no Russians. At Unalaska, one of the Aleutian Islands, he again heard of the Russians, and on the occasion of a second visit met Russian traders. From Unalaska he jailed eastward to Bristol Bay, landing and taking possession. From this he explored, and defined the position of the American coast northward as far as Icy Cape, beyond Behring Strait. Cook was killed in the following winter at the Sandwich Islands, but his ships, under Clarke, returned in 1779 and made further explorations in Behring Sea and in the Arctic Ocean. Under this expedition, and for the first time, the 16 main outlines of the north-western part of the Continent of America, and particularly those of the coast about Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, with the eastern coast of Behring Sea, were correctly traced. This expedition also opened up the trade by sea in furs from the north-western part of America to China. Cook's surveys still remain in many cases the most authentic; and these, with other results of the expedition were published in full in 1784. In 1779, another officially accredited Spanish expedition Alaska, p under Arteaga and Quadra, explored part of the coast217"221, northward from about latitude 55°, and westward to Mount St. Elias. In 1783, the first attempt was made, following Cook's ibid., p. 186 discoveries, to establish a Russian trading post on the American mainland, at 'Prince William Sound. It ended disastrously. For some years after this reverse only one small vessel ibid., p. wi was dispatched from Siberia for trading purposes; but in 1784, Shelikof visited Unalaska and reached Kadiak Island, ibid., P. 224 with the intention of effecting a permanent occupation there. In 1785, Captain Hanna entered into the trade between tofyotthJi!m the north-west coast of America and China, for which west coast, v . Captain Cook's expedition had shown the way. He made |pp- 173'm* a second voyage in the following year, but appears to have confined his trading operations to the vicinity of the northern part of Vancouver Island. Other commercial adventurers were, however, practically contemporaneous with Hanna, and this year is an important one in connection with the whole region. The " Captain Cook" and "Experiment," from Bombay, Alaska, P. 2 traded at Nootka and at Prince William Sound. An English vessel, the "Lark," Captain Peters, from swsaccoi ighout these pages by the short 1802, pp. 279, 281. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Bengal via Malacca and Canton, after trading at Petro- paulovsk in Kamtchatka, sailed for Copper Island with the supposed purpose, as alleged, of obtaining a cargo ot copper there. She was wrecked on the Commander Islands. In the same year, 1786, Portlock and Dixon, and Meares, arrived upon the American coast, and traded and 17 explored far to the northward. These voyages are important, because detailed accounts of both were published, in 1789 and 1790 respectively, while the voyages of other traders have generally not been recorded. >yage Portlock and Dixon, who had sailed from London in indSn 1785 I the "King George" and "Queen Charlotte," in ' 1786, first visited Cook Inlet, where they found a party of Russians encamped, but with no fixed establishment. Trade was carried on with the natives there$ and subsequently at various other places on what is now the Alaskan coast, and several harbours were surveyed. In the following year, Portlock and Dixon returned to the vicinity of Prince William Sound, where they found Meares, who had spent the previous winter there. They subsequently called at a number of places on the Alaskan coast, as well as at ports now included iu the coast line of British Columbia, making very substantial additions to geographical knowledge. ' voy- Meares sailing from Bengal in the "Nootka" early in Annual the year, reached the Islands of Atka and Amliaof the k'1™ Aleutian chain, staying two days at the last-named island, ' ' aud holding communication with the natives and Russians found there. He then proceeded eastward- along the Aleutian Islands, and was piloted into Unalaska by a Russian who came off to the ship. He describes the Russian establishment as consisting of underground huts like those occupied by the natives; but being anxious to leave the viciuity of the Russian traders, he continued his voyage eastward to Cook Inlet and eventually wintered in Prince William Sound, as above stated. Meares' later voyage, in 1788 and 1789, which is better known than his first venture, was directed to that part of the coast lying to the southward of the limits afterwards included by the Ukase of 1799. In 1788, Meares built at Nootka, in the northern part of Vancouver Island, the first vessel ever constructed on the coast of the northwestern part of America. She was intended for use in the fur trade, and was appropriately named the "North-west America." l. p- 255. Also in 1786, La Perou'se, on his voyage sound the world, under instructions of the French Government, first 18 made the American laud near Mount St. Ellas. Thence he sailed eastward and southward, calling at ,p-2«. places on the Alaskan coast. At Lituya Bay he obtained in trade 1,000 sea-otter skins. m "a- In the same year the Russian Pribyloff discovered the islands in Behring Sea, now known by his name. pp. 27o_ in 1788, a Spanish expedition, in the vessels " Princesa" and " San Carlos," under Martinez and Haro, set out. It CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. visited Prince William Sound, but found no Russians. Haro, however, found a Russian colony at Three Saints, on Kadiak Island. This was the easternmost place which had at this time a permanent Russian settlement. The voyagers took possession of Unalaska for Spain, but afterwards found Russian traders on the island. In the same year, a Russian vessel explored Prince Wil- liam Sound, Takutat, and Lituya Bays, all of which had previously been examined by English or French voyagers. In 1788, vessels from the United States first traded on the north-west coast. £ Upon the conflict of interests at this time along this part of the American coast, and the rival claims to territory there, Bancroft makes the following remarks: Referring to Billing's Russian scientific exploring expedition, by which several voyages were made from 1787 to to 1791 in the Behring Sea region, Bancroft says: The geographical results may be set down at next to nothing, with the exception of the thorough surveys of Captain Bay iu Illiuliuk Harbour on Unalaska Island. Every other part of the work had The complaints of natives, against the practices of independent traders and adventurers, brought back by this expedition, had much to do with the subsequent grant of a monopoly of the trade to the Russian-American Company. 19 In 1789, twelve vessels at least are known to have 0 been trading on the north-west coast.* 2c The well-known "Nootka" seizures by the Spaniards occurred in this year. In 1790, Fidalgo sailed from Nootka, then occupied by Spain, to examine the north-west coast, including Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, and Kadiak. The tradi; %- vessel "Phoenix," Captain Moore, from the East Indies, was in Prince William Sc-und in this year. At this time also, Russia and Sweden being at war, a Swedish cruizer visited the Aleutian Islands, but finding no Government establishment to attack, and no Russians except traders living "in abject misery," her Commander refrained from disturbing them. In 1791, Malaspina, from Spain, under orders of his Government, visited several places upon what is now theAlaskan coast. Marchand, in the "Solide," from France, on a * In many cases no records exist of the trading voyages made to the north-west coast, and the existing records are very incomplete. Tt is in some cases certainlv known that these traders extended their operations to the north of the limit mentioned in the Ukase of 1799, CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. vova'ee of trade and circumnavigation, also visited the 248. coast, and Douglas, in the " Iphigenia," was in Cook Inlet -westmBesSidyesathe above vessels, at least eight trading-vessels •V pp- are known to have been on the coast, of which seven were from the United States. ' ■ „ 244 In 1792. Caamano, setting out from Nootka, expxored ' Port Bucarelli, in South-eastern Alaska; and it is reported that in this year fully twenty-eight vessels were upon the coast, at least half of them being engaged in the fur trade. uver, Vancouver gives a list of 21 vessels for the same year, tpi> iI divided as follows: From England, 6; from East Indies, 2; thePa-fro^ China, 3; from United States, 7; from Portugal, 2; °n"from France, 1. P. 29G. The " Halcyon," Captain Barclay, visited Petropaulovsk for purposes of trade, and a French vessel, " La Flavia," . wintered there. aver.s In 1793, Vancouver, who had been dispatched by the English Government with the "Discovery" and 20 "Chatham" for the purpose of finally deciding the existence or otherwise of a communication between the Pacific and Atlantic, by the exploration of all remaining inlets on the north-west coast, was occupied in surveying operations on what now constitutes the south-eastern Alaskan coast. In 1794, he surveyed Cook Inlet to its head, and Prince William Sound, Kadiak, and the coast extending to Taku- tat Bay, were in turn carefully laid down in detail. He ascertained that the easternmost Russian Establishment at this time was at Port Etches on Prince William Sound. >i.iii,p. Concerning the Russians here and there met with, Vancouver remarks that he— Clearly understood that the Russian Government had little to do with these Settlements; that they were solely under the direction and support of independent mercantile Companies Not the least attention whatever is paid to the cultivation of the land or to any other object but that of collecting furs, which is principally done by the Indians. Near Takutat Bay he fell in with the " Jackal," an English trading vessel, which was then upon the coast for the third consecutive season; and further to the south-eastward he met with the " Arthur," Captain Barber, from Bengal. Vancover took possession of the coast southward from Cross Sound (latitude 58°) in the name of Great Britain. The results of his surveys were published in 1798. ':««' Th& names of four trading-vessels on the north-west \ • s p- coast, including the "Jackal," are known for this year. ■•304. In 1795, a trading-vessel, named the "Phoenix," from Bengal, was on the north-west coast. . 305. In 1796, at least three trading-vessels are known to have been on the north-west coast. ' 306. in 1797, the names of four trading-vessels on this coast arx^no7n'btlt these constituted probably but a small part of the fleet. I In 1798, the names of six trading-vessels happen to have been recorded. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. In 1799, the "Caroline," Captain Cleveland,from Boston, arrived from Sitka shortly after a Russian post had been established there. Several other American.vessels, among them the brig Aiasi "Eliza," under Captain Rowan, visited Sitka during 21 the summer and "absorbed the trade while the Russians were preparing to occupy the field in the future." The names of seven vessels trading on the north-west cNotr! coast are recorded in this year. soT ' " Nothing approaching to a complete record of the names or nationalities of vessels trading upon this part of the coast in the years about the close of the last century can now be obtained, and, in the absence of any published . record of explorations, even incidental allusions to the presence of such traders become rare in the years after the date of Vancouver's departure. That such trade was, however, continuously practised is evident from the general complaints made by the Russians as to its effect on their operations. The following quotations from Bancroft's " History of Alaska" allude to complaints referring particularly to these years. Writing of the enterprises of Baranoff, Governor of Sitka, Bancroft says: At every point eastward of Kadiak where he had endeavoured to Alask open trade, he found himself forestalled by English and American ships, which had raised the prices of skins almost beyond his limited Again, referring specially to the nascent Establishment at Sitka, Baranoff himself writes: I thought there would be no danger with proper protection from the lbi(1- larger vessels, though the natives there possess large quantities of fire-arms and all kinds of ammunition, receiving new supplies annually from the English arfd from the Republicans of Boston and America, whose object is not permanent settlement on these shores, but who have been in the habit of making trading trips to these On another page Bancroft writes: Baranoff's complaints of foreign encroachment appear to have been n»d-> well grounded. Within a few leagues of Sitka the' captains of three Boston ships secured 2,000 skins, though paying very high prices, each one trying to outbid the other. Further on Baranoff is quoted to the effect that the n.id., Americans had been acquainted with the tribes in this region for two or three years, and sent there annually from six to eight vessels. These vessels from the United States were at this time just beginning to supplant the English traders, who had in earlier years been the more 22 Once more Bancroft quotes Baranoff as follows: > calculate an average of 2,000 hich would make 12,000 a-year, imnm, it would amount in ten >rice at Canton of 45 roubles per skin," would'amount to 4,500,000 roubles. 20 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ClKCTJMSTANCES WHICH LED UP TO UKASE OF 1799. It will be convenient at this point to consider the circumstances which led up to the Ukase of 1799, the terms of that Ukase, and its effect. , Alaska p. 305. As early as 1786, the idea had become dominant with Grigor Shelikof, who had shortly before established the first permanent Russian colony at Kadiak, of creating a Company which should hold a monopoly of trade in the Russian possessions on the Pacific, and over all that part of the American Continent to which Russian traders resorted. Shelikof obtained but a partial success in the Charter issued for the United American Company; but after his death at ibid., pp. 377-ixkntsk in 1795, his schemes were taken up by his son-iu- 379' " law Rezanof, who succeeded in carrying them to comple tion, and, in 1799, a Ukase was issued which granted the wished-for exclusive privileges to the New Russian-American Company. Before this time, in 1798, a consolidation of the Shelikof Company with several smaller concerns had been effected under the name of the United American Company; and at. the date of the issuing of the Ukase there were but two rival Companies of importance in the field, the Shelikof or United.American Company, and the Lebedef Company, and these engaged in active competition and hostility. Bancroft sums up the situation about 1791 and 1792 in the following words: ibid., pp. 338, Affairs were assuming a serious aspect. Not only were the Shelikof 339- men excluded from the greater part of the inlet [Cook Inlet], but they were opposed in their advance round Prince William Sound, which was also claimed by the Lebedef faction, though the Orekhof and other Companies were hunting there 23 Thus the history of Cook Inlet during the last decade of the eighteenth century is replete with romantic incidents—midnight raids, ambuscades, and open warfare—resembling the doings of mediaeval raubritters, rathei. than the exploits of peaceable traders Robbery and brutal outrages continued to be the order of the day, though now committed chiefly for the purpose of obtaining sole control of the inlet, to the neglect of legitimate pursuits. Again, in another place, the same author writes, with regard especially to the position of Baranoff, Governor of Sitka, when he took charge of the Shelikof Colony of Kadiak: Alaska, p. 321. Thus, on every side, rival establishments and traders were draining the country of the valuable staple upon which rested the very existence of the scheme of colonization. To the east and north there were Russians, but to the south-east the- ships of Englishmen, Americans, and Frenchmen were already traversing the tortuous channels of the Alexander Archipelago, reaping rich harvests of sea-otter skins, in the very region where Baranoff had decided to extend Russian dominion in connection with Company sway. 39ib393" pp'302, Xt was 01,1y in the later years of the competition between the rival Russian Companies that they began to assume hostile attitudes to one another. The growing power of some of them favoured aggression, and the increasing scarcity of the sea-otter, which was already beginning to be felt, accentuated it. At first, and for many years after Behring's initial voyage, the traders from Siberia were sufficiently occupied in turning to advantage their dealings CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. with the natives of the islands and coasts visited by them, and this not in ther-mc st scrupulous manner. Tribute in furs was exacted from the Aleuts on various pretexts, and whenever the traders c ame in sufficient force these people were virtually enslave d. Not only were the companies of traders under no suffi cient or recognized control by the Russian Government, aut they even disliked and resented in some measure the a dvent or presence among them of n> commissioned officers o f the Government. The effect of the re ports of the subordinate members of Billing's expedition , as to the unsatisfactory state of ib affairs in the Aleutian Islands and on the American coast, tended to favour the project of the establishment of a monopoly, by disclosin| ,• the abuses which existed by reason of the existing competition. Bancroft more than 24 hints that the su jerior officers of the expedition were induced to keeps ilence from interested motives; and Billing's Report, whatt ver- its tenour may have been, was never published. In the end, however, it became in a degree imperative for the Russian Governme nt to put a stop to the scandals and abnseswhichflourished in this remote and practicallynncou- trolled portion of the E mpire, and the easiest way in which this could be done, an d the least expensive, was to vest exclusivejights in the hands of the most powerful of the existing rival Companr. es. This, being also in the interests of the Company in q testion, was not found difficult of achievement, and, as a consequence of the Ukase of 1799, the absorption of the se nailer concerns still existing appears to have followed witho nt any great difficulty, Baranoff, as the executive head of ;he new Corporation on the Ameri- can coast, coming to tl e front as the natural leader. When Shelikof pres mted at St, Petersburg his original A petition for the right to monopolize the trade, a Report was requested on the subjec t from Jacobi, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, an 1 in Jacobi, Shelikof found an able advocate. Jacobi stat 3d that it would be only /just to She- likof to grant his requ est, and that it would be unfair to ind that it won mefits of the pe diak. i the Imperial C d be unfair to ace'which She- ollege of Com- alikof for exclu ended that the sive privileges likof had established at Ki The Empress then order* merce to examine the que body endorsed Jacobi's Repor request of Shelikof should be granted. Though, among the arguments naturally advanced in favour of the grant of a monopoly, we find it urged that the benefits of trade accruing would thus be reserved to Russian subjects, the history of the occupation of the coasts and the records concerning it, show conclusively that this was not the object which to any great extent induced Shelikof to apply for such a monopoly. His Company had the utmost difficulty in sustaining its position against hostile natives while not less serious were the difficulties arising from the competition, and scarcely veiled hostility of rival 1 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Russian traders. The increasing trade by foreigners, together with the numerous exploring and surveying 25 expeditions dispatched to the north-west coast of America by various Powers, were no doubt distrusted by the Russian traders; but at the same time these traders were often obliged to depend on such foreigners for support and assistance. Nowhere in the annals of the times previous to, and during the operation of the Ukase of 1799, do we find any reference to attempts to interfere with or restrict the operations of foreigners upon the American coasts or in the Aleutian Islands. Even the scientific expeditions of the period were often largely interested in trade as well as in exploration, but all vessels meeting with the Russians ' report a favourable, if not a hospitable, reception. Such an attitude on the part of the traders and the Company is, in fact, strictly in accord with the Ukase of 1799, which is purely domestic in its character, and in which no exclusive rights against foreigners are asserted. TJKASE op 1799. The following is a literal translation of the Ukase in question, taken from Golovnin, in "Materialui dla Istoriy Russkikh Zasseleniy," i., 77-80: 3- By the grace of a merciful God, we, Paul-1, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, &c. To the Russian-American Company, under in the north-eastern seas and along t our immediate protection a Compai ly organi purpose of carrying on hunting an d trading the appellation of " Russian-Ameri protection;" and for the purpose 01 aiding i prises, we allow the Commanders oi said forces in the Company's aid if ther relief and assistance of said their Rules and Regulations, we h sreby dec north latitude and of the chain of islands exteuding from Kamschatka to the north to America and southward to Japan, and by right of possession of the same by Russia, we most graciously permit the 26 Company to have the usoof all hunting grounds and establish- from the above-mentioned 55th degree to Behring Strait, and < n the north-eastern ocean. north latitude but farthelToThe^southf and to 0°ccupy the new lands discovered, as Russian possessions, according to prescribed rules, if they have not been previously occupied by any other nation, or been 3. To use and^profit by everything whic covered in those localities, on the^surfac earth, without any competition by others. 4. We most graciously permit this Company to establish Settlements in future times, wherever they are wanted, according to their best knowledge and belief, and fortify them to insure the safety of tne inhabitants, and to send ships to those shores with goods and hunters, without any obstacles on the part of the Government. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 5. To extend their navigation to all adjoining nations and hold business intercourse with all surrounding Powers, upon obtaining their tree consent for the purpose, aud under our highest protection, to enable them to prosecuto their enterprises with greater force and advantage. 6. To employ for navigation" hunting, and all other business, free and unsuspected people, having no illegal views or intentions. In consideration of the distance of the localities where they will be sent, the provincial authorities will grant to all persons sent out as settlers, hunters, and in other capacities, passports for seven years. Serfs and house-servants will only be employed by the Company with the consent of their land-holders, and Government taxes will be paid for all serfs thus employed. 7. Though it is forbidden by our highest order to cut Government timber anywhere without the permission of the College of Admiralty, this Company is hereby permitted, on account of the distance of the the Admiralty from Okhotsk, when it needs timber for repairs, and occasionally for the construction of new ships, to use freely such timber as is required. 8. For shooting animals, for marine s emergencies on the mainland of Americ; pany is permitted to buy for cash, at cost price, from the Government artillery magazine at Irkutsk yearly 40 or 50 pouds of powder, and ■ from the Nertchinsk mine 200 ponds of lead. 9. If one of the partners of the Company becomes indebted to the Government or to private persons, and is not in a condition to pay them from any other property except what he holds in the Company, such property cannot be seized for the satisfaction of such debts, but the debtor shall not be permitted to use anything but the interest or dividends of such property until the term of the Company's privileges expires, when it will be at his or his creditors' disposal. 27 10. The exclusive right most graciously granted to the Com pany for a period of twenty years, to use and enjoy, in the above- described extent of country and islands, all profits and advantages derived from hunting, trade, industries, and discovery of new lands, prohibiting the enjoyment of those profits and advantages not only to those who would, wish to sail to those countries on their own account, but to all former hunters and trappers who have been engaged in this trade, and have their vessels and furs at those places; and other Companies which may have been formed will not be allowed to continue their business unless they unite with the present Company with their free consent; but such private Companies or traders as have their vessels in those regions can either sell their property, or, with the Company's consent, remain until they have obtained a cargo, but no longer than is required for the loading and return of their vessel; and after that nobody will have any privileges but this one Company, which will be protected in the enjoyment of all the advantages mentioned. 11. Under our highest protection, the Russian-American Company will have full control over all above-mentioned localities, and exercise judicial powers in minor cases. The' Company will also be permitted to use all local facilities for fortifications in the defence of the country under their control against foreign attacks. Only partners of the Company shall be employed in the administration of the new possessions in charge of the Company. In conclusion of this our most gracious order for the benefit of the Russian-American Company under highest protection, we enjoin all our military and civil authorities in the above-mentioned localities not only not to prevent them from enjoying to the fullest extent the privileges granted by us, but in case of need to protect them with all their power from loss or injury, aud to render them, upon application of the Company's authorities, all necessary aid, assistance, and protection. To give effect to this our most gracious Order, we subscribe it with our own hand, and give orders to confirm it with our Imperial seal. Given at St. Petersburgh, in the year after the birth of Christ, 1799, the 27th day of December, in the fourth year of our reign. 'Signed) Paul. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The Ukase, it will be observed, granted to the Russian- American Company exclusive rights as against other Russian subjects only, and in np way interfered with the rights of foreigners, notwithstanding that the representations which led to its promulgation contained, as has already been indicated, complaints of competition by foreigners. . It will be noticed, for instance, that the details incorporated in clause 10 of the Ukase respecting the rights of independent traders are such as to be applicable to Russian subjects or Companies alone. 28 The rights and privilegesunder the grant extended to the hunting grounds and establishments then existing on the main coast of America from Behring Strait down to the 55th degree of north latitude. The southern limit of the exclusive coast privileges granted to the Company extended on the Asiatic side to Japan. Not only were the main coasts of Asia and America thus covered by the Ukase, but the same privileges were granted on the Aleutian, Kurile, and other islands "situated in the North Eastern Ocean." It will be noted, therefore, that the area over which the exclusive privileges were granted to the Russian-American Company extended both on the coast of Asia and of America far beyond the limits of Behring Sea. Special privileges in regard to the purchase of powder for shooting animals "on the mainland of America and on the islands" were conceded, and the exclusive right "to use and enjoy in the above-described extent of country and islands" the hunting and trading. THE UKASE OF 1799 PURELY DOMESTIC. The Ukase in no way claimed any exclusive jurisdiction over the sea, nor were any measures taken under it to restrict the commerce, navigation, or fishery of the subjects of foreign nations, and this although, within the very area covered by the Ukase, as has already been shown by the facts stated, vessels of various nations had been navigating and trading. It will be seen, by the account of the years following 1799, that these operations on the part of foreigners continued. Referring to the Ukase of 1799, Mr. Middleton, the United States Minister at St. Petersburgh, writes, 7th (19th) April, 1824, to Mr. Adams, the Secretary of State of the United States, as follows S rtPs!CPoret£ ni™^0°nfU8+i0? Pre™U+n£ in Europe in 1799 permitted Russia (who Relations, vol.\, "one seems to have kept her attention fixed upon this interest during p. 401. that period) to take a decided step towards the monopoly of this trade, by the Ijkaseof that date, which trespassed upon the acknowl- CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 25 edged rights of Spain;* but at that moment the Emperor Paul 29 had declared war against that country as being an ally of France. This Ukase, which is, in its foi-m, an act purely domestic, was never notified to any foreign State with injunction to respect its provisions. Accordingly, it appears to have been passed over unobserved by foreign Powers, and it remained without execution in so far as it militated against their rights. HISTORICAL OUTLINE RESUMED. The accuracy of the views expressed by Mr. Middleton appears clearly from the facts disclosed by the chronological statement relating to the period subsequent to the year * In 1800, the ship " Enterprise," from New York, arrived Alaska, P. 389. at Kadiak. The name of the seven trading-vessels on the north-west Co^V toiYp* coast are given in this year. 3os. ' In 1801, there were at least thirteen United States vessels Ibid 310 on the north-west coast. These vessels exchanged with ^^ Green the natives of the coast for furs parts of their cargoes, and, now, Lftrarfa^of proceeding to China, returned to their respective countries De^rtmSentt6of with cargoes of teas, &c. Upwards of 18,000 sea-otter state, "History skins, besides other furs, were in 1801 collected by United caii&rX?" ppd States traders alone for the China market. 2a&orth a ' In 1802, the Russian Establishment at Sitka was de-can Review,?!^1,' stroyed, and nearly all the Russians there were massacred see*Append?*' by the natives. According to Lisiansky, the natives were vol. i, No. 3. assisted by three deserters from a United States vessel, the "Jenny," which had called at Sitka not long before. 40fia089ka' pp- - Shortly afterwards, an English vessel, the " Unicorn," Captain Barber, arrived at Sitka, and two other vessels, reported by the Russian survivors as English, but one of these Bancroft believes to have been the United States vessel "Alert." In this year also Krusenstern, having visited China, presented a Memorial to the Russian Government calling attention to the advantages offered by the trade in furs from America direct to Chinese ports, and suggesting that Russia should engage in it. Of the vessels trading on the north-west coast in this^"^-]™^ year, the names of ten have been recorded. ;n, 312. 30 In 1803, Baranoff contemplated the abandonment of Unalaska, owing to disease aud nonarrival of Ibid-. p-417- supplies. He ordered that the best men should be moved to the Pribilof Islands to collect there the furs accumulated by the natives. These islands had not been visited for many years. Captain O'Cain, of the United States vessel "O'Cain," exchanged goods for furs with Baranoff at Sitka, and also took Aleutian hunters to the Californian coast to hunt fur- seals and sea-otters. "Thus was inaugurated a series of^^-pp-477. hunting expeditions beyond the borders of the Russian Colonies, which continued for many years." >'"''. The names of five vessels trading on the north-west c^^T.pp* coast are known. 312-317. * The rights of Spain are here mentioned because, by the Ukase of 1799 Russia claimed territory which Spain was also understood to claim. In 1824 the United States was committed in its own interest to support the old Spanish claim, in consequence of the Spanish cession to the United States in 1819. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. sis, In 1804, Sitka was reoccupied and rebuilt by the Russians. Two United States vessels, one being the "Juno, were there. The names of four vessels are known as trading on the north-west coast. 1 In 1805, the " Juno" and another vessel from the United States were at Sitka, and we hear of six vessels, including the "Juno," as trading on the north-west. ^ .,.-, * In 1806, the Russian Envoy Rezanoff visited the Pribilot Islands on the " Maria," and endeavoured to stop the waste- M6 ful slaughter of fur seals. He recommended the Emperor ' to "take a stronger hold of the country," as the traders m ships from Boston were undermining the trade with China. He reported that the " Bostonians g had armed the Kolosh Indians. E In the same year the "Juno," with her cargo, was pur- 478, chased by Baranoff, and the "Eclipse" (Captain O'Cain) sailed for China with furs; but was lost on the way back. The names of four vessels trading on the north-west coast are known in this year. Rezanoff, in 1807, sent the " Juno" to the Californian coast for provisions. The "Myrtle," an English ship (Captain Barber), was purchased by Baranoff. Six north-west coast trading-vessels are known by name for this year. 4™. In 1808, the United States vessel "Mercury" obtained at Kadiak 25 bidarkas, or skin-boats, for hunting and trading to the southward. Four United States trading vessels are known to have 467. been on the Alaskan coast in 1808 and 1809. 31 In 1810, the Russian sloop-of-war "Diana" visited Sitka. There were several United States vessels in the port at the time. Shortly after the United States vessels "Enterprise" and "O'Cain" arrived. The "Enterprise " went to Canton with furs. °- Galovnin, Commander of the "Diana," writes that at this time an American sailor and a Prussian skipper composed the Diplomatic Corps of the Russian-American Company. est In 1810 and 1811, four foreign vessels were engaged in ' p' sea otter hunting, under Russian contracts. 429. In 1811, the " Enterprise" returned from and went back :!- to China with furs. In this year the Ross Colony was founded in California to provide agricultural products for .est use on the north-west coast. Five vessels engaged in trad- '• p- ing and hunting, besides the four vessels under Russian contracts, were seen on the coast of Southern Alaska in this year. | In 1812, the United States ship " Beaver " disposed of her cargo to Baranoff at Sitka, aud was then sent to the Pribiloff Islands for fur-seal skins as payment. o. Between 1809 and 1812, Baranoff made six additional hunting contracts with United States vessels. He received a proportion of the skins, which were chiefly sea-otters est Between 1812 and 1814, there was scarcely any trade, ' °™TUgJ?}h£ war between England and the United States. 503. In 1814, Captain Bennett (United States) sold two vessels with their cargoes to Baranoff, and took fur-seal skins CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 27 from the Pribiloff Islauds in payment. Lozaref, sent by P>id-. pp- 504. Russia, Ayith two ships, reached Sitka, but quarrelled with 505, Baranoff and returned. In 1815, the Russian vessel "Isabel" reached Sitka with ™d-p 506- Dr. Sheffer on board. In 1816, the Russian vessel << Rurik" (Captain Kotzebue) i'»d-. p- a>i- touched at St. Lawrence Island and explored Kotzebue Sound, north of Behring Strait. Two United States vessels visited the Russian Settle- North-west ments this year. 3305 ' |p" In 1817, Kotzebue, on an exploring expedition to the North, only reached St. Lawrence Island. An expedition Alaska, p.soi. in two vessels under Hagemeister, sent by Russia, reached Sitka. 32 In 1818, Hagemeister superseded Baranoff, under instructions. Roquefeuil, a French officer, arrived 52^525*ka' pp' at Sitka in the "Bordelais," a trading vessel. He sailed for Prince of Wales Archipelago, but had. a conflict with natives and returned to Sitka. Roquefeuil notes meeting co^TOiV8* a United States and a British trading vessel in Alaskan 338. ' v' waters. In 1818 and 1821, expeditions were dispatched by theBrlanynfc°ap8e»th British Government in search of a northwest passage from M, vol. xix, p. the Atlantic to the Pacific. These efforts were continued, and in 1824 and 1825 Parry, Beechey, and Franklin were engaged in the same quest, Beechey having been directed to pass through Behring Strait and to rendezvous with the others at Kotzebue Sound. These efforts were stimulated by the offer by Parliament of large pecuniary rewards, and it is obvious that the value of the discovery, if made, depended on the free right of navigation for purposes of commerce through Behring Strait. In 1819, the United States traders obtained most of the Alasli:a> p- 528- trade, bartering with the Kolosh fire-arms and rum for skins. They obtained about 8,000 skins a year. The Russians could not successfully compete with them. The privileges granted for twenty years to the Russian- American Company were now about to expire, and Golov- nin was instructed to inquire as to its operations. His Report was not favourable. He writes: Three things are wanting, in the organization of the Company's ll>i<l, p. 531. colonies—a clearer definition' of the duties belonging to the various officer's, a distinction of rank, and a regular uniform, so that foreign- elusion tnan that these stations are but temporary fortifications erected by hunters as a defence against savages. In 1820, four trading vessels are known to have beenCo^°^j^0* operating on the north-west coast. The extent of Russian occupation at about the date of Alaska, P. 522. the expiry of the first Charter can be shown by the Census ' taken in 1819, which states the number of Russians as follows: CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN For Tikhmeni- Sitka, or New Archangel..-- effs complete Kadiak and adjoining island. tahles, including Island of Ookamok natives, see Ap- Katmai - -. - - -_ pendix, vol. i, Sutkhumokoi -------- No 5 Voskressensky Harbour Port Constantino Nikolai, Cook Inlet Alexandrovsk,- Cook Inlet.-. Ross Settlement, California.. Seal Islands : Nushagak (the only Settlem Aleutian Islands) Total UNCERTAINTY OF TERRITORIAL CLAIMS IN 1818. see also Adams While the subjects of Russia, Spaiu, Great Britain, and to Rush, juiy 22, the United States were doubtless making claims on the American state part of their respective countries from time to time, so Papers, Foreign uncertain were these claims and the merits of each, that in Relations, vol. v, lglg ^20th Qctober^ m tbe Convention between the United dentii^Me^oriai States and Great Britain, it was agreed that any— m?dSdfeito1ntttro Country that may be claimed by either party on the north-west Adams, Decern- coast of America, -westward of the Stony Mountains, shall, together her l (13), 1823; with its harbours, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers American State within the same, be free and open for the term of ten years from the ReEftions °voi"gv date of the signature of the present Convention, to the vessels, citi- p.449. ' -' ' zens, and subjects of the two Powers, it being well understood that See Appendix, this agreement is not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim N1' ®T*$$ U' which'either of the two High Contracting Parties may have to any Fortextof Con- Par* °f *he sai<I country, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of vention, see any other Power or State to any part of the said country, the only American State object of the High Contracting Parties in that respect being to prospers, vol. iv, p. Yent disputes and differences amongst themselves. RUSSIAN TERRITORIAL CLAIM IN 1821. American state • Mr< Adams, Secretary of State of the United States, in Papers, Foreign a despatch to Mr. Middleton, the United States Minister at Relations, vol. v, gt> petersburgh, dated 22nd July, 1823, contended that voieeii ApPrtdii'even as ^v as *hat Year Russian rights in the region under No! 3.' ' consideration " were confined to certain islands north of the 55th degree of latitude," and had "no existence on the continent of America." In the same letter Mr. Adams observed: It does not appear that there ever has been a permanent Russian Settlement on this continent south of latitude 59°, that of New Archangel, cited by M. Poletica, in latitude 57° 30', being upon an island. So far as prior discovery can constitute a foundation of right, the papers 34 which I have referred to provo that it belongs to the United States as far as 59° north, by the transfer to them of the rio-hts of Spain. There is, however, no part of the globe where the mere fact of discovery could be held to give weaker claims than on the northwest coast. "The great sinuosity," says Humboldt, "formed by the coast between the 55th and 60th parallels of latitude, embraces discoveries made by Gali, Bering, and Tchivikoff, Quadra, Cook La Perouse, Malaspina, and Vancouver. No European nation has yet formed an establishment upon the immense extent of coast from Cane Mendosino to the 59th degree of latitude. Beyond that limit the Russian factories commence, most of which are scattered and distnat from each other like the factories established by the European nations ior the last three centuries on the coast of Africa. Most of these little CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Russian Colonies communicate with each other only by sea, and the new denominations of Russian-America or Russian possessions in the new continent, must not lead us to believe that the coast of Bering Bay, the Peninsula of Alaska, or the country of the Ischugatschi, have become Russian provinces in the same sense given to the word when speakmgof the Spanish Provinces of Sonora, or New Biscay." (Humboldt's "New Spain," vol. ii, Book 3. chap. 8, p. 496.) In M. Poletica's letter of the 28th February, 1822, to me, he says that when the Emperor Paul I granted to the present American Company its first Charter in 1799, he gave it the exclusive possession of the northwest coast of America, which belonged to Russia, from the 55th degree of north latitude, to Bering Strait. In his letter of 2nd of April, 1822, he says that the Charter to the Russian-American Company in 1799, was merely conceding to them a part of the sovereignty, or rather certain exclusive privileges of commerce. This is the most correct view of the subject. The Emperor Paul granted to the Russian-American Company certain exclusive privileges of commerce—exclusive with reference to other Russian subjects ; but Russia had never before asserted a right of sovereigntv over any part of the North American continent; and in 1799 the people of the United States had been at least for twelve years in the,constant and uninterrupted enjoyment of a profitable trade with the natives of that very coast, of which the Ukase of the Emperor Paul could not deprive The Honourable Charles Sui States Senate on the occasior the United States, in 1867, sal leaking in the Unit ed cession of Alaska to IS 3f which thai nally fused i eEnrperOTP^ at H.R..E WthCong. See App [.Doc. p.u£ ime Russian America has been the property of a Company." And, referring to as late a period as 1867, he remarked: Touching Russia's claims to exclusive jurisdiction over Art.oleXvm more than certain islands in the Pacific Ocean on the u^tii American American coast, Mr. Adams, moreover, in 1823 brought 5°™^y01'^: forward with approval, articles which appeared in "Theview; 1821-22, North American Review." published in the United States, ™J- =g;- ^6 and in the " Quarterly' Review," published in England, i, Sfos. 3 and i. The facts stated in these articles show the grounds upon which the Government of the United States considered themselves justified in the contention advanced by Mr. ,. ,oMid Adams, that "the rights of discovery, of occupancy, ofdtoton> Jtay 22, uncontested possession," alleged by Russia, were " all fg-s™*pg* without foundation in fact," as late as the year 1823. ixW 3. ' 1 30 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Again referring to the circumstances in the year 1867 (the date of the cession of Alaska to the United States), the historian Bancroft writes: Alaska, p. 591. « Moreover, Russia had never occupied, and never wished to occupy, this territory. For two-thirds of a century she had been represented there, as we have seen, almost entirely by a fur and trading Company under the protection of Government. In a measure it had controlled, or endeavoured to control, the affairs of that Company, and among its stockholders were several members of the Royal Family; but Alaska had been originally granted to the Russian-American Company by Imperial Oukaz, and by Imperial Oukaz the Charter had been 36 twice renewed. Now that the Company had declined to accept a fourth Charter on the terms proposed, something must be done with the territory, and Russia would lose no actual portion of her Empire in ceding it to a Republic with which she was on friendly terms, and whose domain seemed destined to spread over the entire continent. The foregoing historical summary establishes— That from the earliest periods of which any records exist down to the year 1821, there is no evidence that Russia either asserted or exercised in the non-territorial waters of the North Pacific any rights to the exclusion of other nations. That during the whole of that period the shores of America and Asia belonging to Russia as far north as Behring Straits, and the waters lying between those coasts, as well - as the islands therein, were visited by the trading vessels of all nations, including those sailing under the flags of Great Britain, the United States, Spain, and France, with' the knowledge of the Russian authorities. That the only rights, in fact, exercised by Russia or on her behalf, were the ordinary territorial rights connected with settlements or annexations of territory consequent upon such settlements, and the only rights she purported to deal with or confer were rights and privileges given to the Russian-Americau Company, as Russian subjects, in preference over other Russian subjects. 37 CHAPTER II. Head B.—The Ukase of 1821, and the circumstances connected therewith leading up to the Treaties of 1824 and 1825. . ie Shortly before the date of the renewal of the Charter of [•the Russian-Americau Company in 1821, the aspect of te affairs had considerably changed. COMPETITION BY FOREIGNERS. The Company had long before fully succeeded in getting rid of its Russian rivals, but trading-vessels from England and from the United States frequented the coasts in increas- teing numbers, and everywhere competed with the Company. ■ Goods were brought by these vessels at prices which the s. Company could not successfully meet, and furs were taken CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 31 by them direct to Chinese sea-ports, while the Company, Tikhmenieff, as a rule, had still to depend on the overland route from cfted ufnote to Okhotsk to Kiakhta'on the Amoor. Alaska,p.532. Domestic competition had in fact ceased, and the most vftu^S^i serious drawback to the success of the Company consisted comPla™t^i806. in the competition from abroad. . The difficulties resulting to the Company on account of foreign competition appear prominently in the complaints made by its agents at this time, aud the new claim of the right to exclude foreigners from trade is embodied in the Ukase of 1821. The following is the translation of the Ukase issued by the Emperor Alexander in 1821: The Directing Senate maketh known to all men: Whereas, in an Edict of His Imperial Majesty, issued to the Directing Senate on the 4th day of September [1821], and signed by His Imperial Majesty's own hand, it is thus expressed: Observing from Reports submitted to us that the trade of our subjects on the Aleutian Islands and on the north-west coast of America appertaining unto Russia is subjected, because of secret and illicit traffic, to oppression and impediments, and finding that the principal cause of these difficulties is the want of Rules establishing the boundaries for navigation along these coasts, and the order of 38 naval communication, as well in these places as on the whole of the eastern coast of Siberia and the Kurile Islands, we have deemed it necessary to determine these communications by specific Regulations, which are hereto attached. " In forwarding these Regulations to the Directing Senate, we command that the same be published for universal information, and that the proper measures be taken to carry them into execution. (Countersigned) " Count D. Gukieff, " Minister of Finances. I It is therefore decreed by-tho Directing Senate that His Imperial Majesty's Edict be published for the information of all men, and that the same be obeyed by all whom it may concern." [L. S.] [The original is signed by the Directing Senate. On the original is written in the handwriting of His Imperial Majesty, thus:] Be it accordingly, Alexander. Rules established for the limits of navigation and order of communication along the coast of the eastern siberia, the north-west coast of america, and the aleutian, kurile, and otheb islands. • "Section 1. The pursuits of c of all other industry whole of the north-west coast of America, beginning irom jtsenring Straits to the 51st of northern latitude; also from the Aleutian Islands to the eastern coast of Siberia, as well as along the Kurile Islands, from Behring Straits to the south cape of the Island of Urup, viz., to the 45° 50' northern latitude, is exclusively granted to Russian subjects. " Section 2. It is therefore prohibited to all foreign vessels not only to land on the coasts and islands belonging to Russia, as stated above, but also to approach them within less than 100 Italian miles. The transgressor's vessel is subject to confiscation, along with the whole CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. FIRST ASSERTION OF EXCLUSIVE J By this Ukase Russia first attempted to assert, as against other nations, exclusive jurisdiction of rights over the shores of America and Asia bounding the Pacific Ocean, certain islands therein, and over a portion of the Pacific Ocean including what is now known as Behring Sea. Baron Nicoiay Thepurposeof theUkase,sofar as the attempted exclusion te^oeMtmiirf foreigners from 100 miles of the coasts is concerned, is (November i2), explained by Baron de Mcolay in his. note to Lord Lon- isf- ! I donderrv, the 31st October (12th November), 1821. See Appendix, " ' vol. ii, Part I, No. 1. TO PREVENT ILLICIT TRAFFIC. 39 He insists that the operations of "smugglers | and "adventurers" on the coast— Have for their object not only a fraudulent commerce in furs and other articles which are exclusively reserved to the Russian-American Company, but it appears that they often betray a hostile tendency. It was, he continues, therefore necessary to take severe measures against these intrigues, and to protect the Company against the considerable injury that resulted, and it was ivith thai end in view that the annexed Regulation has been published. And again: The Government, however, limited itself, as can be seen by the newly published Regulation, to forbidding all foreign vessels not only to land on the Settlements of the American Company and on the peninsula of Kamtchatka and the coasts of the Okhotsk Sea, but also to sail along the coast of these possessions, and, as a rule, to approach them within 100 Italian miles. The justification for the Ukase, and the Regulations made thereunder, is stated on the face of the Ukase in the words: And finding that the principal cause of these difficulties [i.e., impediments caused by "secret and illicit traffic"] is want of Rules establishing the boundaries for navigation along these coasts, * * *. That the object of the Ukase was to extend territorial jurisdiction over the north-west coast and islands and to prohibit the trade of foreigners, rather than to protect any - existing or prospective fishery is further indicated by ]STo. 70 of the Regulations of the Russian-American Company. This Regulation reads:. See Appendix, 70. Ashipof war, after visiting, not only the Company's Settlements, vol. i, No. 2. but also, and more particularly, the channels which foreign merchant vessels are likely to frequent for the purpos' of illicit trading xvith the natives, will return to winter wherever the Government orders it. Adams! Pehru" The motive and purpose of this Ukase is further explained ar£ee Awendix P^ the lett<* of M- de Poletica, Russian Minister at Wash- voi. h, Wt n,mgton, dated the 28th February, 1822. That Russia's aim was to acquire a vast North American territory appears by the construction put by M. de Poletica on the Ukase of the Emperor Paul in 1799, as conveying CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. to the Russian-American Company the grant of a 40 territorial concession clown to the 55th degree of latitude, and by his justification of its further extension to the 51st degree on the American coast. He proceeds to defend the policy of exclusion contained in the Ukase of 1821 by explaining that, as Russian possessions extend from Behring Strait to the 51st degree north latitude on the north-west coast of America, and on the opposite coast of Asia and the islands adjacent, to the 45th degree, the sea within those limits (viz., that part of the Pacific Ocean) was a close sea, over which Russia might exercise exclusive jurisdiction; but he goes on to say that Russia preferred asserting only her essential right without "taking any advantage of localities," and on these grounds the limit of 100 Italian miles is justified. The measure he declares to be directed Against the culpable enterprises of foreign adventurers, who, not content with exercising upon the coasts above mentioned an illicit trade, very prejudicial to the rights reserved entirely to the Russian- American Company, take upon them besides to furnish arms and ammunition to the natives in the Russian possessions in America, inciting them likewise in every manner to resist and revolt against the authorities there established. The same view is expressed in the Confidential Memorandum inclosed in the Duke of Wellington's letter to Mr. G. Canning of the 28th November, 1822. Upon receiving communication of the Ukase, the British and United States Governments immediately objected both to the extension of the territorial claim and to the assertion of maritime jurisdiction. . PROTEST OP GREAT BRITAIN. The Ukase was brought to the notice of Lord London- th derry, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for Greater Britain, in the letter already quoted of the 12th November, | 1821, by Baron de Nicolay, then Russian Charge" d'Affaires, »■ as connected with the territorial rights of the Russian Crown on the north-west coast of America, and with the commerce and navigation of the Emperor's subjects in the seas adjacent thereto. 1 On the 18th of January, 1822, four months after the 41 issue of the Ukase, Lord Londonderry wrote in the following terms to Count Lieven, the Russian Ambassador in London: lis Ukase generally, and espe- laim laid down therein, viz., £ to Russia over the territories I nthem santi upo nthe subj thf lly upo ithe &'" a!I!i s therein be undersl ereb-i ad nit tha the rse which nt to ha veh the ubsisted be deemed to b eil lClt or that tl po Im penal* )row Th i^th seVeastSa s. Ex. 17 H p t. 4 3 34 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. tories, could, by the acknowledged law of nations, be exclude^, from navi- aatina within the distance of 100 Italian miles, as therein laid down fwm the coast, the exclusive dominion of which is assumed (but as His Ma/esty's Government conceive in error) to belong to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias. ihid., vol. ii, The Duke of Wellington having been appointed British parti, no. 14. ■ pleui1)otentiary at the Congress of Verona, Mr. G. Canning, then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, addressed to him, on the 27th September, 1822, a despatch in which he dealt with the claim in the Ukase for the extension of territorial rights over adjacent seas to the distance— "unprecedented distance," he terms it—of 100 miles from the coast, and of closing " a hitherto unobstructed passage." Iu this dispatch Mr. Canning says: I have, indeed, the satisfaction to believe, from a conference which I have had with Count Lieven on this matter, that upon these two points,—the attempt to shut up the passage altogether, and the claim of exclusive dominion to so enormous a distance from the coast,—the Russian Government are prepared entirely to waive their pretensions. The only effort that has been made to justify the latter claim was by reference to an Article in the Treaty of Utrecht, which assigns 30 leagues from the coast as the distance of prohibition. But to this argument it is sufficient to answer, that the assumption of such a space was, in the instance quoted, by stipulation in a Treaty, and one to which, therefore, the party to be affected by it had (whether wisely or not) given its deliberate consent. No inference could be drawn from that transaction in favour of a claim by authority against all the world. I have little doubt, therefore, but that the public notification of the claim to consider the portions of the ocean included between the 42 adjoining coasts of America and the Russian Empire as a mare clausum, and to extend the exclusive territorial jurisdiction of ' Russia to 100 Italian miles from the coast, will be publicly recalled, and I have the King's command to instruct your Grace further to require of the Russian Minister (on the ground of the facts and reasonings furnished in their [sic'] despatch and its inclosures) that such a portion of territory alone shall be defined as belonging to Russia as shall not interfere with the rights and actual possessions of His Majesty's subjects in North America. On the 17th October in the same year, the Duke of Wellington, at Veroua, addresed to Count Nesselrode, the Russian Plenipotentiary at the Congress, a Confidential Memorandum containing the following words: iai Objecting, as we do, to this claim of exclusive sovereignty on the in-part of Russia, I might save myself the trouble of discussing the , .-particular mode of its exercise as set forth in this Ukase, but we inc. object to the mode in which the sovereignty is proposed to be exer- 28, cised under this Ukase, not less than we do to the claim of it. We Jix cannot admit the right of any Poioer possessing the sovereignty of a coun- Nol t"J to exclude the vessels of others from the seas on its coasts to the distance oj 100 Italian miles. In reply, Count Nesselrode communicated to the Duke of Wellington a "Confidential Memorandum" dated the 11th (23rd) November, 1822, which contains the following passages: The Cabinet of Russia has taken into mature consideration the Confidential Memorandum forwarded to them by the Duke oi Wellington on the 17th October last. r« ativn to +!>» »»Doo«.„„ „-3 j-.j , __8.t. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. coast of America, and for forbidding foreign vessels to approach his possessions within a distance of 100 Italian miles. . . . It was, on the contrary, because sheregarded those rights of sovereignty as legitimate, andbecause imperious considerations involving the very existence of the commerce which she carries on in the regions of the north-west coast of America compelled her to establish a system of precautions which became indispensable that the caused the Ukase of the 4th (16th) September, 1821, to be issued. ... Consequently, the Emperor has charged his Cabinet to declare to the Duke of Wellington (such declaration not to prejudice his rights in any way if it be not accepted) that he is ready to fix, by means of friendly negotiation, and on the basis of mutual accommodation, the degrees of latitude and longitude which the two Powers shall regard as the utmost limit of their possessions and of their establishments on the north-west coast of America. 43 His Imperial Majesty is pleased to believe that this negotia tion can be completed without difficulty to the mutual satisfaction of the two States; and the Cabinet of Russia can from this moment assure the Duke of Wellington that the measures of precaution and supervision which will then be taken on the Russian part of the coast of America will be entirely in conformity with the rights derived from sovereignty, and with the established customs of nations, and that there will be no possibility of legitimate cause of complaint Again, on the 28th November, 1822, the Duke of Wellington addressed a note to Count Lieven. containing the following words: The second ground on which we object to the Ukase is that His Imperial Majesty thereby excludes from a certain considerable extent T.c of the open sea vessels of other nations. We contend that the assump- **' At an early date in the course of the negotiations with the United States and with Great Britain the execution of the Ukase beyond the territorial limit of 3 miles was suspended. Indeed, as far as the waters of Behring Sea are concerned, it may safely be said that it was never put into V0fe6i;Alga?tdii practical execution beyond this limit. The note from Count No.' 31! Nesselrode to Mr. Mi'ddleton on the subject was dated the American state 1st August, 1822, and is thus alluded to by Mr. Middleton ^f^f™^ in a despatch to Mr. Adams of the 19th September, 1823:p.448!°ns,T -T' Upon Sir Charles [Bagot] expressing his wish to be informed respecting the actual state of the «orM-i(iestquestion between the UnitedStates and Russia, so far as it might be known to me, I saw no objection to making a confidential communication to him of the note of Count Nes- eelrode, dated the 1st August, 1822, by which, in fact, staying the • execution of the Ukase above mentioned, Russia has virtually abandoned the pretensions therein advanced. The communication to the British Government on see Appendix, 44 the same subject wasmadein Augustl823intheshapeK0:29.' " ' of an extract from a despatch from Count Nesselrode to Count Lieven, dated' the 26th June, 1823. The following passage in it shows how complete was the abandonment of the unusual claim of maritime jurisdiction: That the Commanders of our ships of war must confine i;heir surveillance as nearly as possible to the mainland, x. e., over an extent ot 1 sea within range of jannon-shot fr pany has effectually exercised its 1 the date of its creati in, as well as in 1799, and that, as o the islands o settlements of the C< mpany, they i 36 CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. n the shore; that they must not sphere where the American Coin- ;hts of hunting and fishing since ace the renewal of its privileges which are to be found colonies or e all indistinotively comprised in 7 . Your Excellency will observe that these new instructions— which as a matter of fact, are to suspend provisionally-the effect of the Imperial Ukase of the 4th September, 1821—were sent from St. Petersburgh only in August of last year. see Appendix, Mr. Lyall, Chairman of the Ship-owners' Society, of Lon- nos V's/Lddon, wrote on the 19th November, 1823,-to Mr. G. Canning, 35- ' ' asking whether official advices had been received from St. Petersburg that the Ukase of 1821 had been annulled. Mr. Canning having privately submitted his proposed reply to Count Lieven for his comments, caused the following letter to be sent, which had received Count Lieven's approval: Lord r. Con- I am directed by Mr. Secretary Cannii yngham to Mr. of your letter of the 19th instant, expres 9/i1flLNovemljer September 1821 had been annulled. See Appendix Mr- Canning can not authorize me to state to you in distinct terms vol. ii, Parti, No! that the Ukase has been " annulled," because the negotiation to which 36. it gave rise is still pending, embracing, as it does, many points of great intricacy as well as importance. But I am directed by Mr. Canning to acquaint you that orders have been sent out by the Court of St. Petersburg to their Naval Commanders calculated to prevent any collision between. Russian ships and those of other nations, and, in effect, suspending the Ukase of September 1821. On the 15th January, 1824, Mr. G. Canning wrote to Sir 0. Bagot, the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg: . . . The questions at issue between Great Britain and Russia are short and simple. The Russian Ukase contains two objectionable pretensions: First, an extravagant assumption of maritime supremacy ; secondly, an unwarranted' claim of territorial dominions. 45 As to the first, the disavowal of Russia is, in substance all that we could desire. Nothing remains for negotiation on that head but to clothe that disavowal in precise and satisfactory terms. We would much rather that those terms should be suggested by Russia herself than have the air of pretending to dictate them; you will therefore request Count Nesselrode to furnish you with his notion of such a declaration on this point as may be satisfactory to your Government. That declaration may be made the preamble of the conven- Again, in a despatch, 24th July, 1824, to Sir C. Bagot, Mr. G. Canning says: See Appendix, . . . Your Excellency will observe that there are but two points No' u' which have struck Count Lieven as susceptible of any question. The first, the assumption of the base of the mountains, instead of the summit as the line of boundary; the second, the extension of the right of the navigation of the Pacific to the sea beyond Behring Straits. As to the second point, it is, perhaps, as Count Lieven remarks new. But it is to be remarked, in return, that the circustances under which this additional security is required will be new also. By the territorial demarcation agreed to in this "projet" Russia Behrhi00Strai0SSeS8ed' ll aoknowledSed sovereignty of both sides, of The Power which could think of making the Pacific a mare clausum may not unnaturally be supposed capable of a disposition to apply the same character to a strait comprehended between two shores of which it becomes the undisputed owner; but the shutting up of ii, Parti, No CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ' Mr. George Canning in a despatch to Mr. Stratford Can- s< ning, who had been appointed British Plenipotentiary for J0,,1- the negotiation of a Convention at St. Petersburg, under date the 8th December, 1824, after giving a summary of the negotiations up to that date, goes on to say: 46 It is comparatively indifferent to us whether we hasten or postpone all questions respecting the limits of territorial possession on the continent of America, but the pretensions of the Russian Ukase of 1821 to exclusive dominion over the Pacific could not continue longer unrepealed without compelling us to take some measure of public and effectual remonstrance against it. You will therefore tak are, in the first instance, to repress any .tempt to give this eha to the (ills r of the r ill declare without that t oint o which i.l on e the solici- tl de of the British G Bntand ■jealousy of the Br ;tach any s is the ray (in a ner as little d sagreeabl That this e to Russ Ukase is not P<: ssible) ed upor "far he eft d th ect of th s Uk ase of 1821. s have been 1c P anc!ficgtoS nt by th e R he « xe era ment to their is™ sers iu the rue; but a private disavowal of a published claim is no security against the revival of that claim. The suspension of the execution of a principle may be perfectly compatible with the continued maintenance of the principle itself, and when we have seen in the course of this negotia- • tion that the Russian claim to the possession of the coast of America down to latitude 59° [_sic] rests in fact on no other ground than the presumed acquiescence of the nations of Europe in the provisions of an Ukase published by the Emperor Paul in the year 1799, against which it is affirmed that no public remonstrance was made, it becomes us to be exceedingly careful that we do not, by a similar neglect, on the present occasion allow a similar presumption to be raised as to an acquiescence in the Ukase of 1821. The right of the subjects of His Majesty to navigate freely in the Having once been publicly questioned, it must be publicly acknowledged. We do not desire that any distinct reference should be made to the Ukase of 1821; but we do feel it necessary that the statement of our right should be clear and positive, and that it should stand forth in the Convention in the place which properly belongs to it, as a plain and substantive stipulation, and not be brought in as an incidental consequence of other arrangements to which we attach comparatively little importance. , , , This stipulation stands in the front of the Convention concluded between Russia and the United States of America; and we see no reason why upon similar claims we should not obtain exactly the like satisfaction. statement would be to give cou: e jurisdiction against which we, 1 -hole civilized world, protest. For reasor s of the sam of navigatio a through B< m Russia. The tender those claims behalf, and c n that of th CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 47 It will of course strike the Russian Plenipotenf iaries that, by the adoption of the American Article respecting navigation, &c, the provisiou for an exclusive fishery of 2 leagues from the coasts of our respective possessions falls to the ground. But the omission is, in truth, immaterial. .,.„.,, ! The law of nations assigns the exclusive sovereignty of 1 league to each Power on its own coasts, without any specific stipulation, and though Sir Charles Bagot was authorized to sign the Convention with the specific stipulation of 2 leagues, in ignorance of what had been decided in the American Convention at the time, yet, alter that Convention has been some months before the world, and after the opportunity of consideration has been forced upon us by the act of Russia herself, we cannot now consent, in negotiating de novo, to a. stipulation which, while it is absolutely unimportant to any practical good, would appear to establish a contrast between the United States and us to our disadvantage. THE TREATY (GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA), FEBRUARY 28, 1825. These negotiations resulted in a Convention with Great Britain, signed on the 28th of February, 1825, hereinafter referred to. PROTEST OF UNITED STATES. xd On the 30th January (11th February), 1822, M. Pierre p- de Poletica, the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Bussian Emperor, transmitted the Ukase to Mr. Adams, Secretary of State for the United States. On the 25th February, 1822, Mr. Adams wrote to M. Poletica: Department of State,. Washington, February 25, 18%2. Sir, I have the honour of receiving your note of the 11th instant, inclosing a printed copy of the Regulations adopted by the Russian- American Company, and sanctioned by His Imperial Majesty, relating to the commerce of foreigners in the waters bordering on the establishments of that Company upon the north-west coast of America. 1 am directed by the President of the United States to inform you that he has seen with surprise, in this Edict, the assertion of a territorial claim on the part of Russia, extending to the 51st degree of north latitude on this continent, and a Regulation interdicting to all commercial vessels other than Russian, upon the penalty of seizure and confiscation, the approach upon the high seas within 100 Italian miles of the shores to which that claim is made to apply. The relations of the United States with His Imperial Majesty have always been of the most friendly character; and it is the earnest desire of this Government to preserve them in that state. It was expected, before any Act 48 which should define the boundary between the territories, of the United States and Russia on this continent, that the same would have been arranged by Treaty between the parties. To exclude the vessels of our citizens from the shore, beyond the ordinary distance to which the territorial jurisdiction extends, has excited still greater surprise. This Ordinance affects so deeply the rights of the United States and of their citizens, that I am instructed to inquire whether you are authorized to give explanations of the grounds of right, upon principles generally recognized by the laws and usages of nations, which can warrant the claims and Regulations contained in it. I avail, &c. (Signed) John Quincy Adams. Tt will be observed that both the Ukase and the protest apply to the waters from Behring Strait southward as far as the 51st degree of latitude on the coast of America. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. On the 28th of the same month the Russian Bepresenta- M- a« Poletica tive replied at length, defending the territorial claim onAdam8r' Sehvt grounds of discovery, first occupation, and undisturbedly ?»• i-*?2' possession, and explaining the motive which determined Pa^ers^oref^ the Imperial Government in framing the Ukase. seSeJ ol'<T' He wrote: ipP'pendix voi.tf ' , „ , . Part II No. 1. I shall be more succinct, sir, m the exposition of the motives which determined the Imperial Government to prohibit foreign vessels from approaching the north-west coast of America belonging to Russia withiu the distance of at least 100 Italian miles. This measure, however severe it may at first appear, is, after all, but a measure of prevention. It is exclusively directed against the culpable enterprises of foreign adventurers, who, not content with exercising upon the coasts above mentioned an illicit trade very prejudicial to the rights reserved entirely to the Russian-American Company, take upon them besides to furnish arms and ammunition to the natives in the Russian possessions in America, exciting them likewise in every manner to ' resist and revolt against the authorities there established. The American Government doubtless recollects that the irregular conduct of these adventurers, the majority of whom was composed of American citizens, has been the object of the most pressing remonstrances on the part of Russia to the Federal Government from the time that Diplomatic Missions were organized between the countries. These remonstrances, repeated at different times, remain constantly without effect, and the inconveniences to which they ought to bring I ought, in the last place, to request you to consider, sir, that the Russian possessions in the Pacific Ocean extend, on the north-west coast of America, from Behring Strait to the 51st degree of.north latitude, and on the opposite side of Asia and the islands adja- 49 cent, from the same strait to the 45th degree. The extent of sea of which these possessions form the limits comprehends all the conditions which are ordinarily attached to shut seas ("mers ferme'es"), and the Russian Government might consequently judge itself authoiized to exercise upon this sea the right of sovereignty, and especially that of entirely interdicting the entrance of foreigners. But it preferred only asserting its essential rights, without taking any advantage of localities. To this Mr. Adams replied (30th March, 1822). He said: Se5s°8th^naf-|nx< This pretension is to be considered not only with reference to the^°°- No- 106> P question of territorial right, but also to that prohibition to the vessels g'ee Appendix of other nations, including those of the United States, to approach vol. ii, Part II within 100 Italian miles of the coasts. From the period of the exist- No. 2. ence of the United States as an independent nation, their vessels have freely navigated those seas, and the right to navigate them is a part of that independence. With regard to the suggestion that the Russian Government might have justified the exercise of sovereignty over the Pacific Ocean as a close sea because it claims territory both on its American and Asiatic shores, it may suffice to say that the distance from shore to shore on this sea, in latitude 51° north, is not less than 90° of longitude, or 4,000 miles. The Russian Representative replied to this note on the t ^-^ Po]eti^ 2nd April following, and in the course of his letter he said: Adams, April 2, In the same manner the great extent of the Pacific Ocean at the 51st soihCong., 2n< degree of latitude can not invalidate the right which Russia may have dm"no we p of considering that part of the ocean as close. But as the Imperial 208/ Government has not thought fit to take advantage of that right, all further discussion on this subject would be idle. IQ CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. As to the right claimed for the citizens of the United States of trading with the nltives of the cbuntry of the north-west coast of America, without the limits of the jurisdiction belonging to Russia, the Imperial Government will not certainly think of limiting it and still less of attacking it there. But I cannot dissemble, sir, that this same trade beyond the 51st degree will meet with difficulties and inconveniences, for which the American owners will only have to accuse their own imprudence after the publicity which has been given to the measures taken by the Imperial Government for maintaining the rights of the Russian-American Company in their absolute integrity. I shall not finish this letter, without repeating to you, sir, the very positive assurance wh ich I have already had the honour once of expressing to you that in every case where the American Government shall judge it necessary to make explanations to that of the Emperor, 50 the President of the United States may rest assured that these explanations will always be attended to by the Emperor, my august Sovereign, with the most friendly and consequently the most conciliatory, dispositions. On the 22nd July, 1823, Mr. Adams wrote to Mr. Mid- dleton, the United States Minister at St. Petersburg, as follows: 50th Cong., 2nd From the tenour of tho Ukase, the pretenti ns of the Imperial Gov- 3ess., Senate Ex. ernment extend to an exclusive territorial jurisdiction from the 4oth Doc. No. 106, P-cl(jgree of n0rth latitude, on the Asiatic coast, to the latitude of 51 j See Appendix, north on the western coast of the American Continent; and they assume fol. Ii, Part II', the right of interdicting the navigation and the fishery of all other No-3- nations to the extent of 100 miles from the whole of that coast. The United States can admit no part of these claims. Their, right of navigation and of fishing is perfect, and has been in constant exercise from the earliest times, after the Peace of 1783r throughout the whole extent of the Southern Ocean, subject only to the ordinary exceptions and exclusions of the territorial jurisdictions, which, so far as Russian rights are concerned, are confined to.certain islands north of the 55th degree of latitude, and have no existence on the Continent of America. The correspondence between M. Poletica and this Department contained no discussion of the principles or of the facts upon which he attempted the justification of the Imperial Ukase. This was purposely avoided on our part, under the expectation that the Imperial Government could not fail, upon a review of the measure, to revoke it altogether. It did, however, excite much public animadversion in this country, as the Ukase itself had already done in England. I inclose herewith the North American Review for October, 1822, No. 37, which contains an article (p. 370) written by a person fully master of the subject; and for the view of it taken in England I refer you to the 52nd number of the Quarterly Review, the article upon Lieutenant ■ Kotzebue's voyages. From the article in the North American Review it will be seen that the rights of discovery, of occupancy, and of uncontested possession, alleged by M. Poletica, are all without foundation in fact. Mr. Middleton, writing to the Secretary of State of the United States, on the 1st December, 1823, inclosed a confidential memorial which thus dealt with the claim (which is properly regarded by him as an attempt to extend territorial jurisdiction upon the theory of a shut sea and having no other basis): p^ra10^™^ =-. ^_The.extension of territorial rights to the distance of 100 miles Relations! vol. v, 51 ?om ^ 00as.ts ^pon two opposi te continents, and the prohibi- P. 452. „ *ion of approaching to the same distance from these coasts, or See Appendix, from those of all the intervening islands, are innovations in the law vol u, Part II, of nations, and measures unexampled. It must thus be imagined that this prohibition, bearing the pains of confiscation, applies to a long line of coasts, with the intermediate islands, situated in vast ****> ^.ere th« navigation is subject to innumerable and unknown difficulties, and where the chief employment, which is the whale course. . ..uoiD uuo i-iuoi employment, wnicli is the whale be compatible with a regulated and well-determined CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The right cannot be denied of shutting a port, a sea, or even an entire country, against foreign commerce in some particular cases. But the exercise of such a right, unless in the case of a colonial system already established, or for some other special object, would be exposed to an unfavourable interpretation, as being contrary to the liberal spirit of modern times, wherein we look for the bonds of amity and of reciprocal commerce among all nations being more closely Universal usage, which has obtained the force of law, has established for all the coasts an accessory limit of a moderate distance, which is sufficient for the security of the country and lor the convort- ience of its inhabitants, but which lays no restraint upon the universal rights of nations, nor upon the* freedom of comn navigation. (Vattel, Book I, Chapter 23, section 289.) At the fourth Conference (8th March, 1824) which preceded the signature of the Treaty of the 5th (17th) April, I 1824, Mr. Middleton, the United States Representative,?: submitted to Count Nesselrode the following paper: ove mentioned, from the time of their indc i have a perfect right to this navigation am nd they can only be deprived of it by thei ONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND RTJSSIA. The result of these negotiations between the United te^r, States and Russia was the Convention of the 17th April, dikA 1824, which put an end to any further pretension on the B'ii part of Russia to restrict navigation or fishing in Behring ^ynii Sea, so far as citizens of the United States were concerned. 57.' The English version of the Convention is as follows: mAvi It is agreed that in any part of the Gre Pacific Ocean, or South Sea, the respect High Contracting Powers shall be neil either in navigation or in fishing, or in r CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. High Contracting Powers, fron trade, it is agreed that the c: resort to any point where the: tho permission of the Governor mbjects of Russia shall i rad that, reciprocally, Establishment of the United States upon tho north-west coast. Article III. It is moreover, agreed that hereafter there shall not be formed by the citizens of the United States, or under the authority of the said States, any Establishment upon tho north-west coast of America, nor in any of the islands adjacent, to the north of 54° 40' of north latitude; and that, in the same manner there shall be none formed by Russian subjects, or under the authority of Russia, south of the same parallel. Article IV. It is, nevertheless, understood that, during a term of ten years, counting from the signature of the present Convention, the ships of both Powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects respectively, may reciprocally frequent, without any hindrance whatever, the interior sias, gulfs, harbours, and creeks upon the coast mentioned in the preceding Article, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives of the country. 53 Article V. i, powder, and munitions AH spirituous liquors, firearms, other arm of war of every kind are always excepted from uuis »»ilo uuuiuien-e permitted by the preceding Article; and the two Powers engage reciprocally neither to sell, or suffer them to be sold to the natives, by their respective citizens and subjects, nor by any person who may bo under their authority. It is likewise stipulated that this restriction shall never afford a pretext, nor be advanced, in any case, to authorize cither search or detention of the vessels, seizure of the merchandize, or, in fine, auy measures of constraint whatever towards the merchants or the crews who may carry on this commerce; the High Contracting Powers reciprocally reserving to themselves to determine upon the penalties to be incurred, and to inflict the punishments in case of the contravention of this Article, by their respective citizens or subjects. When this Conve: Arti all ha : VI. dul f tho Unite ou the one part, and on the other, by His Maj esty the Russias, the ratifications shall be exchanged at space often mouths from the date below, or soone In faith whereof the respective Pleiiipotentiarii Convention, and thereto affixed the seals of their Done at St. Petersburgh the 5th (17th) April ii fled by the President of' the Senate ihe Emperor of all Washington in the : if possible. s have signed this 1824. they rof G [L. S.] Henr- MlD) CONVENTION BETWEEN GREAT BRI [' resulted The vention negotiations between -IN AND RUSSIA. 3RUARY 25, 1825 Britain and Russia d in the Convention of the 28th of February, 1825. following is the English translation of this con- i, It is agreed that tho respecti » Parties shall not be troubled oi p- commonly called the Pr ,1. fishing therein, o~4- ffl have been alread at I ~~.„ „vvu. a,iLv*u.y uuuujiieu, in oruer to trade withl the restrictions and conditions specified in the folio jects of the High Contracting ited in any part of the ocean, ther in navigating the same, in parts of the coast as shall not to trade with the natives, under g Articles. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 43 54 Article II. In order to prevent the right of navigating and fishing exercised upon the ocean by the subjects of the High Contracting Parties, from becoming the pretext for an illicit commerce, it is agreed that the subjects of His Britannic Majesty shall not land at any place where there may be a Russian establishment without the permission of the Governor or Commandant; and, on the other hand, that Russian subjects shaU not land without permission at any British establishment on the Article III. The line of demarcation between the possessions of the High Contracting Parties upon the coast of the continent and the islands of America to the north-west, shall be drawn in the manner followiug: Commencing from the southernmost part of the island called Prince of Wales Island, which point lies in the parallel of 54° 40' north latitude, and between the 131st and the 133rd degree of west longitude (meridian of Greenwich), the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called Portland Channel, as far as the point of the continent where it strikes the 56th degree of north latitude; from this last- mentioned point, the line of demarcation shall foUow the summit of the mountains sitrated parallel to the coast, as far as the point of intersection ofthe 141stdegrpeofwestlongitude(ofthesamemeridian); and, finally, from the said point of intersection, the said meridian-line ofthe 141st degree, in its prolongation as far as the Frozen Ocean, shall form the limit between the Russian and British possessions on the continent of America to tho north-west. Article IV. With reference to the line of demarcation laid down in the preceding Article, it is understood; 1st. That the island called Prince of Wales Island shall belong wholly to Russia. 2nd. That wherever the summit of the mountains which extend in a direction parallel to the coast, from the 56th degree of north latitude to the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, shall prove to be at a distance of more than 10 marine leagues from tho ocean, the limit between the British possessions and the line of coast which is to belong to Russia, as above mentioned, shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of 10 marine leagues therefiom ed that no establishment shall be formed by either vithin the limits assigned by the two preceding possessions of the other; consequently British sub- ; form any establishment either upon the coast or er of the continent comprised within the limits of the Russian possessions, as designated in the two preceding Articles; and in like manner, no establishment shall be formed by Russian subjects beyond the said limits. Article VI. It is understood that the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, from whatever quarter they may arrive, whether from the ocean or from the interior of the continent, shall for ever enjoy the right of navigating freely, and without any hindrance whatever, all the rivers and streams which, in their course towards the Pacific Ocean, may cross the line of demarcation upon the line of coast described in Article III of the present Convention. Article VII. It is also understood that, for the space of ten years from the signature of the present Convention, the vessels of the two Powers, or those belonging to their respective subjects, shall mutually be at lib- CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN Mr. Stratford Canning to Mr. G. Canning, in patch of the 1st March, 1825, inclosing the Conve signed, says: ppendix, With respect to Behring Straits, I am happy to have it in that the Emperor of Russia has no intention whatever of m any exclusive claim to the navigation of those straits, or < to the north of them. Mr. S. Canning, in a further despatch to Mr. ning, 3rd (15th) April, 1825, said: Ihid., No. 57. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Article which I offered in obedience to your instructions, I thought it unadvisable to raise a discussion on the question; and the distance lrom the coast at which the right of fishing is to be exercised iu common passed without specification, and consequently rests on the law of nations as generally received. Conceiving, however, at a later period that you might possibly wish to declare the law of nations thereon, jointly with the Court of Russia, in some ostensible shape, I broached the matter anew to Count Nesselrode, and suggested that he should authorize Count Lieven, on your invitation, to exchange notes with you declaratory of the law as fixing the distance at 1 marine league from the shore. 57 Count Nesselrode replied that he should feel embarrassed in submitting this suggestion to the Emperor just at tho moment when the ratifications of the Convention were on the point of being dispatched to London; and he seemed exceedingly desirous be raised upon the subject, he should not refuse to join in making the suggested declaration, on being satisfied that the general rule under the law of nations was such as we supposed. Having no authority to press the point in question, I took the assurance thus given by Count Nesselrode as sufficient, in all probability, to answer every national purpose. . . . The claim of Russia attracted much attention at the time. President Monroe wrote to Mr. Madison on the 2nd August, 1824, with reference to the Convention of that year, to the effect that— By this Convention the claim to the mare clausum is given up, a Whs very high northern latitude is established for our boundary with Rus- g^0 free footing, and after that term left open for negotiation. . . . Eng-p.226.' land will, of course, have a similar stipulation in favour of the free the lead in the affair. In answer to the above, Mr. Madison wrote to President Monroe on the 5th August, 1824: The Convention with Russia is a propitious event, as substituting Lett amicable adjustment for the risk of hostile collision. But I give the Writ Emperor, however, little credit for bis assent to the principle of "mare pj,™^ Liberater" [sic] in the North Pacific. His pretensions were so absurd, 1865, p and so disgusting to the maritime world, that he could not do better In the year 1822 the Russian authorities attempted to ^^t^i' enforce the provisions of the Ukase of 1821 and seized the canning, April United States brig "Pearl," when on a voyage from Boston gjgj8- p«| to Sitka. The circumstances of this case are stated iu therarti, No.24.^ next Chapter. See post'p"78' 58 It is sufficient for the present purpose to note that the United States at once protested, the "Pearl" was released, and compensation paid for her arrest and detention. This is believed to be the only case in which any attempt was, in practice, made by Russia to interfere with any ship CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. of another nation in the waters in question outside of territorial limits. The facts disclosed in this Chapter show- That the Ukase of the Emperor Paul in the year 1821— the first and only attempt on the part of Russia to assert dominion over, and restrict the rights of other nations in, the non-territorial waters of the North Pacific, including those of Behring Sea—was made the subject of immediate and emphatic protest by Great Britain and the United States of America, That Russia thereupon unequivocally withdrew her claims to such exclusive dominion and right of control. That ^Conventions of 1824 and 1825 declared and recognized the rights of the subjects of Great Britain and the United States to navigate and fish in all parts of the non-territorial waters over which the Ukase purported to extend. 59 CHAPTER III. Head G.—The question whether the body of water now known as the Behring Sea is included in the phrase "Pacific Ocean," as used in the Treaty of 1825 oetioeen Great Britain and Russia. It will be remembered that the Ukase of 1821 included the Pacific from the Behring Strait southward to the 51st parallel, and that this- claim was protested against in toto, on the ground that the coast was almost entirely unoccupied, and that maritime jurisdiction, even where the coast was occupied, could not extend beyond 3 miles. In the first Articles of the Conventions of 1824 and 1825 the claim to an extraordinary jurisdiction at sea was definitely abandoned, and the abandonment was a complete withdrawal of the claim made. It was principally against this very claim that the protest of Great Britan and the United States were directed, and its relinquishment was therefore, and purposely, placed at the head of each of the resulting Conventions. Article I of the Convention between Russia and the ■ United States is as follows: the Pacit the High Article I of the Co Russia is as follows: tho restrictions a CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. It has been contended, however, on the part of the United States, that the renunciation of claims contained in the Articles above quoted did not extend to what is now known as Behring Sea. On this point Mr. Blaine, Secretary of State for the United States, writes: 60 The United States contends that the Behring Sea was not mentioned, or even referred to, in either Treaty, and was in f » fote, Blue Book, a United States, e No. 1,1891, p. 37. In order to uphold the contention thus advanced by the United States, it is, however, further found necessary to maintain that the words "north-west coast" and "northwest coast of America," which frequently occur in the correspondence connected with those Conventions, refer only to a portion of the coast of the continent south of Behring Sea. This portion of the coast Mr. Blaine endeavours to define precisely in his letter, which has just been quoted, illustrating his meaning by maps, and seeking to restrict runs southward continuously from the 60th parallel. The meaning of the phrase " Pacific Ocean " and that of the term "north-west coast" are thus intimately associated in the contention of the United States, and it will be convenient to treat them together. MEANING OP THE PHRASE "PACIFIC OCEAN" AND THE TERM "NORTH-WEST COAST" IN THE TREATIES AND CORRESPONDENCE. It will be found that such a construction of these phrases as Mr. Blaine has striven to place upon them cannot be f reconciled with the correspondence. * In the first place, it has already been shown that Russia's n object was not the acquisition of the control of the sea between Behring Strait and latitude 51°—this she distinctly denied—but the exclusion from her coasts in Asia and America, and on the islands, of the traders whose ventures threatened the success of the Russian-American Company. No claim had been advanced by Russia which could possibly render a distinction between Behring Sea and the main Pacific of the slightest importance. On the contrary, in the Ukase of 1799, Russia asserted jurisdiction over her subjects on all hunting grounds and establishments on the coast of America from the 55° north latitude to Behring Strait and thence southward to 61 Japan, and on the Aleutian, Kurile, and other Islands in all the "north-eastern" ocean. In 1821, Russia was endeavouring to assert a title to the whole coast from Behring Strait to 51° north latitude on the American, and latitude 45° 50' on the Asiatic coast. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Her claim to an extraordinary maritime jurisdiction over the non-territorial waters of the ocean was definitively abandoned at the outset of the negotiations, and the discussion was thenceforward confined to the protection of her rights within territorial limits. Russia's object was the recognition and protection of the Russian Settlements in Ameriea. Accordingly, the Conventions provide against "illicit commerce," landing "at any place [from Behring Strait to the southernmost boundary] where there may be a Russian establishment without the permission of the Governor or Commandant," and against the formation of Establishments by either Power (in the respective Conventions) on territory claimed by, or conceded to, the other. | "With the same object rules were made by Russia, headed "Rules established for the Limits of Navigation and Order of Communicatioi the north-west-coat and other Islands, coast of Behring i, Baron Nicolay ber (12th No1 Ses East Lieut ern Siberia, an, Eurile, ledtl le American west derrj , 31st Octo- ber), 1821, saj On the other hand, in considerii extend on the north-west coast of Ai of north latitude, and also on the o cent islands, from the same Strait t rait to 51° i the adja- For, if it is demonstrated that the Impe strictly speaking, have had the power to enf that part of the Pacific Ocean on which our pi Asia border, there is all the more reason wh; which it has just adopted a measure much 1 should not be called in question. The officers commanding the Russian vessels of 62 war, which are to see to the maintenance of the above-mentioned arrangements in the Pacific Ocean, have been ordered to put them into force against those foreign vessels, &c. In this note "north-west coast of America" is mentioned three times, and in each case the coast of Behring Sea is included in the term. "Pacific Ocean" appears twice, and iu both instances includes the Behring Sea. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. A map, published officially by Russian authorities, of *<» which a copy is included among the documents annexed to£p?r this Case, was forwarded from St. Petersburg by Sir see Charles Bagot to Lord Londonderry, iu a despatch dated n°6.' 4 the 17th November, 1821, in which it is thus described: v I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship, under a separate cover, an English translation of the Ukase, and I at the same time inclose a map of the north-west coasts of America, and the Aleutian and Kurile Islands, which has been pnblished in the Quartermaster- General's Department, here, and upon which I have marked all the principal Russian Settlements. 49 Appendix ii, Part I "north-west coast." It will be seen on reference to this map that the words "part of the north-west coast of America" include the whole coast line from a point north of Behring Straits down to latitude 54° north. Again Lord Londonderry writes to Count Lieven: The Undersigned has the honour hereby to acknowledge the note, lo addressed to him by Baron de Nicolay ofthe 12th November last, cov- derr3 d London- 22. SeeAp- 1,'No. 7. "' bordering upon the Pacific, and the commerce and navigation of His Imperial Majesty's subjects in the seas adjacent thereto. And Mr. S. Canning writing in February 1822 to Lord Londonderry from Washington, where he was then British Minister, observes: I was informed this morning by Mr. Adams that the Russian Envoy Mr has, within the last few days, communicated officially to the Ameri-Cann taftfSS portion of the opposite coasts of Asia, and the neighbouring seas to the extent of 100 Italian miles from any part of the coasts and intervening islands so appropriated. In apprising me of this circumstance, against the exclusion of foreign vessels to so great a distance from the shore. Again M. de Poletica, writing to Mr. Adams on the 28th sm February, 1822: Noi i, lar" II,' The first discoveries of the Russians on the north-west continent of America go back to the time of the Emperor Peter I. They belong to the attempt, made towards the end of the reign of this great Monarch, to find a passage from the icy sea into the Pacific Ocean. When, in 1799, the Emperor Paul I granted to the present American Company its first Charter, he gave it the exclusive possession of the north-west coast of America, which belonged to Russia, from the 55th degree of north latitude to Behring Straits. From this faithful exposition of known facts, it is easy, sir, as appears to me, to draw the conclusion that the rights of Russia, to the extent of the north-west coast, specified in the Regulation of the Kussian- American Company, rest, &c. S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 4 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Straits, and on the other the Russian pot the opposit Throughout this note the phrase includes the coast of Behring Sea, shows unmistakably thattheRussian the Pacific Ocean as extending to B( The attention of the British Gov( the Ukase by the Hudson's Bay Cor use the words "north-west coast" with the same signification. » Mr. Adams, in his despatch of the 22nd July, 1823, to ?Mr. Middleton, referred to the Ukase ofthe Emperor Paul ' as purporting to grant to the American Company the [' which belonged to Russia, from the 55th. degree of north latitude to Behring Strait." The fact that the whole, and not merely a particular portion, of the territorial and maritime claim advanced by the Ukase was in question, and was settled by the Treaties of 1824 and 1825, also appears from the Memorial laid by Mr. Middleton, on the part of the United States, before the Russian Government on the 17th December, 1823: Wit edb tory? . . . The cone these facts does not appe had been legitimately in< The extension of territ the coasts upon two oppc proaching to the same dii the intervening islands, xampled. In the earlier part of the s: observes: CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. paper. Mr. Middleton The same appears from Mr. G. Canning's despatch to Sir TOfee C. Bagot of the 24th of July, 1824 (which has been already no'.*. £Bel if geto secur ethe right unle >s th 6 rig ht to secure d, wl ich vould hadi ned nfull It would have been of little a to navigate through Behring navigate the sea leading to il not have been the case if the force over Behring Sea. The frequent references to Behring Strait and the seas beyond it show, that there was no doubt in the minds of the British statesmen of that day that, in obtaining an acknowledgment of freedom of navigation and fishing throughout the Pacific, they had also secured this right as; far as Behring Strait. As corroborative proof of the usual practice of the British naval authorities, in the nomenclature of these waters, reference may be made to the instructions given in 1825 by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, which will be found in the "Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Behring Strait," &c., under command of Captain F. W. risdictionto two leagues, as CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Beechey, R. N., in the years 1825-26-27-28, published by authority in London, 1831. 66 These instructions from the Lords Commissioners, which are full and detailed, make reference only to Behring Strait and the Pacific Ocean, and do not mention the Sea of Kamtchatka or Behring Sea. COMMON PACIFIC OCEAN" AND " NORTH- iST mhc , Dep? ■. The works of Mr. Robe Librarian to the United Sta known in connection with the discussion c question"), afford a detailed and conch: ascertaining the views officially held by tin Government on the meaning of Pacific Ocet North-west coast, and the extent to which t by Russia in the Ukase of 1821 were abi >nti< . bv Mr. on the » Select of Mr. Touching th and Pacific Oc quishment of '. the first part - ns North-west coast bached to the relin- 3onvention of 1824, the heading "Geo- ta; 3 the (no doul /ation, formerly applied by the Spaniards to the of North America, as that of Florida was *N. B.—The italic employed by Greenh* this and subsequent quotations i CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. employed by them to designate Alantic. The north-west coast ai "together form the west coast of Nor impossible to separate the history o necessary to include them both in t' Mr. Greenhow here gives the following note The « Memoi twop order sal vie" ng upon the of California, as been found , so it wiU be rcing note ill be mbrac ing the whole e the context the north-west torih latitudes, ■ Greenhow's "History" was officially presented to the Government of Great Britain by the Government of the United States in July 1845, in connection with the Oregon discussion and in pursuance of an Act of Congress.* In this History the Sea of Kamtchatka, or Behring's Sea, is again referred to as a part of the Pacific Ocean. 1 54 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. This is a se n - In respect of the understanding by the United States tthat the claims advanced by the Ukase of 1821 had been * entirely relinquished by the Russian and United * 69 . States Convention of 1824, the following is found on o It is thus clear,-as the- result of the investigations under- „* taken bv Greenhow on behalf of the United States Government— Sfo" t That Behring Sea was a part of the Pacific; y That the north-west coast was understood to extend to 18 Behring Strait. That Russia relinquished her asserted claims over " every part of the Pacific." That the phrase "Pacific Ocean" in the Treaty included Behring Sea is still further shown by the reply of the wished to keep American whalers out of Behring Sea: Tikhmenieff vol?!, ^5. 1 1 \\ | , ..: ,: ', ;.y ,\ ,''',' "'''',*';: Ibid. Again, in the reply of the Russian Government to representations of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia in 1846, the following words occur: western shore of America, &c. of America,' by Robert Greenhow, Esq., Translator and Librarian of the Department of State. "Mr. Pakenham to the Earl of Aberdeen. '' Washington, Ju ly 29, 1845. (Received August 16.) which I have received from the Secretary of State of the United States' accompanied by a copy of Mr. Greenhow's work on Oregon and California, which, in pursuance of an Act of Congress is presented to Her Majesty's Government. "I have not failed to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Buchanan's note in suitable terms. "I have, &c. (Signed) "R. Pakenham." CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The instructions which were finally issued to the Russian cruisers on the.9th December, 1853, are to the same effect. The Legislature of theTerritory of Washington, in 1866, referred to "fishing banks known to navigators to exist seepos*, p. 99. along the Pacific coast from the Cortes bank to Behring Strait." 70 It is clear that the Honourable Charles Sumner, when proposing to the Senate, in the year 1867, the adoption of the Treaty of Cession of Alaska, understood the words "North Pacific" in the sense in which these words are defined by the authorities just cited. In his speech on that occasion, Mr. Sumner thus referred to the waters in question: Sea-otter seems to belong exclusively to the North Pacific. . . . See Appendix, Its present zone it between the parallels of 60° and 65° north latitude vol. i, No. 6. on the American and Asiatic coasts, so that its range is very limited. Mr. H. "W. Elliott, who was engaged in the study of the Report on the seal islands of Alaska for the United States Government ieiaskaSlwdash- as late as the year 1881, in his official Report on the sealington.'iasi, pp. islands of Alaska, remarks concerning the seals: 6' Their range in the North Pacific is virtually confined to four islands in Bering Sea, namely, St. Paul and St. George, of the tiny Pribilof group, and Bering and Copper of the Commander Islands. Again, he says: In the North Atlantic no suitable territory for their reception exists, or ever did exist; and really nothing in the North Pacific beyond what we have designated in Bering Sea. He also describes the rookeries in Behring Sea as "North Pacific rookeries." And writes further: weU ; nly , f the rom among very _ht be quoted of the con- ;'Pacific Ocean" as including Geographically, i Island is one of the most curio Pacific Ocean. The above are, howeve many similar instances w] tinued usage of the name f Behring Sea. In 1882, a notice which affected part of Okhotsk and Behring Seas was published by A. K. Pelikan, His Royal and Imperial Majesty's Consul, Yokohama, on the 15th November, 1881, from which the following is an extract: At Ihe request of the local authorities of Behring and other islands, the Un'dersigned hereby notifies that the Russian Imperial Govern- Sj ment publishes for general knowledge the following: 2j >. 110. Iii the correspondence between the United States and Russia, touching the meaning of this Regulation, the CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. notice is alluded to by M. de Giers as "relative to fishing, hunting, and to trade in the Russian waters of the Pacific," and as relative to fishing and hunting in " our Pacific waters." In the same correspondence the Secretary of State of the United States and the United States Minister at St. Petersburg similarly speak of " Pacific Coast fisheries" and "our Pacific Ocean fisheries." Writing on the 8th (20th) May, 1882, to Mr. Hoffmau, the American Minister at St. Petersburg, M. de Giers, said: also a marke Imperial Go-s 72 Bancroft writes, in his " History of Alaska " (pp. 19,20): "The Anadir,which empties into the Pacific." Again: "Thus the Pacific Ocean was first reached by the Russians on the shore of the Okhotsk Sea." And yet again: "The ascent of the Lena brought the Russians to Lake Baikal, and showed them another route to the Pacific, through China by way of the Amoor." f So, in 1887, it is found that the American Representative xat St. Petersburg informed Mr. Bayard (17th February, f 1887) that the notice already quoted prohibits fishing, &c, ■ cion "the Russian Pacific coasts." This correspondence related to a seizure which had been made in Behring Straits. GEOGRAPHICAL, USE OF "PACIFIC OCEAN" AND "NORTH-WEST COAST." In the discussion of the question of jurisdiction between the United States and Great Britain, special reference has been made by the United States to the marking of maps from which it has been insisted that the waters of Behring Sea had been given a name distinct from that of the Pacific Ocean. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. From this it was urged that the words "Pacific Ocean" m the Conventions were used with great care, so as to reserve under the exclusive jurisdiction of Russia the waters of Behring Sea. It is, however, to be noted in studying any series of maps chronologically arranged, particularly those published before the middle of the present century, that Behring Sea is frequently without any special name, though the adjoining Sea of Okhotsk is in almost every instance clearly designated. On various charts issued by the United States Hydro- graphic Office, including the latest and most perfect editions now in actual use, the expression "Pacific" or "North Pacific Ocean" is used as including Behring Sea. This appears from the titles of such charts, of which the following may be referred to: No. 909. Published March 1883 at the Hydrographic Office, Washington, D. C.: " Pacific Ocean. Behring Sea, Plover Bay, from a survey by Lieutenant Maximov, Imperial Russian Navy, 1876." (Plover Bay is situated on the Asiatic coast, near the entrance to Behring Strait.) 73 No. 910. Published October 1882 at the Hydro- . graphic Office, Washington, D. C.: "North Pacific Ocean. Anadir Bay, Behring Sea. From a Chart by Engineer Bulkley, of New Tork, in 1865," &c. (Anadir Bay is situated between latitudes 64° and 65° on the Asiatic side of Behring Sea.) Similar evidence is afforded by the title page of the work issued by the same Hydrographic Office in 1869, as . follows: "Directory of Behring Sea and the coast of Alaska. . . . Arranged from the Directory of the Pacific Ocean." The British Admiralty Chart of Behring Sea., corrected up to November, 1889, but originally compiled in 1884 (No. 2460), is likewise entitled as follows: "North-west Pacific. Kamchatka to Kadiak Island, including Behring Sea and Strait." The definitions touching the Pacific Ocean, Behring Sea, &c, to be found in gazetteers, dictionaries, and geographical works, both of the present and past dates, moreover, show conclusively that Behring Sea was, at the time of the Conventions, and is now, understood to form an integral part of the Pacific Ocean. Such formal definitions are naturally more trustworthy than inferences drawn from the construction of maps. A few of these will suffice, though many more might be quoted: Beering's Straits, which is the passage from the North Pacific Ocean ,| to the Arctic Sea. teer, Beering's Island. An island in the Pacific Ocean. ; CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ■I CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 59 Behring Sea, or Sea of Kamchatka, is that part of the North Pacific Lippincotfs Ocean between the Aleutian Islands in latitude 55° north and Behring "Gazetteer ofthe Strait in latitude 66° north, by which latter it communicates with X??1yZhUa<lel- the Arctic Ocean. plua' 1™°- Beringsstrasse. Meerenge dasnordostlichsteEismeer mit dem Stil- Bitter's " Geo- len Ocean verbindend. graphisch Statis- „ . . , „ tisch Lexicon, "Bd.i, Leipzig, 1883. Behring's Strait, c> meeting the North Pacific with the Arctic Ocean. Blaekie's "Mod- ern Cyclopaedia," „ , . , „ vol. i, London, 1889 edition. Behring's Sea, sometimes called the Sea of Kamchatka, is that portion of the North Pacific Ocean lying between the Aleutian Islands and Behring's Strait. 75 VIEWS OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN JURISTS. Finally, a few passages may be quoted from English and American publicists of acknowledged eminence, to show the manner in which the general question has been viewed by them. Dr. T. D. Woolsey, President of Yale College, " Intro- tr^ctioy't"in" duction to the Study of International Law," 3rd edition, te'rnVtionar New York, 1872, p. 83: tto^'kw York" Russia, finally, at a more recent date, based an exclusive claim to18?2' p' 3' the Pacific, north of the 51st degree, upon the ground that this part of the ocean was a passage to shores lying exclusively within her jurisdiction. But this claim was resisted by our government, and withdrawn in the temporary convention of 1824. A treaty of the same empire with Great Britain in 1825 contains similar concessions. In referring to the Russian Ukase of 1821, Wharton, J^^l.''™- "Digest of International Law of the United States," Wash- fionai l .< ington, 1886, vol. i, section 32, p. 3, speaks of Russia— m^vohV^o- Having asserted in 1822 to 1824 an exclusive jurisdiction over thetl0n 32, p"3' norih-ivest coast and waters of America from Behring Strait to the fifty- first degree of north latitude. Mr. Davis, Assistant Professor of Law at the United lin^™1!I'j?'lt' States Military Academy, " Outlines of International Law," national La "■ New York, 1887, p. 44: p.«.York'1887' Russia, in 1822, laid claim to 'exclusive jurisdiction over that part of the Pacific Ocean lying north of the 51st degree of north latitude, on the ground that it possessed the shores of that sea on both continents beyond that limit, and so had the right to restrict commerce to the coast inhabitants. A recent United States writer, Professor J. B. Angell, discussing this subject, says: The Treaty of 1824 secured to us the right of navigation and fishing Jas.B. Xngell, in any part of the great ocean, commonly called the Pacific Ocean, or in the "Forum," South Sea, and (in Article IV) for ten years that of frequenting the r\°2™erican interior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks upon the coast for the pur- Eights in Behr- pose of fishing and trading. At the expiration often years Russia ing Sea." refused to renew thislast provision, anditnever was formally renewed. Se6 Appendix But, for nearly fifty years at least, American, vessels have been engaged vol. i. No. 8. ' in taking whales in Behring Sea without being disturbed by the Russian Government. Long before the cession of Alaska to us, hundreds of our whaling vessels annually visited the Arctic Ocean and Behring Sea, and brought home rich cargoes. It would seem, therefore, that Russia regarded Behring Sea as a part of the Pacific Ocean, and not as one of the "interior seas," access to which was forbidden by the termination of the IVth Article of the Treaty. 76 Sir R. Phillimore, in the 2nd edition of " Commen-.. i^VeVn SioSai taries upon International Law," vol. i, p. 241, remarks: Law," 2nd edi- In 1822 Russia laid claim to a sovereignty over the Pacific Ocean ^'^d'itionfV north of the 51st degree of latitude; but the Government of the290]. United States of America resisted this claim as contrary to the principles of international law. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. f Mr. W. E. Hall, "Principles of International Law," ". Clarendon Press, Oxford, 3rd edition, 1890, p. 147: Note.—A new claim subsequently sprung up in the Pacific, but it was abandoned in a very short time. The Russian Government pre- sia in 1824 and 1825. The arguments contained in the foregoing chapter establish- That the Treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia applied, and was intended to apply, to all the non- territorial waters of the North Pacific, extending from Behring Strait upon the north to latitude 51° upon the coast of America, and to latitude 45° 50' upon the coast of Asia (being the whole extent of sea covered by the Ukase). That at no stage of the controversy was any distinction drawn, or intended to be drawn, between the seas to the north and the seas to the south of the Aleutian Islands. That Behring Sea was included in the phrase " Pacific Ocean " as used in the Treaty of 1825. That the expression "north-west coast of America" or, in its abbreviated form, « north-west coast" included the coast up to Behring Strait. 77 CHAPTER IV. Head (D).-The User ofthe Waters in question from 1821 to As regards the user been shown that down attempt in practice to of the to the waters in Russia ma urisdictio it has de no diction. With the exc with the Ukase of 1821, eption alread of the inci y referred t dents con o in Chap lected er II, HISTORICAL, OUTLINE. To resume the historical statement in chronological order— Alaska, pp. 534 In tlie year 1821 Mouravief was sent out to take control S35. ' 'at Sitka under the new Charter. He assumed the name of "Governor" in place of that of "Chief Manager," which had previously been employed. North-west The names of seven trading vessels on the north-west coast, vol. i, pp. coast are known for this year.* 340 34L In lg22? t]ie Eusgian vegsel «Kurik„ arriyed at gitka 53^39 ' pp from Kronstadt with supplies. About the close of the coast. None of these trading vessels were Russian. CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 61 year the Russian sloop-of-war "Apollon" also arrived, with instructions that all trade with foreigners should cease. This interdict remained in force for two years and seriously interfered with the profits of the Company. In this year also the Russian sloops-of-war "Kreisser" IWd-P-540- and "Ladoga" arrived to enforce the provisions of the Ukase and remained for two years. An exploratory expedition, which remained absent two ibid., P. 546. years, was dispatched from Sitka to the eastern shore of Behring Sea. In 1823, a famine was feared at Sitka and on the coast, ibid., PP. 536- and the "Rurik" and an American vessel which had been539- purchased, were sent to California and the Sandwich Islands for supplies. Referring to this incident, Bancroft writes: As in this instance, the Colonies had frequently been relieved ibid p 538 78 from want by trade with foreigners; and, indeed this was too often the only means of averting starvation. Even between 1818 and 1822, when supplies were comparatively abundant, goods, consisting mainly of provisions, were obtained by traffic with American and English coasters to the value of more than 300,000 roubles In the same year, the " Rob Roy,"from Boston, is known North-west to have been on the north-west coast. c°ast, vol. i, p. In 1824, Kotzebue, in the " Predpriatie," called at Sitka. Alaska, p. 540. About this time the shareholders of the Russian Company rmd., p. 541. protested against the interdict of foreign trade, and Sitka was, in consequence, again opened to such trade. Acting under the authority of the Ukase of 1821, the Dans Alaska, United States brig "Pearl," when on a voyage from Boston pp- 233>234- to Sitka, had been in the year 1822 seized by the Russian sloop "Apollon." Count Nesselrode, in his despatch to Count Lieven (26th June, 1823), when communicating the see Appendix, suspension of the Ukase of 1821, says the advices to this ^jj; 2g.' * *' effect were sent from St.- Petersburg in August of 1823, and that the officer ofthe "Apollon" could not receive them before September, 1824, and that, therefore, he could not have known of them at the " time of the occurrence of the incident reported by the American press." In 1824, the "Pearl" was released, and compensation was „p^ri »°8eeths6 naid for her arrest and detention. canning to g. * Canning, April 23,1823. Appendix, vol. ii, PartT, So.24. In the same year four vessels are recorded as having Northwest visited the north-west coast, and some of them are known3aB' T0''• p' to have repeated their visits in later years. rbuikn ?il39' In 1825, the "Elena" arrived at Sitka with supplies. c*j Kotzebue also again called at Sitka. 341. Remonstrances were addressed by the Russian-American -* Company to the Russian Government as to the effect of the Conventions of 1824 and 1825. The name of but one vessel trading on the north-west coast has been preserved in this year. In 1826, Chistiakof wrote to the Directors of the Com- aJ pany asking that an experienced whaling master should be an sent out. In July of this year Her Majesty's ship "Bios- ^ som," under Captain Beechey, sailed through Behring Sea 335. into the Arctic Ocean. 62 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Alaska, p. 546. 79 in 1827, Liitke, sent by the Russian Government, arrived at Sitka, aud thereafter made explorations in the Aleutian Islands and in Behring Sea. North-west Two vessels only of the trading fleet on the north-west coast, vol. i, p. coast. are in this year known byname. Alaska, P. 546. Tn 1828, two vessels belonging to Liitke's expedition carried on surveys in Behring Sea. The trading vessel "Eliza" was at Sitka in this year. . Letterof Brew- In the years 1826,1827, and 1828 the " Chinchella," aUnited r Es^oc^iorti States brig, Thomas Meek, master, was trading between SSfm^sB0-*" Sitka and China. • <^3 ,_. AiasU'p 565. in 1829, a Russian vessel was sent from Sitka to Chile *- In 1832 or 1833, Tebenkof established a post near t mouth of the Yukon, and explorations were conduct inland. In 1833, the Hudson's Bay Company sent the British v< sel " Dryad" to form an Establishment at the mouth of t Stikine, but Wrangell, having heard of the enterpris occupied the place in advance, and turned the vessel bac Damages to the amount of £20,000 were claimed throuj • the British Government from Russia. This will be referr to later. A United States whaling master, under a five years' Cc tract with the Russian Company, arrived at Sitka, b achieved little. 't In 1834, the name of but one of the foreign vessels tradii on the north-west coast is recorded. l' In 1836, the " Eliza" was again at Sitka, and three foreij trading vessels are recorded to have visited the Alask; In the same year the United States brig "Loriot" sailed from the Sandwich Islands for the north-west coast 80 of America for the purpose of procuring provisions, and also Indians to hunt for sea-otters on the coast. When in the Harbour of Tuckessan, latitude54o 55' north, and longitude 132° 30' west, a Russian armed brig ordered the "Loriot" to leave. This action was based on the expiration of the period named in the IVth Article of the Treaty, whereby, for ten years only, liberty to touch aud trade at Russian Establishments on the coast was granted. 50th Coi Sess.,S Doc. N pong.,2nd The United States protested against the interference 'o^ioefp; w^h the "Loriot," characterizing it as an "outrage," and ' the following is an extract from instructions which were $art rl; sent by the United States Secretary of State to Mr. Dallas, the Minister at St. Petersburg, under date 4th May, 1837: On the other hand, should there prove to be no Russian Establishments at the places mentioned, this outrage on the "Loriot" assumes a still graver aspect. It is a violation of the right of the citizens of the United States, immcmorially exercised, and secured to them as well CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 63 by the law of nations as by the stipulations of the 1st Article of the Convention of 1824, to fish in those seas, and to resort to the coast, for the prosecution of their lawful commerce upon points not already occupied. As such, it is the President's wish that you should remonstrate, in an earnest but respectful tone, against this groundless assumption of the Russian Pur Company, and claim from His Imperial Majesty's Government for the owners of the brig "Loriot," for their them. ' . o j s y ue o Mr. Dallas subsequently wrote that he was led to believe sothcong.,2nd that Russian Establishments had been made at the places exSdoA?£iu6? mentioned. Nevertheless, the United States contended p,Sl-A™ d- that at the expiration of the IVth Article, the law of vol. u, Kxt a\ nations practically gave United States ships the privileges Nrbid., P. -m. therein mentioned. see Appendix, Mr. Dallas (16th August, JL837) wrote to the Secretary of NoV' "' State: The 1st Article asserts for both countries general and permanent P?Ldv &*&• rights of navigation, fishing, and trading with the natives, upon TOl u,K ft, points not occupied by either, north or south of the agreed parallel of No. 7.' Mr. Forsyth, Secretary of State for the United States, £bidx&,23!r writing to Mr. Dallas on the 3rd November, 1837, and vol u, Krt if; 81 referring to the 1st Article of the Convention of1*0,9' April, 1824, between the United States and Russia, said: The 1st Article of that instrument is only declaratory of a right which the parties to it possessed under the law of nations without conventional stipulations, to wit, to navigate and fish in the ocean upon an unoccupied coast, and to resort to such coast for the purpose of trading with the natives. The United States, in agreeing not to form new establishments to the north of latitude 54° 40' N., made no acknowledgment of the right of Russia to the territory above that line. And again: It can not follow that the United States ever intended to abandon the just right acknowledged by the 1st Article to belong to them under the law of nations—to frequent any part of the unoccupied coast of North America for the purpose of fishing or trading with the natives. All that the Convention admits is an inference of the right of Russia to acquire possession by settlement north of 54° 40' N. Until that actual possession is taken, the 1st Article of the Convention acknowledges the right of the United States to fish and trade as prior to its negotiation. In his despatch of the 23rd February, 1838, Count Nes-g^aSt^' selrode, the Russian Foreign Minister, wrote to Mr. Dallas: noc."No. ioe, p. It is true, indeed, the 1st Article of the Convention of 1824, to which dix, vol. ii, fart the proprietors of the "Loriot" appeal, secures to the citizens of the11'1"0,10. United States entire liberty of navigation in the Pacific Ocean, as well as the right of landing without disturbance upon all points on the north-west coast of America, not already occupied, and to trade with the natives. Again, Mr. Dallas, in a despatch to Count Nesselrode, dated the 5th (17th) March, 1838, interpreted Article I of the Convention as being applicable, to any part of the Pacific Ocean. He wrote: . . .' The right of the citizens of the United States to navigate ^Appendix the Pacific Ocean, and their right to trade with the aboriginal natives TOl. ^ f art n, " of the north-west coast of America, without the jurisdiction of other No. n. I CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. irt of their independence as independent sovereignties, • extinguished, except with ;o the Undersigned that they by Treaty or other form of fish in any part of the Pacific Ocean, and to resort to its coasts upon points which may not already have been occupied, in order to trade with the natives. These rights pre-existed in each, and were not fresh liberties resulting from the stipulation. To navigate, to fish, and to coast, as described, were rights of equal certainty, springing from the same source, and attached to the same quality of nationality. Their exercise, however, was subjected to certain restrictions and conditions, to the effect that the citizens and subjects of the contract- should be formed by one party north, nor by the other party south, of 54° 40' north latitude; but that, nevertheless, both might, for a term of ten years, without regard to whether an establishment existed or not, without obtaining permission, without ariy hindrance whatever, frequent the interior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks, to fish and trade with the natives. This short analysis leaves, on the question at issue, no room for construction. The Undersigned submits that in no sense can the fourth Article be in acknowledgment, on the part of the United ussia to the possession of the coast above the President Van Tn transmitting the papers relative to the "Loriot" to sage.6 DeScemherCongress, the President of the United States observed: Papers! hy Herf-. The correspondence herewith communicated, will show the grounds slet, vol. xxvi, p. upon which we contend that the citizens of The United States have, independent of the provisions of the Convention of 1824, a right to liable, however, it is admitted, to be at any time extinguished by the creation of Russian establishments at such points. This right is denied by the Russian Government, which asserts that, by the operation of the Treaty of 1824, each party agreed to waive the general right to land on the vacant coasts on the respective sides of the degree of latitude referred to, and accepted, in lieu thereof, the mutual privileges mentioned in Article IV. The capital and tonnage employed by our citizens in their trade with the north-west coast of America 83 will, perhaps, on adverting to the official statements of the commerce and navigation of the United States for the last few years, be deemed too inconsiderable in amount to attract much attention; yet the subject may, in other respects, deserve the careful consideration of Congress. HISTORICAL OUTLINE CONTINUED. To return again to the chronological order of events— C(L0tT voiVp* In 1837> one foreign trading vessel is named as having 342. been on the north-west coast. Aiaska,pp.552, In 1838, further explorations were undertaken in the north by Chernof and Malakhof. Three foreign trading North-westvessels are noted as having been on the north-west coast coast, vol. i, p. in this year, and one is known to have visited Alaskan Alaska, pp. waters. 556,557. in 1839, a Commission met in London to arrange the dispute between the Hudson's Bay and Russian-American CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 65 Companies, arising out of the interference by Russian officials with the British vessel "Dryad." The claim for damages by the former Company was waived, on condition that the latter should grant a lease of all their continental territory northward to Cape Spencer, Cross Sound (about latitude 58°), on a fixed rental. This arrangement was for ten years, but was renewed, and actually continued in force for twenty-eight years. In 1840, the British flag was hoisted and saluted at the Ibid- p- 5". mouth of the Stikine, the Hudson's Bay Company taking possession. A post was also established by the Companv at Taku Inlet. At this time whalers were just beginning to resort to "id., p- 583, Behring Sea; from 1840 to 1842 a large part of the fleet Ts£K£dix1 was engaged in whaling on the " Kadiak grounds." Writ-To1- *> »»• 5- ing in 1842, Etholen says, that for some time he had been constantly receiving reports from various parts of the Colony of the appearance of American whalers in the neighbourhood of the shores. In the same year Etholen relieved Kuprianof as Governor Alaska, p. 559. at Sitka. In 1841, the Charter of the Russian-American Company ibid., p. 568. was renewed for a further term of twenty years. Etholen reported the presence of fifty foreign whalers in Behring Sea. In 1842, according to Etholen, thirty foreign whalers ibid., P. 583. were in Behring Sea. He asks the Russian Government to send cruisers to preserve this sea as a -mare clausum. 84 His efforts were, however, unsuccessful, the Min ister for Foreign Affairs replying that the Treaty between Russia and the United States gave to American citizens the right to engage in fishing over the whole extent of the Pacific Ocean. In the same year, inland, explorations by Zagoskin, which g5Aiaska,pp.553, continued till 1844, began. Sir George Simpson, Governor ibid., pp., 558- of the Hudson's Bay Company, reached the Stikine post 56°" just in time to prevent an Indian uprising. He also visited the Russian Establishment at Sitka and completed an arrangement between the Companies to interdict trade in spirits on the coast. About this time the Russian-American Company became alarmed at the danger to their fur trade. Every effort was, therefore, put forward by the Company and the Governors to induce the Foreign Office of the Russian Government to drive off these whalers from the coasts, and by excluding them for a great distance from shore, prevent trespasses on shore and the traffic in furs. In 1843, explorations were carried out by the Russians Ibid-> p- 5?6- on the Sustchina and Copper Rivers. The whalers, from 1843 to 1850, landed on the Aleutian and 5Sfld- pp- °83- Kurile Islands, committing depredations. United States captains openly carried on a traffic in furs with the natives. Tikhmenieff writes: Prom 1843 to 1850 there were constant complaints by the Company f^^j^ of the increasing boldness of the whalers. vol. i, No". 5. S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 5 r CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. In 1846 the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia asked that foreign whalers should not be allowed to come within 40 Italian miles of the Russian shores. Tikhmenieff thus describes the result of these represen- atBt •ried on by a United vessels entered the Arctic Ocean by way of Behring Straits for the first time. 1 In 1849, the whaling fleet iu the Arctic and northern part of the North Pacific numbered 299 vessels. Two-thirds of these are said to have been United States vessels, but others were French and English, the latter chiefly, from Australasia. A Russian Whaling Company for the North Pacific was formed at Abo, in Finland, with special privileges. This Company sent out six vessels in all. In 1850, the British vessels "Herald," "Plover," and "Investigator," all despatched in search of Sir John Franklin's expedition, met in Kotzebue Sound, after passing through Behring Strait. In the same year an armed Russian corvette was ordered to cruize in the Pacific, and in this year it is esti- 86 mated that 300, and in later years as many as 500 foreign whalers visited the Arctic and neighbouring waters. 3- Tebenkof's administration came to an end in this year. In 1851, Nulato, a fort on the Yukon some way inland, was surprised by Indians and the inmates butchered, CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. including Lieutenant Barnard, an English officer of Her Majesty's ship " Enterprise," one of the ships engaged in the expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. The* "Enterprise" passed Behring Strait on the 6th May 1851. The United States whaling fleet is said to have been as numerous as in 1849. The interval between the close of Tebenkof s administration and the beginning of that of Voievodsky was filled by the temporary appointment of Rosenburg aud Rudakof. In 1852, buildings at the Hot Springs, near Sitka, were destroyed by the Indians. The value of catch of the whaling fleet in the North Pacific in this year is estimated at 14,000,000 dollars. After 1852 the whaling industry gradually decreased. In 1853, war impending between England and Russia, the Hudson's Bay and Russian-American Companies influenced their respective Governments to prohibit hostilities on the north-west coast of America. Iu the same year the Russian-American Company again specially requested the Government to prohibit whalers T( from entering Okhotsk Sea, but without success. Instructions were, however, issued to Russian cruizers to prevent whalers from entering bays or gulfs, or from coming within 3 Italian miles of the shores. Tikhmenieff gives the following details: Some time before the Company had written to the Foreign Office (22nd March, 1853): o prohibit for-a time fishing by - sho bund impracticable entirely t< i in the Sea of Okhotsk, as an iniana ossible officially to prohibit whalers: The instructions to cruizers were approved on the 9th December, 1853. The cruizers were to see that no 87 whalers entered the bays or gulfs, or came within 3 Italian miles of the shores of Russian America (north of 54° 41'), the Peninsula of Kamtchatka, Siberia, the Kadjak Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, the Pribilof and Commander Islands, and the others in Behring Sea, the Kuriles, Sakhalin, the Shantar Islands, and the others in the Sea of Okhotsk to the north of 46° 30' north. The cruizers were instructed constantly to keep in view that— Our Government not only does not wish to prohibit or put obstacles in the way of whaling by foreigners in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, but allows foreigners to take whales in the Sea of Okhotsk, which, as stated in these instructions, is, from its geographical position, a Russian inland sea. (These words are in italics in the original.) In 1854, 525 foreign whalers were in Behring Sea and its vicinity. In the same year Yoievodsky was elected Governor for the Company. In 1855, the Abo Whaling Company went into liquidatic In 1856,366 foreign whalers Sea and vicinity. Bancroft reports that in the yeai reported as in Behring CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Captain Manuel Enos, of 'Java," stated in 1867 that ] he bays of Okhotsk Sea for the United States barque ) had whaled unmolested in to be discussed privat 3- In 1860, the Russia new Charter for twei ary, 1862, i applit edfc The Russia pc In 364, Ma In 1865, negotiations between the Russian Company and the Government continued, but terms such as the Company would accept could not be arrived at. * In the spring of this year, the "North Pacific cod-fish 3, fleet" was organized. It comprised seven vessels, all of ?■ which are believed to have fished in Okhotsk Sea. o. In 1866, the Russian Government still contemplated renewing the Company's Charter on certain terms. A Californian Company entered into treaty for a lease of the "coast strip" of Alaska, then held by the Hudson's Bay Company. ^ Eighteen vessels were engaged in the Okhotsk Sea cod b, fishery. The "Porpoise" initiated the fishery in the Shu- ?- magan Group, Alaska, finding there " safe harbours, fuel, water, and other facilities for prosecuting this business." Several British Columbian schooners also fished in Alaskan waters. In 1867, Alaska was sold by Russia to the United States for 7,200,000 dollars. Nineteen United. States vessels fished for cod in Okhotsk Sea or in Alaskan waters, the Shumagan fleet consisting of three vessels. The total catch amounted to nearly 1,000,000 a In 1867, before the ci f. of the United States i: '. Philadelphia paper: 'Alaska. thei 9. The value of the catch of the E was estimated at 3,200,000 dollar In 1868, the lease of the " coa Hudson's Bay Company by the Rr. expired. orth Pai it strip' CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. HALING 89 STATISTICS OF UNITED STAT INDUSTRY. NORTH PACIFIC GROUNDS, INCLUDING OKHI n The growth and decline of the whaling industry during "F.isherv'indus. the years discussed, in this chapter may be conveniently united stated" illustrated by the following table, which shows the number |^f'vo1-a< p**- of United States vessels in the North Pacific whaling fleet from 1841 to 1867. It is taken from " The Fishery Industries of the United States," 1887, section 5, vol. ii, pp. 84-85. Year. °2r . *i; "ofves* 1841 20 29 263 292 138 278 1855" ' 178 143 The whaling vessels frequenting Behring Sea and the Arctic Ocean, from the first, engaged to a certain extent in walrus hunting, and about 1860 such hunting began to be an important secondary pbject with the whalers. In subsequent years many thousand barrels of walrus oil and great quantities of skins and ivory were secured. SO The facts stated in this chapter establish— That from the year 1821 to the year 1867 the rights of navigation and fishing in the waters of Behring Sea were freely exercised by the vessels of the United States, Great Britain, and other foreign nations, and were recognized as existing by Russia; That the waters of Behring Sea were treated by Russia as being subject to the provisions of the Treaties of 1824 and 1825. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 01 CHAPTER V. The Cession of 1867 and what passed by it. The fourth question or point in Article VI of the Treaty is as follows: Did not all the rights of Russia as to the jurisdiction and as'to the seal fisheries in Behring Sea east of the water boundary, in the Treaty between the United States and Russia of the SOth March, 1867, pass unimpaired to the United States under that Treaty ? This question may conveniently be treated under the following heads, as proposed on p. 10: (E). What rights passed to the United States under the Treaty of the 30th March, 1867. (F). The Action of the United States and Russia from 1867 to 1886. (G). The contentions of the United States since the year 1886. Head (E).—What rights passed to the United States under the Treaty of March 30, 1867 ? TEXT OF TREATY OF CESSION, 1867. The following is the text of the Treaty of Cession of Alaska as signed: : de Tontes les Russies et les Etats-Unis srmir, s'il est possible, la bonne intelligence nommee, a cet effet, pour leurs plenipoten- t III, Sa Majeste l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, le Conseiller Prive" Edouard de Stoeckl, son Envoye" Extraordinaire et Ministre Plenipo- tentiaire aux Etats-Unis; et Le President des Etats-Unis, le Sieur William H. Seward, Secretaire d'Etat;' Lesquels, apres avoir exehage" leurs pleins pouvoirs, trouves en bonne et due forme, ont arretc et signe les articles suivants: 92 Article I. Sa Majeste l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies s'engage, par cette Convention, a ce"der aux Etats-Unis, imme'diatement apres l'exchange des ratifications, tout le territoire avee droit de souveraiuetc actuelleinent posse'de' par Sa Majeste" sur le Continent d'Amerique ainsi que les lies contigiies, le dit territoire etant compris dans leslimites geographiques ci-dessous indique"es, savoir: la limite orientale est la ligne de demarcation entre les possessions Russes et Britanniques dans l'Ameriquo du Nord, ainsi qu'elle est etablie par la Convention conclue entre la Russie et la Grande-Bretagne, le 16 (28) Fevrier, 1825, et definie dans les termes suivants des Articles III et IV de la dite Convention: "A partir du point le plus meridional de l'lle dite Prince of Wales, lequel point se trouve sous le parallele du 54° 40' de latitude nord, et entre le 131me et le 133me degre de longitude ouest (mdridien de Greenwich), la dite ligne remontera au nord le long de la passe dite Portland Channel, jusqu'au point de la terre ferme, oil elle atteint le 56™° degrd delatitude nord; de ce dernier point la ligne de demarcation sui vra la crete des montagnes situees parallelement a la c6te jusqu'au point d'intersection du 141rae degre de longitude ouest (meme meridien)- et de l'Ameriq dans l*Arti( "1-. Que Russie: (m "2°. Que direction P; 72 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ? th dentale des territoires c united states official English translatic Statutes atA„,m,m *t H+ha rvnai-c Large, vol. xv, Government, "tnewestt 1869, pp. 539-543. tories and dominion cou\ It will be observed that in none of these Articles is there a reference to any extraordinary or special dominion over the waters of the Behring Sea, nor, indeed, over any other portion of the North Pacific Ocean. Even in the passage last cited the word " dominion" appears to have no equivalent in the original French version. Neither is there a suggestion that any special maritime right existed which could be conveyed. The language of the Convention is, on the IL CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. contrary, most carefully confined to territory with the right of sovereignty actually possessed by Russia at the date of the cession. In Article I the limits of a portion of the Behring Sea - are defined in order to show the boundaries within which tlie territory ceded " sur le Continent d'Am6rique ainsi que les iles contigues" is contained. In Article VI, Russia again makes it emphatic that she is conveying "les droits, franchises, et privileges apparte- nant actuellement a la Russie dans le dit Territoire et ses dependances." The final clause of Article I distinctly negatives any implication of an attempt to convey any portion of the high seas—for the said western line is drawn, not so as to embrace any part of the high seas, but, as expressed iu the apt language of the Treaty—" de maniere a enclaver, dans le dit territoire cede', toutes les Iles Aleoutes situees a Vest de ce mSridien.n Had the intention been to convey the waters of the Beh-, ring Sea eastward of the western limit, the words "ainsi que les iles contigues" would not have been used, but words would have been chosen to indicate the area of the open sea conveyed, and it would have been unnecessary to specifically mention the islands. There was good reason for a line of demarcation of the character specified. The islands in the Aleutian chain and in Behring Sea were not well defined geographically, and could therefore not be used for the accurate delimitation of territory ceded. In fact, even the term Aleutian Archipelago was indefinite in its signification, often including islands which were on the Asiatic side of Behring Sea, and far from the Island of Attu, the westernmost island of the Aleutian group intended to be ceded. 96 Greenhow, for instance, writes: The Aleutian Archipelago is considered by the Russians as consisting of three groups of islands. Nearest Aliaska are the Fox Islands, of which the largest are Unimak, Unalashka, and Umnak; next to these are the Andreanowsky Islands, among which are Atscha, Tonaga, and Kanaga, with many smaller islands, sometimes called the Rat Islands; tori^ the most western group is that first called the Aleutian or Aleoutsky jCai,o Islands, which are Attu, Mednoi (or Copper Island), and Beering's Island west <P- 5). ££" In the "History of Oregon and California," &c, by the§™, same author, the Commander Islands (Copper and Behring Libra Islands) are again classed among the Aleutian Islands, §tX •which are said to be included under two governmental dis- 26th tricts by the Russians, the Commander Islands belonging to the western of these districts (p. 38). Greenhow also states that the name "Aleutian Islands" was first applied to Copper and Behring Islands. Indeed, in many maps of various dates, the title Aleutian Islands is so placed as impliedly to include the Com- CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. niander Islands, in some it is restricted to a portion of the cbain now recognized by that name. Similar diversity in usage, with frequent instances of the inclusion of the Commander Islands as a part of the Aleutian Islands is found in geographical works of various dates. From this uncertainty in usage in respect to the name of the Aleutian Islands (though these are now commonly considered to end to the westward at Attn Island), it is obvious that, in defining a general boundary between the Russian and United States possessions, it might have given rise to id ed l Islai sdf merely that the whole of the Ah the United States. Neither would this have covered the case presented by the various scattered islands to the north of the Aleutian chain proper, while to have enumerated the various islands, which often appeared and still sometimes appear on different maps under alternative names, would have been perplexing and unsatisfactory, from the very great number of these to be found in and about Behr- It was thus < and more The fc (United I western terminj reaching 30' of the United States coast su than might'have been expi The uncertainties that e islands, headlands, straits, line and extent of recent < best published maps to avoid touc id about Behr CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Aleutian fishermen concerning islands visited by them and not laid down upon the charts, point to the great necessity for an exhaustive geographical reconnaissance of the coast, as was done for the coast of the United States between Mexico and British Columbia. " Even the latest United States chart of what are now known as the Aleutian Islands (No. 68, published in 1891) is based chiefly on information obtained by the "North Pacific Surveying Expedition" under Rogers, which was carried out in the schooner "Fenimore Cooper" in 1855. On sheet 1 of this chart (embracing the western part 98 of the Aleutian Islands) such notes as the following are found: - The latest Russiar of the position givei method. The low islands between Goroloi and Ioulal Similarly, in the corresponding British admiralty (No. 1501) published in 1890 we find the remark: Mostly from old and imperfect British, Russian, and An States i: Island,: on the ed by the ;h of St. JV St. Matthew Island published iu ot be found in 1891. edn ch of the ■ely del thus rtially Rus- .and ting eds numerous islands should belong to either.Power, is further shown 1 „ sideration of the northern portion of the same line, which is the portion first defined in the Treaty. From the initial point in Behring Strait, which is carefully described, the "limite occidentale" of territories ceded to the United States "remonte en ligne directe, sans limitation, vers le nord, jusqu'a ce qu'elle se perd dans la Mer Glaciale," or in the United States official translation "proceeds due north without limitation into the same Frozen Ocean. The "geographical limit" in this the northern part of its length runs through an ocean which had at no time been surrounded by Russian territory, and which had never been claimed as reserved by Russia in any way; to which, on the contrary, special stipulations for access had been made in connection with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1825, and which since 1848 or 1849 had been frequented by whalers and walrus-hunters of various nations, while no single fur-seal has ever been found within it. It is therefore very clear that the geographical limit thus pro- 99 jected towards the north could have been intended only to define the ownership of such islands, if any, as might subsequently be discovered in this imperfectly explored ocean; and when, therefore, the Treaty proceeded CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. to define the course of "the same western limit" {cette limite occidentale) from the initial point in Behring Strait to the southward and westward across Behring Sea, it is obvious that it continued to possess the same character and value. 1867,1868. Neither the debates in Congress—which preceded and resulted in the cession and its ratification by the United States—nor the Treaty by which it was carried into effect, nor the subsequent legislation by the United States, indicate the transfer or acquisition of any exclusive or extraordinary rights in Behring Sea. On the contrary, they show that no such idea was then conceived. In answer to a Resolution of the House of Representatives of the 19th December, 1867, calling for all correspondence and information in the possession of the Executive in regard to the country proposed to be ceded by the Treaty, the Memorial of the Legislature of Washington Territory (which was made the occasion for the negotiation), together with Mr. Sumner's speech in the Senate, were among other documents transmitted. This Memorial shows that United States citizens were already engaged in fishing from Cortez Banks to Behring Strait, and that they had never been under any apprehension of interference with such fishing by Russia, but desired to securecoastfacilities, especially for the purposes of curing fish and repairing vessels. The Memorial is as follows: fishermen may obtain san of curing fish and repair! rialists further request th to forward to the Collectc such fishing licences, absl our hardy fishermen to ob the fishermen in the Atlai your excellency to empli Pacific naval fleet in exph to navigators to exist aloi CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. DEBATES IN CONGRESS. In the debate which took place in Congress upon the subject of the acquisition of Alaska, the value of the proposed purchase, and the nature of the interests and property proposed to be acquired were fully discussed. The debate was protracted, and many leading Members spoke at length. To none of them did it occur to suggest the existence of an exclusive jurisdiction over any waters or fisheries distant more than 3 miles from land. On the contrary, Mr. Sumner, who had charge of the measure in the Senate, after pointing out that seals were to be found on the "rocks and recesses" of the territory to be acquired, which would therefore make the acquisition more valuable, in touching upon the fisheries and marine animals found at sea, admitted that they were free to the world, contending, however, that the possession of the coast would give advantages to the Uuited States fishermen for the outfitting of their vessels and the curing of then catch. With reference to the whale fishery he remarked: 101 flag, except directly on the coast and within its territorial limit. And yet it seems as if the possession of this coast as a commer- vj cial base must necessarily give to its people peculiar advantages in this pursuit. Mr; Washburn, of Wisconsin, said: But, sir, there has never been a day since Vitus Behring sighted that coast until the present when the people of all nations have not g been allowed to fish there, and tocurefishsofarastheycanbecuredin ■■ a country where they have only from forty-five to sixty pleasant days G in the whole year. England, whose relations with Russia are far less J>< friendly than ours, has a treaty with that Government by which p! British subjects are allowed to fish and cure fish on that coast. Nay, more, she has a treaty giving her subjects forever the free navigation ofthe rivers of Russian America, and making Sitka a free port to the commerce of Great Britain. In 1868 Mr. Ferriss spoke as follows: C( That extensive fishing banks exist in these northern seas is quite p certain; but what exclusive title do we get to them? They are said „ to be far out at sea, and nowhere within 3 marine leagues of the islands 18 or main shore. 2r Mr. Peters, in the course of his speech, remarked: r I believe that all the evidence upon the subject proves the proposition of Alaska's worthlessness to be true. Of course, I would not deny that her cod fisheries, if she has them, would be somewhat valuable; but it seems doubtful if fish can find sun enough to be cured on her shores, and if even that is so, my friend from Wisconsin (Mr. Washburn) shows pretty conclusively that in existing treaties we had that right already. Mr. Williams, in speaking of the value of the fisheries, said: And now as to the fishes, which may be called, I suppose, the ^ argumentum piscatorium. ... Or is it the larger tenants ot the 1)| ocean, the more gigantic game, from the whale, and seal, ana walrus, a down to the halibut and cod, of which it is intended to open the pur- ^i suit to the adventurous fishermen of the Atlantic coast, who are Liiere ig already in a domain that is free to all? My venerable colleague (Mr. 2n Stevens), who discourses as though he were a true brother oi tne anBie y, himself, finds the foundations of this great Republic like tnose oi^ Venice and Genoa among the fishermen. Beautiful as it snows above, . F CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ThatRi seal fisher cle VI of which would p ass ac cording to inter national law ai the practice of conveyed. That no domi than in territor United States b alwai y the' s as appurtenant a the waters of I ers thereof did, i treaty of 1867. n fact, p territo Sea oth 103 CHAPTER VI. Head (F).—The Action of the United States and Bust Eeport, p. 25. E., Ex. Doc. J «8. IMd.',PpI" Hi Wh nseqt of tin whole, the the Pribiloff (or " Seal") Island landed on the breeding, resort ^islands. Those who came from ' found themselves confronted by c8 wich Islands. They proceeded 1 >. breeding grounds in the manrn }\ practiced by sealers on grounds cession of Alaska as a their sovereignty over n 1867, sealers at once »f the fur seal on these le New England States npetitors from the Sand- ilaughter seals upon the which had usually been Lere no Regulations were In the year 1868, at least 240,000 seals are reported to have been taken, and 87,000 in the following year. ' In view of this wholesale destruction of seals, the United States Government decided, in the exercise of their undoubted right of territorial sovereignty, to lease these seal rookeries, and to re-establish by means of the necessary legislation, the lapsed Russian Regulations which had restricted the killing of tke'fur seal. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ACT OF JULY 27, 1868. KILLING OF SEALS PROHIBITED. Accordingly, on the 27th July, 1868, an Act passed the Congress of the United States, entitled " An act to extend the Laws of the United States relating to Customs and Navigation over the territory ceded to the United States by Russia, to establish a Collection District therein, and for other purposes," of which section 6 provides: On the 3rd of March, 1869, a Resolution Avas passed by ibid., P. 348 tho Senate aud House of Representatives specially reserving for Government purposes the Islands of St. Paul and St. George, and forbidding any one to land or remain there Without permission of the Secretary of the Treasury. • SECRETARY BOTJTWELL'S REPORT. Mr. Boutwell's Report, as Secretary of the Treasury, pre- 4istcon» : ceded an Act ofthe 1st July, 1870. This Report discloses f^1*- 'r no suggestion of jurisdiction at a greater distance than 3 miles from the shore-line. With knowledge of the 104 raids upon the islands and the existence of seal- hunting schooners, Mr. Boutwell dwelt upon the means of protecting the seal islands only. He recom- . mended that the Government ofthe United States should itself undertake the management of the business of the islands, and should " exclude everybody but its own servants and agents . . . and subject vessels that touch there to forfeiture, except when they are driven to seek shelter or for necessary repairs." ACT OF JULY, 1870. On the 1st of July, 1870, an Act was passed entitled, SeeBineBo 1 An Act to prevent the extermination of Fur-bearing Ani- United stat mals in Alaska," from which the following are extracts: see Append Be it euacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that it shall be unlawful to kill any fur seal upon the islands of St. Paul and St. George, or in the waters adjacent thereto, except during the months of June, July, September, and October in each year; and it shall be unlawful to kill such seals at any time by the use of fire-arms, or use - other means tending'to drive the seals awav from said islands. . . Section 2. And be it further enacted, that it shall be unlawful to kill any female seal, or any seal less than one year old, at any season of the year, except as above provided; and it shall also be unlawful SEAL ISLANDS TO BE LEASED. . And be it further enacted, that immediately after the this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall lease, for the ioned in section 6 of this Act . . . for a term of twenty the 1st day of May, 1870, the right to engage in the busi- ino- fur seals on the Islands of St. Paul and St. George, and 3ss°el or vessels to said islands for the skins of such seals. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. And be it further enacted, that shall kill a thereto . . be deemed g mercial Company, as provided for in this Act. It covered The following instructions from the Treasury De] ment show that the administration confined the iute ence of their officers to those seal-hunters only attempted landing upon the islands: used by said Company in the kiUing of seals or other fur-bearing animals, on or near said islands, or near the haunts of seals or sea- otters in the district, nor for any purpose whatever, during the months of June, July, August, September, and October of each year, nor after the arrival of seals in the spring or before their departure in the fall, excepting for necessary protection and defence against marauders or public enemies who may unlawfully attempt to land upon the islands. Iu all other respects, the instructions of the 8th February, 1870, will remain in force. Wm. A. Richardson, Acting Secretary. Treasury Department, Washington, I). C, September 19, 1870. ,h Sir : I inclose herewith a copy of a letter, dated the 17th instant, •i from N. L. Jeffries, attorney for the Alaska Commercial Company, | reciting that a notice recently appeared in the " Alta California" newspaper, published in your city, of the intended sailing of the schooner "Mary Zephyr" for the Islands of St. Paul and St. George. By the 4th Section of the Act of the 1st July, 1870, entitled "An Act to prevent the Extermination of Fur-bearing Animals in Alaska," it is provided that the Secretary of the Treasury, immediately after the passage of said Act, shall lease to proper and responsible parties, &c, &c, the right to engage in the business of taking fur seals on the Islands of St. Paul and St. George, and to send a vessel or vessels to said islands for the skins of such seals, &c. 107 When theabo Mr. Boutwell, a United States Treasui and Mr. Boutwell shows the posi the Treasury Departmen " legislation was en acted d. was Secretary of the ween Mr. T. G. Phelps i assumed in 1872 by i to the extent of juris Alaskan waters: 82 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Mr. Phelps to Mr. Boutwell. Customs-House, San Francisco, Collector's Office, March 85, 1872. Sir : I deem it proper to call the attention of the Department to certain rumours which appear to be well authenticated, the substance of which appears in the printed slip taken from the Daily Chronicle of this date, herewith inclosed. In addition to the several schemes mentioned in this paper, lnforma- Tate several small islands from the Ah The object of these sov cept the fur seals at thes mentioned, and there, b Indians or Aleutian hunt animals in the water, aft The evil to be appreher respect of the loss resulti places (although the killi of two seals), but the dan accustomed course to th b Islands of would be Kor Group, near t] the haunt off That the si from doing such an irrt Should the Honourable into these waters, I woi would be able to render be in the region of Oonii by the 15th of May next [From San Francisco "Daily Chronicle," March 21, 1872.] It is stated in reliable commercial circles that parties in Australi are preparing to fit out an expedition for the capture of fur seals i Behring Sea. The present high prices of fur-seal furs in London an the European markets has acted powerfully in stimulating enterprise of a like character. But a few days ago we mentioned that a Victc rian Company was organized for catching fur seals in the North Pacific Another party—an agent representing some Eastern capitalists—ha been in this city for the past week making inquiries as to th feasibility of organizing an expedition for like°purposes. In 1875 Mr. Mclntyre, the Assistant Tri the Pribiloff Islands, wrote that he had ar the rookeries or within a rifle In 1875, a questic to grant licences f< coasts, Mr. Fish, S< of America, gives c States, as follows: e United States During the whole, period discussed in this chapter, the vessels of various nations were continuously engaged in CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. hunting, fishing, and navigating in tt Pacific, including Behrin s. Schooners from Britisl •' early as 1866, and seals were reported as being t Paul Islands in 1870 anc raters of the North bia were fishing for cod as number of 20,000 a year uth of St. George and St. s-110 Whalers continued as before to frequent the a6 waters both east and west of the line described in * the treaty of 1867. The extent of their operations appears from the following table, which shows the number of vessels composing the North Pacific whaling fleet after the date of the Alaska Cession.* Number rf United States •e- Walrus hui: i, practiced by 1 known to have been continuously during these years, and in some alrus ivory and oil were obtained: •m 1870 to 1880, inclusive, is estimated us, producing 1,996,000 gallons of oil f a total value of 1,260,000 dollars. h.e.,ex.doo. In 1872 expeditions for sealing in Behring Sea were 44tk 8c'orig ^reported to be fitting out in various places, as appears from seas. Mr. Phelps' letter of the 25th March in that year, already quoted, and in 1875 a schooner was reported as having been seen shooting seals among the seal islands. Ivan Petroff, Special Commissioner of the United States to the seal islands in the year 1880, says in bis Report: H.E.,Ex.noc. As these seals pass up and down the coast as far as the"Straits of E ° • 42\, i6th Fuca and the mouth of Columbia River, quite a number of them are' vol Iviup ffi " secured by hunters, who shoot or spear them as they find them asleep' ' ' ' at sea. Also, small vessels are fitted out in San Francisco, which regularly cruise in these waters for the purpose alone of shooting sleeping seal. s not sailing under the United S CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Sealing vessels and their catches were also reported by HE-E*- Doc. the United States cutter " Corwin," but none were inter- congest'sessth fered with when outside of the 3-mile limit. In 1881 an Agent of the United States Government h. r.,ex. doc. stated that during the past twenty years probably 100 ves- conB382nd s509th sels had " prowled " about the Pribiloff Islands. p. 58s" The agents of the United States Government sent to the seal islands previously to 1886 continually reported upon the inadequacy ofthe protection of the islands, and they frequently referred to the depredations upon the rookeries by the crews of vessels sealing in Behring Sea. Early in 1881, Collector D. A. d'Ancona, of San Francisco, appears to have requested information from the Treasury Department at Washington in regard to the meaning placed by that Department upon the law regulating the killing of fur-bearing animals in the territory of Alaska, and specially as to the interpretation of the terms I waters thereof" and " waters adjacent thereto," as used in the law, and how far the jurisdiction of the United States was to be understood as extending. In reply, Acting Secretary H. F. French, of the Treasury Department, wrote as follows on the 12th'March, 1881: limals, except as otherwise therein pi laska Territory or in the waters thereof g of any fur-seals on the Islands of St. 3 ltl ela™ H. R.,Ex.Doc, r-be lim itso 1 86 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. All the penalties prescribed by law against the killing of fur-bearing animals would therefore attach against any violation of law within the limits before described. t no seizures made before 1886. It does not appear from any official documents that any action was taken at the time in accordance with the opinion expressed in this letter, and no seizures were made, and sealing beyond the ordinary territorial limits prior to 1886, although at least one British vessel is known to have been a engaged in such sealing in 1884, and no less than thirteen 134." t- were so engaged in 1885. Two of these vessels are stated '" to have been spoken by a United States revenue cutter, H. R., Mi b. Gn the 22nd May, 1884, Lieutenant I. E. Lutz was p. 28. Ibid., p. 33. 2' steamer "Corwin" to watch and to seize or arrest any vessel or persons attempting to take seals contrary to law. Acting under these instructions, Lieutenant Lutz arrested the "Adele," of Hamburg, Gustave Isaacson, master, with three officers and a crew of eighteen Japanese, when at anchor off shore. The Lieutenant was careful to ascertain that the vessel was engaged in sealing ashore, and having waited the return of the ship's boat which came back loaded with seal carcasses, Lieutenant Lutz reported the captain of the seizure of the vessel. It is found that from 1867 down to and including 1885, vessels continued to visit and hunt in Behring Sea without interference when outside of the ordinary territorial jurisdiction. The circumstances which appear to have led to a change of official policy in 1886 will be related hereafter. It may be convenient at this point to refer to questions which were raised by occurrence in the Asiatic waters of the Pacific, adjacent to Russian territory. 113 QUESTIONS ARISING BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA IN OKHOTSK AND BEHRTNG SEAS. Disputes have more than once arisen respecting the rights of United States whaling vessels in Okhotsk Sea. Fishery Indu 3- The main objection to these whalers was that they inter- United State 36 fered with the fur industry, and it is on record that the section 5, vol. p. 20. See extra ^mode of whaling practiced in this sea was often to anchor 3. the vessel in some harbour and to send the boats there- 1 nieff, Appendi z> from in pursuit of whales. The instructions to Russian cruizers, dating from 1853, only prohibited these vessels from coming "within 3 Italian miles of our shores." The Sea of Okhotsk was covered by the Ukase of 1821, and possesses a seal rookery (Robben Island). Whalers from the United States and elsewhere began to frequent this sea about the year 1843. CASE OF GREAT BEITAn whaling in Okhotsk i > United States Mil . Petersburg, Mr. H( CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The correspondence referred to shows that the captain of "Europa." the "Europa," a United States whaling vessel, complained to the Department of State at Washington that the Captain of a Russian armed steamer had stated that he Was authorized to drive United States whalers away from the vicinity of the Settlement of Okhotsk, in the Sea of Okhotsk, and •• Endeavour." that he had fired on the ship's boat of the bark " Endeavour" of New Bedford. It appears also from the same correspondence that on the "Java." 27th of July, 1867, the United States bark "Java" was cruizing for whales in Shantar Bay and standing towards Silas Richard's Bluff, when a Russian Commander ordered Seward to ciay, him out of the bay, and thereupon Mr. Seward fses'lvof.UPart 115 inquired of the Russian Government what instruc- ii, No. 12. j tions had been issued relating to fisheries in this sea. EXPLANATIONS BY RUSSIA. westmann to tu reply to this inquiry, the following explanation was secretary1 of received from M. de Westmann, Acting Minister of Foreign Fs^bottCOTi81' Affairs at st- Petersburg, which shows the claim of juris- 2ndsess., Senate diction of Russia to have been confined to 3 miles only in ?:25300'':N°'108' Russian gulfs and bays, in this part of the very waters covered by the Ukase of 1821! These are the circumstances: The schooner "Aleout," under the command of Lieutenant Etoline, had been sent in commission from Nicolaievsk to Oudrk. The abundance of floating ice having forced him to enter into the Gulf of Tougoursh, he there met, the 14th July, at about 20 miles to the south of the Straits of Chautarsk, near the eastern coast, the American whaler "Java," occupied in rendering the oil of a captured whale. Considering that foreign whalers are forbidden by the laws in force to fish in the Russian gulfs and bays at a distance of less than 3 miles from the shore, where the right of fishing is exclusively reserved to Russian subjects, Lieutenant Etoline warned ("invita") the captain of the "Java" to "bear off" from the Gulf of Tougoursh, which he at once did. The same day the "Aleout" made for the Bay of Mawgon, where arrived, on the next day the American whale schooner "Caroline Foot," whose captain, accompanied by the captain of the "Java," called on Lieutenant Etoline, and declared that he had no right to prevent them from fishing for whales wherever they liked. Lieutenant Etoline replied that there were in that respect established rules ("regies"), and if they insisted, absolutely, upon breaking them, that he would be compelled to prevent them. The captain of the schooner "Caroline Foot" pretending ("ayant prdtendu") that he had entered into the Bay of Tougoursh in consequence of "deviations from his course," Lieutenant Etoline offered at once all assistance in his power; and, upon request, delivered him 7 pouds of biscuit from the stores of the "Aleout," after which the two ships again went to sea. The 19th of July, that is, four days afterwards, the schooner "Aleout" met a whale, upon which the Commander caused a trial fire to be made. At tho same moment was seen, at about 16 miles distance, a sail, name unknown, and, nearer, three " chaloupes," the nearest of which was at least 3 miles in advance in the direction of the cannon fire. Iu the evening all these ships had disappeared. That incident is registered in the books of the "Aleout" in the following terms: "The 19th of July, at 9 iu the evening, at anchor in the Bay of Mawgons, fired a cannon shot for practice at a whale afloat." From these facts General Clay will be convinced that the incident alluded to has been exaggerated, aud even perverted ("denature") much in order to be represented as a cause of grievance against tho Commander of the "Aleout" on the part of the American whalers. I CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 89 116 The explanation was considered satisfactory. Mr. sothCong., 2nd Seward observing that " the captain of the "Java," DoT'lo* ml' spoke unwarrantably when by implication he denied that255- the Russian authorities have the right to prevent foreign vessels from fishing for whales within 3 marine miles of their own shore." In the year 1881 the Russian Consul at Yokohama issued, on behalf of the Russian Imperial Government, a notice, of which the following is a translation: Notice. Eussia notice of November, At the request of the local authorities of Behring and other islands, oth o^ sTIfn f the undersigned hereby notifies that the Russian Imperial Government Behrin" Seas publishes, for general knowledge, the following: IMd °p 259 "1. Without a special permit or licence from the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, foreign vessels are not allowed to carry on trading, hunting, fishing, &c, on the Russian coast or islands in the Okhotsk and Behring Seas, or on the north-eastern coast of Asia, or within their sea boundary line. "2. For such permits or licences, foreign vessels should apply to Vladivostock exclusively. "3. Iu the port of Petropaulovsk, though being the only port of entry in Kamtchatka, such permits or licences shall not be issued. "4. Ko permits or licences whatever shall be issued for hunting, fishing, or trading at or on the Commodore and Robben Islauds. " 5. Foreign vessels found trading, fishing, hunting, &c, in Russian waters, without a licence or permit from the Governor-General, and also those possessing a licence or permit who may infringe the existing bye-laws on hunting, shall be confiscated, both vessels and cargoes, for the benefit of the Government. This enactment shall be enforced henceforth,- commencing with a. d. 1882. "6. The enforcement of the above will be intrusted to Russian men-of-war, and also to Russian merchant-vessels, which, for that The firm of Messrs. Lynde and Hough, of San Francisco, ibid., p. a>9. was iu 1882, and had been for years, engaged in the Pacific HougStoFofger, coast fisheries. They yearly sent vessels to the Sea off^"^-5'1^?^ Okhotsk, fishing from 10 to 20 miles from shore. The atten- vol. u, iK n,' tion of the firm being called to the above notice, they wrote Ko-13- to the Secretary of State of the United States calling- attention thereto. 117 The Secretary of State (Mr. Frelinghuysen), on »&»*« the 7th March, 1882, inclosed their letter, together Doc."n-o. us, g with the regulations " touching the Pacific coast fisheries," 25^-r Hoffmanto as he termed them, to Mr. Hoffman, the United States Min-Mr. irreiingkuy- ister at St. Petersburg. Mr. Hoffman acknowledged thef^ Mfbr?| 2£ I receipt of this despatch, in. reference to what he also called an. se^Appen, "our Pacific Ocean fisheries." n, No. 15. ' Mr. Hoffman, having made inquiry of M. de Giers, the ibid., p. 262. Russian Foreign Minister, the latter, in his reply, dated^deHX8,„ the 8th (20th) May, 1882, explained that these Regulations May swam. applied only to "territorial waters of Russia," and, in aTOi. iit Part Ir; subsequent letter of the 1st (13th) June, quoted Article no. w. 560 of the Russian Code, which is as follows: r CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Article M, de Giers to Mr Hoffman, ,hi le 1 (13), 1882. be 6 iiAFarf ii; The maritime waters, even when they wash the shores, where there is a permanent population, can not he the subject of private possession ; they are open to the use of one and all. In a letter to Mr. Frelinghuysen ofthe 14th March, 1882, no. 17.' ibid., p. Mr. Hoffman shows what he understood to be the meaning lis vSoififPPartapplied by M. de Giers to the words "territorial waters." n,'no. 14.' He writes: The best whaling grounds are found in the bays and inlets ofthe Sea of Okhotsk. Into these the Russian Government does not permit foreign whalers to enter, upon the ground that the entrance to them, from headland to headland, is less than 2 marine leagues wide. ibid., pp. 262, indeed, M. de Giers, in the letter of the 8th (20th) May, lix, voT if^art 1882, already quoted, makes it clear that, as to fishing and ii, no. 16.' hunting, the rule was the same, and that the prohibition of vessels engaged in these pursuits extended only over the marine league from the shores of the coasts "and the islands called the 'Commander' and the 'Seals.'" The island referred to as the "Seals" is Robben Island, and the'reference to this and the Commander Islands indicates that M. de Giers, under the term of "hunting," was referring specially to the sealing industry. On the 21st July, 1884, the United States schooner "Eliza" was seized by the Russian cruizer "Razbo'inik"in the Anadir River, which runs into Anadir Bay, a sotbCong.,2nd 118 northern portion of Behring Sea. It was repre- rjeoSoS'NoDaio66f%'. sen ted to the United States that she was there trad- 263. ' ing and hunting walrus. The United States Vice-Consul- General at Japan termed the seizure "an act of piracy." ibid., P. 270. General Vlangaly, writing from the Department of vol. iiArPartdii,' Foreign Affairs on the 19th (31st) January, 1887, explained No. 19I that the "Eliza "was arrested, "not for the fact of seal hunting," but for violating the prohibition touching trading, hunting, and fishing on the Russian coasts of the Pacific without special licence. ibid., P. 269. The crew, it Avas found, were trading with the natives on the coasts of Kamtchatka, as well as hunting walrus, ibid. seeAp. This appears to have been accepted as.a valid explana-- lartri NoV*'tiou> but witl1 reference to the seizure of this ship and of the "Henrietta," Mr. Lothrop, United States Minister at St. Petersburg, writing to Mr. Bayard, the United States Secretary of State, on the 17th February, 1887, remarks: I may add that the Russian Code of Prize Law of 1869, Article 21, from the shore. The United States schooner " Henrietta" had been seized on the 29th August, 1886, off East Cape in Behring Strait by the Russian corvette "Kreysser." 9. Explanations from the Russian Government were *. promptly demanded by the United States, and it was ' alleged she was arrested for illicit trading on the Russian coasts. II CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Nevertheless, Mr. Bayard, writing to Mr. Lothroponthe 16th March, 1887,- observed: If, as I am to conclude from your despatch, the seizure of the "Henrietta" was made in Russian territorial waters, then the Russian JF authorities had jurisdiction; and if the condemnation was on pro-~ ceedings duly instituted aud administered before a competent Court g and on adequate evidence, this Department has no right to complain. P But if either of these conditions does not exist, the condemnation canH notb raally I ed. The the proceedings sho tered, could not be held to exist if 33 before whom the proceedings were interested in the seizure. Oh genera' o enforce a condemi rst of t mditioi and i of justice, for which th: The same right to i that, while the seizure ' nitted b the Court composed of parties s of international law, is Government is entitled to claii •edress, also, would arise if it should appear was within the 3-mile zone, the alleged offence "~~: _r to that zone and on the high s~ 119 You are therefore instructed to inquire, not merely a,s to mode in which the condemning Court was constituted, but a; the evidence adduced before such Court, in which the exact loca of seizure should be included. The instructions given from time to time to Commanders of the Revenue Service, or of ships of war of the United States cruizing in Behring Sea, and guarding the interests of the Alaska Commercial Company upon the islands leased to the Company, do not even suggest the intention of that Government to assert a claim so vehemently disputed when advanced by Russia. On the contrary, while vessels from British Columbia and elsewhere were trading and fishing generally in the Behring Sea, and while vessels—chiefly those of the United States—were actually' raiding the rookeries, the instructions relating to the fisheries given to Revenue Marine vessels by the United States Government, until 1886, were confined, as has been shown, to the immediate protection of the seal islands. The seizure of British sealers in the open se the report on the cruize of the Revenue Marii "Oorwin" in the year In this report,' shaping a cours< for vessels sealin The Captain w ! followed e steamer awn attenth c had ende l to tin number of vessels which 3 seals on the shores i the islands, and illustrated the great difficulty of pre- 2 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. venting the landing thereupon, the Commander concludes as follows: In view of the foregoing facts, I would respectfully suggest— 1. That the Department cause to be printed in the Western papers, particularly those of San Francisco, California, and Victoria, British Columbia, tho sections of the law relating to the killing of fur-bearing animals in Alaskan waters, and defining in specific terms what is meant by Alaskan waters. 2. That a revenue cutter be sent to cruize in the vicinity of the Pribilof Islands and Aleutian Group during the sealing season. senate^ ex. 120 On the 6th March, 1886, Mr. Daniel Manning, Sec- "d'se'ss^N^o'. retary to the Treasury, wrote to the Collector of 16, P. 135.' Customs at San Francisco as follows: Treasury Department, March 6, 1880. Seeamte.p.lll. Sir: I transmit herewith, for vour information, a copy of a letter addressed by the Department on the 12th March, 1881, to D. A. d'Ancona, concerning the jurisdiction of the United States in the waters of the Territory of Alaska, and the prevention of the killing of fur seals and other fur-bearing animals within such areas, as prescribed by chapter 3, title 23, ofthe Revised Statutes. The attention of your predecessor in office was called to this subject on the 4th April, 1881. This communication is addressed to yon, inasmuch as it is understood that certain parties at your port contemplate the fitting out of expeditions to kill fur seals in these waters. You are requested to give due publicity to such letters in order that such parties may be informed ofthe construction placed by this Department upon the provision of law referred to. (Signed) D. Manning, Secretary. giue Boot, Public notice appears to have been given accordingly in o.?(i890),"p.7S the terms of the letter addressed by Mr. H. F. French to >i iiiAppeil'Ux' Mr. d'Ancona. (See ante, p. 111.) The statement of facts in this chapter establishes— That from the year 1867 down to the year 1886 the action of the United States and Russia, the parties to the Treaty of Cession of 1867, is consistent only with the view that the rights possessed by the United States and by Russia respectively in the waters of Behring Sea were only those ordinarily incident to the possession of the coasts of that sea and the islands situated therein. That during that period, notwithstanding the presence of seal-hunting craft in Behring Sea, the United States authorities confined the exercise of jurisdiction to the land and waters included within the ordinary territorial limits. 121 CHAPTER VII. Head (G.)— Various Contentions of the United States since the year 1886. The considerable development of pelagic sealing in the jSTorth Pacific which had taken place in the years previous to 1886 had established a very strong competition against the Alaska Commercial Company. That Company, paying a considerable royalty to the United States Government ^ CASE QF GREAT BRITAIN. upon every skin, had now to face the competition of the pelagic sealers, who paid no rent or royalty. The Company therefore exerted all its influence, especially powerful at Washington, to check and, if possible, destroy this competition. Till the development of the pelagic sealing industry, the actual circumstances had been such as to allow the Company largely to control the markets for seal-skins, and to enable them to exercise a practical monopoly of sealing in the North Pacific. In the year 1886 the United States Government for the first time furnished revenue cutters with instructions to prevent any vessel from sealing in any part of Behring Sea to the eastward of the geographical limit mentioned in the Treaty of Cession. This action of the United States was the first attempt to neportsofGw actively interfere with the right of the vessels of ■ other i886°rp. 48,-"Sanations to navigate and fish in the waters of Behring SeaEonited^states other than territorial waters. No. 2 u890)," P 45. See Appen In pursuance of the above-mentioned orders, three Brit- see Judge ish vessels were seized during this year while fishing out- mSgnp8™ "case side ordinary territorial waters, and subsequently con- °fj ^ho™00ojs;" demned upon the ground that the waters in which they "United states were fishing, formed part of the waters of Alaska and ^°-2sie894ppen were subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. &*, vol. m. Sir L. S. Sackville West, British Minister at Washington, at once, by instruction, made a formal protest in the name of Her Majesty's Government against these seizures of British vessels. 122 Attorney-General Garland issued the following 50th Cong., 2nd order, after the British protest: doo8 "Naioe, p! Washington, D. C, January 26, 1887. lto' Judge Lafayette Dawson and M. D. Ball, United States District Attorney, Sitka, Alaska. I am directed bv the President to instruct you to discontinue any further proceedings in the matter of the seizure of the British vessels "Carolena," "Onward," and "Thornton," and discharge all vessels now held under such seizure, and release all persons that may be under arrest in connection therewith. (Signed) A. H. Garland, Attornexj-General. Mr. Bayard, however, the Secretary of State, wrote, bntheiwd.lP.4o. 3rd February, 1887, to Sir L. S. Sackville West that this order was issued " without conclusion of any questions which may be found to be involved in these cases of seizure." 1 Fresh seizures took place in July and August of 1887, and renewed protest was made by Great Britain. r CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. No seizure occurred in 1888, though British sealing vessels made large catches in that year in Behring Sea. Iu 1889 five British ships were seized in Behring Sea, and three others were ordered out of the sea. In 1890 no seizures were made, though a large number of sealers visited the sea and took seals therein. sine Book, in 1891 an agreement was come to between the United Ln3Uad892^p8 States and Great Britain, resulting in a.modus vivendi, for J see Appen-tlie pUrp0Se 0f temporarily regulating the fishery, pending the result of expert investigation into the necessities of the case. Vessels were forbidden to take seals in Behring Sea for a limited period under penalty of seizure and fine, and on the other hand the number allowed to be killed on the islands was largely reduced. The only seizures that have occurred since the establishment of the modus vivendi have been made on the ground of its infraction.* 123 The legality of the seizures made in 1886, 1887, and 1889 became a subject of much discussion aud . debate in the United States. The uncertainty of the claim of the Government of the United States is exemplified by the fact that United States sealers entered Behring Sea to * The following table shows the names of the British sealing vessels seized or warned by the United States revenue cruisers 1886-90, and the approximate distance from land when seized. The distances assigned in the cases ofthe "Carolena," "Thornton," and "Onward," are on tho authoritv of II. S. Naval Commander Abbey (see 50th Cong., 2nd Sess., Senate Ex. Doc. No. 106, pp. 20, 40, 30). The distances assigned in the cases of the "Anna Beck," "W. P. Say ward," "Dolphin," and "Grace," are on the authority of Captain Shepard, U. S. R. M. (Blue Book, "United States No. 2 (1890)," pp. 80-82. See Appendix, vol. iii): DaWsei- United States PPTan^4eenSeC 1. vessel making Carolena.. Aug. 1,1886 75 miles Corwin Thornton " 1, & TO Eavourite Aue. 2.1K86 Warned by " Corwin " m about' Anna Beck )nward. Bush W. P. Say ward.... July 9,1887 Dolphin July 12,1887 40 July 17,1887 96 Alfred Adams..-.. Aug. 10,1887 Ada Aug. 25,1887 Tnumph Aug. 4,1887' Warned by "-Rush" no Behring Sea. to enter July 31,1889 Triumjjh July ll! 1889 Ordered out of Behrin position Black Diamond.... " 11 " Lily Aug. 6,1889 July 30,1889 Ordered out of Behrin ? Sea by Kate Aug. 13,1889 dUto" July 15,1889 Pathfinder Mar. 27,1890 Seized inNeahBaya.. Corwin. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. seal three or four years before the British sealers entered, and they rapidly increased in numbers, but were only occasionally interfered with or seized. During the fiftieth Session of the House of Representatives, in 1889, the Committee on Marine aud Fisheries was directed "to fully investigate and report upon the nature H R mh and extent ofthe rights and interests ofthe United States goug., 2nd sess., in the fur-seals and other fisheries in the Behring Sea inp?0ToNaceonii Alaska, whether and to what extent the same had been %%& Bm H- «• violated, and by whom; and what, if any, legislation 124 is necessary for the better protection and preservation of the same." The Committee reported, upholding the claim of the United States to jurisdiction over all waters and land included in the geographical limits stated in the Treaty of Cession by Russia to the United States, and construing different Acts of Congress as perfecting the claim of national territorial rights over the open waters of Behring Sea everywhere within the above-mentioned limits. The Report states: of the Report states as follows nt of section 1956 of the Revised Statutes ibid., p. 24. >f fur seals, &c, in the waters of Alaska, sels to cruize said waters, in order to pro- iource by at least 150,000 dollars per annum. The Bill reported contained the following Section md described in the Treaty withn ame to be published for one month 96 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. in at least one newspaper published at each United States port of entry on the Pacific coast, warning all persons against entering said Territory and waters for the purpose of violating the provisions of said Section; and he shall also cause one or more vessels.of the United States to diligently cruize said waters and arrest all persons, and seize all vessels found to be, or to have been, engaged in any violation of the laws of the United States therein. CONFERENCE OF THE HOUSES. This Bill did not pass the House of Representatives, but Mr.Edivardesto the above section was added by the House as an amend- MafchS23islS' ment to a Biu for ^e " Protection of the Salmon Fisheries Blue book]of Alaska," which originated in the Senate. The Senate, No-^asgo3)!"^8 however, refused to accept the House amendment, and the 243'. see fp'pen- Bill was accordingly referred to a conference of the Houses, dtt.voi.m. and the section, as finally modified and adopted in the Act of the 2nd March, 1889, reads as follows: Ibid p 237 Section 3. That section 1956 of the Revised Statutes of the United | ' States is hereby declared to include and apply to all the dominion of the United States in the waters of Behring Sea, and it shall be the duty of the President, at a timely season in each year, to issue his Proclamation, and cause the same'to be published for one month in at least one newspaper (if any such there be) published in each United States port of entry on the Pacifie coast, warning all persons against entering said waters for the purpose of violating the provisions of said section, and he shall cause one or more vessels of the United States to diligently cruize said waters, and arrest all persons and seize all vessels found to be or to have been engaged in any violation of the laws of the United States therein. ibid., P. 234. On the 21st March, 1889, President Harrison issued his Proclamation accordingly, warning | all persons against entering the waters of Behring Sea within the domain of the United States for the purpose of violating the provisions of said Section 1956 of Revised Statutes." INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT PROPOSED. On the 19th August, 1887, after the seizure of the " W. P. Sayward," and while she was in custody, the United States' Secretary of State wrote identic instructions to the United States Ministers in France, Germany, Great 126 Britain,* Japan, Russian, and Sweden and Norway in the following terms: Senate Ex.Doc. Recent occurrences have drawn the attention of this-Department to les« Ncf'ioe'n the necessi'ty of faking steps for the better protection of the fur-seal 84 II ' ' p- fisheries in Bering Sea. Without raising any question as to the exceptional measures which the particular character of the property in question might justify this Government in taking, and without reference to any exceptional marine jurisdiction that might properly be claimed for that end, it is deemed advisable—and I am instructed by the President so to inform you—to attain the desired ends by international co-operation. It is well known that the unregulated and indiscriminate killing of seals in many parts of the world has driven them from place to place, and, by breaking up their habitual resorts, has greatly reduced their number. * The invitation conveyed by the instructions was not, however communicated to Great Britain until November 11, 1887. See 50th Cong., 2d Sess., Senate Ex. Doc. No. 106,p.87; and Blue Book, "United States No. 2 C1890);" Sir J. Pauncefote to Baron Plessen, October 11 1887. See Appendix, vol. iii. ^ CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. instructed to draw the attentionof the Government to which y credited to thesubject, aniinviteit to enter into such an arranaei the Government of the United States as will prevent the ci either country fromkilling seal in Bering Sea at such times ar and by such methods as at present are pursued, and which the speedy extermination of those animals and consequen loss to mankind. The Ministers of the United States to Germany, Sweden way, Russia, Japan, and Great Britain have been each addressed on the subject referred to in this instruction. So to Mr. White, Secretary of the United State tion in London, with reference to this proposition, h< on the 1st of May, 1888: ! Lega- * wrote, The suggestion n to bring other Gov and Russia into the of the Department, time the ir""^" ^de by Lord Salisbury, that it may be necesi mments than the United States, Great Brit irrangements, has already been met by the ac is I have heretofore informed you. At the s the British Government to negotia Convention for seal protectioi extended to various other Powers, which have, without exception, returned a favourable response. In order, therefore, that the plan may be carried out, the Convention proposed between the United States, Great Britain, aud Russia should contain a clause providing for the subsequent adhesion of other Powers. And on the 7th February, 1888, the Secretary of State, in a despatch to the Minister at the Court of St. 127 James, after referring to the killing of seals in Behring Sea, wrote: The only way of obviating the lamentable result above predicted I 50i appears to be by the United States, Great Britain, and other interested Sess Powers taking concerted action to prevent their citizens or subjects ^°0, fromkilling fur seals with fire-arms or other destructive weapons, north of 50° of north latitude, and between 160° of longitude west aud 170° of longitude east from Greenwich, -during the period intervening between April 15 and November 1. ONTENTIONS The Judge of the District Court of Alaska, the Honourable Lafayette Dawson, is reported, in summing up the bu case to the jury, to have quoted the 1st Article of the^y™' Treaty of Cession of the 30th March, 1867, and to have 21.' s continued as follows: All the waters within the boundary set forth in this Treaty to the western end of the Aleutian Archipelago and chain of islands are to be considered as comprised within the waters of Alaska, and all the penalties prescribed by law against the killing of fur-bearing animals must therefore attach against any violation of law within the limits heretofore described. CLAIM OF JURISDICTION IN BEHRING SEA EAST OF 193° WEST LONGI- jvidence that the defend- CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. sal, or other fur-bearing animal or a or in the Behring Sea, east of the 19J .uld find the defendants guilty, and >ly, at a fine of not less than 200 doll or imprisonment not more than six r thin the limits herein set forth, and i: The Counsel appearing for the United States Government, to justify the seizure of the "Anna Beck" aud other vessels in 1887, filed a "brief," from which the following extracts are taken: The information in this case is ;he Revised Statutes of the Unii "No person shall kill any otte ike waters thereof." The offense is charged to hav ;he Island of Ounalaska, and t part of the Behring Sea c L28 by the Treaty of 1867. Tl tion on the ground— 1. That the Court has no ju lat the Act under which the defendants ^ >nal in so far as it restricts the free navi fishing and sealing purposes beyond 1 THE ARGUMENT. The fate of the second of these propositions depends largely upon that of the first, for if the jurisdiction and dominion of the United States as to these waters be not sustained the restrictive Acts of Congress must fall, and if our jurisdiction shall be sustained small question can be made as to the power of Congress to regulate fishing and sealing within our own waters. The grave question, one important to all the nations of the civilized world, as well as to the United States and Great Britain, is "the dominion of Behring Sea." After conceding unreservedly the general doctrine of the 3-mile limit, he proceeds: It thus appears that from our earliest history, contemporaneously with our acceptance of the principle of the marine league belt and supported by the same high authorities is the assertion of the doctrine of our right to dominion over our inland waters under the Treaty of 1867, and on this rule of international law we base our claim to jurisdiction and dominion over the waters of the Behring Sea. While it is, no doubt, true that a nation can not by Treaty acquire dominion in contravention of the law of nations, it is none the less true that whatever title or dominion our grantor, Russia, possessed under the law of nations at the time of the Treaty of Cession in 1867, passed and now rightfully belongs to the United States. Having 'determined the law, we are next led to inquire as to whether*Behring Sea is an inland water or a part of the open ocean, and what was Russia's jurisdiction Behring Sea is an inland water. Beginr i.sia, this body of water, formerly known s bounded by the Peninsula of Kamtchat CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 99 the Behring Strait. From the American side of this strait the waters ot the Behring Sea wash the coast of the mainland of Alaska as far south as the Peninsula of Alaska. From the extremity of this 129 peninsula, in alongsweeping curve, the Aleutian Islands stretch in a continuous chain almost to the shores of Kamtchatka, thus "encasing the sea. And he concludes: Enough has been said to disclose the basis of Russia's right to iuris- diction of the Behring Sea under the law of nations, viz., original possession of the Asiatic coast, followed bv discovery and possession of the Aleutian chain and the shores of Alaska north, not only to Behring Strait, but to Point Barrow and the Frozen Ocean, thus inclosing ' within its territory, as within the embrace of a mighty giant, the islands and waters of Behring Sea, and with this the assertion and exercise of dominion over land and sea. Such is our understanding of the law, such is the record. Upon them the United States are prepared to abide the Judgments of the Courts and the opinion of the civilized world. On the 10th September, 1887, the Marquis of Salisbury i(Bine Book, addressing Sir Lionel West, British Minister at Washing- K^^ira^p8 ton, discussed the proceedings in the United States' Dis-8?- Se® Appen- trict Court in the cases of the "Carolena," " Onward," and 1X'v0 ''"' "Thornton." After stating that Her Majesty's Government could not find in these proceedings any justification for the condemnation of those vessels, he wrote: The libels of information allege that thev were seized for killing Blue Book, fur seal within the limits of Alaska Territory, and in the watersv^^Tfaam^*68 thereof, in violation of section 1956 of the Revised Statutes of the g9°- gee Ap'rat United States; and the United States Naval Commander Abbey cer-dix, vol. iii. tainly affirmed that the vessels* were seized within the waters of Alaska and the Territory of Alaska; but according to his own evidence, they were seized 75,115, and 70 miles respectively south-southeast of St. George's Island. It is not disputed, therefore, that the seizures in question were effected at a distance from land far in excess of the limit of maritime jurisdiction which any nation can claim by international law, and it is hardly necessary to add that such limit cannot be enlarged by any The claim thus set up appears to be founded on the exceptional title said to have been conveyed to the United States by Russia at the time of the cession of the Alaska Territory. The pretension which the Russian Government at one time put forward to exclusive jurisdiction over the whole of Behring Soa was, however, never admitted either by this country or by the United States of America. Upon this ground the discussion between Her 130 Majesty's Government and the Government of the United States was carried on for some years until the receipt of Mr. Blaine's despatch of the 22nd January, 1890, to Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British Minister at Washington, wherein a new or modified position was taken up, and it was asserted to be contra bonos mores to engage in the killing of seals at sea. Mr. Blaine, after promising Sir Julian Pauncefote to put in writing the precise grounds upon which the United States justified the seizures, wrote as follows: In the o detained i if of the Presidei Behring Sea wer 22, 1890. Blue Book ian vessels arrested and Mr. Bli a pursuit that is in itself Sir J^ J ss No. 2 (1890)," p. 396. See Appendix, CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. contra bonos mores—a pi permanent injury to th United States. To establish this gro of the extent and natui the waters of the Behi rights on land and sea inseparably connected therewith, may safely left out of view while the grounds are set forth upon whi this Government rests its justification for the action complained of 1 Her Majesty's Government. . . . He argues that the practice extermination of the species, : In the judgment of this Governm On the 17th December, 1890, Mr. Bla Sir Julian Pauncefote: a. which the United States and Great Britain find themselves in the pending controversy touching the true construction of the Russo American and Anglo-Russian Treaties of 1824 and 1825. Great Britain that the Behring Sea at the time of the Treaties with Russia of 1824 and 1825 was included in the Pacific Ocean, the Government of the United States has no well-grounded complaint against her. If, on the other hand, this Government can prove beyond all doubt that the Behring Sea, at the date of the Treaties, was understood by the three Signatory F in the phrase " f acme ucean, Britain is complete and under "UnitedBst°tk' In the same Ilote Mr- B1aine disavows the contention that NoT (i89i)," ps the Behring Sea is mare clausum, but claims that the Ukase, «x vol6 iivpen'wbicl1 asserted exclusive jurisdiction over 100 miles from the coast in that Sea, was never annulled by Russia. He had in this note previously argued " that Great Britain and ibid., P. 4i. the Tjnifce(i states recognized, respected, and obeyed the authority of Bussia in the Behring Sea " for more than forty years after the Treaties with Bussia. In conclusion, he claims for the United States the right to hold for a specific purpose a " comparatively restricted area of water." OP GREAT BRIT this note the Secretary of State thus expresses himself: ' EnKlitdi '"' '"'thai day had, as 1 have before remarked, iptea the abolition of the Ukase of Alexander only no far a« it '''' the coast of the I'a.ni.- Ocean from the Slat to the 00th degree rth latitude. 11 was left In full fane on tne shores of the Behring There is no proof whatever that the Russian Emperor annulled r a limited extent of ear, as will be suffl- ies, already injured, t of declaring the ith December, 1890, Lord Salisbury incefote: mi which has been carried on between the Bine Boo materially to narrow the area of contro- KU"/'^S??.< r that the advisers of the President do not g7"' smAhm s el annum, and indeed that they repudiate <iix. vol. ill. ii-rs upon any Maritime Power rights ove ?ower could not assert on other grounds. |cd States to prevent tbe o iy pnrcnrisu iiu-y possess in <■ «-u» ■ *-« ler I in the year 1821, which prohibits for-.,,.. g within 100 Italian miles of tho coasts and islands o Russia in Fehring Sea. this, Mr. Blaine wrote on the 14th April, 1891 : n of the President, Lord Salisbury is wholly and >r in making tbe following statement: " Nor do they 1J the President] rely as a justification for the seizure.^ n the open sea npon the contention that the interests n ies give to the United States Government any right CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. L Itdoesnotappe )hio In 1891, in the course of the Argument before the e^r Supreme Court of the United States in the case of the " W. say- P. Sayward," one of the learned Judges inquired of Mr. > which Mr. Miller replied: Judgment Mr. CM United %tate8 a11T.r<lmA , Supreme Court, u^icuio be admitted that they we 134 this Government of terri an extent exceeding 59 u seal fisheries, was asserted by 1886,1887, and 1889, of a numb not only on the peculiar naturi CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ofthe Government in them, but also upon the position that this jurisdiction was asserted by Russia for more than ninetv years, and by that trovernmont transferred to the United States; and that negotiations are pending upon the subject. The facts stated in this chapter show- That the original ground upon which the vessels seized in 1886 and 1887 were condemned, was that Behring Sea was a mare clausum, an inland sea, and as such had been conveyed, in part, by Russia to the United States. That this ground was subsequently entirely abandoned, but a claim was then made to exclusive jurisdiction over 100 miles from the coast line of the United States' territory. That subsequently a further claim has been set up to the effect that the United States have property in and a right of protection over fur seals in non-territorial waters. 135 CHAPTER VIII. Point 5 op Article VI.—Has the United States any Bight, and, if so, what Bight of Protection or Property in the Fur Right o Seals frequenting the Islands ofthe United States in Behr- erty in sea ing Sea when such seals are found outside the ordinaryside3mii« 3-mile limit 9 A NOVEL CLAIM. The claim involved in this question is not only new in the present discussion, but is entirely without precedent. It is, moreover, in contradiction of the position assumed by the United States .in analogous cases on more than one occasion. The claim appears to be, in this instance, made only in respect of seals, but the principle involved in it might be extended on similar grounds to other animals ferw natural, such, for instance, as whales, walrus, salmon, and marine animals of many kinds. Apart from the ordinary limits of territorial jurisdiction over waters adjacent to coasts, or to some exceptional condition based upon agreement, there^is absolutely no precedent for the assumption of the fight to property in a free-swimming animal, whose movements are uncontrolled and not controllable by man. Fur seals are indisputably animals fierce nature, and such animals have been universally regarded by jurists as res nullius until they are captured. No person can have property in them until he has actually reduced them into possession by capture. Why should there be a property in seals in Behring Sea alone? Outside Behring Sea citizens of the United States have pursued the seals for years as Canadians have done, and are doing, without let or hindrance, and with the full knowledge of the United States Government. The proposition that on one side of the Aleutian Archipelago a seal is the property of the United States, and on r 104 ' CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. the other it is the property of any man who can catch it, can only be supported on the ground that Behring Sea is the domain of the United States, in other words, a mare clausum. It is, moreover, submitted that if seals before capture constitute special property, the larceny of a seal on 130 the high seas by a vessel not belonging to the United States is not cognizable by the United States Courts, and that any claim to protection of seals beyond territorial jurisdiction must involve mare clausum. Whatever arguments may be brought forward in order to iuduce other nations to concur in the adoption of Regulations limiting and interfering with their rights to fish for and catch seals or other animals ferw naturw upon the high seas, no nation under the principles of law and the practice among nations can, without the concurrence of all interested Powers, interfere with vessels engaged in this pursuit when outsideof the ordinary territorial jurisdiction. FREEDOM OF SEAL FISHERIES ASSERTED BY UNITED STATES. The principle suggested in the question discussed in this chapter has been steadily resisted by all nations. The Government of the United States has more than once distinctly asserted the principle that the fur-seal fishery is part of the ocean fishery, and free to all, beyond the 3-mile limit. FALKLAND ISLANDS—CASE OF THE "HARRIET." In 1832 the United States schooner | Harriet," Davison, master, was seized by the Government of the Republic of Buenos Ayres at the Falkland Islands j that Government having claimed the right to capture and detain United States vessels engaged in the seal fishery at the Malvinas (Falkland Islands) and the islands and coasts adjacent to Cape Horn. The United States Charge d'Affaires wrote, on the 20th June, 1832, to the Buenos Ayres Minister as follows: ... The Undersigned is instructed and authorized to say,—that Foreign s tate *^ey utterly deny the existence of any right in this Republic to inter- Papers, by Hert- rupt, molest, detain or capture any vessels belonging to citizens of slet, vol. xx, p. the United States of America, or any persons being citizens of those 335- States, engaged in taking seals, or whales, or any species of fish or marine animals, in any of the Waters, or on any of the shores or lands, of any or either of the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, Cape Horn' or any of the adjacent islands in the Atlantic Ocean. On the 10th July, 1832, the United States Charg6 d'Affaires wrote to the same Minister as follows: 1 •' p- But again—if it be admitted, hypothetieally, that the Argentine Republic did succeed to the entire rights'of Spain over these regions; and that when she succeeded, Spain was possessed of sovereign rio-hts the question is certainly worth examination, whether the right to exclude American vessels and American citizens from the fisheries there, is incident to such a succession to sovereignty. FALKIANI ISLAND S SEAL FISHERIES nmj ■ iral right, which nterference with as, by restricting themselves from f< tended that the fishery should be 1< ti the shores of these islands, and pe: slaim for damage, for use of the shore Stipulation iu the Treaty of 1790 is, clearly, founded on the fight to use the unsettled shores for the purpose of fishery, and to secure its continuance. Mr. Robert Greenhow, whose works have already been quoted, in a series of articles on the Falkland Islands, writ ten for "Hunt's Merchants' Magazine," in February, 1842, refers to the claim set up by Buenos Ayres respecting the jurisdiction of the Republic and the application of its laws aud regulations," especially those respecting the seal fishery on the coast." Mr. Greenhow says: To pr. ed "another step Supposing the Argei ■eignty of the territories adjoining it on the south, and the ins islands, that Government would still want the right to exi Regulations respecting the seal fishery" to the unsettled port j every part of the open sea, and of larbours, with such limitations only by Treaty with another; and they sts of America for trade and settle- bores of the continent for the seal ssels, irly all The Go these and founded o II I 1877, p. 1( CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. He also refers to the case of the "Harriet" as follows: r- . . . The President at the same time declared, that the name a - ofthe Republic of Buenos Ayreahad been used, to cover with a show of y' authority, acts injurious to the commerce of the United States, and to the property and liberty of their citizens; for which reason, he had given orders for the dispatch of an armed vessel to join the American squadron in the south seas, and aid in affording all lawful protection to the trade of the Union, which might be required; and he should without delay send a Minister to Buenos Ayres, to examine into the nature of the circumstances, and also of the claim set up by that Government to the Falkland Islands. . . . The question had, however, become more complicated before the arrival of Mr. Bayless at Buenos Ayres. The "Lexington" reached Berkeley Sound on the 28th December, and lay at the entrance, during a severe gale, until the 31st, when sbe went up and anchored in front of the harbour of Soledad. Boats were immediately sent ashore, with armed seamen and marines, who made prisoners of Brisbane, Metcalf, and some other persons, and sent them onboard the ship; the cannon mounted before the place were at the same time spiked, some of the arms and ammunition 139 were destroyed, and the seal skins and other articles taken from the "Harriet"-and "Superior" were removed from the warehouses, and placed in the schooner "Dash," which carried them to the United States. Captain Duncan then gave notice to the inhabitants that the seal fishery on those coasts was ii all Americans; and that the capture of any t States would be regarded as an act of piracy; and having affixed a declaration in writing to that effect on the door of the Government- house, he took his departure, on the 22nd January, 1832, carrying with him in the "Lexington," Brisbane and six other persons as prisoners, with many of the negroes and settlers a, HALIFAX FISHERIES COMMISSION. MR. Mr. R. H. Dana, in his speech on behalf of the United States before the Halifax Fisheries Commission in 1887, says: ie The right to fish in the sea is in its nature not real, as the common J_ law has it, nor immovable, as named by the civil law, but personal. Qi It is a liberty. It is a franchise or a faculty. It is not property per- ' taining to or connected with the land. It is incorporeal; it is aboriginal. The right of fishing, dropping line or net into the sea, to draw from it the means of sustenance, is as old as the human race, and the limits that have been set about it have been set about it in recent and modern times, and wherever the fisherman is excluded, a reason for excluding him should always be given. I speak of the deep sea fishermen following the free-swimming fish through the sea, not of the crustaceous animals, or of any of those that connect themselves with the soil under the sea or adjacent to the sea, nor do I speak of any s possession of the land or any touching or trouble sea; I speak of the deep-sea fishermen who 3 pursuing the free-swimming fish of the high Against them, it is a question not of admission, but of exclusion. These fish are not property. Nobody owns them. They come we know not whence, and go we know not whither. fishing which requires ing the bottom of t irthe high 6 dr. woolsey's opinion. Dr. Woolsey, in the sixth edition of his Treatise on International Law, says: | The recent controversy between Great Britain and the United States involving the right of British subjects to catch seals in North Pacific waters appears to be an attempted revival of these old claims to jurisdiction over broad stretches of Bea. That an international agreement CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. fishermen of other nationalities, off the Newfoundlai In the absence of any indication as to th< which the United States base so unprecede that of a right to protection of or prop* ferae naturae upon the high seas, the furthe of this claim must of necessity be postpc maintained that, according to the princii tional law, no propertv can exist in anion when frequenting the high seas. 141 CHAPTER IX. General Conclusions upon the whole Case. It now remains to state the principles of law applicable to the whole Case, some authorities bearing thereon, and the conclusions of fact established by the foregoing statement, and to formulate the final propositions both of law and of fact, upon which Great Britain will insist. BEHRING- SEA AN OPEN SEA. Thesea now known as Behring Sea is an open sea forming part of the common highway of all nations, and especially of Great Britain to her possessions in the northern parts of North America. In the absence of Treaty or international arrangement, all the nations of the world have the right to navigate and fish in such waters, and no mere declarations or claims'by any one or more nations can take away or restrict the rights of other nations. Moreover, mere non-use or absence of the exercise by any nation of her rights cannot in any way impair or take away the right of that nation or of any other nation to exercise these rights. They are, in fact, the common heritage of all mankind, and incapable of being appropriated by any one or more nations. The rights and interests of nations in the open sea are m^g; correctly stated by Chancellor Kent as follows: j,0 ^ The open sea is not capable of being possessed as private property. 29. The free use of the ocean for navigation and fishing is common to all mankind, and the public juris'ts generally and explicitly deny that the main ocean can ever be appropriated. The controversy between Grotius and Selden as to the^he right of appropriation by a nation of the sea beyond thetion i immediate vicinity of the coast is thus reviewed by Wheaton:1866, p CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. it obtaii 142 2. In the second place, the sea is an element which belong! equally to all men, like the air. No nation, then, has the rig to appropriate it, even though it might be physically possible to do It is thus demonstrated that the sea can not become the exclr-' property of any nation. And, consequently, the use of the these purposes, remains' open ; NO all mankind. RESCRIPTION IN OPEN SEA. ght In a note on this passage of Wheaton, Mr. Dana adds that— The right of one nation, or of several nations, to an exclusive juris- be the evidence of the time or nature of the use, it is set aside as bad usage which no evidence can make legal. Sir R. Phillimore writes: mtitled to r acquired Brcised by The following position v States in 1862, and, it is i that country to-day. In that year Spain pu jurisdiction around the is! wrote: otly taken by th 3d to by m to an extended Secretary Seward s. fix it at 10, or 20, or 50 miles, without the consent or acquie p- of other Powers which have a common right with himself in the free- s, doni of all the oceans. Such a pretension could never be successfully It is claimed by Great Britain that the facts already stated establish: (A). That fromthe earliest times down to the year "• 143 1821 the ships of Great Britain and the United States and of other foreign nations navigated the non-territorial waters of Behring Sea and the other parts of the North Pacific, and exercised freely the natural and common rights therein without interference or remonstrance by Russia. (B). That when, in the year 1821, Russia, in the terms of the Ukase of that date, advanced claims to exercise control CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. over a considerable portion of the non-territorial waters of the North Pacific (including a large part of the non-territorial waters of Behring Sea) as over a mare clasum, the practice of nations and their admitted rights upon the high seas were already entirely opposed to' any claim to such exclusive and exceptional rights as were embodied in or implied by the Ukase. That this attempt on the part of Russia led to immediate and emphatic protests by Great Britain and the United States, which protests led to the withdrawal of Russia's claims. That those claims were never recognized or conceded by Great Britain in the smallest degree. That, in view of the continued practice of nations and the growth of the principles of international law since 1821, the arguments then employed by Great Britain and the United States have to-day, if possible, even greater weight than at that period. (C). That the body of water now commonly known as I Behring Sea" is included in the phrase "PacificOcean" as used in the Treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia, and that that Treaty was intended to declare the rights of Great Britain to navigate and fish in all the waters over which Russia had attempted to control and limit such rights, that is to say, from Behring. Strait on the north to latitude 51° on the coast of America, and latitude 45° 50' on the coast of Asia. (D). That for a period of more than forty years, that is to say, from 1821 to-1867, the subjects and vessels of Great Britain and the United States and other nations continued in increasing numbers to navigate, trade, and fish in the waters of Behring Sea, and that during the whole of that period no attempt was made on the part of Russia to reassert or claim any dominion or jurisdiction over the non- territorial waters of that sea; but that, on the contrary, the right of all nations'to navigate, fish, and exercise common rights therein was fully recognized. 144 (B). That at the time ofthe acquisition of Alaska ' - by the United States pursuant to the Treaty of the 30th March, 1867, Russia had no rights in respect of Behring Sea other than those which belonged to her as possessing territories washed by its waters, and could not transmit to the United States any rights of exclusive dominion or control over navigation and fishing in non- territorial waters, and the United States of America acquiring as they did all the rights of Russia, acquired no more. Further that at the time of the acquisition the United States of America was fully alive to the fact that the non- territorial waters of Behring Sea were open to the ships of all nations for the purpose of the exercise of the common rights of navigation and fishing. That as to the rights which Russia possessed at the time of the Treaty of 1867, and which were transferred to the United States by virtue of that Treaty, the ordinary rule as to the extent of maritime jurisdiction applied. HO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. AUTHORITIES AS TO THE 3-MILE LIMIT. Admitting, in the consideration of this question, that Russia's title before 1867 to the coast of Behring Sea and to the islands within those waters was complete, an examination of the principles of international law and the practice of nations will show that her jurisdiction (subject to the question of embayed or inland waters) was confined to the distance of 1 marine league or 3 miles from her shores. ORTOLAN. Ortolan, in his " Diplomatic de la Mer," pp. 145, 153 (Edition 1864), says: Proceedings of On doit ranger sur la meme ligne que les rades et les ports, les golfes Halifax Pisber- ej. jes t,aies e^ tous les enfoncements connus sons d'autres denomina-. 1877 pmi63S8 °n' tions, lorsque ces enfoncements, formes par les terres d'un meme Etat, ne depassent pas en largeur la double portee du canon, ou lorsque Fentree peut en etre gouvernee par l'artillerie, ou qu'elle est deTendue naturellement par des lies, par des bancs, ou par des roches. Dans tous ces cas, en effet, il est vrai de dire que ces golfes on ces baies sont en la puissance de l'Etat maltre du territoire qui les enserre. Cet Etat en a la possession: tous les raisonneinents que nous avons fait a regard des rades et des ports peuvent se re'pe'ter ici. Ortolan, p. 153. Les bords et rivages de la mer qui baigne les c6tes d'un Etat sont les limites maritimes naturelles de cet Etat. Mais pour la protection, pour la defense plus efficace de ces limites naturelles, la coutume generate des nations, d'accord avec beaucoup de Traites publics, permet de tracer sur mer, a une distance convenable des cdtes, et 145 suivant leurs contours, vine ligne imaginaire qui doit etre considered comme la frontiere maritime artificielle: Tout batiment qui se trouve a terre de cette ligne est dit 6tre dans les eaux de l'Etat dont elle limite le droit de souverainet6 et de juridiction. CASE OP THE "WASHINGTON."—MR. JOSHUA BATES' DECISION. Under the clauses of the Convention of the 8th February, 1853, the case of the "Washington" (which had been seized in the Bay of Fundy and confiscatea in the Vice- Admiralty Court at Yarmouth, N. S.) came before the Joint Commission for settlement of claims in London, and on the disagreement of the Commissioners was decided by the Umpire, Mr. Joshua Bates, in favour of the United States* In his decision he said: Halifax1 pf In* The question turns, so far as relates to the Treaty stipulations, on eries Commis-**16 meaning given to the word "bays" in the Treaty of 1783. By sion, 1877, p. 152. that Treaty, the Americans had no right to dry and cure fish on the shores and bays of Newfoundland; but they had that right on the shores, coasts, bays, harbours, and creeks of Nova Scotia; and, as they must land to cure fish on the shores, bays, and creeks, they were evidently admitted to the shores of the bays, fc. By the Treaty of 1818 the same right is granted to cure fish on the coasts, bays, &c, of Newfoundland; but the Americans relinquished that right, and the right to fish within 3 miles of the coasts, bays, $~c, of Nova Scotia. Taking it for granted that the framers of the treaty intended that the word "bay" or "bays" should have the same meaning in all cases, and no mention being made of headlands, there appears no doubt that the '"' "Washington," in fishing 10 miles from the shore, violated no stipulations of the Treaty. It was urged, on behalf of the British Government that by "coasts," "bays," &c, is understood an imaginary line drawn along the coast A.T BRITAIN. The Agent Fisheries Com: the following i dated 19th April, 1872, already quoted, i United States Le in their brief filed with the Halif in 1877. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 147 The Ageni; of the United States at Halifax, after setting out the various authorities under this head, concluded as follows: AUTHORITIES QUOTED BY THE UNITED STATES IN HALIFAX FISHERIES' COMMISSION. dings of The jurisdiction of a State or country over its adjoining waters is s Pi ah-limited to 3 miles from low-water mark along its sea-coast, and the >mmis-same rule applies equally to'bays and gulfs whose width exceeds 6 r.n.162. miles from headland to headland. Property in and dominion over the sea can only exist as to those portions capable of permanent possession ; that is, of a possession from the land, which possession can only be maintained by artillery. At one mile beyond the reach of coast-guns there is no more possession than in mid-ocean. This is the rule laid down by almost all the writers on international law. As to inland seas and seas over which empire may extend, the following authorities were referred to by the Agent in the same brief: At present, says Vattel, "Law of Nations," Book 1, ch. xxiii, §} 289, 291, the whole space of the sea within cannon shot of the coast is considered as making a part of the territory; and, for that reason, a vessel taken under the guns of a neutral fortress is not a good prize. All we have said of the parts of the sea near the coast may be said more particularly, and with much greater reason, of the roads, bays, and straits, as still more capable of being occupied, and of greater importance to the safety of the country. But I speak of the rra not of those £ if the sea to Bay and the end, and still straits of which these names Straits of Magellan—over which the Empii less a right of property. A bay whose entrai may be possessed and rendered subject to the and it is of importance that it should be so, si much more easily insulted in such a place tha the winds and the impetuosity of the waves. Professor Bhintschli, in his u Law of Nations," Book 4, §§ 302, 309, states the rule in the same way: a State is formed by the can from the shore make i jxtending as far 3 belonging to the territory of that ,, the part of stablish other and r When the frontiei respected—i. e., a portion of the s> from the coast—is considered a State. Treaties o limits. Note.—The extent practised of this sovereignty has remarkably increased since the invention of far-shooting cannon. This is the consequence of the improvements made in the means of defence, of which the State makes use. The sovereignty of States over i. extended originally only to a stone's-throw from the coast; later, to an arrow-shot; fire a rapid progress we have arrived to the far-s present age. But still we preserve.the princ finitur, ubifinitur armorum vis." Within certain limits, there are submitted t bordering State: (a) The portion of the sea placed within a o: (b) Harbours. (c) Gulfs. (d) Roadsteads. Note -Certain portions of the sea are so nearly joined to the tm-ra firma that, in some measure at least, they ought to form a part ofthe territory of the bordering State; they are considered as accessories to the terra firma. The safety of the State, and the public quiet, are so ted, and by "Terrai dominium overeignty ofthe shot of the shore. ith the port acan only oo made'for we?J m of the sea is not large CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN, lat they cannot be contented, in cert tl rule of the liberty of tb and when the extent of " Ison's Bay and tbe Guli sea. No one disputes thelsh he •the Kliiber, "Droit des Gens Modernes de l'Europe (Paris, edition 1831)," torn, i, p. 216: Au territoire maritime d'un Etat appartiennent les districts mari- times, ou parages susceptibles d'une possession exclusive, sur lesquels ? l'Etat a acquis (par occupation ou convention) et continue' la souver-it ainete". Sont de ce nombre, (1) Les parties de l'oce'an qui avoisinent le territoire continental de l'Etat, du moins, d'apres l'opiuion presque - i pei bords, (golfe ;aler poi joits qui r iee du canon plac<5 sur lerivage, ou donti eura-eeeiiiasoi itre deTendues (d^troit, canal, bosphore, sonde). Sont nombre; (4) les golfes, d^troits, et mors avoisinant. tal d'un Etat, lesquels, quoiqu'ils ne soient pas < sla >rtee du c 149 Puissa une domination, et, par consequent, inaccessibles aux vaisseanx strangers qui n'ont point obtenu la permission d'y naviguer. This view, moreover, was emphatically maintained on behalf ofthe United States on the occasion ofthe seizures in the year 1887. . The following is the extract from the Brief of the United States on this occasion: BRIEF fob the UNITED STATES, SITKA, IN 1887. i the , and following all the ettled lai It ii irists. It has be* of the Go^ j the foundati.._. »yMr. Jefferson, Secretary of State, as early as 1793, n reaffirmed by his successors—Mr. Pickering, in 1796;H in 1807; Mr. Webster, in 1842; Mr. Buchanan, in 1849; d> 1862, 1863, and 1864; Mr. Fish,* in 1875; Mr. Evarts, in oMr. to Mr. Watson of :ated by that th October, dir. r CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ns-1879 and 1881; and Mr. Bayard, in 1886. (Wheaton's M I International Law," vol, i, sec. 32, pp. 100 and 109.) \m Sanctioned thus by an unbroken line of precedents c rni- first century of our national existence, the United States >• 2 abandon this doctrine if they could; they could n The Bussian claim to extraordinary jurisdiction was expressly founded on a supposed right to hold a portion of the Paoific'as mare clausum, because that nation claimed the territory on both sides. Even if this claim had been well founded the Treaty of 1867 destroyed it, since the sea was no longer shut in or surrounded by the territory of one nation. On this subject Ortolan writes: Quant aux mers particulates et interieures, un droit exclusif de Ortolan, "Peg- domaine et de souveramete' de la part d'une nation sur line telle mer les Internation- n'est incontestable qu'autant que cette mer est totalement enclavce alesetDiplomatie dan8 le territoire de telle sorte qu'elle en fait partie integrante, ot edition torn, i, p. qu'elle ne peut absolument servir de lien de communication et de coin- 147. ' ' ' nierce qu'entre les seuls citoyens de cette nation. Alors, en efi'et, aucune des causes qui font obstacle soit a la propriety, soit a l'empire des mers, ne trouve ici son application. Mais du moment que plusieurs Etats differents possedent des cotes autour de cette mer, aucun d'eux ne peut s'en dire propri^taire ni souverain a l'exclusion des autres. Sir Travers Twiss writes to the same effect: nd If a sea is entirely inclosed by the terri mJ5 other communication with the ocean tha e' nation may take possession, it appears that such a sea is capable of being occupied and becoming property than the lai it ought to follow the fate of the country that surrounds it. So Halleck says: 21. It is generally adm and whether we have ever recognis limit, or have ever protested agains "In reply, I have the honour to has uniformly, under every Admin to consider the subject, objected to to, upon the same ground and in similar terms to tnose containei the instruction of the Earl of Derhy. " We have understood and asserted that, pursuant to public 1 no nation can rightfully claim jurisdiction at sea beyond a mai league from the coast. "This opinion on our part has sometimes been said to be incon tent with the facts that, by the law of the United States, revenue | fcers are authorized to board vessels anywhere within 4 league; their coasts, and that by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, so° ca between the United States and Mexico, of the 2nd. February, 1 the boundary-line between the dominions of the parties begins in Gulf of Mexico, 3 leagues from land." And he proceeds to. explain these two instances as being exi tional. . . . (Wharton, "International Law," vol i, p. lOo.) CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Turkey, that sea might, with propriety, be considered as a mare clausum; and there seemed no reason to question the right of the Ottoman Porte to exclude other nations from navigating the passage which connects it with the Mediterranean, both shores of this passage being also portions of the Turkish territory. But when Turkey lost a part of her possessions bordering upon this sea, and Russia had formed her commercial establishments on the shores of the Euxine, both that Empire and other Maritime Powers became entitled to participate in the commerce of the Black Sea, and consequently to the free navigation of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. This right was expressly recognized by the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829. 22. The great inland lakes, and their navigable outlets, are considered as subject to the same rule as inland seas; where inclosed within the limits of a single State, they are regarded as belonging to the territory of that State; but if different nations occupy their e clausum cannot be applied to the navigation 151 The view expressed by the above authorities has been officially adopted by an accredited Bepresenta- tive of the United States, so that it is perhaps unnecessary to insist further upon it in this connection. On the 14th March, 1882, Mr. Hoffman wrote from the Legation of the United States at St. Petersburg to Mr. Frelinghuysen, Secretary of State, in a letter already quoted: In the time when Russia owned the whole of these islands her Rep- Mr. Hoflr resentatives in Siberia claimed that the Sea of Okhotsk wa, "'" clausum, for that Russian jurisdiction extended from island and over 2 marine leagues of intermediate sea from Japan to gres's, 2i Kamtchatka. But about five years ago Russia ceded the i islands to Japan in return for the half of tt which belonged to that Power. group of these £°- 10.6' P- ''. of Saghalien, *& nA^1 As 8 3 this the Siber ade And on the 27th March, 1882, he further wrote: I do not think that Russia claims that the Sea of Okhotsk is a mare Mr^offtaauto clausum, over which she has exclusive jurisdiction. If she does, her ^- ^"1 27- claim is not a tenable one, since the cession of part of the group of the 1882. 50th Con, Kurile Islands to Japan, if it ever were tenable at any time. gress, 2nd Sesa., Senate Ex. Doc. ANGELI No- 106, p' 2?X' vol6 ii, PPart II. Professor James B. Angell, one of the United States No"- Plenipotentiaries in the negotiation of the Fisheries Treaty at Washington in 1888, and an eminent jurist, in an article ^Appendix, entitled "American Bights in Behring Sea," in "The Forum" for November, 1889, wrote: ntha Can we sustain i ject to our control? It is, perhaps, 1 of a closed sea which the publicists 0 tel's closed sea is one "entirely inclof only a communication with the ocean 1 may take possession. Hautefeuille ment, asserting more specifically, ho- narrow enough to be defended from feuille's definition. But so narrow a the shores, shannel or oj CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. cated by the eminent French writer can hardly be insisted on. Probably, most authorities will regard it as a reasonable requirement that the entrance to the sea should be narrow enough to make the naval occupation of it easy or practicable. We, at least, may be ex- 152 pected to prescribe no definition which would make the Gulf of Behring Sea is not inclosed wholly by our territory. From the most western island in our possession to the nearest point on the Asiatic shore is more than 300 miles. From our most western island (Attou) to the nearest Russian island (Copper Island) is 183 miles. The sea from east to west measures about 1,100 miles, and from north to south fully 800 miles. The area of the sea must be at least two-thirds as great as that of the Mediterranean, and more than twice that of the North Sea. " The Straits of Gibraltar are less than 9 miles wide. The chief entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is entirely surrounded by British territory, is only about 50 miles in width. Behring Sea is open on the north by the straits, 36 miles wide, which form a passage way to the Arctic Ocean. On what grounds and after what modern precedent we could set up a claim to hold this great sea, with its wide approaches, as a mare clausum, "it is not easy to see. Dana, in a note to Wheaton's " Elements," says: ;h The only question now is, whether a given sea or sound is, in fact, r- as a matter of politico-physical geography, within the exclusive juris- c" diction of one nation. The claim of several nations, whose borders surround a large open sea, to combine and make it mare clausum against the rest of the world, cannot be admitted. The making of such a claim to the Baltic was the infirmity of the position taken up by the Armed Neutrality in 1780 and 1800, and in the Russian Declaration of War against England in 1807. • It is further claimed, on behalf of Great Britain— (F.) That from the acquisition of Alaska by the United States in 1867 down to the year 1886 no attempt was made by the United States to limit or interfere with the right of the subjects of Great Britain or of any other nation to navigate and fish in the non-territorial waters of Behring Sea. (G.) That the original ground upon which the vessel seized in 1886 and 1887 were condemned rested upon a claim to treat Behring Sea as mare clausum, and as having been conveyed as such, in part, by Bussia to the United States. That the contention of the United States has subsequently been rested upon a claim to exclusive jurisdiction over a space of 100 miles from the coast of the United States territory. That subsequently a further claim has been raised to an alleged special right of protection of or property in the fur seal. 153 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. ALLEGED BIGHT OF PBOTECTION. As to Point 5 of Article VI— • That, as regards the right claimed by the United States of protection of or property in fur seals when found outside the ordinary 3-mile limit, no property exists, or is known to international law in animals /era naturae until reduced into possession by capture, and no nation has any right to claim property in such animals when found outside territorial waters. The only right is to prevent the ships CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. and subjects of other nations from entering territorial waters for the purpose of capturing such animals. Upon analogous questions similar principles have t generally maintained and recognized. Thus, with reference to the right to search neutral vessels on the high seas—In 1804, during the war with France, Great Britain claimed to search neutral vessels on the high seas, and to seize her own subjects when found serving under a neutral flag. The position taken on this subject by the United States M^^dis was not only in opposition to such aright, but that country nary™"6' insisted that in no case did the sovereignty of any nation j^erT'po' extend beyond its own dominions and its own vessels on negations, °i the high seas. p-m A similar view has been adopted by all nations in relation to the Slave Trade. Although it cannot properly be argued that the taking of seals iu any manner whatever is comparable with the immorality or injustice attaching to the Slave Trade, yet, even in the case of vessels engaged in that trade, the rights of nations have not been allowed to be overruled on such pleas. Upon, this point legal authorities both in the United States and in Great Britain are quite clear. In 1816 a French vessel ("Le Louis") sailing from Mar- 18'1'6Le tinique, destined on a voyage to the coast of Africa and son's i back, was captured 10 or 12 leagues to the southward of ^ea' Cape Mesurada, by the "Queen Charlotte" cutter, and carried to Sierra Leone. She was proceeded against in the Vice-Admiralty Court of that colony. It was alleged that the vessel was fitted out for the purpose of carrying on the African Slave Trade, after that trade had been abolished by the internal laws of France, and by the Treaty between Great Britain and France. 154 The King's Advocate admitted the proposition to be true generally that the right of visitation and to search does not exist in time of peace, but denied it be so universally. Occasions, he argued, may and must arise, at a period when no hostilities exist, in which an exercise of this power would be justifiable. The rule of law could not be maintained as a universal proposition, but was subject to exceptions, and within those exceptions must be included the present transaction, which was a transgression, not only of municipal law, but likewise of the general law of nations. In whatever light the Slave Trade might have been viewed in former times, it must no longer be deemed within the protection of the law of CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. nations. Since the Declaration of the Congress of Vienna, that the Slave Trade was repugnant to the principles of humanity and of universal morality, traffic in slaves must be considered a crime, and it was the right and duty Of every nation to prevent the commission of crime. On the whole, he submitted that the "Le Louis," having been engaged in a traffic prohibited by the laws of her own country, and contrary to the general laws of humanity and justice, ought not to be restored to the claimant. Sir William Scott, afterwards Lord Stowell, in the British High Court of Admiralty, held, however, that trading in slaves was not a crime by universal law of nations. He observed: See Dodson's Neither this Court nor any other can carry its private apprehensions, AnlTrS 2^SaSe8' independent of law, into its public judgments on the quality of voi. 11, p.«». aotiou8 It must conform to the judgment of the law upon that subject; and acting as a Court in the administration of law, it can not attribute criminality to an act where the law imputes none. It must look to the legal standard of morality; and upon a question of this nature, that standard must be found in the law of nations as fixed and evidenced by general and ancient and admitted practice, by Treaties and by the general tenour ofthe laws and ordinances and the formal transactions of civilized States. Ibid, p. 252. jj t f Much stress is laid upon a solemn declaration of very emi nent persons assembled in Congress, whose rank, high as it is, is by no means the most respectable foundation of the weight of their opinion that this traffic is contrary to all religion and morality. Great as the reverence due to such authorities may be, they can not I think be admitted to have the force of overruling the established course of the general law of nations. See nodson'si55 It is next said that every country has a right to enforce its 7oUi,rp 252.aS6S' own navigation laws; and so it certainly has, so far as it does not interfere with tbe rights of others. But it'has no right, in consequence, to visit and search all the apparent vessels of other countries on the high seas. Ibid., p. 256. j^. js sfflriffl and with just concern, that if not permitted in time of peace it will be extremely difficult to suppress the Traffic. It will be so, and no man can deny that the suppression, however desirable, and however sought, is attended with enormous difficulties; difficulties which have baffled the most zealous endeavours for many years. To every man it must have been evident that without a general andsincere concurrence of all the maritime States, in the principle and in the proper modes of pursuing it, comparatively but little of positive good could be acquired; so far at least, as the interests of the victims of this commerce were concerned in it;' and to every man who looks to the rival claims of these States, to their established habits of trade, to their real or pretended wants, to their different modes of thinking, and to their real mode of acting upon this particular subject, it must be equally evident that such a concurrence was matter of very difficult attainment. But the difficulty of the attainment will not legalize measures that are otherwise illegal. To press forward to a great principle by breaking through every other great principle that stands in the way of its establishment; to force the way to the liberation of Africa by trampling on the independence of other States in Europe; in short, to procure an eminent good by means that are unlawful; is as little consonant to private morality as to public justice. Obtain the concurrence of other nations, if you can by application, by remonstrance, by example, by every peaceable instrument which man can employ to attract the consent of man. But a nation is not justified in CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. assuming rights that do not belong to her, merely because she means to apply them to a laudable purpose; nor in setting- out upon amoral crusade of converting other nations by acts of unlawful force Nor is it to be argued that because other nations approve the ultimate purpose, they must, therefore submit to every measure which any one In accordance with this view of the law, the Judgment of the Vice-Admiralty Court of Sierra Leone, condemning the French ship for being employed in the Slave Trade and for forcibly resisting the search of the King of England's " cruizers, was reversed. The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States •in the case of the "Antelope" is to the same effect. There 6e Chief Justice Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court, holding that the Slave Trade,- though contrary to the law of nature, was not in conflict with the law of nations: 156 No principle of general law is moi than the perfect equality of nations equal rights. It results from this equal fully impose a rule on another. Each legislates for itself, but its legislation can operate on itself alone. A right, then, which is vested in all by the consent of all, can b<r devested only by consent; and this trade, in which all have participated, must remain lawful to those who can not be induced to relinquish it. As no nation can prescribe a rule for others, none can make a law of nations; and this traffic remains lawful to those whose governments have not forbidden it. If it is consistent with the law of nations, it can not in itself be piracy. It can be made so only by statute; and the obligation of the statute can not transcend the legislative power of the state which may piracy, it is bringing in If it be n t the right c prohibited the trade, can not exist. T no country executo the penal laws of another, and the c American government on thb subject of visitation and sc decide any case in which that right had been exercised by cruizer, on the vessel of a foreign nation, not violating oi laws, against tho captors. It follows, that a foreign vessel engaged in the African and brought in for adjudication, would be restored. The subject is fully discussed in Mr. Dana's note No. 108 te to Wheaton's International Law (p. 258), where it is said of 8t Chief Justice Marshall, in Church versus Hubbart, 2^ Cranch, 187: It is true, that Chief Justic to secure itself against inte irshall a ethec nitted the right of a nation ich, he said, nations must sxact extent of which was irt, the 4 leaj lust n vbe . It may be said that the cipal seizures can not be made, for any ters. It ia also settled that the limit ce of treaty, the marine league or the )e successfully maintained, either that y be made beyond the territorial waters CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. for special purposes, or that there are different bounds of that territory for different objects. But, as the line of territorial-waters, if not fixed, is dependent on the unsettled range of artillery fire, and, if fixed, must be by an arbitrary measure, the. courts, in the earlier 157 cases were not strict as to standards of distance, where no foreign Powers intervened in the causes. In later times, it is safe to infer that judicial as well as political tribunals will insist on one line of marine territorial jurisdiction for the exercise of force on foreign vessels, in time of peace, for all purposes alike. PRESIDENT TYLER. It is an axiom of international maritime law that such action is only admissible in the case of piracy or in pursuance of special international agreement. This principle has been universally admitted by jurists, and was very distinctly laid down by President Tyler in his Special Message to Congress, dated the 27th February, 1843, when,- ' after acknowledging the right to detain and search a vessel on suspicion of piracy, he goes on to say: With this single exception, no nation has, in time of peace, any authority to detain the ships of another upon the high seas, on any pretext whatever, outside the territorial jurisdiction. ARTICLE VII. )N OF REGULATIONS POSTPONED. Great Britain maintains, in the light of the facts and arguments which have been adduced on the points included in the Vlth Article of the Treaty, that her concurrence is necessary to the establishment of any Begulations which limit or control the rights of British subjects to exercise their right of the pursuit and capture of seals in the non- territorial waters of Behring Sea. The further consideration of any proposed Begulations, and of the evidence proper to be considered by the Tribunal in connection therewith, must of necessity be for the present postponed. 158 CHAPTER X. Becapitulation of Argument. The-following are the propositions of law and fact which, it is maintained on behalf of Great Britain, have been established in the foregoing Case: 1. The sea now known as Behring Sea is an open sea, free to the vessels of all nations, and the right of all nations to navigate and fish in the waters of Behring Sea, other than the territorial waters thereof, is a natural right. 2. Bo assertion of jurisdiction by Russia, the United States, or any other nation could limit or restrict the right of all nations to the free use of the open sea for navigation or fishing. 3. At no time prior to the Treaty of the 30th March, 1867, did Bussia possess any exclusive jurisdiction in the non- territorial waters of the sea now known as Behring Sea. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 4. At no time prior to the said cession did Bussia assert or exercise any exclusive rights in the seal fisheries in the non-territorial Avaters of the sea now known as Behring Sea. 5. The attempt by Bussia in the year 1821 to restrict the freedom of navigation and fishing by the subjects of other nations than Bussia in the non-territorial waters of Behring Sea was immediately and effectually resisted by Great Britain and the United States of America." 6. The claims of Bussia to limit and interfere with the rights of navigation and fishing by other nations in the waters of Behring Sea, other than the territorial waters thereof, were never recognized or conceded bv Great Britain. 7. The protests raised and the objections taken by Great Britain to the claims of Bussia to limit such free right of navigation and fishing were acquiesced in by Bussia; and no attempt was ever made by Bussia to again assert 159 or enforce any such supposed right to exclude or limit the rights of other nations to navigate or fish in the waters of the sea now known as Behring Sea, other than the territorial waters thereof. 8. The assertion of rights by Bussia in the year 1821, and her ineffectual attempt to limit the rights of navigation and fishing, was inoperative and had no effect upon the rights of other nations. 9. The body of water now known as the Behring Sea was included in the phrase " Pacific Ocean," as used in the Treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and Bussia. 10. From the year 1824 down to 1886 the vessels of Great Britain have continuously, and without interruption or interference, exercised the rights of navigation and fishing in the waters of Behring Sea other than the territorial waters thereof. 11. The right of all nations to navigate and fish in the waters of Behring Sea', other than the territorial waters thereof, have been repeatedly recognized and admitted both by Bussia aud by the United States of America. 12. Whatever territorial rights passed to the United States under and by virtue of the Treaty of the 30th March, 1867, Bussia had not the right to transmit, and the United • States did not acquire, any jurisdiction over or rights in the seal fisheries in any part of the sea now known as Behring Sea, other than in the territorial waters thereof. 13. The Treaty of Cession of the 30th March, 1867, did not convey anythingmorethan ordinary territorial dominion. 14. From the acquisition of Alaska by the United States in 1867 down to the year 1886, no attempt was made by the United States to assert or exercise any right to limit or interfere with the right of Great Britain, or of any other nation, to navigate and fish in the waters of Behring Sea other than the territorial waters. 160 « 15. The sole right of the United States in respect of the protection of seals is that incident to territorial possession, including the right to prevent the subjects of other nations from entering upon land belonging to the United States, or the territorial waters thereof, so CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. - as to prevent their capturing seals or any other animals or fish either on such lands or in such territorial waters. 16. The United States have not, nor has any subject of the United States, any property in fur-seals until they have been reduced into possession by capture, and the property so acquired endures so long only as they are retained in'control. 17. Fur seals are animals ferae natural, and the United States has no right of protection or property in fur seals when found outside the ordinary 3-mile limit, whether such seals frequent the islands of the United States in Behring Sea or not. 18. The right of the subjects of all nations to navigate and fish in the non-territorial waters of the sea now known as Behring Sea remains and exists free and unfettered, and cannot be limited or interfered with except with the concurrence of any nations affected. 19. No regulations affecting British subjects can be established for the protection and preservation of the fur seal in the non-territorial waters of Behring Sea without the concurrence of Great Britain. CONCLUSION. It is submitted on behalf of Great Britain to the Tribunal of Arbitration, that the questions raised in this arbitration are of far greater importance than the mere preservation of a particular industry; they involve the.right of every nation of the world to navigate on and fish in the high seas, and to exercise without interference the common rights of the human race; they involve the question of the right of one nation by Proclamation to limit and interfere with rights which are the common heritage of all mankind. In defence of these rights and in the interests of all civilized nations, the above arguments are respectfully urged upon the consideration of the Tribunal. SCHEDULE OF CLAIMS. The schedule annexed to this Case contains particulars in connection with the claims presented under Article VIII of the Treaty of Arbitration, and the facts and evidence contained in the Schedule are submitted to the consideration of the Tribunal for the purposes stated at p. 12 of this Case. f INDEX TO BRITISH CASE. rpr. a of f Aleutia Angell, Profess "Anna Beck," "Antelope," cs , o United States in 186 debates in Congress o report on fisheries of, in 1889 Archipelago, description of, by C r United Sta • 17, 1821, map of Behring Sea Bara loff, Go Rate ,Mr. J Baya rd, Mr. Re.hr ng' exl Rehr ngSea SeaT* cupati Henrie tta' f Al ask ^■Gove^n^t:::::;:::::::' orthP tcifi description of frequented by imperfectly su included in No rveyed rthPa for fishi ng rific byUkis se of 1821 line of demarc ition ii 1, Mr., on marine league limit on United States' jurisdiction. toMr. Phelps, April 19, 1872.. t part of the Pacific a is not included in the Pacific d, 1891. Claim of property interest on.in Alaskan waters 126 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. C. <-- Canning, Mr. G., to Duke of Wellington, September 27,1822 41 to Sir C. Bagot, July 24, 1824 45 to Mr.S. Canning, December 8,1824 4o Canning, Mr. S., to Lord Londonderry, February 19, 1822 62 to Mr. G. Canning, March 1, 1825 56 April 3, 1825 56 "Carolena," seizure of 1 Case, arrangement of » Census of.Russian settlements in 1819 32 Cession of Alaska, debates on, in Congress 99 rights acquired by United States 91 Charts of Behring Sea and North Pacific 73 Claim of property, a novel one 135 Closed seas (see Mare clausum). Conclusions to Chapter 1 36 VIII 140 Conclusion 161 Congress, debates in, on cession of Alaska 99 on rights of the United States S 123 Contentions of Great Britain, summary of 142-144,152 of United States since 1886 121 Contra bonos mores, pelagic sealing said to be 130 Convention between United States and Russia, 1824 52 Great Britain and Russia, 1825 53 and United States of 1892 2 Cook, Captain, discoveries of, in North Pacific 15 voyages of 15 "Corwin," report of cruise of, in 1885 119 Cuba, position taken by United States as to 142 Dallas, Mr., on rights of trade on Northwest Coast.. Damages, schedule of claims for Dana, Mr., note to Wheaton's "Elements" Speech by D'Ancona, Mr., letter from, March 12, 1881 Davis, Mr., on Russian claims in 1824 Demarcation, line of, in Behring Sea , Discoveries in North Pacific "Eliza," seizure of the Elliott, Mr. H. W., includes Behring Sea in the Pacific Etholen, reports on whalers in Behring Sea Europa, case of Exclusive jurisdiction, first assertion of, by Russia Falkland Islands, case of the "Harriet" seal fisheries of Ferae natiirm, animals can not be property Ferriss, Mr., on cession of Alaska Fish, Mr., to Sir E. Thornton, January 22, 1875, asserts marine "league to be limit of jurisdiction if 1824.. Foreigners, competition of, with Russian-American Compa Forsyth, Mr., on case ofthe "Loriot," November 3,1837.... "Forum," article in, by Professor Angell French, Mr., letter to Mr. d'Ancona, March 12, 1881 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 127 eference 1 use of to, as t 'Pacific aBehr ' and |JP Istcoast"::::::::;::;:;:;;;;;; aemoir b n Aleuti ,n Arcbi pefagc ean.... t Halifax Fisheries Comm Hall,Mr.W.E.,onUkas Halleck, on closed seas . Hanna, Captai "Ha; eof.. 136 118 is and trade in North Pacific, 1728-1799 14-22 1800-1820 29-32 1821-1867 77-88 Hoffman, Mr., correspondence with Mr. Frelinghuysen in 1882 151 toM.deGiers, May 8,1882 71 Sea of Okhotsk not a mareclausum 114 Hudson Bay Company informed of Ukase of 1821 63 c Ocean and Northwest Coast . La Perouse, voyages of " Le Louis," seizure of Londonderry, Lord, to Count Liev "Loriot," case of Lutz, Lieutenant, instruct] Lyall, Mr., to Mr. G. Cann Lynde and Hough correspc ary 18, 1822 . to November 19,1823 Manning, Mr. D., on United States jurisdiction in Alaska in 1886.. Map sent by Sir C. Bagot ,V^;" Mare clausum, doctrine of, disavowed by Mr. Blame various authorities on Ukase of 1821 based on Marine league limit, authorities on Mr. Boutwell on Marshall, Chief Justice, on case of the " Antelope " Meares, voyages of Memoir by Greenhow on Pacific Ocean, etc Memorial'by Mr. Middleton, December 17,1823 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Middleton, Mr., to Mr. Adai memorial by, December 17,1823 paper-submitted to Count Nesselrode by, April -ft-, 1824 . to Mr. Adams, April 7,1824 Modus virendi of 1891 Monroe, President, to Mr. Madison, August 2,1824 Nesselrode, Count, memorandum by, November ££, 1822 on case of "Loriot," February 23, 1838.. to Count Lieven, June 26, 1823 Nicolay, Baron, on " Northwest Coast," October 31, 1821 " North American Review," article by Mr. Adams Northwest Coast, meaning of trading vessels on passage, expeditions in search of O. Okhotsk, Sea of, questions between United States and Rusf subject to Ukase of 1821 whaling in " Onward," seizure of Ortolan, " Diplomatic de la Mer" on mare clausum : Outline of argument Pacific Ocean, extends to Behrir Russian interpretation of use of term by Baron Nicolay "Pearl," seizure of Pelikan, Mr., notice issued by Peters, Mr., on cession of Alaska Petroff, Mr. Ivan, report of Phelps, Mr., to Mr. Boutwell, March 25, 1872 .... Phillimore, Sir R., on rights of Russia Poletica, M., to Mr. Adams, February 28, 1822 ... April 2, 1822.. „ .... Portlock and Dixon, discoveries of Property claim involves mare clausum of United States novel . interest, claim of in fur seal Proposals for international agreement Protection, alleged right of Protest of United States against Ukase of 1821.. <*• "Quarterly Review," article in on Northwest Coa Regulations, consideration of, postponed Revenue cruisers, instructions to, in 1886 Revised Statutes of United States, section 1956, made to include Bering Sea.. Right of search on high seas Rights of United States, discussion on, in Congress passing to United States on cession of Alaska Robben Island Russia, abandonment of claim to exclusive jurisdiction action of, 1867-1886 does not claim jurisdiction outside 3-mile limit territorial claims of, in 1818 and 1821 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 129 competition bet^ Ukase of 1821 ... ion of Pacific Oce 'Sayward," opinion of Supreme Court in casoof 133 Schedule of claims for damages 161 Seal fisheries, freedom of, asserted hy United S fates 136 hunting in Bering Sea in 1872 110 Islands, lease of 104 Seals, increased slaughter of, after cession 103 prohibition of killing, in 1868 103 Search, right of, on high seas 153 Seizures of British vessels in Behrin"- Sea 1,121-123 views of Mr. Blaine on ..... 130 Shelikof, colonies established by ; 22 Sitka, destruction of 29 United States brief at court of 149 Slave trade, case of " Le Louis " 154 Stowell, Lord, judgment of, in case of "LeLouis" 154 Sumner, Mr. C, on cession of Alaska 34,100 T. "Thornton," case ofthe 1,127 Territorial jurisdiction, object of Ukase of 1821 to extend 39 said to extend for 100 miles 133 Trading and explorations, 1821-1836 77-79 Treaty between Great Britain and Russia, 1825 • 47,53 of cession discussed 94 text of 91 between United States and Russia, 1824 52 made navigation free 52 text of 52 Twiss, Sir Travers, on closed seas 150 Tyler, President, on detention of vessels on the high seas 157 IT. Ukase of 1799, circumstances leading up to 22 considered 27 not notified to foreign Governments ^J purely domestic - 25, -.8 textof "J and 1821, areas affected by n>. 1821 based on doctrine of mare clausum 1° leading to treaties of 1824 and 182c oi never enforced y protest against, by Great Britain *« UnitedStatcs - g purpose of 27 text of o0 Unalaska abandoned by Baranoff * United States, action of, 1867-1886 -.---. .------ -----; ™6 asserted no extraordinary jurisdiction previous to 1886 119 authorities include Behring Sea in the Pacific 69 contentions since 1886---.. Jjg; officials, instructions to ._ protest against Ukase of 1821 ' » industry in north Pacific «•> . Ex. 177, pt. 4 (J ]30 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. User of waters up to 1821 . Van Buren, President, on case of the VatteL on inland seas Walrus, hunting of Washburn, Mr., on cession of Alaska Washington Territory, memorial from Waters, no special mention of dominion over, in treaty of ce Wellington, Duke of, to Count Nesselrode, October 17,1822. Mr G. Canning, November 28, 1822 . Count Lieven, November 28,1822.... West, Sir L., protest by, against seizures Whalers, regulations for, in Sea of Okhotsk Russia did not claim right to exclude sometimes hunt seals Whaling fleet in North Pacific about 1850 from 1867-1880 value of eaitch industry, statistics of Wharton, Mr., on Ukase of 1821 Wheaton, on freedom of high seas Williams, Mr., on cession of Alaska Woolsey, Dr., ou Russian claims on present dispute SCHEDULE OF CLAIMS. SEIZURE OF SHIPS IK BEHRING SEA. op Claims for Compensation from the Unitf.d States account of the seizures of british canadian seale: 5ea doring the Yeahs 1886, 1887, and 1889. " Carolena " 1 "Thornton" 6 I Onward " 10 "Favourite" 15 " W. P. Say ward " 17 "Grace" 20 "Anna Beck" 24 " Dolphin " 28 "Alfred Adams" 32 "Ada" 34 '•' Triumph" 36 "Juanita" 38 "Pathfinder". 40 "Triumph" 45 "Black Diamond" .".. 48 "Lily" 50 "Ariel" 52 "Kate" 54 "Minnie" 56 " Pathfinder " 57 " Carolena."—Seieed by United State n-ship " Corwin," August 1 n claim as put forward byownei. «—•—— f i 3»t $4,000.00 3,002.89 352.50 1,832.22 71.72 100. 00 Two affidavit Do. Do! Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. 8 of J. D. (Varren, &c. lsumable) . sss date of seiz s r release 1,250.00 27.526.33 3,213. 32 b value consum trr. fullv oyage...- by owner, with 24,313.01 134 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 2 DECLARATION OF JAMES DOUGLAS WARREN. City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada. I, James Douglas Warren, of the city of Victoria, in the Province of British Columbia, of the Dominion of Canada, mariner and ship-owner, solemnly aud sincerely declare as follows: 1. That I am the duly authorized agent of William Munsle, of the city of Victoria aforesaid, the owner of the hereinafter-mentioned schooner "Carolena." 2. That the said schooner " Carolena " is a British vessel, registered at the port of Victoria aforesaid, of about 32 tons burden, builder's measurement, and that in A. D. 1884 the " Carolena" was rebuilt and lengthened about 15 feet by a section built amidships, and put in first-class order and condition. In A. D. 1885 the said " Carolena" was valued for insurance by the Union Insurance Company at4,000 dollars, and in A. D. 1886 the Californian Insurance Company placed the same value, namely, 4,000 dollars, upon her for a like purpose. I am informed by the said William Munsle, and believe that since the rebuilding and enlargement of the " Carolena,?' she has not been reregistered at the port of Victoria aforesaid, nor at any other port, and that consequently her actual tonnage is greater than appears by the official record, or the register of the Thatc tth north latitude 5 > 75 miles from rily believe, lawfi May,, 1. D. 1886, the said " Caro- ,aftei having b eeu duly cleared ister,« ind oue Ja mes Blake mate, on a £ shing and hunting voyage year 188 6, while in said ', wes b longitud land, an< e 168° 53', then 1 while, as I am nrsuii ig the obj jets of said voy- Ah i Ui ed St£ That r of th ala ndher id the ppedc i United States authorities, stripped of her outfit and running-gear, the seal-skins on board taken out, the captain, James Ogilvie, and the mate, James Blake, placed under arrest and sent to Sitka, in said Territory of Alaska, and the crew sent to the city of San Francisco. * 6. That upon arrival at Sitka the captain and the mate of the " Carolena " were formally charged with having violated the laws of the United States of America respecting seal-fishing in the waters of Alaska, but before the day fixed for the hearing and trial of said charge Captain Ogilvie disappeared, and was afterwards found dead in or about the neighbourhood of Sitka. The mate, James Blake, was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to pay a fine of 300 dollars and be imprisoned at Sitka for thirty days, and which imprisonment he, James Blake, suffered. 7. That hereto annexed, marked (A), is a Statement of the articles comprising the outfit of the schooner " Carolena" on her departure on said voyage, and all of which I verily believe were on board the " Carolena" at the time of her seizure, excepting only what had been con^ sumed in the ordinary course ofthe voyage, together with the value of said articles, also ofthe amount of premiums paid for insurance on the hull, outfit, and cargo ofthe said " Carolena " for the said voyage; also of the amount of wages paid to the crew and hunters on board the "Carolena" up to the time of such seizure; also of the expenses of the CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 135 mate and part of the crew iu returning to the city of Victoria from Ounalaska aud Sitka, and also a Statement of the number of seal-skins on board the "Carolena" at the time of said seizure, and the value thereof 8. The Exhibit (B) hereto annexed is a Statement of the catch of thirteen sealing-vessels in and about the Behring Sea during so much of the season of A. d. 1886 as they were in Behring Sea. The Statement is taken from the Beport of the Inspector of Fisheries for the Province of British Columbia for the year 1886, as contained in the Beport of the Department of Fisheries for Canada at pp. 248 and 249, and I verily say, from personal knowledge of the facts, that the said Statement is substantial, true, and correct. The schooners " Carolena," meaning the "Carolena" herein mentioned, and "Thornton" and "Onward," were seized on the 1st and 2nd August in 1886, aud their voyages thus broken up; the schooners "Mary Taylor," "Mountain Chief," "Bustler," and "Kate" not having been in Behring Sea during the season of 1886, the catch of these above-named schooners are not included in estimating the average catch in Behring Sea for that year. On account of the seizures made on the 1st and 2nd August as aforesaid, and of the schooner "Favourite" being ordered out of the sea by the Commander of the said | Corwin," the thirteen vessels mentioned in Exhibit (B), with one or two exceptions, left Behring Sea, or the best sealing-grounds therein, long before the close of the sealing • season, and thus the average catch as found in Exhibit (B) is fully, as I verily believe, 500 skins less than it would have been had they all remained till the end of the season. 9. That hereto annexed, marked (C), is a Statement of the legal expenses incurred at Sitka and elsewhere by reason of the seizure of the " Carolena," and the arrest of her captain and mate as aforesaid, and also of the personal expenses connected therewith. 10. That hereto annexed, marked (D), is a Statement of the damages claimed by the owner of the " Carolena" by reason of her said seizure and detention during the years 1886, 1887, aud 1888, based upon the average catch of seal-skins per vessel as found by Exhibit (B). 3 11. The price per skin charged in Exhibits (A) and (D), namely, 7 dollars, was the market price at Victoria aforesaid at the close of the season of 1886, and was the price which, in the ordinary course of events, would have been realized for said seal-skins had not such seizure taken place. 12. That hereto annexed, marked (E), is an estimate of the principal sums on which interest is claimed, from the 1st day of October, A. d. 1886, on or about which date the catch of the "Carolena" would have been realized on had she not been seized, and also for the actual outlay by her owner.prior to that date, arising by reason of the seizure and detention of the "Carolena," the arrest of the captain and mate, and the expenses of the mate and crew in returning to Victoria from Ounalaska and Sitka. 13. That during the month of October, A. d. 1886, and ever since that time, the minimum rate of interest on money for commercial purposes at the city of Victoria aforesaid was and now is 7 per cent, per annum. 14. That hereto annexed, marked (F), is a Statement of the items of the outfit of the "Carolena" when on said voyage and the value thereof, which would have been wholly consumed in the ordinary prosecution - of a full season's hunting and fishing voyage. 15. The prices charged for the articles and groups of articles m Exhibit (A), comprising the outfit of the "Carolena," are the market 136 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. prices of the said articles and groups of articles at Victoria at the time of their purchase for the purposes of said voyage. 16. That as to the item, "Cash on board and unaccounted for, 600 dollars," charged in Exhibit (A), I am informed by the said William Munsle, and do verily bebeve, that the said sum of 500 dollars was placed on board the "Carolena" at the time of her departure from Victoria as aforesaid, intrusted to the master, James Ogilvie, for use in cases of emergency or unforeseen expenditures, and I verily believe that said sum of 500 dollars was on board the "Carolena" at the time of her seizure; but owing to the death of Captain Ogilvie at Sitka, it was not known by the said owner what became of the said sum of 500 dollars. 17. That at the time ot the seizure of the " Carolena" she was in good order and condition, having been thoroughly overhauled before starting out on said voyage, and not having sustained any damage beyond ordinary wear and tear during said voyage up to the time of her seizure. 18. That the value placed on the "Carolena," namely, 4,000 dollars, is a fair and reasonable, valuation of the said schooner, and from my personal knowledge of the "Carolena," and the value of vessels of her class at Victoria, I verily believe that she could not be replaced by a vessel in all respects as good and as well adapted to the purposes for which she was used for a.less sum than 4,000 dollars. 19. That ou or about the 13th dav of July last past I was at Ounalaska aforesaid, and saw and was on board of the said schooner " Carolena." She was then lying anchored in the harbor at Ounalaska, stripped of all her outfit and running gear. Her standing rigging was much weather-beaten, her iron work much rusted, her deck seams in a bad state, and I verily believe, from the condition in which the " Cajo- lena" then was, and in view of the fact that she must remain so exposed until least next May (A. D. 1888), it will cost at least 4,000 dollars to put her in as good repair and condition as when seized and return her to Victoria. To be taken to Victoria under ordinary circumstances would alone cost between 2,500 and 3,000 dollars. 20. That the "Carolena" at the time of her seizure was insured in the California Insurance Company for the sum of 2,500 dollars on her hull, and in the sum of 1,000 dollars on her outfit and cargo. * 21. That the estimated loss of 5,000 dollars for each of the years 1887 and 1888 by reason of the seizure and detention of the " Carolena " as aforesaid is based upon an average catch of 2,380 seal-skins for each of the said years, at 5 J dollars per skin, which was the market value per skin at Victoria at the close of the season of 1887, after deducting therefrom the cost of outfit and wages, based on the " Carolena's" voyage of A. d. 1886. And 1, James Douglas Warren, aforesaid, make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of I The Act respecting Extra-judicial Oaths." J. D. Warren. Declared and affirmed before me at the city of Ottawa, in tho county of Carleton, in the Province of Ontario, this 28th day of November, A. d. 1887, and certified under my official seal. W. D. Hogg, Notary Public for Ontario. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 137 4 Exhibit (A). Value of the schooner "Carolena" at the time of seizure $4 000 00 Outfit: ' Groceries $598! 60 - Ammuuition 173° 34. Six short guns .."!.".."."'.!.".'.'." 300.00 Five rifles 130.00 Gun implements and tools 17.29 Dry goods 71. 37 Ship chandlery 376.83 Water-casks 12.00 Chronometer 160.00 Four canoes and outfit; 248.50 Onehoat 100.00 Salt 81.00 Coal and wood for fuel 37.62 Cooking stove and utensils 79.00 Miscellaneous 42.34 Cash on hoard and unaccounted for 500.00 Two sextants 75.00 Insurance premium and survey fee on 2,500 dollars on hull and 1,000 dollars on outfit and cargo..... 352.50 Wages paid to hunters and crews for voyage up to time of seizure. $1, 832.22 Part of crew having been sent to San Francisco by United States. Passage-money and expenses of mate, James Blake, from Sitka to Victoria after release from prison 100.00 2,003.94 686 seal-skins on board the "Carolena" when seized, and not returned, at 7 dollars per skin 4,802.00 Total, Exhibit (A) 14,161.33 Number of seal-skins taken by e< 1886 in and about the Behring of the season, fearing capture Vessel. feaTsbk?n3°.|i seal-skins. 2,'325 2! 465 Doiphi?aildy "..".' Anna, Beck Say ward 1,587 JFavo £ Diamond!!!.!! of Santiago".!! || Aetl 32 381 - Legal expenses at Sitka in connection with the Counsel and other legal fees and expenses in a " Carolena," and tho claims arising thereu 500 dollars .------ Personal expenses other than the above in the 250.00 1,500.00 138 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 5 Exhibit (D). Average catch of seals 2,381 Less on. board at seizure, and charged in Exhibit (A) 689 Balance at 7 dollars per skin . • 1,695=$11,865.00 1888 , ' ? 5,000.00 10,000.00 Total of Exhibit (D) 21,865.00 Exhibit (E). Exhibit (F). Groceries $598.60 Ammunition 173.34 Dry goods 7L 37 Ship chandlery 37c' 03 Salt ..-"..."-'""."."_""": 8L00 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. No. 2. <■■"—Seized by United States steam-ship "Corwin," August 1, 1886. g AolSn?as0f Evidence in support of claim. Value of vessel, 78 tons Value of outfit (unconsumable) Wages paidto aato of seizure to" crew! &c!!!!!.'.'! Passage-money of crew from San Francisco to Victoria. and mate after release,"Sitka to Victoria?1' ™ Estimated catch! of seals for" 1886 !."!!.".".'!!!!!!!!!! $6, 000. 00 2,941.64 591.43 1,370.00 177.16 Do! Do. Do. Do. Do. Deduct value consumed on a full voyage us Claim by owner, with interest at 7 per cent, to date of payment. 26,817.65 1 DECLARATION OF JAMES DOUGLAS WARREN. City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada. I, James Douglas Warren, of the city of Victoria, in the Province of British Columbia, of the Dominion of Canada, mariner and ship-owner, do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows: 1. That I am a British subject by birth. 2. That I was sole owner of the British steam-schooner |j Thornton," 78 tons burden by builder's measurement, registered at the port of Vic-' toria aforesaid, before and at the time of her seizure hereinafter set out by the United States steam-ship | Corwin." 3. That the said steam-schooner "Thornton" was rebuilt by me in A. D. 18S7,* at a cost of 3,500 dollars, aiyl in A. d. 1880 and A. d. 1881 was fitted up with steam-propelling power at an additional cost of 3,000 dollars. Her bottom and sides of above light water line were coppered and copper fastened. 4. That on or about the 16th day of May, -1886, the said steam- schooner " Thornton" was regularly cleared at the port of Victoria aforesaid for a full season of about four months' fishing and hunting in the North Pacific Ocean and Behring Sea, and that on or about the 27th day of said month of May the " Thornton" finally sailed from Clayoquot Sound, on the south-west of Vancouver Island, on said fishing and hunting voyage. 5. The master of the "Thornton" on and for said voyage was one Hans Guttormsen, of the said city of Victoria, and the mate one Harry Norman, of the same place, and a. crew of thirteen men. .G. That on the 1st day of August, A. D. 1886, while in Behring Sea in north latitude 55° 45' and Avest longitude 168° 44', lawfully, as I verily believe, pursuing the objects of said voyage, the said steam- schooner "Thornton" was seized by the United States steam-ship "Corwin," and by the " Corwin" taken to Ounalaska, in the United States Territory of Alaska, and her voyage was broken up. 7. That on arrival at Ounalaska the said "Thornton" was, by order of the United States authorities, stripped of her outfit and running *Qy. 1877. 140 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. gear, the seal-skins then on board taken out, the captain and mate made prisoners and sent to Sitka, in said Territory of Alaska, where, after trial, they were fined, the captain in the sum of 500 dollars, and the mate in the sum of 300 dollars, and eachimpri The remainder of the crew, with only two exce; Ui 3 auth or thirty da ;re sent by i by a steal belonging to the Alaska Commercial Company. 8. That I am informed by Captain Guttormsen that immediately upon the arrival at Ounalaska of the " Corwin" with the "Thornton," he (the captain) entered his solemn protest against the seizure of his vessel and her outfit and the seal-skins then on board. 9. That on or about the 13th day of July of the present year I was at Ounalaska, and saw the said steam-schooner "Thornton," and 7 found her in a very bad condition. She was lying on her bilge on a gravel beach, partially embedded, and exposed to all weathers, and was consequently greatly depreciated in value since her seizure. Her copper is much chafed, her deck seams are opened, through which water had leaked upon the steam-boiler, engine, and machinery, all of which are well nigh ruined. She cannot be brought away from Ounalaska without repairs involving great expense, and not at all before next summer can this be done. I verily believe, from the inspection I then made, that it would cost over 6,000 dollars to take the " Thornton" from Ounalaska to Victoria aforesaid, the nearest port at which the repairs could be made, and put her in as good order and condition as she was in when seized. 10. That at the time of her seizure the "Thornton" was in good repair and condition and perfectly seaworthy, excepting only that her mainmast-head had been carried* away during the voyage she then 11. That for and during the said voyage the "Thornton" was insured by Lloyd's underwriters in the sum of 1,200/. on the hull and machinery, and in the sum of 1,000/. on the outfit and cargo. 12. That hereto annexed, marked (A), is a detailed Statement of the outfit of the "Thornton" for the voyage on which she was seized as above set out, and all of which, excepting only what had been con- ibc toi The paid id 1 by me for insurance upon the hull, machinery, outfi " Thornton" during the said voyage, and also for w the hunters and crew of the said "Thornton" of said voyage "for the time of said voyage up to the said seizure. Also a statement of the sums paid by me for passage-money of the crew from San Francisco to Victoria, and passage-money and expenses of the captain and mate at and from Sitka after their release to Victoria aforesaid. 13. That also in said Statement (A) are charged 403 seal-skins taken from the "Thornton" at the time of seizure, and which, so appears from the Beport of the officers of the United States steam-ship "Corwin " submitted to the Couit at Sitka on the trial of the said captain and mate of the " Thornton," and the price there charged, namely 7 dollars per skin, was the market value per skin at Victoria aforesaid, on or about the 1st October, A. D. 1886, when the said skins, had not such seizure taken place, would have been placed on the market at Victoria. 14. That the value placed upon the various articles and groups of articles in the outfit mentioned in Exhibit (A) is the actual cost of the said articles at the city of Victoria aforesaid at the time of their purchase in the spring of 1886. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 141 15. That hereto annexed, marked (B), is a Statement showing the number of seal-skins taken by each one of the thirteen sealing-schooners in and about Behring's Sea during the season of 1886. The said Statement is based upon the Beport of the Inspector of Fisheries for the Province of British Columbia for the year 1886, as contained in the Beport of the Minister of Marine and Fisheries for Canada for said year at pp. 248 and 249. The schooners "Carolena," "Onward," and said steam-schooner "Thornton" were seized on the 1st and 2nd August of said year when the sealing season was not half over, and the schooners "Mary Taylor," "Mountain Chief," "Bustler," and "Kate" were not in Behring Sea»during the season of 1886, so that in calculating the average cateh for the Behring Sea fleet, the catch of the seven above-mentioned schooners was not included. With one or two exceptions the thirteen sealing-schooners, mentioned in Exhibit.(B), left Behring Sea, or the best fishing grounds therein, long before the end of the said season, as their masters feared seizure by the United States authorities, and the said average catch, so found by Exhibit (B), is therefore fully 500 less than it otherwise would 1 16. That! ids d, marked (C), i mses paid and incurred by m( .mount of my personal expeus Statement of the amount t Sitk'a and elsewhere, and 17. That hereto : estimated loss incu reason of the said e tion of the seal-skh up of the said seali during the id i repai oft jfa ton" estimated loss for nes mates of the losses incurr* tion of the said " Thorntoi and reasonable estimates, i id i idei Sta tement showing the he t aid "Thornton," by if t ie seizure and deten- mto n," and the breaking ate. d loss incurred by me n-re lease of the " Thorn- >lal e to put the "Thorn- ext year's business, the elie ve that the said esti- of t he seizure and deten- i, 1> 587, and 1888, are fair anc ver the actual losses rs i or each of the years etei ition of the " Thorn- eal- skins valued at 5 dol. for the present season. )St ( if outfit and amount Thornton's " voyage 18. That the estimated loss of 5,000 dolla 1887 and 1888, by reason of the seizure and d ton," is based upon an average catch of 2,380 s 50 c. per skin, the market value at Victoria deducting from the gross value thereof the c< of the wages of hunters and crew, based on t! of A. D. 1886. . 19. That during and since the year 1886 7 per cent, per annum was, and now is, the minimum rate at which money for ordinary commercial purposes could be obtained at the city of Victoria aforesaid, and that hereto annexed, marked (E), is an estimate of the principal sums on which interest is claimed at the rate of 7 per cent, per annum, and the time for which it is so claimed. And I, James Douglas Warren aforesaid, make this solemn 8 declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of " The Act respecting Extra-judicial Oaths." (Signed) J. D. Warren. Declared and affirmed before me at the city of Ottawa, in the county of Carleton, this 25th day of November, A. D. 1887, and certified under my official seal. [seal.] (Signed) D. B. MacTavish^ Notary Public 142 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. • Exhibit (j $ Z. 000.00 Dry goods Water casks. ..f- , $533.37 340.26 49.88 50.00 278.64 81.45 307.18 248.00 •_ 125.96 23.20 612.70 25.00 90.00 126.00 50.00 1.941.64 591.43 Total outfit 1Z.48 -.-- 492.83 1,370.00 *?^§i?~^ .tl.me.0f8!l!l"6'.at 2,821.00 4,568.16 Total (Signed) D. B . MacTavish, Notary Pi tblic. Exhibit ( B). Number of seals taken by the following thirteen s 'Ming schooners during the year 1886 in n leaving the sea before the end of the Pathfinder Mary Ellen ~S . of Seals. . 1,766 . 4,256 . 2,625 . 3,325 . 1,760 . 2,465 . 2,275 . 1,620 . 1,587 . 2,601 . 1,400 . 2,550 . 2,725 . 30,955 . 2,381 tblic. Favourite Silvia Handy Dolphin Anna Beck Say ward (Signed) D. B . MacTavish. Notary P CASE OF GREAT BRITA1K. Exhibit (C). $500.00 750.00 Grand total, Exhibit (C) 2 150.00 (Signed) D. B. MacTavish, Notary Public. Exhibit (D). Damages arising from the seizure and detention of the " Thornton," based upon the average catch of seal-skins per season as given in Statement (B), season of 1886. No. Estimated average catch 2,381 . Less 403 skins on board the "Thornton" at the time of seizure, and charged in Statement (A) 403 Balance, at 7 dollars per skin 1, 978 =$13,846.00 Reasonable and probable profit "Thornton" would have earned in 1887 for owner 5,000.00 In view of fact that "Thornton" cannot be made available for next year's operations, reasonable and probable profit for 1888 5, 000.00 Total amount, Exhibit (D) 23,846.00 (Signed) • D. B. MacTavish, Notary Public, Value of "Thornton" ■ $6,000.00 Value of "Thornton's" outfit 3, 533.07 Wages of crew and hunters 1,370.00 Passage-money and expenses of officers and crew in returning to Victoria 377.16 403 seal-skins, at 7 dollars.., 2,821.00 Total, Exhibit(A) $14,101.23 Personal expenses of owner 1, 000.00 Legal expenses 1,250.00 Total, Exhibit (C) 2,250.00 Balance on estimated seal catch for 1886 13,846.00 Estimated loss to-owner by detention of the " Thornton" during 1887 5,000.00 Estimated loss on same grounds for 1888 5,000.00 . Total, Exhibit(D) 23,846.00 Total amount of claim 40,197.23 Memorandum.—-If the owner of the "Thornton" is indemnified for balance of estimated seal catch for the year 1886, there should be deducted from the total claim the sum of 3,379 dol. 58 c. included in Exhibit (A) for outfit, which would necessarily have been consumed in the prosecution of the voyage, and including the sum of 1,370 dollars paid in wages, as per Exhibit (F). (Signed) D. B. MacTavish, Notary Public - a „_ 10 Exhibit (E). Estimate of the principal sums on which interest at 7 per cent, per annum is claimed, and the time for which interest is so claimed. • Value of "Thornton's" estimated full catch for 1886 at 7 dollars per skm, from the 1st October, 1886, v have been realized on A reason of theldznre before the 1st October, 1886 -hen the catch would $16,667.00 expenses incurred by 500.00 Total principal on which interest is claimed since th e 1st October, 1886, to Estimated value of the "Thornton" catch for 1887, less cost of outfit and would be realized on, to date of payment 5,000.00 (Signed) D. B. MacTavish, Notary Public. Exhibit (F). Details of items of "Thornton's" oihfi\^^i0§ the course of full sealing and Groceries $533.37 Ammunition 340.26 Dry goods 49.88 Ship chandlery 278. 64 Insurance premiums 591.43 Wages of crew and hunters 1, 370 0( J 6 tons salt 90. 00' 18 tons coal 126 00 Total value consumed T3797o8 (Signed) D. B. MacTavish, Notary Public. No. 3. " Onward."—Seized by United States steam-ship " Corwin," August S, 1886. For AoTaJmas0f ^ . t f } fbyown'ers" . Value of vessel, 94 tons Insurance".... .Un.0.°nSU!na. .'1.' Ij«f. f"'.^>£ j'.'. Estimated catch '.'.'.'.'. l! 778! 69 260.00 250!00 16! 667! 00 Do. Do. Do! Do. Do. C1a^p0a^ntWitl1 tatereSt a* 7 PM C6Dt-t0 'I:!!: 98 jjggj CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 145 11 DECLARATION OF JAMES DOUGLAS WARREN. City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada. I, James Douglas Warren, of the city of Victoria, in the Brovince of British Columbia, of the Dominion of Canada, master mariner and shipowner, do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows: 1. That I am the duly authorized agent of Charles Spring, merchant, of the said city of Victoria, and owner of the hereinafter-mentioned schooner " Onward." 2. That the said schooner " Onward | is a British vessel of about 94 tons burden, builder's measurement, and at the time of her seizure, as hereinafter set out, was, and now is, registered at the port of Victoria aforesaid. 3. that about the 10th day of June, A. d. 1886, the said schooner "Onward" sailed from the west coast of Vancouver Island,having previously cleared at the po'rt of Victoria aforesaid,.on and for a full- season hunting and fishing voyage' in the North Bacific Ocean and Behring Sea. 4. That on and for said voyage the crew of the " Onward" consisted of Daniel Monroe, of Victoria aforesaid, master; John Margotich, of the same place, mate; and twenty sailors and hunters; all of whom were on board the "Onward" at the time of her seizure hereinafter mentioned. 5. That on the morning of the 2nd August, a.d. 1886, while in said Behring Sea, in north latitude 54° 32' and west longitude 167° 55', and about 68 miles from Ounalaska Island, the nearest land, lawfully, as I verily believe, pursuing the objects of her said voyage, the "Onward" was seized by the United States steamship " Corwin,?'and taken in tow of said "Corwin" to Ounalaska, in the Territory of Alaska, of the United States of America, having then on board 400 seal-skins. 6. That upon the said "Corwin's" arrival at Ounalaska aforesaid with the said "Onward," the "Onward" was,by order of the United States authorities thereat, stripped of her sails and outfit, the skins on board taken out, her master, the said Daniel Monroe, and mate, the said John Margotich, placed under arrest, and her voyage completely broken up. 7. That the said master and mate, Daniel Monroe aud John.Margotich, were by the said United States authorities taken to Sitka, in the said Territory of Alaska, there to be tried on a charge of having violated the laws of the United States respecting seal fishing in the waters of Alaska. On arrival at Sitka the said master and mate were bound over to appear for trial on said charge, and were on or about the 1st of the month of September following so tried, found guilty, and sentenced—the master, Daniel Monroe, to pay a fine of 500 dollars, the mate, John Margotich, to pay a fine of 300 dollars, and each to be imprisoned for the space of thirty days, which imprisonment they suffered. 8. That hereto annexed, marked "(A)" is a statement of the articles comprising the outfit of the "Onward" at the time of her departure on said voyage, and the value thereof, all of which were on board the "Onward" at the time of her said seizure, excepting only what had been consumed in the ordinary course and prosecution of the voyage; also of the amount paid for insurance on said voyage, also the amount of wages paid the crew and hunters on said voyage, also the amount paid for fares and expenses of the master and mate in returning to Victoria from Sitka after their release, and also of the number and S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 10 146 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. value of the seal-skins on board the " Onward" at the time of her seizure, and which were taken from the "Onward" at Ounalaska by the United States authorities. 9. That the prices charged for the various articles and groups of articles comprising the outfit of the "Onward" on and for said voyage are the regular market prices of the said articles at Victoria aforesaid at the time of their purchase for use on said voyage. The price charged in said statement for the seal-skins, on board the "Onward" when seized, namely, 7 dollars per skin, was the market price per skin at Victoria aforesaid at the close of the sealing season of 1886, when the catch of the "Onward," had not such seizure taken place, would have been placed on the market. 10. That the value of the schooner "Onward," as given in Exhibit (A), namely, 4,000 dollars, is a fair and reasonable value for the said schooner at the time of her seizure; she was then, and had always been, kept in first-class order and condition, and was always a staunch, seaworthy vessel, and for the said voyage had been refitted with new sails and sailing gear. 11. That hereto annexed, marked " (B)" is a statement of the catch of thirteen sealing vessels,in and about Behring Sea " 18 of Fishe the du ring the season c f 1 886 iS in no Behring Sea t included in (B), witl for Exh 18i ibi yo t (I tlK 12 the end which hf ,rl b« he se ali t<h fei ring.to rem ain les ie^ de parture from the sa ds ea th 3 close of th asc n, l^s found in Exhi 3it ( B) Uf ,m it would have Deer h ad th issels ed in Exhibit left Behring Sea long before 86, because of the seizures States steam-ship "Corwin," i seized; by reason of such ling ground therein, before the idly ied the les 3 lega! said sea. 12. That hereto annexed, marked "(C)," is a stateme expenses incurred at Sitka aud elsewhere by reason of tl of the "Onward," the arrest and imprisonment of the said master and mate, and the claims arising therefrom, and also of the personal expenses of the said owner and said agent in the same connection. 13. That the Exhibit (D), hereto annexed, is a statement of the estimated loss and damage resulting to the owner of the " Onward " by reason of her seizure and detention in A. d. 18S6, A. D. 1887, and A. d. 1888. The estimated loss for the year 1886 is based upon the average catch per vessel, as found in Exhibit (B), less the number of skins on board the " Onward" when seized, the balance being valued at 7 dollars per skin, the price per skin at Victoria at the close of the season 18S6 The claim for A. d. 1887 and A..D. 1888 is based upon the same average catch a,s for A. D. 1886, valued at 5 dol. 50 c. per skin, which was the CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 147 market-value per skin at Victoria aforesaid at the close of the season 1887, after deducting therefrom the cost of outfit and wages of crew and hunters for each year, based on the "Onward's" said voyage of A. d. 1886. The said claim of 5,000 dollars for each of said years A. d. 1887 and A. d. 1888 is a fair and reasonable estimate of the earnings of the "Onward" in hunting and fishing for the said years. 14. That Exhibit (E), hereto annexed, is a statement of the principal sums on which interest at 7 per cent, per annum is claimed, and the time for which said interest is so claimed. At the time when the catch of the " Onward" for 1586 would have,in the ordinary course of events, been realized on, namely, on or about the 1st October in said year, the minimum rate of interest on money for commercial purposes was, has since continued to be, and now is, 7 per cent, per annum. 15. That hereto annexed, marked "(F)," is a statement of the articles, and the value thereof, as given in Exhibit (A)of the "Onward's" outfit on said voyage of 1886, includinginsurance premiums and wages, which would necessarily be wholly, or almost wholly, consumed in the course of a-full season's hunting and fishing, such as contemplated by the "Onward" in 1886. 16. That on the 13th day of July last past I was at Ounalaska aforesaid, and was then on board ofthe said schooner "Onward." She was then lying side-to on a gravel beach, in the harbour-of Ounalaska, partially embedded in the gravel, and generally in a very bad condition. Her standing rigging was much weather-beaten, also her deck and side- seams were in a very bad state, the long exposure and severe frosts of the previous winter having broken out the pitch, and, judging from their appearance, they were very leaky. From what I then saw of the condition of the " Onward," I verily believe that she could not be floated and put in a fit state for sea without extensive repairs, which at Ounalaska, where there is neither the requisite workmen nor material, would involve very large expenditure, and that to float the said | Onward," take her to Victoria aforesaid, the nearest port where the requisite facilities exist, and where she could be repaired and refitted • at least cost, and there repair and refit her, would cost at least 4,500 dollars. And I, Douglas Warren aforesaid, make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of "The Act respecting Extra-Judicial Oaths." (Signed) J. D. Warren. Declared and affirmed before me at the city of Ottawa, in the County of Carleton, iu the Frovince of Ontario, this 9th day of December, A. d. 1887, and certified under my official seal. (Signed) D. O'Connor, Notary Public for Ontario. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Exhibit (A). Salt .. Coal.. Cookin 1,778.6 Wages paid to hunters and crew for voyage" "!""".".*."
The Act respecting Extra-Judicial Oaths.
aud conveyed to the United States steam-ship
The Act respecting Extra Judicial Oaths.
have resigned the pure and heartfelt joy which it gave me for the treasures of the world.
of penetrating Behring Straits was blasted
the longest way about was the nearest way home.
It is therefore decreed by the Directing Senate that His Imperial Majesty
M. de Boletica, in reply, declares himself
his second captain, Tchiricoff (in 1741), pushed his discoveries to the 49th degree of north latitude,
the first Chart of these countries was published in 1758.
Bolitical Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain,
the culpable enterprises of foreign adventurers,
Where is the man, like yonder sun, who never dies?
Historical Review of the Formation of the Russian- American Company, and Their Proceedings up to the Present Time
."."".""II I 1,483 285 723 467 188 3,252 On the Fox '(rli's'v)" Islands.".'! HI III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH.il'.. II....'..! II... On the Seal Islands (Aleuts) MNER, OF MASSACUl sd States in 1867. 124-189. H. R. Ex. Doc. 177 Mr. Bresddent : You have just listened to the reading of the Treaty by which Bussia cedes to the United States all her possessions on the North American Continent iu consideration of 7,200,000 dollars, to be paid by the United States. Ou the oue side is the cession of a vast country with its jurisdiction and its resources of all kinds, on the other side is the purchase-money. Such is this transaction on its face. BOUNDARIES AND CONFIGURATION. In endeavouring to estimate its character I am glad to begin with what is clear and beyond question. I refer to the boundaries fixed by the Treaty. Commencing at the parallel of 54° 40' north latitude, so famous in our history, the line ascends Bortland Channel to the mountains, which it follows on their summits to the point of intersection with the 141° west longitude, wh Ocean, or, if you please, to the UsTor ary, separating this region from the British possession srn bound- and it is r 270 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. borrowed from the Treaty between Bussia and Great Bri ain in 1825, establishing the relations between these two Bowers on th 8 continent. from the Frozen Ocean, the western boundary descends Beh midway between the two islands of Krusenstern and Eatm bl E*i \ Asia approach each other the nearest; and from this pour the Island of St. Lawrence and Cape Chonkotski, to the merica and it proceeds meridian of • 172° west longitude, and thence, in a south-westerly direct ing Behring Sea, midway between the Island of Attou ou t on, travers- lie east, and I°eav?ng S^roCgSl^p of toe AkTtiin" sland^Mhe poTsfssions Look a whose est the authc nated area is more to he south, it takes a ma Includii I speak itkan Ar< id, fr( peak of the then along I the Frozen « ng, to Mount St. Blias, the highest when it turns with an elbow to the west, and .-aits northerly, when it rounds to the east along ere are upwards of 4,000 statute miles of coast, bays and commodious harbours without number, la of Alaska, one of the most remarkable in the idth and 300 miles in length: piled with moun tains, many islands whi abl theh nels ( the world; studded with ked by that hes far away Asia. This narrow Aleutian range which, starting from Alaska, sti to Japan, as if America were extending a friendly ham is the most general aspect. There are details specially disclosing i itime advantages and approaches to the sea, which properly belon this preliminary sketch. According to accurate estimates the cc line, including bays and islands, is not less than 11,270 miles. In Aleutian range, besides innumerable islets and rocks, there are not than fifty-five islands exceeding 3 miles in length; there are se exceeding 40 miles, with Ounimak, which is 1 miles. In our part of Behring Sea there are the largest of which is St. Lawrence, being j Add to all these the group south ofthe Beninsula of Alaska, including the Shumagins and the magnificent Island of Kodiak, and then the Sitkan group, being archipelago added to archipelago, and the whole together constituting the geographical complement to the West Indies, so that toe north west of the continent answers archipelago for archi- ■gest, exceeding 73 nsiderable islands, pe ) the south-east. DISCOVERY OF RUSSIAN AMERICA BY BEHRING, UNDER INSTRUCTIONS FROM PETER THE GREAT. The title of Bussia to all these possessions is derived from prior discovery, which is the admitted title by which all European Bowers have held in North and South America, unless we except what England 44 acquired by conquest from France, but here the title of France was derived from prior discovery. Bussia, shut up in a distant APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 271 interior, and struggling with barbarism, was scarcely known to the other Bowers at the time they were lifting their flags in the Western Hemisphere. At a later day the same powerful geuius which made her known as an Empire set in motion the enterprise by which these pos-" sessions were opened to her dominion. Beter the Great, himself a shipbuilder and a reformer, who had worked in the shipyards of England and Holland, was curious to know if Asia and America were separated by the sea, or if they constituted one undivided body with different names, like Europe and Asia. To obtain this information he wrote with his own hand the following instructions, and ordered his Chief Admiral to see them carried into execution: One or two boats with, decks to be built at Kamtschatka, or at any other convenient place, with, which inquiry should be made in relation to the northerly coasts, to seewhether they were not contiguous with America, since their end was not known; and this done, they should see whether they could not somewhere find a harbour belonging to Europeans or an European ship. They should likewise set apart some men who should inquire after the name and situation of the coasts, discovered. Of all this an exact journalshouldbe kept, with which they should return to St. Peters- burgh. (Mailer's " Voyages from Asia to America," by Jeffreys, p. 45.) The Czar died in the winter of 1725, but the Empress Catharine, faithful to the desires of her husband, did not allow this work to be neglected. Vitus Behring, a Dane by birth, and a navigator of some experience, was made Commander. The place of embarkation was on the other side ofthe Asiatic Continent. Taking with him officers and ship-builders, the navigator left St. Betersburgh by land on the 5th February, 1725, and commenced the preliminary journey across Siberia, Northern Asia, and the Sea of Okhotsk to the coast of Kamtchatka, which they reached after infinite hardships and delays, sometimes with dogs for horses, and sometimes supporting life by eating leather .bags, straps, and shoes. More than three years were passed in this toilsome and perilous journey to the place of embarkation. At last, on the 20th July, 1728, the party . was able to set sail in a small vessel called the "Gabriel," and described as "like the packet-boats used in the Baltic." Steering in a north-easterly direction, Behring passed a large island, which he called St. Lawrence, from the saint on-whose day it was seen. This island, which is included in the present cession, may be considered as the first point in Bussian discovery, as it is also the first outpost of the North American Continent. Continuing northward, and hugging the 'Asiatic coast, Behring turned back only when he thought he had reached the northeastern extremity of Asia, and was satisfied that the two continents were separated from each other. He did not penetrate further north than 67° 30'. In his voyage Behring was struck by the absence of such great and high waves as in other places are common to the open sea, and he observed fir trees swimming in the water, although they were unknown on the Asiatic coast. Belations of inhabitants, in harmony with these indications, pointed to " a country at no great distance toward the east." His work was still incomplete, and the navigator before returning home put. forth again for this discovery, but without success. By another dreary land journey he made his way back to St. Betersburgh in March 1730, after an absence of five years. Something was accomplished for Bussian discovery, aud his own fame was engraved on the Maps of the world. The straits through which he sailed now bear his name, as also does the expanse of sea which he traversed on his way to the straits. Tbe spirit of discovery continued at St. Betersburgh. A Cossack Chief undertaking to conquer the obstinate natives on the north-eastern coast, proposed also "to discover the pretended country on the Frozen 272 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Sea." He was killed by an arrow before his enterprise was completed. Little is known of toe result, but it is stated that the navigator whom he had selected, byname Gwosdew, iul730 succeed edinreachinga"strange coast" between 65° and 66° of north latitude, where he saw people, but could not speak with them for want of an interpreter. This must have been the coast of North America, and not far from the group of islands in Behring Straits, through which the present boundary passes, separating the United States from Bussia, and America from Asia. The desire of the Bussian Government to get behind the curtain increased. Behring volunteered to undertake the discoveries that remained to be made. He was created a Commodore, and his old Lieutenants were created Captains. The Senate, the Admiralty, aud the Academy of Sciences at St. Betersburgh all united in the enterprise. Several. Academicians were appointed to report on the natural history of the coasts visited, among whom was Steller the naturalist, said to be " immortal" from this association. All of these, with a numerous body of officers, journeyed across Siberia, Northern Asia, and the Sea of Okhotsk, to Kamtchatka, as Behring had journeyed before. Though ordered in 1732, the expedition was not able to leave the western coast until the 4th June, 1741, when two well-appointed ships set sail in company "to discover the Continent of America." One of these, called the "St. Baul," was under Commodore Behring; the other, called the "St. Beter," was under Captain Tschirikow. For some time the two kept together, but in a violent storm and fog they were separated, when each continued the expedition alone. Behring first saw the Continent of North America on the 18th July, 1741, in latitude 58° 28'. Looking at it from a distance, "the 45 country had terrible high mountains that were covered with edge-tools of copper, with "store of red salmon." Here also several birds, unknown in Siberia, were noticed by the faithful Steller, among which was the blue jay, of a peculiar species, now called by his name. Steering northward, Behring found himself constrained by the elbow in toe coast to turn westward, and then in a southerly direction. Hugging the shore, his voyage was constantly arrested by islands without number, among which he zigzagged to find his way; several times he landed. On one of these occasions he saw natives, who wore "upper garments of whale's guts, breeches of seal-skins, caps of the skins of sea-lions, adorned with various feathers, especially those of hawks." These "Americans," as they are called, were fishermen, without bows and arrows. They regaled the Bussians with "whale's flesh," but declined strong drink. One of them, on receiving a cup of brandy, "spit it out again as soon as he tasted it, and cried aloud, as if complaining to his countrymen how ill he had been used." This was on one ofthe Shumagin Islands, near the southern coast of the Beninsula of Alaska. Meanwhile, the other solitary ship proceeding on its way, had sighted the same coast on the 15th July, 1741, in the latitude of 56°. Anchoring at some distance from the steep and rocky cliffs before him, Tschirikow sent his mate with toe long boat and ten of his best men, provided with small-arms and a brass cannon, to inquire into the nature of the country and to obtain fresh water. The long boat disappeared in a small wooded bay, and was never seen again. Thinking it might have been APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 273 damaged in landing, the Captain sent his boatswain with the small boat and carpenters well armed to furnish necessary assistance. The small boat disappeared also, and was never seen again. At the same time great smoke was observed continually ascending from the shore. Shortly afterwards two boats filled with natives sallied forth and lay at some distance from the vessel, when, crying "Agai, Agai," they put back to the shore. Sorrowfully the Bussian navigator turned away, not knowing the fate of his comrades, and unable to help them. This was not far from Sitka. Such was the first discovery of these north-western coasts, and such are the first recorded glimpses of the aboriginal inhabitants. The two navigators had different fortunes. Tschirikow, deprived of his boats, and therefore unable to land, hurried home. Adverse winds and storms interfered. He supplied himself with fresh water only by distilling the ocean or pressing rain from the sails. But at last on the 9th October he reached Kamtchatka, with his ship's company of seventy diminished to forty-nine. During this time Behring was driven, like Ulysses, on the uncertain waves. A single tempest raged for seventeen days, so that AndrewHos- selberg, the ancient pilot, who had known the sea for fifty years, declared that he had seen nothing like it in his life. Scurvy came with its disheartening horrors. The Commodore himself was a sufferer. Bigging broke; cables snapped; anchors were lost. At last the tempest-tossed vessel was cast upon a desert island, then without a name, where the Commodore, sheltered in a ditch and half covered with sand as a protection against cold, died on the 8th December, 1741. His body after his decease was "scraped out ofthe ground" and. buried on this island, which is called by his name, and constitutes an outpost of the Asiatic Continent. Thus the Bussian navigator, after the discovery of America, died in Asia. Bussia, by the recent demarcation, does not fail to retain his last resting-place among her possessions. TITLE OF RUSSIA. For some time after these expeditions, by which Bussia achieved the palm of discovery, Imperial enterprise slumbered in those seas. The knowledge already acquired was continued and confirmed only by private individuals, who were led there in quest of furs. In 1745 the Aleutian Islands were discovered by an adventurer in search of sea- otters. In successive voyages all these islands were visited for similar purposes. Among these was Ounalaska, the principal of the group of Fox Islands, constituting a continuation of the Aleutian Islands, whose inhabitants and productions were minutely described. In 1768 private enterprise was superseded by an expedition ordered by the Empress Catharine, which, leaving Kamtchatka, explored this whole archipelago and the Beninsula of Alaska, which to the islanders stood for the whole continent. Shortly afterwards all these discoveries, beginning with those of Behring and Tschirikow, were verified by the great English navigator Captain Cook. In 1778 he sailed along the north-western coast, "near where Tschirikow anchored in 1741;" then again in sight of mountains "wholly covered with snow from the highest summit down to the sea-coast," "with the summit of.au elevated mountain above the horizon," which he supposed to be the Mount St. Elias of Behring; then by the very anchorage of Behring; then among the islands through which Behring zigzagged, and along the coast by the Island of St. Lawrence until arrested by ice. If any S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 18 274 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. doubt existed with regard to Bussian discoveries it was removed by the authentic Beport of this navigator, who shed such a flood of light upon the geography of this region. Such from the beginning is the title of Bussia, dating at least from 1741. The coast of British Columbia, next below, was discovered by Vancouver in 1790, and that of Oregon, still further down, by Gray, who, sailing from Boston in 1789, entered the Columbia Biver 46 in 1790, so that the title of Bussia is the earliest on the northwestern coast. I have not stopped to quote volume aud page, but I beg to be understood as following approved authorities, and I refer especially to the Bussian work of Miiller, already cited, on the "Voyages from Asia to America;" the volume of Coxe on "Bussian Discoveries," with its supplement on the "Comparative View of Bus- sian Discoveries;" the volume of Sir John Barrow, on "Arctic Voyages;" Burney's " Bussian and North-eastern Voyages;" and the third voyage of Captain Cook, unhappily interrupted by his tragical death from the natives of the Sandwich Islands, but not until after his exploration of this coast. There were at least four other Bussian expeditions by which this title was confirmed, if it needed any confirmation. The first was ordered by the Empress Catharine in 1785. It was under the command of Commodore Billings, an Englishman in the service of Bussia, and was narrated from the original papers by Martin Sauer, Secretary of the expedition. In the instructions from the Admiralty at St. Betersburgh the Commodore was directed to take possession of " such coasts and islands as he shall first discover, whether inhabited or not, that cannot be disputed, and are not yet subject to any European Bower, with consent of the inhabitants, if any," and this was to be accomplished by setting up "posts marked with the Arms of Bussia, with letters indicating the time of sovereignty, a short account of the people, their voluntary submission to the Bussian sovereignty, and that this was done under the glorious reign of the great Catharine II." (Billings' " Northern Bussia," Appendix.) The next was in 1803, in the interest of the Bussian-American Company. There were two ships, one under the command of Captain Lisiansky, and the other of Captain Krusenstern, of the Bussian navy. It was the first voyage round the world by the Bussian Government, and lasted three years. During its progress these ships visited separately toe north-west coast of America, and especially Sitka and the Island, of Kodiak. Still another enterprise organized by the celebrated Minister Count Bomanzoff, at his expense, left Bussia iu 1815, under the command of Lieutenant Kotzebue, an officer of the Bussian navy, and son of the German dramatist whose assassination darkened the return of the son from his long voyage. It is enough for the present to say of this expedition that it has left its honourable traces on the coast even as far as the Frozen Ocean. There remains toe enterprise of Liitke, at the time-Captain, and afterwards Admiral, in the Bussian navy, which was a voyage round the world, embracing especially the Bussian possessions, commenced in 1826, and described in French with instructive fulness. With him sailed the German naturalist Kittlitz, who has done so much to illustrate the natural history of this region. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 275 A FRENCH ASPIRATION ON THIS COAST. So little was the Bussian title recognized for some time that when the unfortunate expedition of La Berorise, with the frigates "Boussole" and "Astrolabe," stopped on this coast in 1787, he did not hesitate to consider the friendly harbour, in latitude 58° 36', where he was moored, as open to permanent occupation. Describing this harbour, which he named " Bort des Fraucais," as sheltered behind a breakwater of rocks, with a calm sea, and with a mouth sufficiently large, he says that Nature seemed to have created at this extremity of the world a port like that of Toulon, but vaster in plan and accommodation; and then, considering . that it had never been discovered before, that it was situated 33 leagues north-west of Bemedios, the limit of Spanish navigation, about 284 leagues from Nootka, aud 100 leagues from Brince William Sound, the mariner records his judgment that "if theFrench Government had any- project of a factory on this coast, no nation could have the slightest right to oppose it."—(La Berouse, "Voyage," Tom. 2, p. 147.) Thus quietly was Bussia dislodged. The frigates sailed further ou their voyage, and never returned to France. Their fate was unknown, uutil, after fruitless search and the lapse of a generation, their shipwrecked hulls were accidentally found on a desert island of the Southern Bacific. The unfinished journal of La Berouse recording his visit to this coast had been sent overland by way of Kamtchatka and Siberia to France, where it was published by a Decree of the National Assembly, thus making known his supposed discovery and his aspiration. EARLY SPANISH CLAIM. Spain also has been a claimant. In 1775 Bodega, a Spanish navigator, seeking new opportunities to plant the Spanish flag, reached the parallel of 58° on this coast, not far from Sitka, but this supposed discovery was not followed by any immediate assertion of dominion. The uuiversal aspiration of Spain had embraced this whole region even at an early day, and shortly after the return of Bodega another enterprise was equipped to verify the larger claim, being nothing less than the original title as discoverer of the straits between America and Asia, and of the conterminous continent under the name of Anian. This curious episode is not out of place in this brief history. It has two branches: one concerning early maps on which straits are represented between America and Asia under the name of Anian; the other concerning a pretended attempt by a Spanish navigator at an early day to find these straits. There can be no doubt that early maps exist with north-western straits marked " Anian." There are two iu the Congressional Library in atlases of the years 1717 and 1680; but these are of a date 47 comparatively modern. Engel, in his "Memoires G^ograph- iques," mentions several earlier, which he believes to be genuine. There is one purporting to be by Zaltieri, and bearing date 1566, an authentic pen-and ink copy of which is now before me from the collection of our own Coast Survey. On this very interesting map, which is without latitude or longitude, the western coast of the continent is delineated with straits separating it from Asia not unlike the Behring Straits in outline and with the name in Italian " Stretto di Anian.' Southward the coast has a certain conformity with what is now known to exist. Below the straits is an indentation corresponding to Bristol Bay; then a peninsula somewhat broader than that of Alaska; then 6 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT nes the elbow of the coast; then lower dc like Sitka, Queen Charlotte, and Vancouver; s caching Hudson Bay in quest of a pas- id that he had found it, and proceeded to rd toe Straits of Anian; but this does nformity of the early delineation with of Anian, made by me, Captain Lorenzo Ferren Maldonado," purporting to be written at the time, although it did not see the light till 1781, when it was published in Spain, and shortly afterward became the subject of a memoir before the French Academy. If this early account of a north-west passage from the Atlantic to the Bacific were authentic the whole question would be settled, but recent geographers indignantly discarded it as a barefaced imposture. Clearly Spain once regarded it otherwise; for her Government in 1789 sent out an expedition "to discover the strait bv which Maldonado was supposed to have passed claim from jn its place REASONS FOR THIS CESSION BY RUSSIA, Turning from this question of title, which time and testimony have already settled, I meet the inquiry, Why does Bussia part with possessions thus associated with the reign of her greatest Emperor and filling an important chapter of geographical history ? On this head I have no information which is not open to others. But I do not forget that the first Napoleon in parting with Louisiana was controlled by three several considerations: first, he needed the purchase-money for his Treasury; secondly, he was unwilling to leave this distant unguarded territory a prey to Great Britain in the event of hostilities which seemed at hand; and thirdly, he was glad, according to his own remarkable language, " to establish for ever the power of the United States and give to England a history. Berhaps a similar record may be made hereafter with regard to the present cession. It is sometimes imagined that Bussia, with all her great Empire, is financially poor, so that these few millions may not be unimportant to her. It is by foreign loans that her railroads have been built and her wars have been aided. All, too, must see that in those "coming events," which now more than ever "cast their shadows- before," it will be for her advantage not to hold outlying possessions from which thus far she has obtained no income commensurate with the possible expense for tneir protection. Berhaps, like a wrestler, she now strips for the contest, which I trust sincerely may be averted. Besides* I cannot doubt that her enlightened Emperor, who has given pledges to civilization by an unsurpassed act of emancipation, would join the first Napoleon in a desire to enhance the maritime power of the United States. These general considerations are reinforced when we call to mind the little influence which Bussia has thus far been able to exercise in this APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 277 region. Though possessing dominion over it for more than a century this gigantic Power has not been more genial or productive there than the soil itself. Her Government there is little more than a name or a shadow. It is not even a skeleton. It is hardly visible. Its only representative is a Fur Company, to which has been added latterly an Ice Company. The immense country is without form and without light; without activity and without progress. Distant from the Imperial capital, and separated from the huge bulk of Bussian Empire, it does. not share the vitality of a common country. Its life is solitary and feeble. Its Settlements are only encampments or lodges. Its fisheries are only a petty perquisite, belonging to local or personal adventurers rather than to the commerce of nations. In these statements I follow the record. So little were these possessions regarded during the last century that they were scarcely recognized as a component part of the Empire. I have now before me an authentic map, published by the Aeademy of Sciences at St. Betersburgh in 1776, and reproduced at London in 1787, entitled "General Map of the Bussian Empire," where you will look in vain for Bussian America, unless we accept that link of the Aleutian chain nearest to Asia, which appears to have been incorporated under the Empress Anna at the same time with Siberia. (See Coxe's "Bussian Discoveries.") Alexander Humboldt, whose insight into geography was unerring, in his great work on "New Spain," published in 1811, after stating that he is able from official documents to give the position of the Bussian factories on the American Continent, says that they are " nothing but sheds and cabins employed as magazines of furs." He remarks 48 further that "the larger part of these small Bussian Colonies do not communicate with each other except by sea," and then, putting us on our guard not to expect too much from a name, he proceeds ' to say that "the new denomination of Russian America or Russian possessions on the new continent must not make us think that the coasts of Behring's Basin, the Beninsula of Alaska, or the country of Tchuktchi have become Russian provinces in the sense given to this word, when we speak of the Spanish Brovinces of Sonora or New Biscay." (Humboldt, "Essai Bolitique sur La Nouvelle-Espagne," Tom. I, pp. 344, 345.) Here is a distinction between the foothold of Spain in California and the foothold of Bussia in North America, which will at least illustrate the slender power ofthe latter in this region. In ceding possessions so little within the sphere of her Empire, embracing more than 100 nations or tribes, Bussia gives up no part of herself, and even if she did the considerable price paid, the alarm of war which begins to fill our ears, and the sentiments of friendship declared for the United States, would explain the transaction. THE NEGOTIATION, IN ITS ORIGIN AND COMPLETION. I am not able to say when the idea of this cession first took shape. I have heard, that it was as long ago as the Administration of Mr. Bolk. It is within my knowledge that the Bussian Government was sounded on the subject during the Administration of Mr. Buchanan. This was done through Mr. Gwin, at the time Senator of California, and Mr. Appleton, Assistant Secretary of State. For this purpose the former had more than one interview with toe Bussian Minister at Washington some time in December 1859, iu which, while professing to speak for the President unofficially, he represented "that Bussia was too far off to make the most of these possessions; and that as we are near, we can derive more from them." In reply to an inquiry of the Bussian Minister i summer of pected; but 278 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Mr Gwin said that "the United States could go as high as 5,000,000 dollars for the purchase," on which the former made no comment. Mr. Appleton, on another occasion, said to toe Minister that " the Bresident thought that the acquisition would be very profitable to the States ou the Bacific; that he was ready to follow it up, but wished to know in advance if Bussia was ready to cede; that if she were, he would confer with his Cabinet and influential Members of Congress." All this was . unofficial; but it was promptly communicated to the Bussian Govern- Gortschakow, in a despatch which reached here ear 1860, said that "the offer was not what might have about to inquire into the condition of these possessions, after which Bussia would be in a condition to treat." The Brince added for himself that "he was by no means satisfied personally that it would be for the interest of Bussia politically to alienate these possessions; thattheonly consideration which could make the scales incline that way would be the prospect of great financial advantages; but that the sum of 5,000,000 dollars does not seem in any way to represent the real value of these possessions," and he concluded by asking the Minister to tell Mr. Appleton and Senator Gwin that the sum offered was not considered "an equitable equivalent." The subject was submerged by the Presidential election which was approaching, and then by the rebellion. It will be observed that this attempt was at a time when politicians who believed in the perpetuity of slavery still had power. Mr. Buchanan was Bresident, and he employed as his intermediary a known sympa- beeu willing, it is doubtful if this controlling interest would have sanctioned anv acquisition too far north for slavery. Meanwhile, the rebellion was brought to an end, and peaceful enterprise was renewed, which on the Bacific coast was directed toward the Bussian possessions. Our people there, wishing new facilities to obtain fish, fur, and ice, sought toe intervention of the National Government. The Legislature of Washington Territory, in toe winter of 1866, adopted a Memorial to the Bresident of toe United States, entitled "in reference to the cod and other fisheries," as follows: that the Treasury Departn bib of this Puget Sound g-books as will enable oui toward to the Col- * licences, abstract abtainthe bounties Passed the House of Representatives, the 10th January, 1866. (Signed) Edward Eldridge, Speaker, House of Representatives. Passed the Council, the 13th January, 1866. (Signed) Harvey K. Hines, President of the Council, APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 279 This Memorial on its presentation to the President in February 1866 was referred to the Secretary of State, by whom it was communicated to M. de Stoeckl, the Bussian Minister, with remarks on the importance of some early and comprehensive arrangement between the two Bowers in order to prevent the growth of difficulties, especially from the fisheries in that region. Shortly afterwards another influence was felt. Mr. Cole, who had been recently elected to the Senate from California, acting in behalf of certain persons in that State, sought to obtain from the Bussian Government a license or franchise to gather furs in a portion of its American possessions. The Charter of the Bussian-American Company was about to expire. This Company had already underlet to the Hudson Bay Company all its franchise on the mainland between 54° 40' and Mount St. Elias; and now it was proposed that an American Company, holding direct from the Bussian Government, should be substituted for the latter. The mighty Hudson Bay Company, with its head-quarters in London, was to give way to an American Company, with its headquarters in California. Among the letters on this subject addressed to Mr. Cole, and now before me, is one dated at San Francisco, the 10th April, 1866, in which this scheme is developed as follows: There is at the present time a good chance to organize a Fur Trading Company to trade between the United States and the Russian possessions in America, and as the Charter formerly granted to the Hudson Bay Company has expired this would be the opportune moment to start in. I should think that by a little management this Charter could be obtained from the Russian Government for ourselves, as I do not think they are very willing to renew the Charter of the Hudson Bay Company, and I think they would give the preference to an American Company, especially if the Company should pay to the Russian Government 5 per cent, on the gross proceeds of their transactions, and also aid in civilizing and ameliorating the condition of the Indians by employing missionaries, if required by the Russian Government. For the faithful performance of the above we ask a Charter for tbe term of twenty-five years, to be renewed for the same length of time if the Russian Government finds the-Company deserving. The Charter to invest us with the right of trading in all the country between the British-American line and the Russian archipelago. Remember, we wish for the same Charter as was formerly granted to the Hudson Bay Company, and we offer in return more than they did. Another correspondent of Mr. Cole, under date of San Francisco, the 17th September, 1866, wrote as follows: I have talked with a man who has been on the coast and in the tradefor ten years past, and he says it is much more valuable than I have supposed, and I think it very important to obtain it if possible. The Bussian Minister at Washington, whom Mr. Cole saw repeatedly upon this subject, was not authorized to act, and the latter, after conference with the Department of State, was induced to address Mr. Clay, Minister of the United States at St. Betersburgh, who laid the application before the Bussian Government. This was an important step. A letter from Mr. Clay, dated at St. Petersburgh as late as the 1st February, 1867, makes the following revelation: The Russian Government has already ceded away its rights in Russian America for a term of years, and the Russo-American Company has also ceded the same to the Hudson Bay Company. This lease expires in June n—+ ■ Russo-American Company tells me that they have been Hudson Bay Company about a renewal of the lease for auumm uoi^ «* u„OUUJ-^.^ or thirty years. Until he receives a definite answer he cannot enter into negotia- iSffiSs SrSft -,,<, ™. Trn„T flnUfnT-nia. nnmnsmv. My opinion is that if he can get oft with i we can make some arrangements with 280 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Some time had elapsed since the original attempt of Mr. Gwin, also a Senator from California, and it is probable that the Bussian 50 Government had obtained information which enabled it to see its way more clearly* It will be remembered that Brince Gortscha- kow had promised an inquiry, and it is known that in 1861 Captain- Lieutenant Golowin, of the Bussian navy, made a detailed Beport on these possessions. Mr. Cole had the advantage of his predecessor. There is reason to believe, also, that the administration of toe Fur Company had not been entirely satisfactory, so that there were well-founded hesitations with regard to the renewal of its franchise. Meanwhile, in October 1866, M. de Stoeckl, who had long been the Bussian Minister at Washington, and enjoyed in a high degree the confidence of our Government, returned home on a leave of absence, promising his best exertions to promote good relations between the two countries. While he was at St. Betersburgh the applications from the United States were under consideration; but the Bussian Government was disinclined to any minor arrangement of the character proposed. Obviously something like a crisis was at hand with regard to these possessions. The existing government was not adequate. The franchises granted there were about to terminate. Something must be done. As M. de Stoeckl was leaving in February to return to his post the Archduke Constantine, the brother and chief adviser of the Emperor, handed-him a map with the lines in our Treaty marked upon it, and told him he might treat for this cession. The Minister arrived in Washington early in March. A negotiation was opened at once with our Government. Final instructions were received by the Atlantic cable from St. Betersburgh on the 29th March, and at 4 o'clock on the morning of the 30th March this important Treaty was signed by Mr. Seward on the part of the United States, and by M. de Stoeckl on the part of Bussia. Few Treaties have been conceived, initiated, prosecuted, and completed in so simple a manner without Brotocols or despatches. The whole negotiation will be seen in its result, unless we except two brief notes, which constitute all that passed between the negotiators. These have an interest general and special, and I conclude the history of this transaction by reading them: Washington, March 23,1867. Sir: With reference to the proposed Convention between our respective Governments, for a cession by Russia of her American territory to the United States, I have the honour to acquaint you that I must insist upon that clause in the 6th Article of the draft which declares the cession to be free and unincumbered by any reservations, privileges, franchises, grants, or possessions by any associated Companies, whether corporate or incorporate, Russian or any other, &c, and must regard it as an ultimatum. With the President's approval, however, I will add 200,000 dollars to the consideration money on that account. I avail, &c. m '» (Signed) William H. Seward. M. Edward de Stoeckl, &c. [Translation.] Washington, March 17 (29), 1867. I Mr. Secretary of State : I have the honour to inform vou that, by a telegram dated the 16th (28th) of this month from St. Petorsburgh, Prince Gortschakow informs me that His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias gives his consent to the cession of the Russian possessions on the American Continent to the United States for the stipulated sum of 7,200,000 dollars in gold, and that His Maiesty the Emperor invests me with full powers to negotiate and sign the Treaty. Please accept, &c. To Honourable William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States. (Signed) Stoeckl. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 281 THE TREATY. The treaty begins with the declaration that "the United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor of All the Bussias, being desirous of strengthening, if possible, the good understanding which exists between them," have appointed Blenipotentiaries, who have proceeded to sign Articles, Avherein it is stipulated on behalf of Bussia that "His Majesty the Emperor of All the Bussias agrees to cede to the United States by this Convention, immediately upon the exchange of the ratifications thereof, all the territory and dominion now possessed by His said Majesty on the Continent of America and in the adjacent islands, the same being contained within the geographical limits herein set forth;" and it is stipulated on behalf of the United States that, "in consideration of the cession aforesaid, the United States agree to pay at the Treasury in Washington, within ten months after the ratification of this Convention, to the Diplomatic Bepresentative or other Agent of His Majesty the Emperor of All the Bussias duly authorized to receive the same, 7,200,000 dollars in gold." The ratifications are to be exchanged within three months from the date of the Treaty, or sooner, if possible. Beyond the consideration founded on the desire of " strengthening the good understanding" between the two countries, there is the pecuniary consideration already mentioned, which underwent a 51 change in the progress of the negotiation. The sum of 7,000,000 dollars was originally agreed upon; but when it was understood that there was a Fur Company and also au Ice Company enjoying monopolies under the existing Government, it was thought best that these should be extinguished, in consideration of which our Government added 200,000 dollars to the purchase-money, and the Bussian Government in formal terms declared "the cession of territory and dominion to be free and unincumbered by any reservations, privileges, franchises, grants, or possessions, by any associated Companies, whether corporate or incorporate,.or by any parties, except merely private individual property-holders." Thus the United States receive this cession free of aU incumbrances, so far at least as Bussia is in a condition to make it. The Treaty proceeds to say that " the cession hereby made - conveys all the rights, franchises, and privileges now belonging to Bussia in the said territory or dominion and appurtenances thereto." In other words, Bussia conveys all that she has to convey. QUESTIONS ARISING UNDER THE TREATY. There are questions not unworthy of attention, which arise under the . Treaty between Bussia and Great Britain, fixing the eastern limits of these possessions, and conceding certain privileges to the latter Bower. By this Treaty, signed at St. Betersburgh on the 28th February, 1825, after fixing the boundaries between the Bussian and British possessions, it is provided that "for the space of ten years the vessels of the two Bowers, or those belonging to their respective subjects, shall mutually be at liberty to frequent, without any hindrance whatever, all the inland seas, gulfs, havens, and creeks on the coast for toe purpose of fishing and of trading with the natives;" and also that "for the space of ten years the port of Sitka or Novo-Archaugelsk shall be open to the commerce and vessels of British subjects." (Hertslet's " Commercial Treaties," vol. ii, p. 365.) 282 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. In the same Treaty it is also provided that "the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, from whatever quarter they may arrive, whether from the ocean or from the interior of the continent, shall for ever enjoy the right of navigating freely and without any hindrance whatever all the rivers and streams which, in their course toward the Bacific Ocean, may cross the line of demarcation." (Ibid.) Afterwards a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Bussia and Great Britain was signed at St. Petersburgh ou the 11th January, 1843, subject to be terminated on notice from either party at the expiration of ten years, in which it is provided that "in regard to commerce and navigation in the Bussian possessions on the north-west coast of America the Convention of the 28th February, 1825, continues in force." (Ibid., vol. vi, p. 767.) Then ensued the Crimean war between Bussia and Great Britain, effacing or suspending Treaties. Afterwards another Treaty of Commerce and Navigation was signed at St. Betersburgh on the 12th January, 1859, subject to be terminated on notice from either party at the expiration of ten years, which repeats the last provision. (Ibid., vol. x, p. 1063.) Thus we have three different stipulations on the part of Bussia: one opening seas, gulfs, and havens on the Bussian coast to British subjects for fishing and trading with the natives; the second making Sitka a free port to British subjects; and the third making British rivers which flow through the Bussian possessions, for ever free to British navigation. Do the United States succeed to these stipulations? Among these I make a distinction in favour of the last, which by its language is declared to be " for ever," and may have been in the nature of an equivalent at the settlement of the boundaries between the two Powers. But whatever may be its terms or its origin it is obvious that it is nothing but a declaration et public law as it has always been expounded by the United States and is now recognized on the Continent of Europe. While pleading with Great Britain in 1826 for the free navigation of the St. Lawrence, Mr. Clay, who was at the time Secretary of State, said that "the American Government did not mean to contend for any principle the benefit of which, in analogous circumstances, it would deny to Great Britain." (Wheaton's "Elements of International Law,"BartII, cap. 4.) During the same year Mr. Gallatin, our Minister in London, when negotiating with Great Britain for the adjustment of our boundaries on the Bacific, proposed that " if the line should cross any of toe branches of toe Columbia at points from which they are navigable by boats to the main stream the navigation of both branches and of the main stream should be perpetually free and common to the people of both nations." At an earlier day the United States made the same claim with regard to the Mississippi, aud asserted as a general principle that "if toe right of the upper inhabitants to descend the stream was in any case obstructed it was an act by a stronger society against a weaker, condemned by the judgment of mankind." (Ibid.) By these admissions our country is estopped, even if the public law of the European Continent, first declared at Vienna with regard to the Bhine, did not offer an example which we cannot afford to reject. I rejoice to believe that on this occasion we shall apply to Great Britain the generous rule which from the beginning we have claimed for ourselves. The two other, stipulations are different in character. They are not declared to be "for ever," and do not stand on any principle of public - law. Even if subsisting now they cannot be onerous. I doubt much APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT subsisting now. In succeeding to follow that the United States succe< ned by Bussia, as if, according to £ duration on the sovereignty of Bussia, and are personal or national rather than territorial. So at least I am inclined to believe. But it is hardly profitable to speculate on a point of so little practical value Even if "running with the land" these servitudes can be terminated at the expiration of ten years from the last Treaty by a notice, which equitably the United States may give, so as to take effect on the 12th Act of Congress in advance to limit importations at Sitka, so that this , " free port" shall not be made the channel or doorway by which British goods may be introduced into the United States free of duty. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE TREATY. From this survey of the Treaty, as seen in its origin and the questions under it, 1 might- pass at once to a survey of toe possessions which have been conveyed; but there are other matters of a more general character which present themselves at this stage and challenge the judgment. These concern nothing less than the unity, power, and grandeur of the Bepublic, with the extension of its dominion and its institutions. Such considerations, where not entirely inapplicable, are apt to be controlling. I do not doubt that they will in a great measure determine the fate of this Treaty with the American people. They are patent, and do not depend on research or statistics. To state them is enough. ADVANTAGES TO THE PACIFIC COAST. 1. Foremost in order, if not in imp fellow-citizens on the Bacific coast, they will derive from this enlargem* first to ask for it, and will be the f knew the Russian possessions only o: cally iu their resources. While othei planning how to appropriate Bussia attested by the Besolutions of the 1 tory; also by the exertions at different times of two Senators from California, who, differing in political sentiments and in party relations, took the initial steps which ended in this Treaty. These well-known desires were founded, of course, on supposed advantages ; and here experience and neighbourhood were prompters. Since 1854 the people of California have received their ice from the freshwater lakes in the Island of Kodiak, not far westward from Mount St. Elias. Later still their fishermen have searched toe waters about the Aleutians and the Shumagins, commencing a promising fishery. Others have proposed to substitute themselves to the Hudson Bay Company in their franchise on toe coast. But all are looking to the Orient, as in the time of Columbus, although like him they sail to the West. To them China and Japan, those ancient realms of fabulous wealth, are the Indies. To draw this commerce to the Bacific coast is no new idea. It haunted the early navigators. Meares, the Englishman, whose voyage in the intervening seas was in 1789, closes his volumes with an essay, entitled "The Trade between the North-West Coast of America and China," in the course of which he dwells on the "great and very valuable source rtance, I put the desires of our ad the special ad\ antages which t of boundary. They we re the st to profit by it. While others the map they kne wthem practi- were still indiffe rent the y were peltries and fisl leries. This is gislature of Was hington Terri- 284 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. of commerce" afforded by China as "forming a chain of trade between Hudson Bay, Canada, and the north-west coast," aud then he exhibits on the American side the costly furs of the sea otter, which are still so much prized in China; "mines which are known to lie between the latitudes 40° and 60° north;" and also an "inexhaustible supply" of gin- seng,for which there is still such a demand in China that even Minnesota, at toe head-waters of the Mississippi, supplies her contribution. His catalogue might be extended now. As a practical illustration of this idea, it may be mentioned that for a long time most if not aU the sea-otter skins of this coast found their way to China, excluding even Bussia herself. China was the best customer, and therefore Englishmen and Americans followed the Bussian Company in carrying these furs to her market, so that Bennant, the English naturalist, impressed by the peculiar advantages of this coast, exclaimed, " What a profitable trade with China might not a Colony carry on were it possible to penetrate to that part of the country by means of rivers and lakes!" But uuder the present Treaty this coast is ours. The absence of harbours at present belonging to the United States on toe Bacific limits the outlets of the country. On that whole extent, from Panama to Buget Sound, the only harbour of any considerable value is San Francisco. Further north the harbours are abundant, and they are all nearer to the great marts of Japan and China. But San Francisco itself will be nearer by the way of the Aleutians than by Honolulu. The projection of maps is not always calculated to present an accurate idea of distances From measurement on a globe it appears that a voyage from San Francisco to Hong Kong by the common way of the Sandwich Islands is 7,140 miles, but by way of the Aleutian Islands it is only 6,060 miles, being a saving of more than 1,000 miles, with the enormous additional advantage of being obliged to carry much less coal. Of course a voyage from Sitka, or from Buget Sound, the terminus of the -Northern Bacific Bailroad, would be shorter still. The advantages to the Bacific coast have two aspects, one domestic and the other foreign. Not only does the Treaty extend the 53 coasting trade of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory northward, but it also extends the base of commerce with China and Japan. To unite the east of Asia with the west of America is the aspiration of commerce now as when the English navigator recorded his voyage. Of course whatever helps this result is an advantage. The Pacific Bailroad is such an advantage, for, though running westward, it will be, when completed, a new highway to the East. This Treaty is another advantage, for nothing can be clearer than that the western coast must exercise an attraction which will be felt in China and Japan just in proportion as it is occupied by a commercial people communicating readily with toe Atlantic and with Europe. This cannot be done without consequences not less important politically than commercially. Owing so much to the Union, the people there will be bound to it anew, and the national unity will receive another confirmation. Thus the whole country will be a gainer. So are we knit together that the advantages to the Pacific coast will contribute to the general welfare. is another consideration, calculated to are so cold or philosophical as to regard F the bounds of country. Wars have 1 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 285 been regarded as successful when they have given a new territory. The discoverer who had planted the flag of his Sovereign on a distant coasf has been received as a conqueror. The ingratitude which, was shown to Golumbns during his later days was compensated by the epitaph that he had given a new world to Castile and Leon. His discoveries were continued by other navigators, and Spain girdled the earth with her possessions. Bortugal, France, Holland, England, each followed the example of Spain and rejoiced in extended Empire. Our territorial acquisitions are among the landmarks of our history. In 1803 Louisiana, embracing the valley of the Mississippi, was acquired from France for 15,000,000 dollars. In 1819 Florida was acquired from Spain for 3,000,000 dollars. In 1845 Texas was annexed without any purchase, but subsequently her debt was assumed to the amount of 7,500,000 dollars. In 1848 California, New Mexico, and Utah were acquired from Mexico after war, and on payment of 15,000,000 dollars. In 1854 Arizona was acquired from Mexico for 10,000;000 dollars. And now it is proposed to acquire Bussian America. The passion for acquisition, which is so strong in the individual, is not less strong in the community. A nation seeks an outlying territory as an individual seeks an outlying farm. The. passion shows itself constantly. France, passing into Africa, has annexed Algeria. Spain set her face in the same direction, but without the same success. There are two Great Bowers with which annexation has become a habit. One is Bussia, which from the time of Beter the Great has been moving her flag forward in every direction, so that on every side her limits have been extended. Even now the report comes that she is lifting her southern landmarks in Asia, so as to carry her boundary to India. The other annexationist is Great Britain, which from time to time adds another province to her Indian dominion. If the United States have from time to time added to their dominion they have only yielded to the universal passion, although I do not forget that the late Theodore Barker was accustomed to say that among all people the Anglo-Saxons were remarkable for " a greed of land." It was land, not gold, that aroused the Anglo-Saxon phlegm. I doubt, however, if this passion be stronger with us than with others, except, perhaps, that in a community where all participate in government the national sentiments are more active. It is common to the human family. There are few anywhere who could hear of a considerable accession of territory, obtained peacefully and honestly, without a pride of country, even if at certain moments the judgment hesitated. With an increased size on the map there is an increased consciousness of strength, and the citizen throbs anew as he traces the extending line. EXTENSION OF REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS. 3. More than the extension of dominion is the extension of Bepub- lican institutions, which is a traditional aspiration. It was in this spirit that independence was achieved. In the name of human rights our fathers overthrew the kingly power, whose Bepresentative was George III. They set themselves openly against this form of government. They were against it for themselves, and offered their example to mankind. They were Boman in character, and turned Jo Boman lessons. With a cynical austerity the early Cato.said that Kings were "carnivorous animals," and at his instance the Boman Senate decreed that no King should be allowed within the gates of the city. A kindred sentiment, withless austerity of form, has been received from our fathers; J 286 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. but our city can be nothing less than the North American Continent with its gates on all the surrounding seas. John Adams, in the preface to his | Defence of the American Constitution," written in Loudon, where he resided at the time as Minister, and dated toe 1 st January, 1787, atGrosvenor Square, the central seat of aristocratic fashion, after exposing the fabulous origin of the kingly power in contrast with the simple origin of our Bepublican Constitutions, thus for a moment lifts the curtain of toe future: "Thirteen Governments," he says plainly, " thus founded on the natural authority of the 54 people aione, and without any pretence of miracle or mystery, and which are destined to spread over the northern part of that xohole quarter of the globe, is a great point gained in favour of the rights of mankind." (John Adams' Works, vol. iv, p. 293). Thus, according to this prophetic Minister, even at that early day was the destiny of the Bepublic manifest. It was to spread over the northern part of the American quarter of the globe; and it was to be a support to the rights of mankind. By the text of our Constitution the United Sta tes are bound to guar- anteea " Bepublican form of government" to evei *y State in this Union; but this obligation, which is only applicable at h ome, is an unquestion- able indication ofthe national aspiration everyw aere. The Bepublic is something more than a local policy; it is a genei al principle, not to be forgotten at any time, especially when the oppo ftunity is presented of bringing an immense region within its influence. the present failed; but on this account our exam pie is more important. Who can forget the generous lament of Lord By con, whose passion for freedom was not mitigated by his rank as an 1 leriditary legislator of England, when he exclaims in memorable verse 1 ^§32 The name of commonwealth is past an dgone O'er the three factions of the groaning globe! Who can forget the salutation which toe poet sends to the "one great clime," which, nursed in freedom, enjoys what he calls "the proud distinction" of not being confounded with other lands?— The present Treaty is a visible step in the occupation of the whole North American Continent. As such it will be recognized by the world and accepted by the American people. But the Treaty involves something more. By it we dismiss one more Monarch from this Continent. One by one they have retired; first France; then Spain; then France again; and now Bussia; all giving way to that absorbing Unity which is declared in the national motto uF,yluribus unum." ANTICIPATION OF GREAT BRITAIN. 4. Another motive to this acquisition may be found in a desire to anticipate the imagined schemes or necessities of Great Britain. With regard to all these I confess my doubts, and yet, if we may credit report, it would seem as if there was already a British movement in this direction. Sometimes it is said that Great Britain desires to buy if Bussia will sell. Sir George Simpson, Governor-in-chief of the Hudson Bay Company, declared that without the strip on the coast underlet to the former by the Bussian Company the interior would be "comparatively useless to England." Here, then, is a provocation to buy. Sometimes APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 287 report assumes a graver character. A German scientific iournal in an elaborate paper, entitled, "The Bussian Colonies on the North-west Coast of America," after referring to the constant "pressure" upon Bussia, proceeds to say that there are already crowds of adventurers from British Columbia and California now at the gold mines on the Stikine, which flows from British territory through the Bussian possessions, who openly declare their purpose of driving the Bussiaus out of this region. I refer to the "Archiv fur Wissenschaftliche Kunde von Bussland," edited at Berlin as late as 1863, by A. Erman, vol. xxii, pp. 47-70, and unquestionably the leading authority on Bussian questions! At the same time it presents a curious passage bearing directly on British policy from the "British Colonist," a newspaper of Victoria, on Yancouver's Island. As this was regarded of sufficient importance to be translated into German for the instruction of the readers of a scientific journal, I shall be justified in laying it before you restored from the German into English. It is as follows: The information which we daily publish from the Stikine River very naturally excites public attention to a great extent. Whether the territory through which the river flows be considered in- a political, commercial, or industrial light, there is a probability that in a short time there will be a still more general interest in the claim. Not only will the intervention of the Royal jurisdiction be demanded in order to give to it a complete form of government, but if the land proves to be as rich-as there is now reason to believe it to be, it is not improbable that it -will result . in negotiations between England and Russia for the transfer of the sea-coast to the British Crown. It certainly is not acceptable that a stream like the Stikine, which for 170 to 190 miles is navigable for steamers, which waters a territory so rich in gold that it will allure thousands of men—certainly it is not desirable that the business of such a highway should reach the interior through a Russian door of 30 miles of coast. The English population which occupies the interior cannot be so easily managed by the Russians as the Stikine Indians of the coast manage the Indians of the interior. Our business must be in British hands. Our resources, our energies, our undertakings cannot be fully developed in building up a Russian emporium at the mouth of the Stikine. We must have for our productions a depot over which the British flag waves. By the Treaty of 1825 the navigation of the river is secured to us. The navigation of the Mississippi was also open to the United States 55 before the Louisiana purchase, but the growing strength of the North made the attainment of that territory either by purchase or by might an evident necessity. We look upon the' sea-coast of Stikine-land in the same light. The strip of land which stretches along from Portland Canal to Mount St. Elias, with a breadth of 30 miles, and which according to the Treaty of 1825 forms a part of Russian America, must eventually become the property of Great Britain, either as the direct result of the development of gold, or for reasons which are now yet in the beginning, but whose results are certain. For it is clearly undesirable that the strip 300 miles long and 30 miles wide, which is only used by the Russians for the collection of furs and walrus teeth, shall for ever control the entrance to our very extensive northern" territory. It is a principle of England to acquire territory only as a point of defence. Canada, Nova Scotia, Malta, the Cape of Good Hope, and the great part of our Indian possessions were all acquired as defensive points. In Africa, India, and China the same rule is to-day followed by the Government. "With a Power like Russia it would perhaps be more difficult to get ready, but if we need the sea-coast . to help us in our business in the precious metals with the interior and for defence, then we must have it. The United States needed Florida and Louisana, and they took them. We need the shore of New Norfolk and New Cornwall. It is just as much the destiny of our Anglo-Norman race to possess the whole of Russian America, however wild and inhospitable it may be, as it has been the destiny of the Russian Northmen to prevail over Northern Europe and Asia. As the Wandering Jew and his phantom in the tale of Eugene Sue, so will the Anglo Norman and the Russian yet look upon each other from the opposite side of Behring Straits. Between the two races the northern half of the Old andNew World must be divided. 5 America must be ours. The present development of the precious metals in our hyperborean Eldorado will most probably hasten the annexation of the territory in question. It can nardly be doubted that the gold region of the Stikine extends away to the western source ot the Mackenzie. Iu this case the increase of the business and of the population will exceed our most sanguine expectations. Who shall reap the profit of this? The 288 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. mouths of rivers have as well before as since the time of railroads controlled the business of the interior. For our national pride the thought, however, is unbearable that the Russian Eagle should possess a point which owes its importance to the British Lion. The mouth of the Stikine must be ours, or .at least an outer harbour must be established on British soil from which our steamers can pass the Russian girdle. Fort Simpson, Dundas Land, Portland Canal, or some other convenient point, most be selected for this purpose. The necessity of speedy action in order to secure the control of the Stikine is apparent. If we let slip the opportunity, so shall we permit a Russian State to arrive at the door of a British Colony. Thus, if we may credit this colonial ejaculation, caught up and preserved by German science, the Bussian possessions were destined to round and complete the domain of Great Britain on this continent. The Bussian "Eagle" will give way to the British "Lion." The Anglo-Norman was to be master as far as Behring Straits, across which he might survey his Bussian neighbour. How this was to be accomplished is not precisely explained. The promises of gold on" the Stikine failed, and it is not improbable that this colonial plan was as unsubstantial. Colonists become excited easily. This is not the first time in which BuSsian America has been menaced in a similar way. During the Crimean war there seemed to be in Canada a spirit not unlike that of the Vancouver journalist, unless we are misled by the able pamphlet of Mr. A. K. Boche, of Quebec, where, after describing Bussian America as "richer in resources and capabilities than it has hitherto been allowed to be either by the English who shamefully gave it up, or by the Bussians who cunningly obtained it," the author urges an expedition for its conquest and • annexation. His proposition fell on the happy termination of the war, but it exists as a warning, with a notice also of a former English title "shamefully" abandoned. This region is distant enough from Great Britain; but there is an incident of past history which shows that distance from the Metropolitan Government has not excluded the idea of war. Great Britain could hardly be more jealous of Bussia on these coasts than was Spain in a former day, if we may credit the Beport of Humboldt. I quote again his authoritative work, "Essai Bolitique sur la Nouvelle-Espagne" (Tom. 1 p. 345), where it is recorded that as early as 1788, even while peace was still unbroken, the Spaniards could not bear the idea of Bussians in this region, and when in 1790 the Emperor Baul declared war on Spain the hardy project was formed of an expedition from the Mexican ports of Monterey and San Bias against the Bussian Colonies, on which the philosophic traveller remarks, in words which are recalled by the Vancouver manifesto, that "if this project had been executed the world wouldhave witnessed two nations in conflict, which, occupying the opposite extremities of Europe, found themselves neighbours in another hemisphere on the eastern and western boundaries of their vast Empires." Thus, notwithstanding an intervening circuit of half the globe, two Great Powers were" about to encounter each other, on these coasts. But I hesitate to believe that the British of our day in any considerable numbers have adopted the early Spanish disquietude at the presence of Bussia on this continent. THE AMITY OF RUSSIA. 5. There is still another consideration concerning this Treaty which must not be disregarded. It attests and assures the amity of Bus- 56 sia. Even if you doubt toe value of these possessions, the Treaty is a sign of friendship. It is a new expression of that entente cordiale between toe two Bowers which is a phenomenon of history. Though unlike in institutions, they are not unlike in recent experience. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 289 Sharers of a common glory in a great act of emancipation, they also share together the opposition or antipathy of other nations. Perhaps this experience has uotbeen without its effect in bringing them together. At all events, no coldness or unkiudness has interfered at any time with their good relations. The archives of the State Department show an uninterrupted cordiality between the two Governments dating far back in our history. More than once Bussia has offered her good offices between the United States and Great Britain; once also she was a recognized arbitrator. She offered her mediation to prevent war in 1812, and again by her mediation in 1815 brought about peace. Afterwards it was under her arbitration that questions with Great Britain arising under the Treaty of Ghent were amicably settled in 1822. But it was during our recent troubles that we felt more than ever her friendly sentiments, although it is not improbable that the accident of position and of distance had its influence" in preserving these undisturbed. The Bebellion, which tempted so many other Powers into its embrace, could not draw Bussia from her habitual good-will. Her solicitude for the Union was early declared. She made no unjustifiable concession of ocean belligerency, with all its immunities and powers, to rebels in arms against the Union. She furnished no hospitality to rebel cruizers; nor was any rebel agent ever received, entertained, or encouraged at St. Betersburgh; while,on the other hand, there was an understanding that the United States should be at liberty to carry prizes into Bussian ports. So natural and easy were the relations between the two Governments that such complaints as incidentally arose on either side were amicably adjusted by verbal explanations without any written controversy. Positive acts occurred to strengthen these relations. As early as retary of >nt, invit- was suggested that such a visit woi means unprofitable to Bussia," but fc assuring him that coming as a natioi and most demonstrative welcome, acceptance of this invitation. Afte gress by solemn resolution declared United States with the Emperor on assassin, and Mr. Fox, at the time As appointed to take the Besolution of discharge of this trust, to declare the for Bussia. He was conveyed to Ore inoh," the most formidable ship of ou became a messenger of peace. Th received in Bussia with unbounded In relations such as 1 have descril natural transaction entirely in ham hope that it may be a new link in a overcome differences of institutions i S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 19 friendly tot! 5entiu Infe f our country nstadt in then lonito r "Miantono- rnavy; a id th us this agent of war lony with and rhich the I withe dinister were itory seems a It remains to ut effort, has nd interv ening space on the globe. 1 290 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. SHALL THE TREATY BE RATIFIED? Such are some of the obvious considerations of a general character bearing on the Treaty. The interests of the Bacific States; the extension of the national domain; the extension of Bepublican institutions; the foreclosure of adverse British possessions and the amity of Bussia; these are the points which we have passed in review. Most of these, if not all, are calculated to impress the public mind; but I can readily understand a difference of opinion with regard to the urgency of negotiation at this hour. Some may think that the purchase-money and the annual outlay which must follow might have been postponed for another decade, while Bussia continued in possession as a trustee for our benefit. And yet some of toe reasons for the Treaty do not seem to allow delay. At all events, now that toe Treaty has been signed by Bleuipoten- tiaries on each side duly empowered, it is difficult to see how we can refuse to complete toe purchase without putting to hazard the friendly relations which happily subsist between the United States and Bussia. The overtures originally proceeded from us. After a delay of years, and other intervening' propositions, the bargain was at length concluded. It is with nations as with individuals. A bargain once made must be kept. Even if still opeu to consideration it must not be lightly abandoned. I am satisfied that the dishonour of this Treaty, after what has passed, would be a serious responsibility for our country. As an international question, it would be tried by the public opinion ofthe world, and there are many who, not appreciating the requirement of our Constitution by which a Treaty must have "the advice and consent of the Senate," would regard its rejection as bad faith. There would be jeers at us and jeers at Bussia also; at us for levity in making overtures, and at Bussia for levity in yielding to them.- Had l he Senate been consulted in advance, before the Treaty was signed or either Bower 57 publicly committed, as is often done on important occasions, it would now be under less constraint. On such a consultation there would have been an opportunity for all possible objections, and a large latitude to a reasonable discretion. Let meadd that, whilefor- bearing objection now, I hope that this Treaty may not be drawn into a precedent at least in the independent manner of its negotiation. I would save to the Senate an important power that justly belongs to it. A CAVEAT. But there is one other point on which I file my caveat. This Treaty must not be a precedent for. a system of indiscriminate and costly annexation. Sincerely believing that Bepublican institutions under the primacy of the United States must embrace this whole continent, I cannot adopt the sentiment of Jefferson, who, while confessing satisfaction in settlements on the Bacific coast, saw there in the future nothing but "free and independent Americans," bound to the United States only by "ties of blood and interest" without political unity. Nor am I willing to restrain myself to the principle so tersely expressed by Andrew Jackson in his letter to Bresident Monroe, " Concentrate our population, confine our frontier to proper limits, until our country, to those limits, is filled with a dense population." But I cannot disguise my anxiety that every stage in our predestined future shall be by natural processes without war, and I would add even without purchase. There is no territorial aggrandizement which is worth toe price of blood Only under peculiar circumstauces can it become the subject of pecu- APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 291 niary contract. Our triumph should be by growth and organic expansion in obedience to "pre-established harmony," recognizing always the will of those who are to become our fellow-citizens. All this must be easy if we are only true to ourselves. Our motto may be that of Goethe, I Without haste, without rest." Let the Bepublic be assured in tranquil liberty with all equal before the law, and it will conquer by its sublime example. More happy than Austria, who acquired possessions by marriage, we shall acquire them by the attraction of Bepublican institutions; Bella gerant alii; tu, felix Austria, nube; Nam erase Mars aliis, dat tibi regna Venus. The famous epigram will be just as applicable to ns, inasmuch as our acquisitions will be under the sanction of wedlock to the Bepublic. There may be wedlock of a people as well as of a Brince. Meanwhile, our first care should be to improve and elevate the Bepublic, whose sway will be so comprehensive. Blaut it with schools; cover it with churches; fill it with libraries; make it abundant with comfort so that poverty shall disappear; keep it constant in the assertion of Human Bights. And here we may fitly recall those words of antiquity, which Cicero quoted from the Greek, and which Webster in our day quoted from Cicero, "You have a Sparta; adorn it." SOURCES OF INFORMATION UPON RUSSIAN AMERICA. I am now brought to consider the. character of these possessions and their probable value. Here I am obliged to confess a dearth of authen tic information easily accessible. There are few among us who read Bussian, so that works iu this language are locked up from the world. One of these, in two large and showy volumes, is now before me, entitled "A Historical Survey of the Formation of the Bussian-American Company, and its Brogress to the Bresent Time," by B. Teshme'new, St. Betersburgh. The first volume appeared in 18C0, and the second in 1863. Here, among other things, is a tempting engraving of Sitka, wrapped in mists, with toe sea before and the snow capped mountains darkened with forest behind. Judging from the table of contents, which has been translated for me by a Bussian, the book ought to be instructive. There is also another Bussian work of an official character, which appeared in 1861 at St. Betersburgh in the "Morskoi Sbornich," or "Naval Beview," and is entitled, "Materials for the History of the Bussian Colonies on the Coasts of the Bacific." The Beport of Captain- Lieutenant Golowin made to the Grand Duke Constantiue in 1861, with which we have become acquainted through a scientific German journal, appeared originally in the same review. These are recent productions. After.toe early voyages of Behring, first ordered by Beter the Great . and supervised by the Imperial Academy at St. Betersburgh, the spirit of geographical research seems to have subsided at St. Petersburgh. Other enterprises absorbed the attention. And yet I would not do injustice to the voyages of Billings, recounted by Sauer, or of Lisiansky, Krusenstern, and Langsdorf, or of Kotzebue, all under the auspices of Bussia, the last of which may compare with any as a contribution to science. I may add Liitke also; but Kotzebue was a worthy successor to Behring and Cook. Beside these official contributions, most of which are by no means fresh, there are materials derived from casual uavigators, who, scudding these seas, rested in the harbours there as the water-fowl on its flight; from whalemen, who were there merely as Nimrods of the ocean; or if 292 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. from adventurers in quest of the rich furs which it furnished. There are also the gazetteers aud geographies, but they are less instructive on this head thau usual, being founded on information now many years old. Perhaps no region of equal extent on theglobe, unless we except 58 the interior of Africa or possibly Greenland, is as little known. Here I do not speak for myself alone. A learned German, whom I have already quoted, after saying that the explorations have been limited to the coast, testifies that "the interior, not only of the continent, but even of the Island of Sitka, is to-day unexplored, and is in every respect terra incognita." The same has been repeated of the islands also. Admiral Liitke, whose circumnavigation of the globe began in 1825, and whose work bears date in 1835, says of the Aleutian Archipelago that, " although frequented for more than a century by Bussian vessels and those of other nations, it is to-day almost as little known as in the time of Cook." Another writer of authority, the compiler of the official work on the " Beople of Bussia," published as late as 1862, speaks of the interior as | a mystery." And yet another says that our ignorance with regard to this region would make it a proper scene for a chapter of " Gulliver's Travels." Where so little was known there was scope for invention. Imagination was made to supply the place of knowledge, and poetry pictured the savage desolation in much-admired verse. Campbell, in the " Bleas- ures of Hope," while exploring "earth's loneliest bounds aud oceau's wildest shore," reaches this region, which he portrays: From wastes that slumber in eternal snow, And waft across the wave's tumultuous roar The wolf's long howl from Ownalaska's shore. All of which, so far, at least, as it describes this region, is inconsistent with the truth. The poet ignores the isothermal line, which plays such a conspicuous part on the Bacific coast. Here the evidence is positive. Bortlock, the navigator, who was there toward the close of the last century, after describing Cook's Inlet, which is several degrees -uorth of Ounalaska, records his belief " that the climate here is not so severe as has been generally supposed; for in the course of traffic with the natives they frequently brought berries of several sorts, aud in particular black berries equally fine with those met with in England." ("Voyage," p. 118.) Kotzebue, who was here later, records that he found the weather "pretty warm at Ounalaska." ("Voyage," vol. i, p. 275.) South of the Aleutians the climate is warmer still. The poet ignores natural history also as regards the distribution of animals. Curiously enough, it does not appear that there are " wolves" on any of the Aleutians. Coxe, iu his work ou Bussian discoveries (p. 174), records that "reindeer, bears, wolves, and ice-foxes are not to be found on these islands." But he was never there. Meares, who was in those seas, says '• the only animals on these islands are foxes, some of which are black." (" Voyage," vol. i, p. 16.) Cook, who was at Ounalaska twice, and once made a prolonged stay, expressly says,, "foxes and weasels were the only quadrupeds that we saw; they told us that they had hares also." ("Voyage," vol. ii, p. 518.) But quadrupeds like these hardly sustain the exciting picture. The same experienced navigator furnishes a glimpse of the inhabitants as they appealed to him, !___ APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 293 which would make us tremble if the " wolves " of toe poet were numerous. He says that "to all appearance they are the most peaceable, inoffensive people he ever met with;" and Cook had been at Otaheite. "No such thing as an offensive or defensive weapon was seen amongst the natives of Ounalaska." (Ibid., pp. 509, 515.) Then, at least, the inhabitants did not share the ferocity of the " wolves" and of' toe climate. Another navigator fascinates us by a description of the boats of Ounalaska, which struck him "with amazement beyond expression;" and he goes on to say, "if perfect symmetry, smoothness, and proportion constitute beauty, they are beautiful beyond anything that I ever beheld. I have seen some of them as transparent as oiled paper." (" Billing's Voyages," p. 15.) But these are the very boats that buffet "the wave's tumultuous roar," while "the breezes" waft the "wolfs longhowl." This same navigator introduces another feature. According to him the Bussians sojourning there " seem to have no desire to leave this place, where they enjoy that indolence so pleasing to their minds." (Bage 161.) The lotus-eaters of Homer were no better off. The picture is completed by another touch from Liitke. Admitting the want of trees on the island, the Admiral suggests that their place is supplied not only by luxuriant grass, but by wood thrown upon the coast, including trunks of camphor from Chinese and Japanese waters, and " a tree which gives forth the odour of the rose." ("Voyage," Tom. 1, p. 132.) Such is a small portion of the testimony, most of which was in print before the poet wrote. Nothing has been written about this region, whether the coast or the islands, more authentic or interesting than the narrative of Captain Cook on his third and last voyage. He saw with intelligence, and described with clearness almost elegant. The record of Captain Bort- ' lock's voyage from London to the north-west coast in 1786, 1787, and 1788 seems to be honest and is instructive. Captain Meares, whose voyage was contemporaneous, saw and exposed the importance of trade between toe north west coast and China. Vancouver, who came a little later, has described some parts of this coast. La Berouse, the unfortunate French navigator, has afforded another picture of the coast painted with French colors. Before him was La Maurelle, a Frenchman sailing in the service of Spain, who was on toe coast in 1779, a portion of whose journal is preserved in the Appendix to the volumes of La 59 Berouse. After him was Marchand, also a Frenchman, who, during a voyage round the world, stopped here iu 1791. The voyage of the latter, published in three quartos, is accompanied by an "Historical Introduction," which is a mine of information on all the voyages to this coast. Then came toe several successive Bussian voyages already mentioned. Later came the "Voyage round the World" by Captain Belcher, with a familiar sketch of life at Sitka, where he stopped in 1837, and an engraving representing the arsenal and lighthouse there. Then came the "Journey round the World" in 1841 and 1842 by Sir George Simpson, Governor-in-chief of the Hudson Bay Company, containing an account of a visit to Sitka and the hospitality of its Governor. To these I may add "The Nautical Magazine" for 1849, vol. xviii, which contains a few excellent pages about Sitka; toe "Journal of the London Geographical Society" for 1841, vol. xi, andfor 1852, vol. xii, where this region is treated under the head of Arctic languages and animal life; Burney's "Bussian and North-eastern Voyages;" the magnificent work entitled "Les Peuples de la Bussie," which appeared at St. Betersburgh in 1862, on the Tenth Centennial Anniversary of the foundation of the Bussian Empire, a copy of which is in 294 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. the Astor Library; the very recent work of Murray on.the "Geographical Distribution of Mammals;" the work of Sir John Bichardson," Fauna Boreali-Americana;" " Latham on Nationalities " in the chapters of which treat of the population of Bussian America; the "Encyclopaedia Bri- tannica;" and the admirable "Atlas of Bhysical Geography" by Keith Johnston. I mention also an elaborate article by Ilolniberg, in the Transactions ofthe Finland Society of Sciences at Helsingfors, said to be replete with information on the ethnography of the north-west coast. Perhaps the most precise and valuable information has been contributed by Germany. The Germans are toe best geographers; besides many Bussian contributions are in German. Miiller, who recorded the discoveries of Behring, was a German. Nothing more important on this subject has ever appeared than toe German work of the Bussian Admiral von Wrangel, "Statistische und Ethnographische Nachrichten liber die Bussischen Besitzungen an der Nordwestkiiste von America," first published by Baer iu his Bussian " Beitrage" in 1839. There is also the " Verhandlungen der Bussisch-Kaiserlichen Mineralogischen Gesellschaft zu St. Betersburg," 1848 and 1849, which contains an elaborate article, in itself a volume, on the orography and geology of the north-west coast and the adjoining islands, at the end of which is a bibliographical list of the works and materials illustrating the discovery and history of the west half of North America and the neighbouring seas. I may also refer generally to the " Archiv fur Wissenschaftliche Kunde von Bussland," edited by Erman, but especially the volume for 1863, containing the abstract of Golowin's Beport on the Bussian Colonies in North America as it appeared originally in the "MoTskoi Sbornich." Besides these there are Wappans' "Handbuch von Geographic und Statistikvon Nord Amerika," published at Leipsicin 1855; Beterman in his "Mittoeilungen fiber wichtige neue Erforschungen auf dem gesammtgebiete der Geographie" for 1856, vol. ii, p. 486; for 1859, vol. v, p. 41; and for 1863, vol. ix, pp. 70, 236, 277,278; Kittlitz "Denk- wurdigkeiten-einer Eeise nach dem Bussischen America durch Kam- tschatka," published at Gothain 1858; also by the same author, "The Vegetation of the Coasts and Islands of the Bacific," translated from the German and published at London in 1861. Much recent information has been derived from the great Companies possessing the monopoly of trade here. Latterly there has been an unexpected purveyor iu the Bussian-American Telegraph Company, under the direction of Colonel Charles L. Bulkley, and here our own countrymen come to help us. To this expedition we are indebted for authentic evidence with regard to the character of the country and the great rivers which traverse it. The Smithsonian Institution and the Chicago Academy of Sciences co operated with the Telegraph Company in toe investigation of the natural history of the region." Major Kenni- cott, a young naturalist, originally in the service of the Institution, and Director ofthe Museum ofthe Chicago Academy, was toe enterprising chief ofthe Voukon division of the expedition. While in the midst of his valuable labours he died suddenly in the month of May last at Nulato, on the banks of the great river, the Kwichpak, which may be called the Mississippi of the north, far away in the interior and on the confines of the Arctic Circle, wh ere th e sun was visible all night. Even after death he was still an explorer. From this remote outpost his remains, after descending toe unknown river in an Esquimaux boat of seal-skins, steered by the faithful companion of Ids labours, were transported by way of Panama to his home at Chicago, where he now lies buried. Such an incident cannot be forgotten, and his name will always remind us of APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 295 courageous enterprise, before which distance and difficulty disappeared. He was not a beginner when he entered into the service of the Telegraph Company. Already he had visited the Toukon country by the way of the Mackenzie Biver, and contributed to the Smithsonian Institution important information with regard to its geography and natural history, some of which will be found in their Beports. Nature in novel forms was open to him. The birds here maintained their kingdom. All about him was the mysterious breeding place of the canvas-back duck, whose eggs, never before seen by a naturalist, covered acres. ' If we look to maps for information, here again we fiud ourselves disappointed. Latterly the coast is outlined and described with reasonable completeness; so also are the islands. This is the contribution of navigators and of recent Bussian charts. But the interior is little more .than a blank, calling to mind "the pathless downs," where, according to Prior, the old geographers "place elephants instead of towns." I have already referred to what purports to be a "General Map of 60 the Bussian Empire," published by the Academy of Sciences at St. Betersburgh in 1776, and republished at London in 1787, where Bussian America does not appear. I might mention also that Captain Cook complained in his day of the Bussian maps as " wonderfully erroneous." On his return English maps recorded his explorations and the names he assigned to different parts of the coast. These were reproduced in St. Petersburgh, and the Bussian copy was then reproduced in London, so that geographical knowledge was very little advanced. Some of the best maps of this region are by Germans, who always excel in maps. Here, for instance, is an excellent Map of the Aleutian Islands and the neighbouring coasts, especially to illustrate their orography and geography, which will be found at the end of the volume of " Transactions of the Imperial Mineralogical Society" at St. Betersburgh, to which I have already referred. Late maps attest the tardiness of information. Here, for instance, is an excellent Map of North America, purporting to be published by the Geographical Institute of Weimar as late as 1859, on which we have the Youkon pictured, very much like the Niger, in Africa, as a large river meandering in the interior without any outlet to the sea. Here, also, is a Bussian map of this very region, as late as 1861, in which the course of the Voukon is left in doubt. On other maps, as in the Atlas of Keith Johnston, it is pictured under another name as entering into the Frozen Ocean. But the secret is penetrated at last. Becent discovery by the enterprise of our citizens in the service of toe Telegraph Company fixes that this river is an affluent of the Kwichpak, as the Missouri is an affluent of the Mississippi, and enters into Behring Sea, by many mouths, between the parallels of 64° and 65°. After the death of Major Kennicott a division of his party, with nothing but a skin boat, ascended toe river to Fort Youkon, where it bifurcates, and descended it again to Nulato, thus establishing the entire course from its sources in the Bocky Mountains for a distance exceeding 1,000 miles. I have before me now an outline map just prepared by our Coast Survey, where this correction is made. But this is only the harbinger of the maturer labours of our accomplished Bureau when the coasts of this region are under the jurisdiction of the United States. In closing this abstract of authorities, being the chief sources of original information on this subject, I cannot forbear .expressing my satisfaction that, with the exception of a single work, all these maybe found in the Congressional Library, now so happily enriched by the rare collection of the Smithsonian Institution. Sometimes individuals are like 1 296 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. libraries; and this seems to be illustrated in the case of Professor Baird, ofthe Smithsonian Institution, who is thoroughly informed on all questions connected with the natural history of Bussian America, and also of George Gibbs, Esq., now of Washington, who is the depositary of valuable knowledge, the result of his own personal studies and observations, with regard to the native races. CHARACTER AND VALUE OF RUSSIAN AMERICA. I pass now 'to a consideration of the character and value of these possessions, as seen under these different heads: (1) government; (2) population; (3) climate; (4) vegetable products; (5) mineral products; (6) furs; and (7) fisheries. Of these I shall speak briefly iu their order. There are certain words of a general character, which I introduce by way of preface. I quote from Blodgett on the "Climatology of toe. United States and of the Temperate Latitudes of the North American Continent": It is most surprising that so little is known of the great islands and the long line rMoi eda allel, id ; miles. nnot be From this sketch, which is in the nature of a picture, I pass to the different heads. GOVERNMENT. I. The Bussian Settlements were for a long time without any regular Government. They were little more than temporary lodgments for purposes of trade, where the will of the stronger prevailed. The natives, who had enslaved each other, became in turn the slaves of these mercenary adventurers. Captain Cook records " the great subjection " of the natives at Ounalaska when he was there in 1778, and a Bussian navigator, twenty years later, describes the islands generally as "under the sway of roving hunters more savage than any tribes he had hitherto met with." (" Billings' Voyage," p. 274.) At Ounalaska the Bussians for a long time employed all the men in the chase, " taking the fruits of their labour to themselves." The first trace of government which I find was in 1790, at the important Island of Kodiak, or the Great Island, as it was 61 called, where a Bussian Company was established, under the direction of a Greek by the name of Delareff, who, according to the partial report of a Bussian navigator, " governed with the strictest justice, as well natives as Bussians, and established a school, where the young natives were taught the Bussian language, reading, and writing." ("Billings," p. 171.) Here were about fifty Bussians, including officers of the Company, and another person described as there "on the part of Government to collect tribute." The establishment consisted of five houses after the Bussian fashion-, barracks laid out on either side somewhat like the boxes at a coffee-house, with different offices, which are represented as follows: "An office of appeal to settle disputes, levy fines, and punish offenders by a regular trial; here Delareff presides; and I believe that few Courts of Justice pass a sentence with more impartiality; an office of receival and delivery, both APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 297 for the Company aud for tribute; the Commissary's department- counting-house; all iu this building, at one end of which is Delareff's habitation." {Ibid., p. 173.1 If this picture is not overdrawn, and it surely is, affairs here did not improve with time. It seems that there were various small Companies, of which that at Kodiak was the most considerable, all of which were finally fused into one large trading Company, known as the Bussian-American Company, which was organized in 1799, under a Charter from the Emperor Paul, with the power of administration throughout the whole region, including the coasts and the islands. In this respect it was not unlike the East India Company, which has played such a part in English history but it may be more properly compared to the Hudson Bay Company' of which it was a Bussian counterpart. The Charter was for a term of years, but it has been from time to time extended, and, as I understand, is now on the point of expiring. The powers of the Company are sententiously described by the "Almanach de Gotha"for 1867, where, under the head of Bussia, it says that "to the present time Bussian America has been the property of a Company." I know no limitation upon the Company, except that latterly it has been bound to appoint its chief functionary, called "Administrator- General," from the higher officers of the Imperial Navy, when he becomes invested with what are declared toe prerogatives of a Governor in Siberia. This requirement has doubtless secured the superior order of Magistrates which the country has latterly enjoyed. Among these have been Baron Wrangel, an Admiral, who was there at the ■ time of the Treaty with Great Britain in 1825; Captain Koupreanoff, who had commanded the "Azof," a ship of toe line, in the Black Sea, and spoke English well; Captain Etholine; Admiral Fujurelm, who, after being there five years, was made Governor of the Brovince of the Amoor; Admiral Wodski; and Brince Macksontoff, an Admiral also, who is the present Administrator-General. The term of service is ordinarily five years. The seat of Government is the town of New Archangel, better known by its aboriginal name of Sitka, with a harbour as smooth aud safe as a pond. Its present population cannot be far from 1,000 souls, although even this is changeable. In the spring, when sailors leave for the sea aud trappers for the chase, it has been reduced to as few as 180. It was not without a question that Sitka at last prevailed as the metropolis. Liitke sets forth reasons elaborately urged in favour of St. Baul, on the Island of Kodiak. (" Voyage," Tom. 1, p. 153.) The first Settlement there was in 1800 by Baranow, the Superintendent of the Company, whose life was passed in this country, and whose name has been given to the island. But the Settlement made slow progress. Lisiansky, who was there in 1804, records that "from his entrance into Sitka Sound there was not to be seen on the shore the least vestige of habitation" (p. 145.) The natives had set themselves against a Settlement there. Meanwhile, the seat of Government was at Kodiak, of which we have an early and friendly glimpse. I quote what Lisiansky says, as exhibiting in a favourable light the beginning of that Government which has. been transferred to the United States: The Island of Kodiak, with the rest of the Russian Settlements along the north- APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. respectal r by acts of injustice. The seat of Government ich has a barrack, different store-ho md a church, the onl » be found c ist. (lbid.,V. From this time the Company seems to have established itself on the coast. Lisiansky speaks of "a single huuting party of 900 men, gathered from different places, as Alaska, Kodiak, Kenay, Cook's Inlet, and commanded by thirty-six'toyons,'who are subordinate to the Bussians in the service of the American Company, and receive from them their orders." (Ibid., p. 153.) From another source I learn that'the inhabitants of Kodiak and of the-Aleutian Islands were regarded as "immediate subjects of the Company," the males from 18 to 50 being bound to serve it for a term of three years each. <They were employed in the chase. The population of Alaska and of the two great bays, Cook's Inlet and Brince William Sound, were also subject to the Company; but they were held to a yearly tax in furs without any regular service, and they could trade only with the Company; otherwise they were independent. This seems to have been 62 before toe division of the whole into districts, all under the Company, which, though primarily for the business of the Company, may be regarded as so many distinct jurisdictions, each with local powers of government. Among these were two districts which I mention only to put aside, as not included in the present cession: (1) The Kurile Islands, being the group nestling near the coast of Japan, on the Asiatic side of the dividing line between the two continents. (2) The Boss Settlement in California, now abandoned. There remain five other districts: (1) The District of Atcha, with the Bureau at this island, embracing the two western groups of the Aleutians known as the Andreanowsky Islands and the Bat Islands, and also the group about Behring's Island, which is not embraced in toe present cession. (2) The District of Ounalaska, with the Bureau at this island, embracing the Fox Islands, the Beninsula of Alaska to the meridian of the Shumagin Islands, including these and also the Prybilov Islands to toe north of the Peninsula. (3) The District of Kodiak, embracing the Peninsula of Alaska east of the meridian of the Shumagin Islands, and the coast westward to Mount St. Elias, with the adjacent islands, including Kodiak, Cook's Inlet, and Prince William Sound, then northward along the coast of Bristol Bay, and the country watered by the Nushagak and Kuskokwim Bivers, all of. which is governed from Kodiak, with redoubts or palisaded stations at Nushagak, Cook's Inlet, and Brince William Sound. (4) The Northern District, embracing toe country of the Kwichpak and of Norton's Sound, under the direction of the commander of the redoubt at St. Michael's; leaving the country northward, with the Islands St. Lawrence and St. Mathews, not embraced in this district, but visited direct from Sitka. (5) The District of Sitka, embracing the coast from Mount St. Elias, where the Kodiak district ends, southward to the latitude of 54° 40', with the adjacent islands. But this district has been curtailed by a lease of the Bussian-American Company in 1839, for the space of ten years, and subsequently renewed, in which this Company, in consideration of the annual payment of 2,000 otter-skins" of Columbia m strip o .nt betw I Hi i Bay Company all its franchise for the ape Spencer at toe north and the latitude Government of all these districts is at Sitka, from which xrders and instructions.. Here also is the chief factory, APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 299 from which supplies are forwarded to different places, and where the proceeds of the trade are collected. The operations of the Government may be seen iu its receipts and expenditures, including its salaries and allowances. In the absence of a complete series of such statistics to the present time, I mass together what I have been able to glean in different fields, relating to particular years, knowing well its unsatisfactory character. But each item has its instruction for us. The capital of the Company in buildings, wares, and vessels in 1833 was said to be 3,658,577 roubles. In 1838 the Company possessed 12 vessels, amounting together to 1,556 tons, most of which were built at Sitka. According to Wappaus, who follows Wrangel, the salaries of the officers and workmen of the Company iu 1832 amounted to 442,877 roubles. At that time the persons in its service numbered 1,025, of whom 556 were Bussians, 152 Creoles, and 317 Aleutians. In 1851 there were in the service of the Company 1 Staff officer, 3 officers of the Imperial Navy, 1 officer of engineers, 4 civil officers, 30 religious officers, and 686 servants. The expenses of the Company from 1826 to 1833, a period of 7 years, were 6,608,077 roubles. These become interesting to us when it is considered that, besides what was paid on account of furs, and the support of the persons in the service of the Company, there were other items incident to government, such as shipbuilding, navigation, fortifications, hospitals, schools, and churches. From a later authority it appears that the receipts of the Company, reported at St. Betersburgh for the year ended 1855, was 832,749 roubles, against expenses, 683,892 roubles,'incurred for "administration in Bussia and the Colonies," insurance, transportation, and duties. The relative proportion of these different expenses does not appear. I have'another Beport for 1857, where the revenue was 832,749 roubles, with expenditures -of 683,892 roubles, leaving the difference for dividends, which were fixed at 18 roubles a share. These are explained by other statistics, which I am able to give from the report of Golowin, who furnishes the receipts and expenditures of the Company from 1850 to 1859 inclusive. The silver rouble, which is the money employed in toe Table, is taken at our Mint for 75 cents. RECEIPTS FROM 1850 TO 1859, INCLUSIVE. Tea traffic 4,145,869.79 Sale of furs 1,709,149.00 Commercial licences 2,403, 296.61 Other traffics 170,235.76 Total 8,528,551.13 63 EXPENDITURES FROM 1850 TO 1859. INCLUSIVE. Sustenance of the Colonv 2,288,207.20 Colonies'churches 71,723.18 Benevolent institutions 143,366.23 Principal administrative officers 1,536,436.49 Teadutv 1,764,559.85 Transportation and packing of tea 586,901.72 Purchase and transportation of merchandize 213,696.29 Insurance of tea and merchandize 217,026. o5 Loss durino-war and by shipwreck 132,820.20 Reconstruction of the Company's house in St. Petersburgh 76,976.00 £ttSt°rpoor ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 4IS Elv^^.d.!^:::::::::::::::::::.: i,m*6ou» Total.. ,528,551.13 I 300 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Analyzing this table we shall arrive at a clearer insight into the affairs of the Company. If its receipts have been considerable they have been subject to serious deductions. From the expenditures we may also learn something of the obligations which we are about to assume. • From another table I learn that during this same period 122,006 roubles were received for ice, mostly sent to California, 26,399 roubles for timber, and 6,250 roubles for coal. I think it not improbable that these items are included in the list of "receipts" under the term "other traffics." In Bussia the churches belong to the Government, and this rule prevails in these districts, where there are four Greek churches and five Greek chapels. There is also a Protestant church at Sitka. I am glad to add that at toe latter place there is a public library, which some years ago contained 1,700 volumes, together with journals, maps, atlases, and mathematical instruments. In Atcha, Ounalaska, Kodiak, and Sitka schools are said to have been maintained at the expense of the Company, though not on a very comprehensive scale, for Admiral Wrangel mentions only ninety boys as enjoying these advantages in 1839. In Ounalaska and Kodiak there were at the same time orphan asylums for girls, where there were in all about thirty. But the Admiral adds that "these useful institutions will, without doubt, be improved to the utmost." Besides these, which are confined to particular localities, there is said to be a hospital near every factory in all the districts. I have no means of knowing if these territorial subdivisions have undergone any recent modifications. They will be found in the " Bus- sichen Besitzungen " of Wrangel, published in 1839, in toe " Geographie" of Wappiius in 1856, and in the " Archiv von Bussland" of 1863, containing the article on the Beport of Golowin. I am thus particular with regard to them from a double motive. Besides helping to an understanding of the existing government, they may afford suggestions of practical importance in any future organization. The Company has not been without criticism. Some of the pictures of it are by no means rose-colour. These, too, may furnish instruction for the future. Early in the century its administration was the occasion of open and repeated complaint. It was pronounced harsh and despotic. Langsdorf is indignant that" a free-trading Company should exist independent; of the Government, not confined within any definite regulations, but who can exercise their authority free and uncontrolled, nay, even unpunished, over so vast an extent of country." In stating toe case he adds that " the Bussian subject here enjoys no protection of his property, lives in no security, and if oppressed has no one to whom he can apply for justice. The agents of the factories and their, subordinates, influenced by humour or interest, decide everything arbitrarily." (" Voyages," vol. ii. p. 70.) And this arbitrary power seemed to prevail wherever a factory was established; "the stewardship in each single establishment is entirely despotic; though normally depending upon the principal factory these stewards do just what they please, without the possibility of being called to account." (Ibid., vol. ii, p. 69.) If such was the condition of Bussians, what must have been that of the natives ? Here the witness answers: " I have seen the Bussian fur- hunters dispose of the lives ofthe natives solely according to their own arbitrary will, and put these defenceless creatures to death in the most horrible manner." (Page 70.) Krusenstern concurs in this testimony, and, if possible, darkens the colours. According to him, "every one APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 301 must obey the iron rule of the agent of the American Company; nor can there be either personal property or individual security where there are no laws. The chief agent of the American Company is the boundless despot over an extent of country which, comprising the Aleutian Islands, stretches from 57° to 60° of latitude, and from 130° to 19()o of east longitude;" and he adds, in anote, "there are no Courts of Justice in Kodiak, nor any of the Company's possessions." (" Voyages," vol. ii, p. 107.) Kotzebue, who came later, while confessing his incompetency to speak on the treatment of the natives by the Company, declares his "wounded feelings and commiseration." (" Voyage," vol. iii, p. 314.) It is too probable that the melancholy story of our own aborigines has been repeated here. As these criticisms were by Bussian officers they must have had a certain effect. I cannot believe 64 that the recent government, administered by the enlightened Magistrates of whom we have heard, has been obnoxious to such terrible accusations; nor must it be forgotten that the report of Lisiansky, the other Bussian officer who was there at the same time, is much less painful. Baranow, who had been so long Superintendent, retired in 1818. He is praised much by Langsdorf, who saw him in 1806, and by Liitke, who was at Sitka in 1828. Both attribute to him a genius for his place and a disinterested devotion to the interests of the Company, whose confidence he enjoyed to the end. Although administering affairs here for more than a generation without rendering any accounts, he died poor. He was succeeded by Captain Haguemeister. Since then, according to Liitke, an infinity of reforms has taken place by which order and system have been introduced into the Government. The Bussian officer, Captain Golowin, who visited these possessions in 1860, has recommended certain institutional reforms, which are not without interest to us at this time. His recommendations concern the Governor and the people. According to him the Governor should be appointed by the Crown with the concurrence of the Company, removable only when his continuance is plainly injurious to the Colony; he should be subject only to the Crown, and his powers should be limited, especially iu regard to the natives; he should provide protection for the colonists by means of cruizers, and should personally visit every district annually; the colonists, Creoles, and subject natives, such as the Aleutians, should be goverued by Magistrates of their own selection; the name of "free Creole" should cease; all disputes should be settled by the local Magistrates unless the parties desire an appeal to the Governor ; schools should be encouraged, and, if necessary, provided at the public expense. Surely these suggestions, which are in the nature of a Beform Bill, foreshadow a condition of self-government in harmony with Bepublican uistitutions. It is evident that these Bussian Settlements, distributed through an immense region and far from any civilized neighbourhood, have little in common with those of European nations elsewhere, unless we except those of Denmark on the west coast of Greenland. Nearly all are on toe coast or the islands. They are nothing but " villages" or " factories," under the protection of palisades. Sitka is an exception, due unquestionably to its selection as the head-quarters of the Government, and also to the eminent character of the Governors who have made it their home. The Executive Mansion and the social life there have been described by recent visitors, who acknowledged the charms of politeness on this distant north-western coast. Liitke describes life anion g its fogs, an d especially the attractions of the G overnor's house. This was in the 302 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. time of Admiral Wrangel, whose wife, possessing a high education, embellished this wilderness by her presence, and exhibited the example of a refined and happy household. His account of Sitkan hospitality differs in some respects from that of the English writers who succeeded. He records that fish was the staple dish at the tables of functionaries as well as of the poor, and that the chief functionary himself was rarely able to have meat for dinner. During the winter a species of wild sheep, the " musimou" or " argalis," also known in Siberia and hunted in the forest, furnished an occasional supply. But a fish diet did not prevent his house from being delightful. Sir Edward Belcher, the English circumnavigator, while on his voyage round the world, stopped there. From him we have an account of the Executive Mansion and fortifications, which will not be out of place in this attempt to portray the existing Government. The house is of wood, described as " solid," 140 feet in length by 70 feet wide, of two stories, with lofts, capped by a lighthouse iu toe center of the roof which is covered with sheet iron. It is about 60 feet above the sea- level, and completely commands all the anchorages in the neighbourhood. Behind is a line of picketed logs 25 feet in height, flanked at the angles by block-houses, loop-holed and furnished with small guns and swivels. The fortifications when complete "will comprise five sides, upon which forty pieces of cannon will be mounted, principally old ship guns, varying from 12- to 24-pounders." The arsenal is praised for the best of cordage in ample stores, and for the. best of artificers in every department. The interior of the Greek church was found to be "splendid, quite beyond conception in such a place as this." The school and hospital had " a comparative cleanliness and much to admire, although a man-of-war's man's ideas of cleanliness are occasionally acute." But it is the social life which seems to have most surprised the gallant Captain. After telling us that " on Sunday all the officers, civil and military, dine at the Governor's," he introduces us to an evening party and dance, which the latter gave to show his English guest" the female society of Sitka," and records that everything "passed delightfully," especially that" the ladies, although self-taught,acquitted themselves with all the ease and elegance communicated by European instruction." Sir Edward adds that "the society is indebted principally to toe Governor's elegant and accomplished lady, who is of one of the first Bussian families, for n sympathetically her long journe "on horseback or mules, endurii moment, in order to share with region." But according to him h eludes by declaring that " the w'._. idly on the advance, and at no dig Norfolk Sound through Amerit sion." (Belcher's " Voyage," vi hand? Shortly afterwards, Sir George Simpson, Governor-in-chief of 65 . the Hudson Bay Company, on his overland journey round the world, stopped at Sitka. He had just crossed the continent by way of the Bed Biver Settlements to Vancouver. He, too, seems to have been pleased. He shows us in the harbour " five sailing-vessels, ranging between 200 and 350 tons, besides a large bark in the offing in tow of a steamer," and he carries us to the Executive Mansion, already described, which reappears as "a suite of apartments, communicating, according to the Bussian fashion, with each other, all of the public nuch of tl lis pob sh." Uu desc ribes iythi oug a Sibe VI h ler hnsl and, reat hards hips ii mo st cr tical him the privat ons of th )arb£ irons )arba is disf ar ng ; a idhf cou- hole esta blishu ent ap pet irs to be' rap- tpe iod w 3 ma r o t ati lpto , as. ittie tha mn 1. i, p 107 •). is uot tl is tim e ne ir at APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 303 rooms being handsomely decorated and richly furnished; commanding a view of the whole establishment, which was in fact a little village while about half way down the rock two batteries on terraces frowned respectively over land and water." There was another Administrator- General since toe visit of Sir Edward Belcher; but again the wife plays ' her charming part. After portraying her as a native of Helsingfors, in Finland, the visitor adds: "So this pretty and ladylike woman had come to this secluded home from the farthest extremity of toe Empire." Evidently, in a mood beyond contentment, he says: " We sat down to a good dinner in the French style, the party, iu addition to our host and hostess and ourselves, comprising twelve of the Company's officers;" and his filial judgment seems to be given when he says: "The good folks appear to live well. The surrounding country abounds in the chevreuil [roebuck], the finest meat that I ever ate, with the single exception of moose, while iu a little stream within a mile of the fort salmon are so plentiful that, when ascending the river, they have been known literally to embarrass the movements of a canoe." (Simpson's I Journey," Vol. I, p. 227.) Such is the testimony. . With these concluding pictures I turn from the Government. POPULATION. II. I come now to the Population, which may be considered in its numbers and in its character. In neither respect, perhaps, can it add much to the value of the country, except so far as native hunters and trappers are needed for the supply of furs. Brofessor Agassiz touches this point in a letter which I have just received from him, where he says: " To me the fact that there is as yet hardly any population would have great weight, as this secures the Settlement to our race." But we ought to know something at least of the people about to become the subjects of our jurisdiction, if not our fellow-citizens. (1) Iu trying to arrive at an idea of their numbers, I begin with Lippin- cott's " Gazetteer," as it is the most accessible, according to which the whole population in 1855, aboriginal, Bussian, and Creole, was 61,000. The same estimate appears also in the "London Imperial Gazetteer" and' in the "Geographie" of Wappaus. Keith Johnston, in his "Atlas," calls toe population in 1852, 66,000. McCulloch, in the last edition of his " Geographical Dictionary," puts it as high as 72,375. On the other hand, the "Almanach de Gotha" for the present year, received only a few weeks ago, calls it in round numbers 50,000. This estimate seems to have been adopted substantially from the great work entitled "Les Beuples de la Bussie," which from its character I am disposed to consider as the best authority. Exaggerations are common with regard to the inhabitants of newly- acquired possessions, and this distant region has been no exception. An enthusiastic estimate once placed its population as high as 400,000. Long ago Schelekoff, an early Bussian adventurer, reported that he had subjected to the Crown of Bussia 50,000 "men" in toe Island of Kodiak alone. But Lisiansky, who followed him therein 1805, says "the population of this island, when compared with its size, is very small." ("Voyage," p. 193.) After the "minutest research" at that time he found that it amounted only to 4,000 souls. It is much less now; probably not more than 1,500. Of course, it is easy to know the number of those within the immediate jurisdiction of the Company. This is determined by a census from time to time. Even here toe aborigines are the most numerous. 304 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Then come the Creoles, and last the Bussians. But here you must bear in mind a distinction with regard to the former persons. In Spanish America all born there of European parentage are " Creoles;" in Bussian America this term is applicable only to those whose parents are European and native, in other words, "half-breeds." According to Wrangel, in 1839, the census of dependents of the Company in all its districts was 246 Bussians, 684 Creoles, and 8,882 Aleutians and Kodi- acks, being in all 9,812. Of these, 4,918 were men, and 4,804 were womeu. Here the number of Bussians is small. There is another Report a little later preserved by Wappaus, which is not materially different. In 1851, according to the Beport of the Company, there was an increase of Bussians and Creoles, with a corresponding diminution of aborigines; being 505 Bussians, 1,703 Creoles, and 7,055 aborigines; in all, 9,283. In 1857 there were 644 Bussians, 1,903 Creoles, and 7,245 aborigines; in all, 9,792, of whom 5,733 were men, and 4,659 were women. The increase from 1851 to 1857 was only 500, or about 1 per cent, annually. In 1860 there were " some 100" Bussians, 2,000 Creoles, and 8,000 aborigines, amounting in all to 10,540, of whom 5,382 were men, and 5,158 were women. I am thus particular with these details that you may see how stationary population has been even within the sphere of the Company. The number of Bussians and Creoles in the whole Colony at the present time cannot be more than 2,500. The number of aborigines under the direct Government of the Company may be 8,000. There remain also the mass of aborigines outside the jurisdiction of the Company, and having only a temporary or casual contact with it for pur- 66 poses of trade. In this respect they are not unlike the aborigines of the United States while in their tribal condition, described so often as "Indians not taxed." For the number of these outside aborigines I prefer to follow the authority of the recent work already quoted, "Les Peuples de la Bussie," according to which they are estimated at - between 40,000 and 50,000. (2) In speaking of character I turn to a different class of materials. The early Bussians here were not pilgrims. They were mostly runaways, fleeing from justice. Langsdorf says that "the greater part of the inferior officers of the different settlements were Siberian criminals, malefactors, aud adventurers of various kinds." ("Voyages," Vol. II, p. 67.) Their single and exclusive business was the collection of furs, from which they obtained the name of " Bromiischleniks," or fur collectors. But the name very earlv acquired a bad odour. Here again we have the same Bussian authority, who, §j ter saying that the inhabitants of the distant islands are under the superintendence of a Pro- miischlenik, adds, :< which is, in other words, under that of a rascal, by whom they are oppressed, tormented, and plundered in every possible way." (Ibid., p. 70.) It must not be forgotten that this authentic portrait is not of our day. The aborigines are all in common language called Esquimaux; but they differ essentially from the Esquimaux of Green laud, and they also differ among themselves. Though popularly known by this family name, they have as many divisions and subdivisions, with as many languages aud idioms, as France once had. There are large groups, each with its own nationality and language, and there are smaller groups, each with its tribal idiom. In short, the great problem of language is repeated here. Its forms seem to be infinite. Scientific inquiry traces many to a single root, but practically they are different. Here is that confusion of tongues which yields only to the presence of civili- APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 305 zation, and it becomes more remarkable, as the idiom is often confined If we look at them ethnographically we shall find two principal groups Indians. By another nomenclature, which has the sanction of authority and of usage, they are divided into Esquimaux, Aleutians, Kenaians, and Koloschians, being four distinct groups. The Esquimaux and Aleutians are said to be Mongolian in origin. According to" a doubtful theory they passed from Asia to America by the succession of islands beginning ou the coast of Japan and extending to Alaska, which for this purpose schians are Indians, belonging to knowTlinerican races?so that th°es°e four groups are ethnographically resolved into two, and the two are There are general influences more or less applicable to all these races. The climate is peculiar, and-the natural features of the country are commanding. Cool summers and mild winters are favourable to the huntsman and fisherman. Lofty mountains, volcanic forms, large rivers, numerous islands, and an extensive sea-coast constitute the great book of Nature for all to read. None are dull. Generally they are quick, intelligent, and ingenious, excelling in the chase and in naviga- boat seem to be one. Some are very skillful with tools, and exhibit remarkable taste. The sea is bountiful, aud the land has its snpplies. From these they are satisfied. Better still, there is something in their nature which does not altogether reject the improvements of civilization. Unlike our Indians, they are willing to learn. By a strange superstition, which still continues, these races derive their descent from different animals. Some are gentle and pacific, others are warlike. All I fear, are slave-holders; some are cruel task-masters, others in toe interior are reputed to be cannibals. But the country back from'the sea-coast is still an undiscovered secret. (1) Looking at them in their ethnographical groups I begin with the Esquimaux, wh( >popi ilarly give their name to the whole. They number on the Frozen Oceai ' to tiufmouthof 6the Copper Biver iToOQ^orth latitude, exclud uig th e Beninsula of Alaska, occupied by the Aleutians, and the Beninsi ful races of In northward and ilaof iian Kenay, occupied by the Kenaians. More power- nigin, following the courses of the great rivers ard, have gradually crowded the Esquimaux from the interior, unf ilthe y constitute a belt on the. salt water, including the islands of the c< >ast, i md especially Kodiak. Their various dialects are traced to a con mon root, while the prevailing language betrays an affinity with th* Esqi limaux of Greenland, and the intervening country >> Mar kenzie. They share the characteristics of that v, win ch besides spreading across the continent, occu- pies an extent o coast greater than any other people of toe globe, from which thei r sim] lie navigation has sallied forth so as to give them the name of Bhoeniciaus of the North. Words exclusively belonging to the Esquimaux are found in the dialects of other races completely strangers to them, as Bhcenician sounds are observed in the Celtic speech of Ireland. The most known of the Bussian Esquimaux is the small tribe now remaining on the Island of Kodiak, which from the beginning has been a center of trade. Although by various intermixture they already approach the Indians of the coast, losing the Asiatic type, their speech S. Ex. 177, pt. 4-—20 306 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. remains as a distinctive sign of their race. They are Esquimaux, and I describe them in order to give an idea of this people. The men are tall, with copper skins, small black eyes, flat faces, and teeth of dazzling whiteness. Once the women pierced the nostrils, the lower lip, and the ears for ornaments; but now only the nostrils are pierced. The aboriginal costume is still preserved, especially out of doors. Their food is mostly from the sea, without the roots or 67 berries which the island supplies. The flesh and oil of the whale are a special luxury. The oil is drunk pure or to season other food. Accustomed to prolonged abstinence, they exhibit at times an appetite amounting to prodigy. In onenight six men wereable to devour the whole of a large bear. A strong drink made from the strawberry and myrtle, producing the effect of opium, has yielded to brandy. Sugar and tea are highly esteemed; but snuff is a delight. Lisiansky records that they would go out of their way 20 miles merely for a pinch of snuff. They have tools of their own, which they use with skill. Their baidars, or canoes, are distinguished for completeness of finish and beauty of form. Unlike those of the Koloschians, lower down on the coast, which are hollowed from the truuks of trees, they are of sealskins stretched on frames, with a single aperture in the covering to receive toe person of the master. The same skill appears in the carving of wood, whalebone, and walrus ivory. Their general mode of life . is said to be like that of other tribes on the coast. To all else they add a knowledge of the healing art and a passion for gaming. Opposite to Kodiak, on the mainland to the east, are the Tshugatchi, a kindred tribe, speaking the same language, but a different dialect. To the north is a succession of kindred tribes, differing in speech, and each with local peculiarities, but all are represented as kind, courteous, hospitable, and merry. It is a good sign that merriment should prevail. Their tribal names are derived from a neighbouring river or some climatic circumstance. Thus, for instance, those on the mighty Kwich- pak have the name of Kwichpakmutes, or " inhabitants of the great river." Those on Bristol Bay are called by their cousins of Norton Sound. Akhkofighmutes, or "inhabitants of the warm country;" and the same designation is applied to the Kodiaks. Warmth, like other things in this world, is comparative, and to an Esquimaux at 64° north latitude another five degrees further south is in a " warm country." These northern tribes have been visited lately by our Telegraphic Exploring Expedition, who report especially their geographical knowledge and good disposition. As the remains of Major Kennicott descended the Kwichpak they were not without sympathy from the natives. Curiosity also had its part. At a village where the boat rested for the night the Chief announced that it was the first time white men had ever been seen there. (2) The Aleutians, sometimes called Western Esquimaux, number about 3,000. By a plain exaggeration, Knight, in his " Cyclopaedia of Geography," puts them at 20,000. Their home is the archipelago of volcanic islands whose name they bear, and also a portion of the contiguous Peninsula of Alaska. The well-defined type has already disappeared, but the national dress continues still. This is a long shirt with tight sleeves, made from the skins of birds, either the sea-parrot : or the diver. This dress, which is called the "parka," is indispensable I as clothing, blanket, and even as habitation during a voyage, being a j complete shelter against wind and cold. They, too, are fishermen and huntsmen, but they seem to excel as artificers. Their instruments and y- utensils haye been noted for beauty, and their baidars were pronounced I APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 307 by Saner "infinitely superior to those of any other island." Still another navigator declares them to be " the best means yet discovered to go from place to place, either upon the deepest or shallowest water, in toe quickest, easiest, and safest manner possible." (Langsdorfs I Voyage," vol. i, p. 43.) These illustrate their nature, which is finer thanthatof their neighbours. They are at homeon thewater, and excite admiration by the skill with which they manage their elegant craft, so that Admiral Liitke recognized them as Cossacks of the sea. Ounalaska is the principal of these islands, and, from the time they were first visited, seems to have excited a peculiar interest. Captain Cook painted it kindly; so have succeeding navigators. And here have lived the highlanders who seem to have given to navigators a new experience. Alluding especially to them, the reporter of Billings' voyage says: "The capacity of the natives of these islands- infinitely surpasses every idea that I had formed of the abilities of savages" (p. 273). There is another remark of this authority which shows how they had yielded, even in their favourite dress,>to the demands of commerce. After saying that formerly they had worn garments of sea-otter, he pathetically adds, "but not since the Bussians have had any intercourse with them" (p. 155). Boor islanders! Exchanging choice furs, once their daily wear, for meaner skins. (3) The Kenaians, numbering as many as 25,000, take their common name from the Beninsula of Kenay, with Cook's Inlet on the north and Brince William Sound on the south. Numerous beyond any other family in Bussian America, they belong to a widespread and teeming Indian race, which occupies all the northern interior of the continent, stretching from Hudson Bay in the east to the Esquimaux iu the west. This is the great nation called sometimes Athabascan, or from the native name of the Bocky Mountains, on whose flanks they live, Che- pewyan, but more properly designated as Tinneh, with branches in . Southern Oregon and Northern California, and then again, with other offshoots, known as the Apaches and Navajoes, in Arizona, New Mexico, and Chihuahua, more than thirty parallels of latitude from the parent stem. Of this extended race, the north-western branch, known to travellers as Loucheux, and in their own tongue as Kutchin, after occupying the inner portion of Bussian America on the Voukon and the Borcupine, reached the sea-coast at Cook's Inlet, where it appears under the name of Kenaians. The latter are said to bear about the same relation in language and intellectual development to the entire group as the islanders of Kodiak bear to the Esquimaux. The Kenaians call themselves in their own dialect by yet another name, Thnainas, meaning men, thus by a somewhat boastful designation asserting manhood. Their features aud complexion associate them with the red men of America, as does their speech. The first to visit them was Cook, and he was struck by the largeness of their 68 heads, which seemed to him disproportioned to the rest of the body. They were strong-chested also, with thick short necks, spreading faces, eyes inclined to be small, white teeth, black hair, and thin beard. Their persons seemed to be clean and decent without grease or dirt. In dress they were thought to resemble the people of Greenland. Their boats had a similar affinity. But in these particulars they were not unlike the other races I have already described. They were clothed in the skins of animals with the fur outward, or sometimes in the skins of birds, over which, as a protection against rain, was worn a frock made from the intestines of the whale, and resembling the gold-beater leaf, as was observed by Behring in his early voyage. 308 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Their boats were of seal-skin stretched on frames, and were of different | sizes. In one of these Cook counted twenty women and one man, | besides children. At that time, though thievish in propensity, they 1 were not uuamiable. Shortly afterwards they were reported by Bussian m traders, who had much to do with them, as " good people," who behaved | "in a very friendlv manner." (Billings'"Voyage," p. 197.) I do not | know that they have lost this character since. Here, too, is the accustomed multiplicity of tribes, each with its idiom, | sstiou of descent from the dOj usage for the men o tribe, when the tribal character of the mother attaches to the offspring, which is another illustration of the law of slavery partus sequitur ven- trem. ■ The late departure from this usage is quoted by the old men as a sufficient reason for the mortality which has afflicted the Kenaians, unhappily introduced by the Bussians. In 1838,10,000 persons on the coast are reported to have fallen victims to this disease. (4) Last of the four races are the Koloschians, numbering about 4,000, who occupy the coast and islands from the mouth of the Copper Biver to the southern boundary of Bussian America, making about sixteen Settlements. Thev belong to au Indian group extending as far south as the Straits of Fuca, aud estimated to contain 25,000 souls. La Berouse, after considerable experience of the aborigines on the Atlantic coast, asserts that those whom he saw here are not Esquimaux. and is equivalent Vln'dian." Here again is another variety of languages and as many separate nations. Near Mount St. Elias are the Jacoutats, who are the least known; then come the Thlinkitts, who occupy the islands aud coast near Sitka, and are known in Oregon under the name of Stikines; and then again we have the Kaigans, who, beginning on Russian' territory, overlap Queen Charlotte's Island, beneath the British flag. All these, with their subdivisions, are Koloschians, but every tribe or nation has four different divisions, derived from four different- animals, toe whale, the eagle, the crow, and the wolf, which are so many heraldic devices, marking distinct groups. There are points already noticed in the more northern groups which are repeated here. As among the Kenaians, husband and wife are of different animal devices. A crow cannot marry a crow. There is the the of c je shaped and hollowed i Aleutians which the Koloschians do not possess, but thei constant courage. As darl ;will the Some are thrifty, and show a sense of property. Some have developed ah" aptitude for trade unknown to their northern neighbours or to the Indians of the United States, and will work for wages, whether in tilling I the ground or other employment. Their superior nature discards cor- 3 poral punishment, even for boys, as an ignominy not to be endured. I They believe in a Creator and in the immortality of the soul; but here a| mystic fable is woven into their faith. ■ The spirits of heroes dead in bat- I tie are placed in the sky and appear in the Aurora Borealis. Lone- ago \ a deluge occurred, when the human family was saved in a floating ves'-H sel, which, after the subsidence of the waters, struck on a rock and broke! in halves. The Koloschians represent one-half of the vessel, and the APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 309 rest of the world the other half. Such is that pride of race which civilization does not always efface. For generations they have been warriors, prompt to take offence and vindictive, as is the nature of the Indian race; always ready to exact an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This character has not changed. still, eli t tri irth The /en to taking the i marry or possess his body, when netimes sacrifices only a dog,; life of another. He is without civil rig anything; he can eat only the offal c released by death, is thrown into the S€ his slaves, and then another Chief seek All this is indignantly described by Sir Simpson. But a slave once a freed man has all the rights of a Kolo- schian. Here, too, are the distinctions of wealth. • The rich paint their faces daily; the poor renew the paint only when the colours begin to disappear. wkP^S These are the same people who for more than a century have been a terror on this coast. It was Koloschians who received the two boats' crews of toe Bussian discoverer in 1741, as they landed in one of its wooded coves, and no survivor returned to tell their fate. They were the actors in another tragedy at the beginning of the century, when the Bussian fort at Sitka was stormed and its defenders put to death, 69 some with excruciating torture. Lisiansky, whose visit was shortly afterward, found them " a shrewd, bold, though perfidious people," whose Chiefs used "very sublime expressions," and swore oaths, like that of Demosthenes, by their ancestors living and dead, "calling heaven, earth, sun, moon, and stais to witness, particularly when they want to deceive." ("Voyage," p. 16.) Since then the fort has been repeatedly threatened by these warriors, who multiply by reinforcements from the interior, so that toe Governor '"in 1837 said, "Although 700 ouly are now in the neighbourhood, 7,000 may arrive in a few hours.'.' (Belcher's " Voyage," vol. i, p. 94.) A little later their constant character was recognized by Sir George Simpson, when he pronounced them " numerous, treacherous,.and fierce," in contrast with Aleutians, whom he describes as "peaceful even to cowardice." And yet this fighting race is not entirely indocile, if we may credit recent report, that its warriors are changing to traders." CLIMATE. III. From population I pass to Climate, wh ich is more important, as this whole region. It is uction and life, for Nature and lere at last the observations of ithe e of climate over were regarded as visionary or far-fetched are now unquestioned truth. Climate is a universal master. But nowhere, perhaps, does it appear more eccentric than in the southern portion of Bussian America. Without a knowledge of climatic laws the weather here would seem like a freak of Nature. But a brief explanation shows how all its peculiarities are the result of natural causes, which operate with a force as unerring as gravitation. Heat and cold, rain and fog, to say noto- 310 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ing of snow and ice, which play such a part in this region, are not abnormal, but according to law. This law has been known only of late years. Even » it. He records t te without n, " cattle he stops with a simple statement ever, was inconsistent with toe re A geographer, who wrote just show that the climate of Quebec i by a natural consequence, that An the "Memoires Geographiques" of gestive fact. This, how- at the time. : sailed, has a chapter to cross the contiuent, and, ler than Asia. I refer to )6). He would have been mate of Quebec does not that precisely the reverse is true; that the cl continue across the continent; that the Bacific coast of our continen is warmer than the corresponding Atlantic coast, and that Americ is warmer than Asia, so far at least as can be determined by the tw plentiful sig Beh de, even in B i side; the An hbours. i I know direct th in th at furni Boston, a 'ho w as faun remarkii g tha t the cli less seve re, tl an in c 3 side ;eeds ldn id nent," lying so near toe shore as to have a small cable fast to the trees, and only once was his ship surrounded by ice sufficiently firm to bear the weight of a man." But this intelligent navigator assigns no reason. To the common observer it seemed as if the temperature grew milder, travelling with the sun until it dipped in the ocean. Among the authorities open before me 1 quote two, which show that this difference of temperature between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts was imagined, if not actually recoguized, during the last century. Bort- lock, the Englishman, who was on this coast in 1787, after saying that during stormy and unsettled weather the air had been mild and temperate, remarks that he is "inclined to think that the climate here is La Berouse, the Frenchman, who wafheretoe^ameyear^'Shad been before in Hudson Bay, on the other side of the continent, says still more explicitly that " the climate of this coast appeared to him infi-" nitely milder than that of Hudson Bay in the same latitude, and that toe pines which he had measured here were much larger." ("Voyage," vol. ii, p. 187.) Laugsdorf, when at Sitka in 1806, records that Mr. John D. Wolff, a citizen of the United States, who had passed the winter at the Settlement, "is much surprised at finding the cold less severe than at Boston, Bhode Island, and other provinces of the United States which lie more to the south." (" Voyages," vol. ii, p. 101.) All this is now explained by certain known forces in Nature. Of these, the most important is a thermal current iu the Bacific, 70 corresponding to the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic. The latter, APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 311 having its origin in the heated waters of the Gulf of Mexico, flows as a river through the ocean northward, encircling England, bathing Norway, and warming all within its influence. A similar stream in- the Pacific, sometimes called the Japanese current, having its origin under the Equator near the Philippines aud the Malaccas, amid no common heats, after washing the ancient Empire of Japan sweeps northward until, forming two branches, one moves onward to Behring Straits aud the other bends eastward along the Aleutian Islands, and then southward along the coast of Sitka, Oregon, and California. Geographers have described this " heater," which in the lower latitudes is as high as 81 degrees of Fahrenheit, and even far to the north it is as high as 50 degrees. A chart now before me" in Findlay's " Bacific Ocean Directory" portrays its course as it warms so many islands and such an extent of coast.. An officer of the United States navy, Lieutenant Bent, in a paper before the Geographical Society of New York, while exhibiting the influence of this current in mitigating the climate of the north-west coast, mentions that vessels on the Asiatic side, becoming unwieldy with accumulations of ice on the hull and rigging, run over to the higher latitude on the American side and " thaw out." But the tepid waters which melt the ice ou a vessel must change the atmosphere wherever they flow. I hope you will not regard the illustration as too familiar if I remind you that in the economy of a household pipes of hot water are sometimes employed in tempering the atmosphere by heat carried from below to rooms above. In the economy of Nature these thermal currents are only pipes of hot water, modifying the climate of continents by carrying heat from the warm cisterns of the south iuto the most distant places of the north. So also there are sometimes pipes of hot air, having a similar purpose; and these, too, are fouud in this region. Every ocean wind, from every quarter, as it traverses the stream of heat, takes up the warmth and carries it to toe coast, so that the oceanic current is reinforced by an aerial current of constant influence. But these forces are aided essentially by the configuration of the north-west coast, with a lofty and impenetrable barricade of mountains, by which its islands and harbours are protected from the cold of the north. Occupying the Aleutian Islands, traversing the Beninsula of Alaska, and running along the margin of the ocean to the latitude of 54° 40', this mountain ridge is a climatic division, or, according to a German geographer, a "climatic shed," such as perhaps exists nowhere else in the world. Here are Alps, some of them volcanic, with Mount St. Elias higher than Mont Blanc, standing on guard against the Arctic Circle. So it seems even without the aid of science. Here is a dyke between the icy waters of Behring Sea and the milder Southern Ocean. Here is a partition between the treeless northern coast and the wooded coast of the Kenaians and Koloschians. Here is a fence which separates the animal kingdom of this region, leaving on one side the walrus and ice-fox from the Frozen Ocean, and on the other side the humming bird from the tropics. I simply repeat the statements of geography. And now you will not fail to observe how by this configuration the thermal currents of ocean and air are left to exercise all their climatic power. There is one other climaticincident here, which is now easily explained. Early navigators record the prevailing moisture. All are enveloped in the fog. Behring names an island Foggy. Another gives the same designation to a cape at the southern extremity of Bussian America. Cook records fog. La Perouse speaks of continued rain and fog in the mouth of August. And now visitors, whether for science or business, Iff 312 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. make the same report. The forests testify also. According to physical geography it could not be otherwise. The warm air from the ocean result.. Bain is nothing but atmosphere condensed and falling in drops to the earth. Fog is atmosphere still held in solution, but so far condensed as to become visible. This condensation occurs when the air is chilled by contact with a colder atmosphere. Now these very conditions occur on the north-west coast. The ocean air, as it comes in contact with the elevated range, is chilled until its moisture is set free. Add to these influences, especially as regards Sitka, toe presence of mountain masses and of dense forests, all tending to make this coast warmer in winter and colder in summer than it would otherwise be. Bractical observation has verified these conclusions of science. Any ap: rpn I ask attention to those of Ke with the Atlantic coast, whicl from the archives of the Smil learned Secretary, by a coll Bussian America under the auspices of toe Telegraph Company. studying this table we shall be able to comprehend the relative posi of this region in the physical geography of the world: ally of diffe iston, in 1 : of the Pacific coa m recently compile i Institution with i Imirable Atlas. But m, who visited 71 Mea ntemp in degrees Prec *£$££& w: Spring. me?.' tu^n. TerD" Tear. Spring. S"™- tnnm. Win- Tear. St. Michael's, Russian Fort Youkon," "Russian 14.22 27.00 17. 37 7.00 42.12 18.32 ■;.--i4 32.10 -23.7,7. 89.94 Astorfa^regon^y/'ioo' 48.88 63.44 51.30 39.38 50.75 7.52 3.68 15.13 .-20.65. 46.98 San'^rVnciscorCai-iforaia" 51.16 61.36 53.55 42.43 52.13 16.43 4.85 21.77 44.15 87.20 SS;^ Z 41 20 68 53 44 93 16.40 ** 7.66 u.uu 7.42 13 49 27.00 wifeFni" 40.12 47.84 71.35 45.75 55.79 21.52 42.78 3P- 11.64 9.88 10.31 43^22 54.19 73.07 53..91 53.69 10.48 10.53 10 16 10.06 41.24 It will be seen from this table that the winters of Sitka are relatively warm, not differing much from those of Washington, and several degrees warmer than those of New York; but the summers are colder. "The mean temperature of winter is 32° 30', while that of summer is 53° 37' The Washington winter is 38° 57'; the Washington summer is 73° 7'! These points exhibit the peculiarities of this coast—warm winters and The winter of Sitka is milder than that of many European capitals. It is much milder than that of St. Betersburgh, Moscow, Stockholm, a makes a residence to ere far from ear to be injurious to he alto. Eng- soast that theirs is the >est climate fall of rain is 89 inches. The mean iches, although in moun tainous dis- iland the fall amounts to APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 313 Copenhagen, Berne, or Berlin. It is milder even than that of Manheim, Stuttgard, Vienna, Sebastopol in the Crimea, or Turin. It is not much colder than that of Badu a. According to observations at Sitka in 1831, it froze for only two days in December and seven days in January In February the longest frost lasted five days; in March it did not freeze during the day at all, and rarely in the night. During the next winter the thermometer did not fall below 21 degrees Fahrenheit; in January 1834 it reached 11 degrees. On the other hand a temperature of 50 degrees has been noted in January. The roadstead is open throughout the year, and only a few land-locked bays are frozen. The prevailing dampness at agreeable, although it does not land is also damp, but Englishi of the world. At Sitka the am annual fall in all England is • tricts of Cumberland and West 140 inches. In Washington it is 41 inches. The forests at Sitka are so wet that they will not burn, although frequent attempts have been made to set them on fire. The houses, which are of wood, suffer from the constant moisture. In 1828 there were 20 days when it rained or snowed continuously; 120 when it rained or snowed part of the day, and only 66 days of clear weather. Some years only 40 bright days have been counted. Hinds, the naturalist, records only 37 "really clear and fine days." A scientific observer who was there last year counted 60. A visitor for 14 days found only 2 when nautical observations could be made; but these were as fine as he had ever known in any country. The whole coast from Sitka to the Beninsula of Alaska seems to have the same continuous climate, whether as regards temperature or moisture. The Island of Kodiak and the recess of Cook's Inlet are outside of this climatic curve, so as to be comparatively dry. Langsdorf reports the winters "-frequently so mild in the lower parte of Kodiak that the snow does not lie upon toe ground for any length of time, nor is anything like severe cold felt." The Aleutian Islands, further west, are somewhat colder than Sitka, although the difference is not great. The summer temperature is seldom above 66 degrees; the winter temperature is more seldom as low as 2 degrees below zero. The snow falls about the beginning of October, and is seen sometimes as late as the end of April; but it does not remain long on the surface. The mean temperature of Ounalaska is about 40 degrees. Chamisso found toe temperature of spring water at the beginning of the year to be 38 degrees 50 minutes. There are some years when it rains on this island the whole winter. The fog prevails from April till the middle of July, when they seem for the time to be driven further north. The islands northward toward Behring Straits are proportionately colder, but you will not forget that the American coast is milder than the opposite coast of Asia. 72 From Mr. Bannister I have an authentic statement with regard to the temperature north of toe Aleutiaus, as observed by himself in the autumn of 1865 and the months following. Even here toe winter does not seem so terrible as is sometimes imagined. During most of the time work could be done with comfort in the open air. It was only when it stormed that the men were kept within doors. In transporting supplies from St. Michael's to Nulato, a distance of 250 miles, they found no hardship, even when obliged to bivouac in the On Norton Sound and the Kwichpak Biver winter may be said to commence at the end of September, although the weather is not severe r 314 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. till the end of October. The first snow falls about the 20th or 25th September. All the small ponds and lakes were frozen early in October. The Kwichpak was frozen solid about the 20th or 25th of this month. On the 1st November the harbour at St. Michael's was still open, but on the morning of the 4th it was frozen solid enough for sledges to cross on the ice. In December there were two thaws, one of them accompanied by rain for a day. The snow was about 2 feet deep at the end of the month. January was uniformly cold, and it was said that at one place 65 miles north-east of St. Michael's the thermometer descended to 58 degrees below zero. February was unusually mild all over the country. In the middle of the month there was an extensive thaw, with showers of rain. About half of the snow disappeared, leaving much of the ground bare. March was pleasant, without very cold weather. Its mean temperature was 20 degrees; its minimum was 3 degrees below zero. Spring commences on the Kwichpak on the 1st May, or a few days later, when the birds return and vegetation begins to appear. The ice did not entirely disappear from the river till after the 20th May. The sea ice continued in the Bay of St. Michael's as late as the 1st June. i higher in the interior of toe country elling on the Kwichpak in June com- into the Kwichpak, helps to swell t four, if not five, months in the on is sometimes at 65 degrees below ths of a recent winter it stood at 50 n. In summer it rises above 80 st occurs at times in August. The he north-east wind brings cold. lis, and then again showers alter- jks hard at an average of 2£ feet i a severe winter it is 6 feet thick. >urs of Nature, although not invit- lsive region, so far as is known, and on its great rivers, from its . ice, with contrasts and varieties VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. IV. Vegetable Products depend upon climate. They are determined by its laws. Therefore what has been already said upon the one prepares the way for the consideration ofthe other; and here we have the reports of navigators and the suggestions of science. From the time this coast was first visited navigators reported the aspects which Nature assumed. But their opportunities were casual, and they were obliged to confine themselves to what was most obvious. As civilization did not exist, the only vegetable products were indigenous to the soil. These were trees, berries, and plants. At the first landing, on the discovery of the coast by Behring, Steller found among the provisions in one of the Indian cabins " a sweet herb dressed for food in the same manner as in Kamtchatka." That " sweet herb " is the first vegetable production of which we have any record on this The summer tempe rature s much than on the coast. Bartie s trave plained sometimes from tli e heat. The Biver Youko n, whic h, flowi that stream, is navi gable for at 1 year. The therm on leter at FortYc zero of Fahrenheit, and for three n degrees below zero withoi it varia degrees in the shac e; but a hard south-west wind b rings -1 warmth Some years there is no rai n for m nate with sunshin i. The snow deep. The ice is 4 or 5 fe Bt thick Life at Fort Youko aunde rthesei ing, is not into! era! le. Such is the cliir ate of this 62 along its coast, an long ii s islam southern limits to its most north such as Milton describes: APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 315 Portlock i abundance, such i f of the pines large "" ad then agai coast. At the same time, although ashore only six hours, this naturalist " gathered herbs and brought such a quantity to the ship that the describing of them took him a considerable time." This description it is said was adopted afterwards in the Flora Siberica. - Trees were noticed even before landin g. They enter into descriptions, and are often introduced to increase the savage wildness of the scene. La Perousedoubts "if the deep valleys of the Alps and the Pyrenees present a picture so frightful and at the same time so picturesque, which would deserve to be visited by the curious if it were not at one of the extremities of the earth." (Tom. 2, p. 191.) Lisiansky, as he approached the coast of Sitka, records that "nothing presented itself to the view but impenetrable woods reaching from the waterside to the very tops of the highest mountains, so wild and gloomy that they appeared more adapted for the residence of wild beasts than of men" (p. 145). Liitke portrays the " savage and picturesque aspect" of the whole north-west coast. (Tom. 1, p. 101.) As navigators lauded they saw Nature in detail; and here they were impressed by the size of th e trees. Cook finds at Prince William Souud " Canada and spruce pine, some of them tolerably large." La Perouse alludes to trees more than once. He describes pines measuring 6 feet in diameter and 140 feet iu height, and theu again introduces us to " those superb pines fit for the masts of our largest vessels." es in Cook's Inlet" wood of different kinds in great ne, black birch, witch hazel, and poplar; ugh for lower masts to a ship of 400 tons Port Etches he noticed " trees of the pine j large, a good quantity of alder, a kind of hazel, but not Jarger tnan will do for making handspikes." Meares reports "woods thick," also " the black pine in great plenty, capable of making excellent spars." Vancouver reports in latitude 60° 1'" a woodland country." Sauer, who was there a little later, in the expedition of Billings, saw trees 6 feet in diameter, and 150 feet iu height, "excellent wood for shipbuilding." In Brince William Souud toe ship " took in a variety of fine spars," and he proceeds to say," the timber comprised a variety of pines of immense thickness aud height, some entirely tough and fibrous, and of these we made our best oars." Lisiansky says that at Kodiak, " for want of fir he made a new bowsprit of one of the pine trees, which answered admirably." Liitke testifiesto the "magnificent pine and fir" at Sitka, adding what seems an inconsistent judgment with regard to its durability. Belcher notices Garden Island, in latitude 60° 21', as "covered with pine trees;" and then again at Sitka speaks of a "very fine-grained bright yellow cypress as the most valuable wood, which, besides being used in boats, was exported to the Sandwich Islands in return especially for Chinese goods." Turning westward from Cook's Inlet the forests on toe sea-line are' rarer until they entirely disappear. The first Settlement on the Island of Kodiak was on the south-western coast, but toe want of timber there caused its transfer to the north-eastern coast, where there are "considerable forests of fine tall trees." But where trees are wanting grass seems to abound. This is the case with Kodiak, the Beninsula of Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands generally. Of these, Ounalaska, libelled by the immortal verse of Campbell, has been the most described. This well-known island is without trees; but it seems singularly adapted to the growth of grass, which is often so high as to impede the traveller, and to over-top eveii the willows. The mountains themselves are for a considerable distance clothed with rich turf. One of these scenes .6 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. represented in a print which you will find among the vie getation of the Pacific iu the London reproduction of th ittlitz. This peculiarity was first noticed by Cook, who sa; ilor sententiousness, that he did not see there "a single stic any size," but "plenty of grass very thick and to a greai itke records that after leaving Brazil he met nothing so agi 78 of the s work of North i Alask ig Sea, toe forests do bays and sounds, alto 311 to within a short disi is region. In Nor ton's ;s "a coast covere Lwi n the country, " s nail leter." The next lay ded, and the branc lies hpak and its afflu le is the most plentifi ii: but th ^e covered with poplar anc willow art show that there mi ist be Iarg the American coast is not withou lace of trees. At Fort Y.0 ukon,i grass." Navigators no tice the coi of the two continents. K otzebiK wo approach each other wa s struc Jo. snow and icicles on the Asiati : the highest tof the continei it is hard id egrees highe r in Bussi 'fa ct, on the Atlai itic coast er 3 ai e no trees. All this i .Next after trees e irlynavii un dii profusion. Not a sa po rts "berries" on Norton sk Bortlock fin Is at Bort At Br ) Willia ht 1 ter stock." Meares saw there " a few black currant'bushes." BI finds at Kodiak " several species of berries, with currants and raspberries in abundance, the latter white, but extremely large, being bigger than a mulberry." Langsdorf finds all these at Ounalaska, with whortleberries and cranberries besides. Belcher reports at Garden Island " strawberries, pigeon-berries, whortleberries, and a small cranberry in tolerable profusion, without going in search of them." All these I quote precisely, and in the order of time. Next to berries were plants for food; and these were in constant abundance. Behring, on landing at the Shumagin Islands, observed the natives "to eat roots which they dug out of the ground, and scarce shaked off the earth before they ate them." Cook reports at Ounalaska I a great variety of plants, such as are fouud in Europe and other APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 317 parts of America, particularly Newfoundland, one of which was like parsly and ate very well, either in soups or salads." La Perouse, who lauded in latitude 58° 37', finds a French bill of fare, including 74 celery, chicory, sorrel, and almost all that exists in the meadows and mountains of France," besides several grains for forage. Every day and each meal the ship's kettle was fiUed with these supplies, and all ate them in soups, ragouts, and salads, much to the benefit of their health. Portlock reports at Port Etches, besides water- cresses, "just above the beach, between the bay and the lake, a piece of wild wheat, about 200 yards long and 5 yards broad, growing at least 2 feet high, which with proper care might certainly be made a useful article of food;" at Cook's Inlet he reports "ginseng and snakeroot." Meares reports at Prince William Sound "snakeroot and ginseng, some of which the natives have always with them as a medicine." Billings finds at Kodiak " ginseng, wild onions, and the edible roots of Kamtchatka;" and then again in Brince William Sound he finds " plenty of ginseng and some snakeroot." Vancouver finds at Cape Bhipps "wild vegetables in great abundance." Langsdorf adds to the list at Ounalaska " Siberian parsnip, or sweet plant." These, too, I quote precisely, and in the order of time. Since the establishment of Europeans on this coast an attempt has been made to introduce the nutritious grains and vegetables known to the civilized world, but without very brilliant success. Against wheat and rye and against orchard fruits there are obstacles of climate, perhaps insuperable. All these require summer heat; but here the summer is comparatively cold. The northern limit of wheat is several degrees below the southern limit of these possessions, so that this friendly grain is out of the question. Bye flourishes further north, as do oats also. The supposed northern limit of these grains embraces Sitka and grazes the Aleutian Islands. But there are other climatic conditions which are wanting at least for rye. One of these is dry weather, which is required at the time of its bloom. Bossibly toe clearing of the forest may produce some modification of the weather. For the present barley grows better, and there is reason to believe that it may be cultivated successfully very far to the north. It has ripened at Kodiak. There are many garden vegetables which have become domesticated. Liitke reports that at Sitka potatoes flourish; so that all have enough. Langsdorf reports the same of Kodiak. There are also radishes, cabbages, cauliflowers, peas, and carrots—making a very respectable list. The same, perhaps, may be found at Ounalaska. On Norton Sound I hear of radishes, beets, and cabbages. Even as far north as Fort Youkon, on the parallel of 67°, potatoes, peas, turnips, and even barley have been grown; but the turnips were unfit for the table, being rotten at the heart. A recent resident reports that there are no fruit trees, and not even a raspberry bush, and that he lost all his potatoes during one season by a frost in the latter days of July; but do not forget that these potatoes were the wall-flowers of the Arctic Circle. Thus it appears that the vegetable productions of the country are represented practically by trees. The forests which overshadow the coast from Sitka to Cook's Inlet are all that we can show under this head out of which a revenue can be derived, unless we add ginseng, which is so much prized by the Chinese, and perhaps also snakeroot. Other things may contribute to the scanty support of a household; but timber will in all probability be an article of commerce. It has been so already. Ships from the Sandwich Islands have come for it, and f 318 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. there is reason to believe that this trade may be extended indefinitely, so that the Bussian America may be on the Bacific like Maine on the Atlantic, and the lumbermen of Sitka may vie with their hardy brethren of the East. M *W Here a question occurs. These forests as described seem to afford all that can be desired. The trees are abundant, and they are perfect in size, not unlike— The tallest pine Hewn on Norwegian hills to he the mast Of some great Admiral. But a doubt arises as to their commercial value. Here we have the inconsistent testimony of Liitke. According to him the pmes and firs which he calls "magnificent" constitute an untried source of commercial wealth. Not only California, but other countries poor in trees, like Mexico, the Sandwich Islands, and even Chile, will need them. And yet he does not conceal an unfavourable judgment of the timber, which as seen in the houses of Sitka, suffering from constant moisture, did not seem to be durable. ("Voyage," Tom. 1, pp. 105, 151.) Sir Edward Belcher differs from the Bussian Admiral, for he praises especially the timber of "the higher latitudes, either for spars or plank." ("Voyage," vol. i, p. 300.) Berhaps its durability may depend upon the climate where it is used, so that the timber of this region may be lasting enough when transported to another climate. In the rarity of trees on the islands and mainland of the Bacific the natural supply is in Bussian America. One of the early navigators even imagined that China must look this way, and he expected that "toe woods would yield a handsome revenue when the Bussian commerce with China should be established." American commerce with China is established. Berhaps timber may become one of its staples. A profitable commerce in timber has begun at Buget Sound. By the official Beturns of 1866 it appears that it was exported to a long list of foreign countries and places, in which I find Victoria, Honolulu, Callao,' Tahiti, Cauton,Valparaiso, Adelaide, Hong Kong, Sydney,Montevideo, London, Melbourne, Shanghae, Beru, Coquimbo, Calcutta, Hilo, Cape Town, Cork, Guaymas, and Siam; and that in this commerce were employed no less than 18 ships, 30 barks, 4 brigs, 28 schooners, and 10 steamers. The value of the lumber and spars exported abroad was over half a million dollars, while more than four times that amount was shipped coastwise. But the coasts of Bussian America aredarker 75 with trees than those further south. The pines in which they abound do not flourish as low down as Buget Sound. Northward they are numerous and easily accessible. In our day the flora of the coast has been explored with care. Kitt- litz, who saw it as a naturalist, portrays it with the euthusiam of an early navigator; but he speaks with knowledge. He, too, dwells on the "surprising power and luxuriance" of the pine forests, describing them with critical skill. The trees which he identifies are the Pinus Canadensis, distinguished for its delicate foliage; the Pinus mertensiana, a new species, rival of the other in height; and Pinus palustris, growing in swampy declivities, and not attaining height. In the clearings or on the outskirts of thickets are shrubs, being chiefly a species of Bubus, with flowers of carmine and aromatic fruit. About and over all are mosses and lichens invigorated by the constant moisture, while colossal trees, undermined or uprooted, crowd the surface, reminding the scientific observer of the accumulations of the coal measures. Two different prints in the London reproduction of the work of Kittl'itz present pictures of these vegetable productions grouped for beauty and APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 319 instruction. I refer to these, and also to the Essay of Hinds on the I Begions of Vegetation," the latter tobe found at the end of the volumes containing Belcher's "Voyage." In turning from the vegetable products of this region, it will not be out of place if I refer for one moment to its domestic animals, for these are necessarily associated with such products. Some time ago it was stated that cattle had not flourished at Sitka owing to the want of proper pasturage aud the difficulty of making hay in a climate of such moisture. Hogs are more easily sustained, but feeding on fish instead of vegetable products, their flesh acquires a fishy taste, which does not recommend it. Nor has there been greater success with poultry for this becomes the prey of the crow, whose voracity here is absolutely fabulous. A Koloschian tribe traces its origin to this bird, which in this neighbourhood might be a fit progenitor. Not content with swooping upon hens and chickens, it descends upon hogs to nibble at their tails, and so successfully '" that the hogs here are without tails," and then it scours the streets so well that it is called the scavenger of Sitka. But there are other places more favoured. The grass at Kodiak is weU suited to cattle, and it is supposed that sheep would thrive there. The grass at Ounalaska is famous, and Cook thought the climate good for cattle, of which we have at least one illustration. Langsdorf reports that " a cow grazed there luxuriously for several years, aud then was lost in the mountains." That grazing animal is a good witness. Berhaps also it is typical of the peaceful inhabitants. MINERAL PRODUCTS. V. In considering the Mineral Products I shall first ask attention to such indications as are afforded by the early navigators. They were not.geologists. Indeed, geology was at that time unknown. They saw only what was exposed. And yet during the long interval that has elapsed not very much has been added to their conclusions. The existence of iron is hardly less uncertain now than then. The existence of copper is hardly more.certain now than then. Gold, which is so often a dangerous ignis fatuus, did not appear to deceive them. But coal, which is much more desirable than gold, was reported by several, and once at least with reasonable certainty. The boat that landed from Behring, when he discovered the coast, found among other things "a whetstone on which it appeared that copper knives had been sharpened." This was the first sign of that mineral wealth which already excites such an interest. At another point where Behring landed " one of the Americans had a knife hanging by his side, of which his people took notice on account of its unusual make." It has been supposed that this knife was of iron. Next came Cook, who, when in Brince William Sound, saw " copper and iron." In his judgment the iron came through the intervention of Indian tribes from Hudson Bay or the Settlements on the Canadian lakes, and his editor refers in a note to the knife seen by Behring as coming from the same quarter; but Cook thought that the copper was obtained near at home, as the natives, when engaged in barter, gave the idea " that having so much of this metal of their own, they wanted no more." Naturally enough, for they were not far from the Copper Biver. Maurelle, the French officer in the service of Spain, landed in sight of Mount St. Elias in 1779, and he reports Indians with arrow-heads of copper, "which made the Spaniards suspect mines of this metal there." La Berouse, who was also in this neighbourhood, after mentioning that the naturalists APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. e expedition allowed no rock or stone to escape observation, reports ''and coal, and then adds tha ' itains contain mines of i atives had daggers of ii r metal was common eno with regard to the. way nounce that the and copper. He rei >orts fu rther that ud sometime 3 of red copper ; that the with them, s d he then st paired t very c besenn ments and uestion of ,tals. He ow to forge d worl e copper." h bone or i d also "an iron /"ancouver's account ofthe natives on lin the soul hern li mits o : Bussian Sitka " a thii tplate c f virgi q copper," 3ports8»£ure h had c( mallea unefro ale lum ps of cop- 76 as a pound, also necklaces, all obtained in barter with other natives further north. Bortlock, while in Cook's Inlet, in latitude 59 26', at a place called Graham's Harbour, makes another discovery. Walking round the bay he saw "two veins of Kennel coal just above the beach, and with very little trouble several pieces were got out of the bank nearly as large as a man's hand." If the good captain did not report more than he saw, this would be most important, for from the time when the amusing biographer of Lord Keeper North described that clean flaky coal which he called " candle," because often used for its light, but which is generally called " Kennel," no coal has been more of a household favourite. He reports further that," returning on board in the evening he tried some of the coal, and found it to burn clear and well." Add to these different reports the general testimony of Meares, who, when dwelling on the resources of this country, boidly includes " mines which are known to be between the latitudes of 40° aud 60° north, and which may hereafter prove a most valuable source of commerce between America and China." . It is especially when we seek to estimate the mineral products that we feel the want of careful explorations. We know more of the roving aborigines than of these stationary citizens of the soil. We know more of the trees—a tree is conspicuous. A mineral is hidden in the earth to be found by chance or science. Thus far it seems as if chance only had ruled. The Bussiau Government handed over the country to a trading Company, whose exclusive interest was furs. The Company only followed its business when it looked to wild beasts with rich skins rather than to the soil. Its mines were above ground, and not below. There were also essential difficulties in the way of any explorations. The interior was practically inaccessible. The thick forest, saturated with rain and overgrown with wet mosses, presented obstacles which nothing but enlightened enterprise could overcome. Even at a short distance from the port of Sitka all effort had failed, and the inner recesses of the island, only 30 miles broad were never penetrated. The late.Brofessor Henry D. Bogers, in his admirable paper on the " Bhysical Features of America," being a part of his contribution to Keith Johnston's Atlas, full of knowledge aud of fine generalization says of this north-west belt of country that it is "little known in its topography to any but the roving Indians and the thinly-scattered fur- trappers." But there are certain general features which he proceeds to designate. According to him it belongs to what is known as the Ter- APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 321 tiary Beriod of geology, intervening between the Cretaceous Beriod and that now in progress, but including also granite, gneiss, and ancient metamorphic rocks. It is not known if the true coal measures prevail in any part, although there is reason to believe that they may exist on the coast ofthe Arctic Ocean between CapeLisburne and Boint Barrow. Beginning at the south, we have Sitka and its associate islands, composed chiefly of volcanic rocks, with limestone near. Little is known even of the coast between Sitka and Mount St. Elias, which, itself a volcano, is the beginning of a volcanic region occupying the Beninsula of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and having no less than thirty volcanoes, some extinct, but others still active. Most of the rocks here are volcanic, and the only fossiliferous beds are of the Tertiary Period. North of Alaska and near the mouth of the Kwichpak, toe coast seems to be volcanic or metamorphic, and probably tertiary, with a vein of lignite near the head of Norton's Sound. At the head of Kotzebue's Sound the cliffs abound in the bones of elephants and other extinct mammals, together with those of the musk ox and animals now living in the same latitude. From Kotzebue's Sound northward the coast has a volcanic character. Then at Cape Thomson it is called sub-carboniferous, followed by rocks of the carboniferous age, being lime-stones, shales, and sand-stones, which extend from Cape Lisburne far round to Point Barrow. At Cape Beaufort, very near the 70th parallel of latitude, and north of the Arctic Circle, on a high ridge a quarter of a mile from the beach, is a seam of coal, which appears to be of the true coal measures. From this general outline, which leaves much in uncertainty, I come now to what is more important. It is not entirely certain that iron has been found "in this region, although frequently reported. The evidence points to the south, and also to the north. Near Sitka it was reported by the Bussian engineer Doroschin, although it does not appear that anything has been done to verify his report. A visitor there as late as last year saw excellent iron, reported to be from a bed in the neighbourhood, which was said to be inexhaustible, and with abundant wood for its reduction. Then again on Kotzebue's Sound specimens have been collected. At 66° 35' Kotzebue found a false return in his calculations, which he attributes to the disturbing influence of " iron." A resident on the Youkon thinks that there is iron in that neighbourhood Silver also has been reported at Sitka by the same Bussian engineer who reported iron there; and, like the iron, in " sufficient quantity to pay for the working." Lead was reported by the Bussian explorer, Lieutenant Zagoyskin, on the lower part of the Kwichpak, but it is not known to what extent it exists. Copper is found on the banks of the Copper Biver, called by the natives Mjednaja, meaning copper, and of its affluent, the Tshitachitna, in masses sometimes as large as 40 lbs. Of this there can be little doubt. It is mentioned by Golowin in the "Archiv" of Erman as late as 1863. It was undoubtedly from this neighbourhood that the copper was obtained which arrested the attention of the early navigators. Traces of copper are also found in other places on the coast, also in the mountains near the Youkon, where the Indians use it for arrow-heads. Coal seems to exist all along the coast, according to Golowin 77 " everywhere in greater or less abundance." Traces of it are reported on the islands of toe Sitkan Archipelago, and this is extremely probable, for it has been worked successfully on Van- S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 21 322 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. couver's Island below. It is also found on the Kenaian Peninsula, Alaska, the Islaud of TJnga, belonging to the Shumagin group, Ounalaska, and far to the north at Beaufort. At the latter place it is " slaty, burning with a pure flame and rapid consumption," and it is supposed that there are extensive beds in the neighbourhood better in quality. For an account of this coal I refer to the scientific illustrations of Beechey's " Voyage." The natives also report coal in the interior on toe Kwichpak. The coal of Ounalaska, and probably of Alaska, is tertiary, aud not adapted for steamers. With regard to that of Unga scienti'hc authorities are divided. That of the Kenaian Beninsula is the best and the most extensive. It is found on the eastern side of Cook's Inlet, half-way between Cape Anchor and the Bussian Settlement of St. Nicholas, in veins three-quarters of a yard or more in thickness, and ranging in quality from mere carboniferous wood to anthracite. According to one authority these coal veins extend and spread themselves far in the interior. It appears that this coal has been more than once sent to California for trial, and that it was there pronounced a good article. Since then it has been mined by the Company, not only for their own uses, but also for export to California. In making these statements I rely particularly upon Golowin in the "Archiv" of Erman, and also upon the elaborate work of Grewingk, in the " Transactions of the Mineralogical Society of Betersburgh " for 1848 and 1849 (p. 112), where will be found a special map of the Kenaian Beninsula. Gold is less important than coal, but its discovery produces more excitement. The report of gold in any quarter stimulates the emigrant or the adventurer who hopes to obtain riches swiftly. Nor is this distant region without such experience. Ouly a few years ago the British Colony of Victoria was aroused by a rumour of gold in the mountains of the Stikine Biver, not far in the interior from Sitka. At once there was a race that way, aud the solitudes of this river were penetrated by hunters in quest of the glittering ore. Discomfiture ensued. Gold had been found, but not in any sufficient quantities reasonably accessible. Nature for the present set up obstacles. But failure in one place will be no discouragement in another, especially as there is reason to believe that the mountains here contain a continuation of those auriferous deposits which have become so famous further south. The Sierra Nevada chain of California reaches here. Traces of gold have been observed at other points. One report places a deposit not far from Sitka. The same writer, who reports iron there, also reports that during the last year he saw a piece of gold as large as a marble, which was shown by an Indian. But the Bussian engineer, Doroschin, furnishes testimony more precise. He reports gold in at least three different localities, each of considerable extent. The first is the mountain range on the north of Cook's Inlet aud extending into Alaska, consisting principally of clay slate with permeating veins of diorite, the latter being known as a gold-bearing rock. He observed this in the summer of 1851. About the same time certain Indians from the Bay of Jakutat, not far from Mount St. Elias, brought him specimens of diorite found in their neighbourhood, making, therefore, a second deposit. In the summer of 1855 the same engineer found gold on the southern side of Cook's Inlet, in the mountains of the Kenay Peninsula. Satisfying himself, first, that the bank occupied by the redoubt of St. Nicholas, at the mouth of the Kaknu Biver, is gold-bearing, he was induced to follow the development of diorite in the upper valley of the river, and as he ascendedfouud a gold-bearing alluvion graduallyincreas- APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 323 big, with scales of gold becoming coarser and coarser, instead of being scarcely visible as at first. It does not appear that the discoveries on Cook's Inlet were pursued, but it is reported that the Hudson Bay Company, holding the country about the Bay of Jakutat under a lease from the Bussian Company, have found the diorite in that neighbourhood valuable. This incident has given rise to a recent controversy. Bussian journals attacked the engineer for remissness in not exploring the Jakutat country. He has defended himself by setting out what he actually did in the way of discovery, and the essential difficulty at the time in doing more; all which will be found in a number just received of the work to which I have so often referred, the "Archiv von Bussland," by Erman, for 1866, vol. xxv, p. 229. . ' ' ' Thus much for the mineral resources of this new-found country as they have been recognized at a few points on the extensive coast, leaving the vast unknown interior without a word. FURS. VI. I pass now to Furs, which at times have vied with minerals in value, although the supply is more limited and less permanent. Trappers are "miners" of the forest, seeking furs as others seek gold. The parallel continues also in the greed and oppression unhappily incident to the pursuit. A Bussian officer who was one of the early visitors to this coast remarks that to his mind the only prospect of relief for the suffering natives "consists in the total extirpation of the animals of the chase," which he thought, from the daily havoc, must take place in a very few years. This was at the close of the last century. The trade still continues, though essentially diminished, an important branch of commerce. Early in this commerce desirable furs were obtained in barter for a trifle, and when something of value was exchanged it was much out of proportion to the furs. This has been the case generally in deal- 78 ing with the natives, until their eyes have been slowly opened. In Kamtchatka, at the beginning of the last century, half-a-dozen sables were obtained in exchange for a knife, and a dozen for a hatchet; and the Kamchatkadales wondered that their Cossack conquerors were willing to pay so largely for what seemed worth so little. Similar incidents on the north-west coast are reported by the early navigators. Cook mentions that in exchange for "beads " toe Indians at Brince William Sound "gave whatever they had, even their fine sea-otter skins," which they prized no more than other skins until it appeared how much they were prized by their visitors. Where there was no competition prices rose slowly, and many years after Cook, toe Bussians at Kodiak, "in return for trinkets and tobacco," received twelve sea-otter skins and fox-skins of different kinds to the number of near 600. These instances will show in a general way the spirit of this trade even to our own day. On the coast, and especially in the neighbourhood of the factories, the difference in the value of furs is recognized, and a proportionate price is obtained, which Sir Edward Belcher found in 1837 to be "for a moderately good sea-otter skin from six to seven blankets, increasing to thirteen for the best, together with sundry knickknacks." But in the interior it is otherwise. A recent resident in the region of the Youkon assures me that he has seen skins worth several hundred dollars bartered for goods worth only 50 cents. 324 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Besides whalers and casual ships with which the Esquimaux are in the habit of dealiug, the commerce in furs on both sides of the continent north of the United States has for a long time been in the hands of two Corporations, being the Hudson Bay Company, with its Directors in London, and the Eussian-American Company, with its Directors in St. Betersburgh. The former is much the older of the two, and has been the most flourishing. Its original members were none other than Brince Bupert, the Duke of Albemarle, Earl Craven, Lord Ashley, and other eminent associates, who received a Charter from Charles II in 1670 to prosecute a search after a new passage to the South Sea, and to establish a trade in furs, minerals, and other considerable commodities in all those seas and in the British possessions north and west of Canada, with powers of government, the whole constituting a colossal monopoly,, which stretched from Labrador and Baffin Bay to an undefined west. 'At present this great Corporation is known only as a Fur Company, to which all its powers are tributary. For some time its profits have been so considerable that it has been deemed advisable to hide them by nominal additions to the stock. With the extinction of the St. Betersburgh Corporation, under the present Treaty, the London Corporation will remain the only existing.Fur Company on the continent, but necessarily restrained in its operation to British territory. It remains to be seen into whose hands the commerce on the Bacific side will fall now that this whole region will be open to the unchecked enterprise of our citizens. This remarkable commerce began before the organization of the Company. Its profits may be inferred from a voyage in 1772, described by Coxe, between Kamtchatka and the Aleutians. The tenth part of the skins being handed to the custom-house, the remainder was distributed in fifty-five shares, containing each twenty sea-otters, sixteen black and brown foxes, ten red foxes, three sea-otter tails, and these shares were sold on the spot at from 800 to 1,000 roubles each, so that the whole lading brought about 50,000 roubles. ' Tbe cost of these may be inferred from the articles given in exchange. A Bussian outfit, of which I find a contemporary record, was, among other things, " 7 cwt. of tobacco, 1 cwt. of glass beads, perhaps a dozen spare hatchets, and a few superfluous knives of very bad quality, an immense number of traps for foxes, a few hams, a little"rancid butter." With such imports- against such exports the profits must have been considerable. From Langsdorf we have a general inventory of the furs at the beginning ofthe century in the principal magazine of the Bussian Company on the Island of Kodiak, collected on the islands, toe Beninsula of Alaska, Cook's Inlet, Brince William Sound, and the continent generally. Here were "a great variety of the rarest kinds of fox-skins," black, blackish, reddish, silver grey, and stone fox, the latter probably a species of the Arctic; brown and red bears, "the skins of which are of great value," and also "the valuable black bear;" the zizel marmot and the common marmot, the glutton; toe lynx, chiefly of whitish grey; the reindeer; the beaver; the hairy hedgehog; the wool of a wild American sheep, whitish, fine, and very long, but he could never obtain sight of the animal that produced this wool; also "sea-otters, once the principal source of wealth to the Company, now nearly extirpated, a few hundreds only being annually collected." The same furs were reported by Cook as found on this coast in his clay, including even the wild sheep. They all continue to be found, except that I hear nothing of any wild sheep save at a Sitkan dinner. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 325 There has been much exaggeration with regard to the profits of the Bussian Corporation. An English writer of authority calls them 1 immense," and adds that formerly they were much greater. I refer to the paper of Mr. Betermann, read before the Geographical Society of London in 1852 (Journal, vol. xxii, p. 120). The number of skins reported at times is prodigious, although this fails to reveal precisely the profits. For instance, Bribylow collected within two years on the islands north of Alaska which bear his name the skins of 2,000 sea- otter, 6,000 dark ice-foxes, 4.0,000 sea-bears, or ursine seals, logetoer with 1,000 pouds of walrus ivory (the poud is a Bussian weight of 36 lbs.). Liitke mentions that in 1803 no less than 800,000 skins of the ursine seal were accumulated in the factory at Ounalaska, of which 700,000 were thrown into the sea, partly because they were badly prepared, and partly in order to keep up the price, thus imitating 79 the Dutch, who for the same reason burnt their spices. Another estimate masses the collection for a series of years: From 1787 to 1817, for only a part of which time the Company existed, the Ounalaska district yielded upwards of 2,500,000 seal-skins; and ' from 1817 to 1838, during all which time the Company was in power, the same district yielded 579,000 seal-skins. Assuming what is improbable, that these skins were sold at 25 roubles each, some calculating genius has cyphered outthe sum-total of proceeds at more than 85,000,000 roubles; or, oallingthe rouble 75 cents, a sum-total of more than 63,000,000 dollars. Clearly the latter years can show no approximation to any such doubtful result. Descending from these lofty figures, which, if not exaggerations, are at least generalities, and relate partly to the earlier periods, before the time of the Company, we shall have a better idea of the commerce if we look at authentic Beports for special periods of time. Admiral von Wrangel, who was for so long Governor, must have been well informed. According to statements in his work, adopted also by Wappaus in his " Geographic," the Company from 1826 to 1833, a period of seven years, exported the skins of the following animals: Nine thousand eight' hundred and fifty-three sea-otters, with 8,751 sea-otter tails, 40,000 river beavers, 6,242 river- or land-otters, 5,243 black foxes, 7,759 black-bellied foxes, 1,633 red foxes, 24,000 Bolar foxes, 1,093 lynxes, 559 wolverines, 2,976 sables, 4,335 swamp-otters, 69 wolves, 1,261 bears, 505 musk rats, 132,160 seals, 830 pouds of whalebone, 1,490 pbuds of walrus ivory, and 7,122 sacks of castoreum. What was their value does not appear. Sir George Simpson, the Governor-in-chief of the Hudson Bay Company, who was at Sitka in 1841, represents the returns of the Company for that year as follows: Ten thousand fur-seals, 1,000 sea-otters, 2,500 land-otters, and 20,000 walrus teeth, without including foxes and martens. There is still one Other Beport for the year 1852, as follows: One thousand two hundred and thirty-one sea-otters, 129 young sea- otters, 2,948 common otters, 14,486 fur-seals, 107 bears, 13,300 beavers, 2 wolves, 458 sables, 243 lynxes, 163 mole-skins, 1,504 bags of castoreum, 684 black foxes, 1,590 cross foxes, 5,174 red foxes, 2,359 blue Arctic foxes, 355 white Arctic foxes, and also 31 foxes called white, perhaps albinos. „ • Besides these Beports for special years, I am enabled to present from the Bussian Tables of Captain Golowin another, covering the period from 1842 to 1860, inclusive, being as follows: Twenty-five thousand six hundred and two sea otters, 63,826 "otters," probably river-otters, 161,042 beavers, 73,944 foxes, 55,540 Arctic foxes, 326 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 2,283 bears, 6,445 lynxes, 26,384 sables, 19,076 musk rats, 2,536 ursine seals, 338,604 marsh-otters, 712 " pairs of hare," 451 martens, 104 wolves, 46,274 castoreums, 7,309 beavers' tails. Here is an inexplicable absence of seal-skins. On the other hand, sables, which belong to Asia and not to America, are mentioned. The list is Bussian, and perhaps embraces furs from the Asiatic islands of the Company. From a competent source I learn that the value of skins at Sitka during the last year was substantially as follows : Sea-otter, 50 dollars; marten, 4 dollars; beaver, 2 dol. 50 c; bear, 4 dol. 50 c; black fox, 50 dollars; silver fox, 40 dollars; cross fox, 25 dollars; red fox, 2 dollars. A recent price current in New York gives the prices there, in currency, as follows: Silver fox, 10 to 50 dollars; cross fox, 3 to 5 dollars; red fox, 1 dollar to 1 dol. 50 c; otter, 3 to 6 dollars; mink, 3 to 6 dollars; beaver, 1 to 4 dollars; musk rat, 20 to 50 cents; lynx, 2 to 4 dollars; black bear, 6 to ' 12 dollars; dark marten, 5 to 20 dollars. These New York prices vary from those of Sitka. The latter will be the better guide to a comprehension of the proceeds at Sitka, which, of course, must be subject to deduction for the expenses of the Company. Of the latter I say nothing now, as I have considered them in speaking of the existing Government. The skins, it appears, are obtained in three different ways: first through the hunters employed by the Company; secondly, in payment of taxes imposed by the Company; and thirdly, by barter or purchase from independent natives. But with all these sqnrces it is certain that the Bussian Company has enjoyed no success comparable to that of its British rival; and still more, there is reason to believe that latterly its profits have not been large. Amid all the concealment or obscurity which prevails with regard to. the revenues of the Company, it is easy to see that for some time there must be a large amount of valuable furs on this coast. The bountiful solitudes of the forest and of the adjoining waters have not yet been exhausted; nor will they be until civilization has supplied substitutes. Such, indeed, is a part of that humane law of compensation which contributes so much to the general harmony. For the present there will be trappers on the land, who will turn aside only a little from its prizes there to obtain from the sea its otter, seal, and walrus. It cannot be irrelevant, and may not be without interest, if I call your attention briefly to those fur-bearing animals which are about to be brought within the sphere of Bepublican Government. If we cannot find their exact census we may at least learn something of their character and value. The comparative poverty of vegetation in the more northern parts of the continent contrasts with the abundance of animal life, especially if we embrace those tenants of the sea who seek the land for resb. 80 These northern parallels are hardly less productive than the Tropics. The lion, the elephant, and the hippopotamus find their counterpart in the bear, the walrus, and the seal, without including the sables and the foxes. Here again Nature by an unerring law adapts the animal to the climate, and in providing him with needful protection creates also a needful supply for the protection of man: and this is the secret of rich furs. Under the sun of the Tropics such provision is as little needed by man as by beast, and therefore Nature, which does nothing inconsistent with a wise economy, reserves it for other places. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 327 Among the furs most abundant in this commerce are those of the fox, in its different species and under its different names. Its numbers were noticed very early, and gave the name to the eastern group of the Aleutians, which were called Lyssie Ostrowa, or Fox Islands. Some of its furs are among the very precious. The most plentiful is the red, or as it is sometimes called American; but this fur is not highly prized. Then comes the Arctic, of little value, and of different colours, sometimes blue, and in full winter dress pure white, whose circumpolar home is indicated by his name. The cross fox is less known, but much more sought from the fineness of its fur and its colour. Its name is derived from dark cruciform stripes, extending from the head to the back and at right angles over the shoulders. It is now recognized to be a variety of the red, from which it differs more iu commercial value than in general character. The black fox, which is sometimes entirely of shining black with silver white at the tip of toe tail, is called also the silver fox, when the black hairs of the body are tipped with white. They are of the same name in science, sometimes called Argentatus, although there seem to be two different names, if not different values, in commerce. This variety is more rare than the cross fox. Not more than four or five are taken during a season at any one post in the fur countries, although the hunters use every art for this purpose. The temptation is great, as we are told that "its fur fetches six times the price of any other fur produced in North America." Sir John Bichardson, who is the authority for this statement, forgot the sea-otter, of which he seems to have known little. Without doubt the black fox is admired for its rarity and beauty. LaHontan, the French Commander in Canada under Louis XIV, speaks of its fur in his time as worth its weight in gold. Among the animals whose furs are less regarded are the wolverine, known in science as Guloov Glutton, and called by Buffon the quadruped vulture, with a dark-brown fur, which becomes black in winter, and resembles that of the bear, but is not so long nor of so much value. There is also the lynx, belonging to the feline race, living north of the great lakes and eastward of the Bocky Mountains, with a fur moderately prized in commerce. There is also the music rat, which is abundant in Bussian America, as it is common on this continent,-whose fur enters largely into the cheaper peltries ofthe United States in so many different ways, and with such various artificial colours, that the animal would not know his own skin. Among inferior furs I may include that very respectable animal, the black bear, reported by Cook "in great numbers and of a shiny black colour." The grizzly bear is less frequent and is inferior in quality of fur to all the varieties of the bear. The brown bear is supposed to be a variety of the black bear. The Bolar bear, which at times is a formidable animal, leaving a footprint in the snow 9 inches long, was once said not to make an appearance west of the Mackenzie Biver, but he has been latterly found on Behring Straits, so that he, too, is included amoug our new population. The black bear, in himself a whole population, inhabits every wooded district from the Atlantic to the Bacific, and from Carolina to the ice of the Arctic, becoming more numerous inland than'on the coast. Langsdorf early remarked that he did not appear on the Aleutians, but on the continent, near Cook's Inlet and Brince William Sound, which are well wooded. He has been found even on the Isthmus of Banama. Next to the dog he is the most cosmopolitan and perhaps the most intelligent of animals, and among those of the forest he is the most known, even to the nursery. His showy fur once 328 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. enjoyed great vogue in hammercloths and muffs, and it is still used in military caps and pistol holsters; so that he is sometimes called the army bear. Latterly the fur has fallen in value. Once it brought in London from 20 to 40 guineas. It will now hardly bring more than that same number of shillings. The beaver, amphibious and intelligent, has a considerable place in commerce, and also a notoriety of its own as the familiar synonym for- the common covering of a man's head, and here the animal becomes historic. By Eoyal Broclamation in 1638 Charles I of England prohibited the use of any material in the manufacture of hats " except beaver stuff or beaver wool." This Broclamation was the death-warrant of beavers innumerable, sacrificed to the demands of the trade. Wherever they existed over a wide extent of country, in the shelter of forests or in lodges built by their extraordinary instinct, they were pur- id j Ei have been < Buttheaui as the Cast The mart that belong region of t the Youkor to that of 1 luriug the last century was enormous, ai it is said to have reached the unaccount re these figures as I find them. Latterly ained for hats, so that this fur has beeonn 1 is still hunted. A medicine supplied by 1 mm, has a fixed place in the Materia Medi ed abi the ole 81 )ded cold forests of ot much inferior e. In the trade pies the largest more than 50,000 His far: ;he Musei and almost to the level of the ikon and along the coast. Speci- i Institution attest its occurrence mphibious, poly hunter. Ea ut ;epo ifnl i Young and old, male and fe: head for the sake of their s improvidence with an experi ways: first, the race was market was glutted sometim prices did not pay the expen adopt the plan of the Hud: number of males who have done easily, from the know Under this economy seals hi supply. Besides the common seal there ar appearance, so as to justify different ns there was a wasteful destruction of them, ale, were indiscriminately knocked on the ins. Sir George Simpson, who saw this need eye, says that it was hurtful in two Imost exterminated; and secondly, the s with as many as 200,000 a year, so that ie of carriage^ The Bussians were led to full gr< nly lited l, which can be systematic nabits of the animal, ltiplied again, vastly increasing the various species, differing in », and yet all with a family APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 329 •character, including the sea-leopard, so named from his spots; the elephant seal, from his tusks and proboscis; the sea-lion, with teeth, mane, and a think cylindrical body. These are of little value, although their skins are occasionally employed. The skin of the elephant seal is strong, so as to justify its use in the harness of horses. There is also the sea-bear, or ursine seal, very numerous in these waters, whose skin, especially if young, is prized for clothing. Steller speaks with grateful remembrance of a garment which he made from one while on the desert island after the shipwreck of Behring. Associated with the seal, and belonging to the same family, is the walrus, called by the British the sea-horse, the morse, or the sea-cow, and by the French bite a la grande dent. His two tusks, rather than his skin, are the prize of the hunter. Unlike the rest of the seal family, he is monogamous and not polygamous. Cook vividly describes an immense herd asleep ou the ice, with one of their number on guard, and when aroused roaring and baying aloud, while they huddled and tumbled together like swine. At times their multitude is so great that before being aroused several hundreds are slaughtered, as game in a park. Their hide is excellent for carriage braces, and is useful about ship. But it is exclusively for their ivory that these hecatombs are sacrificed. A single tooth weighs sometimes several.pounds. Twenty thousand teeth reported as an annual harvest of the Bussian Company must cost the lives of 10,000 walruses. The ivory compares with that of the elephant, and is for some purposes superior. Long ago, in the da; Saxon history, a Norwegian at the Court of Alfred eXhib I King " teeth of price and excellency" from what he called a h Unquestionably these were teeth of walrus. In these respects it far surpasses tl beautiful and valuable, must yield t ited to toe orse whale. he pa ind ott maternal af sivelytothe ng exclu- 3 the Bay the repc i pr id . ham Strait "in immense numl the natives to procure as man taking." But these navigator find it in these places now. I of 60° and 65° north latitude that its range is very limited. Evidently it was Cook wh the sea-otter to Englishmen. In the Table of Contents o age are the words, "Description of the Sea-Otter;" am that follow there is a miuute account of this animal, an parable fur, which is pronounced "certainly s to idds i ble "the of this part of North America, where so merce may be met with, cannot be a ma' words stimulated the commercial enterpr nesses followed. Meares, describing his \ this fur high above all other furs:" the fines ing beauty;" and La Berouse made it kno^ most precious and common in those seas." ing information with regard to it was elabc torical Introduction to the Voyages of Ma: under the auspices of the Institute. ble The se of that day. Other wit- >yage to this coast, placed in the world, and of exceed- n in France as " peltry the Shortly afterwards all exist- ately set forth in the "His- jhand," published at Baris - 330 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The sea-otter was known originally to the Bussians in Kamtchatka, where it was called, the sea-beaver; but the discoveries of Behring constitute an epoch in the commerce. His shipwrecked crew, compelled to winter on the desert island which now bears his name, found this animal in flocks, ignorant of men and innocent as sheep, so that 82 they were slaughtered without resistance to the number of more than 800. Their value became known. Fabulous prices were paid by the Chinese, sometimes, according to Coxe, as high as 140 roubles. At such a price a single sea otter was more than an ounce of gold, and a flock was a gold mine. The pursuit of gold was renewed. It was the sea-otter that tempted the navigator, and subsequent discovery was under the incentive of obtaining the precious fur. Muller, calling him a beaver, says, in his "History of Bussian Discovery," " the catching of beavers enticed many people to go to these parts, and they never returned without great quantities, which always produced large prices." All that could be obtained were sent to China, which was the objective point commercially for this whole coast. The trade became a fury. Wherever the animal with exquisite purple-black fur appeared he was killed; not always without effort, for he had learned something of his huntsman, and was now coy and watchful, so that his pursuit was often an effort, but his capture was always a triumph. The natives, who had been accustomed to his furs as clothing, surrendered them. Sometimes a few beads were their only pay. All the navigators speak of the unequal barter. "Any sort of beads" were enough, according to Cook. The story is best told by Meares, who says "such as were dressed in furs instantly stripped themselves, and in return for a moderate quantity of spike nails we received sixty-five sea-otter skins." Vancouver describes the "humblefashion" of the natives in poor skins as a substitute for the beautiful furs appropriated by their " Bussian friends." The picture is completed by toe Bussian navigator when he confesses that "after the Bussians had any intercourse with them" the natives ceased to wear sea-otter skins. La the growing rage the sea- otter nearly disappeared. Langsdorf reports them as "nearly extirpated, since the high prices for them induce the Bussians for a momentary advantage to kill all they meet with, both old and young. Nor can ' they see that by such a procedure they must soon be deprived of the . trade entirely." This was in 1804. Since then the indiscriminate massacre has been arrested. Meanwhile, our countrymen entered into this commerce, so that Bussians, Englishmen, and Americans were all engaged in slaughtering sea-otters and selling their furs to the Chinese until the market of'Canton was glutted. Lisiansky, on his arrival there, found " immense quantities in American ships." By-and-by the commerce was engrossed by the Bussians and English. And now it passes into the hands of the United States with all the other prerogatives belonging to this territory. FISHERIES. VII. I come now to the Fisheries, the last head of this inquiry, and not inferior to any other in importance; perhaps the most important of all. What even are sea-otter skins by the side of that product of the sea, incalculable in amount, which contributes to the sustenance of the human family? Here, as elsewhere, in the endeavour to estimate the resurces of this region, there is vagueness and uncertainty. Information at least is wanting; and yet we are not entirely ignorant. Nothing is clearer than APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 331 that fish in great abundance are taken everywhere on the coast, around the islands, in the bays, and throughout the adjacent seas. On this head the evidence is constant and complete. Here are oysters, clams, crabs, and a dainty little fish of the herring tribe called toe "oolachan," contributing to the luxury of the table, and so rich in its oily nature that the natives are said to use it sometimes as a " candle." Besides these, which I name now only to put aside, are those great staples of commerce and mainstays of daily subsistence, the salmon, the herring, the halibut, the cod, and, behind all, the whale. This short list is enough, for it offers a constant feast, with the whale at hand for light. Here is the best that the sea affords for the poor or the rich; for daily use or for the fast days of the Church. Here also is a sure support at least to the inhabitants of the coast. But in order to determine the value of this supply we must go further and ascertain if these various tribes of fish, reputed to be in such numbers, are found under such conditions and in such places as to constitute a permanent and profitable fishery. This is the practical question, which is still undecided. It will not be enough to show that the whole coast may be subsisted by its fish. It should be shown further that the fish of this coast can be made to subsist other places, so as to become a valuable article of commerce. And here uncertainty begins. The proper conditions of an extensive fishery are not yet understood. It is known that certain fisheries exist in certain waters and on certain soundings, but the spaces of ocean are obscure, even to the penetrating eye of science. Fishing banks known for ages are still in many respects a mystery, which is increased where the fishery is recent or only coastwise. There are other banks, which fail from local incidents. Thus very lately a cod fishery was commenced on Bochdale Bank, 65 miles northwest of the Hebrides; but the deep rolling of the Atlantic and the intolerable weather compelled its abandonment. Before proceeding to consider the capacity of this region for an extensive fishery it is important to know such evidence as exists with regard to the supply, and here again we must resort to the early navigators and visitors. Their evidence, reinforced by modern reports, is an essential element, even if it does not entirely determine the question. Down to the arrival of Europeans on this coast the natives lived on fish. This had been there constaut food, with small additions from the wild vegetation of toe country. In summer it was fish freshly caught \ in winter it was fish dried or preserved. At the first landing on the discovery Steller found in the deserted cellar which he visited 83 " store of red salmon," and the sailors brought away " smolced fishes that appeared like carp, aud tasted very well." This is the earliest notice of fish on this coast, which are thus directly associated with its discovery. The next of interest which appears is the account of a Bussian navigator in 1765, who reports on the Fox Islands, and especially Ounalaska, " cod, perch, pilchards, smelts." Thus early cod appears. If we repair to "Cook's Voyages" we shall find the accustomed instruction, and here I shall quote with all possible brevity. At Nootka Sound he reports fish " more plentiful than birds," of which the principal sorts in great numbers were " the common herring, but scarcely exceeding 7 inches in length, and a smaller sort, the same with the anchovy or sardine," and now and then " a small brownish cod, spotted with white." Then, again, he reports at the same place " herrings and sardines and small cod," the former "not only eaten fresh, but likewise c 332 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. dried and smolted." In Brince William Sound he repor fish got were some torsk and halibut, chiefly brought sell." Near Kodiak he reports that, "having three people caught upward of a hundred halibuts, some of.w lbs., and none less than 20 lbs.," and he adds, naturally seasonable refreshment." In Br that "theonly i the natives to epor ishi reportstoat f jw nat-nsn. In Norton Sound four knives made ar 400 lbs. weight from an old ire of fish caught n hoop on this he Ounalaska, he areportT"pler ty of fish, at first ^;i«; opping at esh md once a ltd if the island jrs he reports that "they dry I arg^StlJ he hal to t Cook's Inlet: "The "Hereabouts would I Juno 4: "A few I istract in brief. Ma gside, ed to record his ,e halibut and cod." md fine. Several fishing alongside for flounders caught codand halibut." June 22: " the canoe out some distance in the bay, audit soon returned with a fine load of cod and hal!hut. This induced me to send her out frequently with a fishing party, and they caught considerably more than was sufficient for daily consumption." June 30: "In hauling the seine caught a large quantity of herrings and some salmon; the herrings, though small, were very good, and two hogsheads of them were salted for sea store." July 7: "We daily caught large quantities of salmon, but, the unsettled state of the weather not permitting us to cure them on board, sent the boatswain wi th a party on shore to build a house to smoke them iu." July 11: " The seine was frequently hauled, and not less than 2,000 salmon caught at each haul. The weather, however, preventing us from curing them as well as could have been wished, we kept only a sufficient quantity for present use and let the rest escape. The salmon were now in such numbers along the shores that any quantity whatever might be caught with the greatest ease." All this testimony of the APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 333 English navigator is singularly explicit, while it is in complete harmony with that of the Bussian visitors and of Cook, who preceded. The Beport of Meares is similar, although less minute. Speaking of the natives generally, he says "they live entirely upon fish, but of all others they prefer the whale." Then, again, going into more detail, ho says, "vast quantities of fish are to be found, both on the coast and in the sounds or harbours. Among these there are the halibut, herring, sardine, silver beam, salmon, trout, cod, all of which we have seen in the possession of the natives, or have been caught by ourselves." The herrings he describes as taken iu such numbers "that a whole village has not been able to cleanse them." At Nootka the salmon was of a very delicate flavour, and " the cod taken by the natives of the best quality." French testimony is not wanting, although it is less precise. The early navigator, who was on the coast in 1779, remarks that "the fish most abundant is the salmon." La Berouse, who was there iu 1787, meutions a large fish weighing sometimes more than 100 lbs., and several other fish, but he preferred "the salmon and trout, which the Indians sold in larger numbers than could be consumed." A similar report was made by Marchant, the other French navigator, who finds the sea and rivers abounding in " excellent fish," particularly salmon and trout. 84 Afterwards came the Bussian navigator Billings in 1792; and here we have a similar report, only different in form. Describing the natives of Ounalaska, the book in which this visit is recorded .says "they dry salmon, cod, and halibut for a winter supply." At Kodiak, it says, "whales are in amazing numbers about the straits of the islands and in the vicinity of Kodiak." Then, again, the reporter, who was the naturalist Sauer, says, "I observed the same species of salmon here as at Okhotsk, and saw crabs." Then, again," toe halibuts in these seas are extremely large, some weighing 17 poods, or 612 lbs.. avofrdupois. The liver of this fish, as also of cod, the natives deem unhealthy and never eat, but extract the oil from them." Then, again, returning to Ounalaska, the reporter says "the other fish are halibut, cod, two or three species.of salmon, and sometimes one very common in Kamtchatka between 4 and 5 feet long." From Lisiansky, another Bussian navigator, who was on the coast in 1804,1 take two passages. The first relates to the fish of Sitka. " For some time," he says, "we had been able to catch no fish but the halibut. Those of the species which we caught were fiue, some weighing 18 stone, and were of an excellent flavour. This fish abounds here from March to November, when it retires from the coast till the winter is at an end." The other passage relates to the subsistence of toe inhabitants during the winter. "They live," he says, "on dried salmon, train oil, and the spawn of fish, especially that of herrings, of which they always lay in a good stock." Langsdorf, who was there at the same time, is more full and explicit. Of Ounalaska he says "the principal food consists of fish, sea-dogs, and the flesh of whales. Among the fish the most common and most abundant are several sorts of salmon, cod, herrings, and holybutt. The holybutts, which are the sort held in the highest esteem, are sometimes of an enormous size, weighing even several hundred pounds." Then, again, of Kodiak he says, "the most common fish, those which fresh and dry constitute a principal article of food, are herrings, cod, holybutt, and several sorts of salmon; the latter are taken^in prodigious numbers by means of nets or dams." Of Sitka he says, we have several sorts of salmon, holybutt, whitings, cod and herrings." A goodly variety. 334 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Liitke, also a Bussian, tells us that he found fish the standing dish at Sitka, from the humblest servant to the Governor, and he mentions salmon, herrings, cod, and turbot. Of salmon there are no less than four kinds, which were eaten fresh when possible, but after June they- were sent to the fortress salted. The herrings appeared in February and March. The cod and turbot were caught in the straits during winter. Liitke also reports "fresh cod" at Kodiak. I close this abstract of foreign testimony by two English authorities' often quoted. Sir Edward Belcher, while on this coast in 1837, records that "fish, halibut, and salmon of two kinds were abundant and moderate, of which the crews purchased and cured great quantities." Sir George Simpson, who was at Sitka in 1841, says, "halibut, cod, herrings, flounders, and many other sorts of fish are always to be had for the taking in unlimited quantities. Salmon have been known literally to embarrass the movements of a canoe. About 100,000 of this fish, equivalent to 1,500 barrels, are annuaUy salted for the use of the establishment." Nothing could be stronger as statement, and when we consider the character of its author, nothing could be stronger as authority. Cumidative upon all this accumulation of testimony is that of recent visitors. Nobody visits this coast without testifying. The fish are so demonstrative in their abundance that all remark it. Officers of the United States navy report the same fish substantially which Cook reported as far north as the Frozen Ocean. Scientific explorers, prompted by the Smithsonian Institution, report cod in Behring Straits, on the limits of the Arctic Circle. One of these reports that" while anchored near Ounimak in 1865 the ship, with a couple of lines, caught "a great many fine cod, most of them between 2 and 3 feet in length." He supposes that there is no place on the coast where they are not numerous. A citizen of Massachusetts, who has recently returned from a prolonged residence on this coast, writes me from Boston, under date of the 8th March, 1867, that "the whale and cod fisheries of the North Bacific are destined to form a very important element in the wealth of California and Washington Territory, and that already numbers of fishermen are engaged there, and more are intending to leave." From all this testimony there can be but one conclusion with regard, at least, to certain kinds of fish. Salmon exist in unequaUed numbers, so that this fish, so aristocratic elsewhere, becomes common enough. Not merely the prize of epicures, it is the food of all. Not merely the pastime of gentle natures, like Isaac Walton or Humphrey Davy, who employ in its pursuit an elegant leisure, its capture is the daily reward of the humblest. On Vancouver's Island it is the constant ration given out by the Hudson Bay Company to the men in their service. At Sitka ships are supplied with it gratuitously by the natives. By the side of the incalculable multitudes swarming out of the Arctic waters, haunting this extended coast, and peopling its rivers, so that at a single haul Bortlock took not less than 2,000, how small an allowance are the 200,000 which the salmon fisheries of England annually supply. Herring seem to be not less multitudinous than the salmon. Their name, derived from the German heer, signifying an army, is amply verified. As on the coast of Norway they move in such hosts at times that a boat makes its way with difficulty through the compact mass. I do not speak at a venture, for I have received this incident from a scientific gentleman who witnessed it on the coast. This fish, less aristocratic than the salmon, is a universal food; but here it would seem to be enough for all. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 335 The halibut, which is so often mentioned for its size and abun- 85 dance, is less generally known than the others. It is common in the fisheries of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. In our country its reputation is local. Even at the seaport of Norfolk, in Virginia, it does not appear to have been known before 1843, when its arrival was announced as that of a distinguished stranger: "Our market yesterday morning was enriched with a delicacy from the northern waters, the halibut, a strange fish in these parts, known only to epicures and naturalists." The larger fish are sometimes coarse and far from delicate, but they furnish a substantial meal, while the smaller halibut is much liked. The cod is perhaps the most generally diffused and abundant of all, for it swims in all the waters of this coast from the Frozen Ocean to the southern limit, and in some places it is in immense numbers. It is a popular fish, and when cured or salted is an excellent food in all parts of the world. Palatable, digestible, and nutritious, the cod, as compared with other fish, is as beef compared with other meats, so that its incalculable multitudes seem to be according to a wise economy of Nature. A female cod is estimated to cdntain 3,400,000 eggs. Talk of multiplication a hundredfold! Here it is to infinity. Imagine these million eggs grown into fish, and then the process of reproduction repeated, and you have numbers which, like astronomical distances, are beyond human conception. But here the ravenous powers of other fish are more destructive than any efforts of the fisherman.. Behind all these is the whale, whose corporal dimensions fitly represent the space which he occupies in the fisheries of the world, hardly diminished, by petroleum or gas. On this extended coast and in all these seas he is at home. Here is his retreat and playground. This is especially the case with the right whale, or, according to whalers, the | right whale to catch," with his bountiful supply of oil and bone, who is everywhere throughout this region, appearing at all points, and swarming its waters. At times they are very large. Kotzebue reports them at Ounalaska of fabulous proportions, called by the natives "Aliamak," and so long "that people engaged at the opposite end of the fish must halloo very loud to be able to understand each other." There is another whale known as the " bow-head," which is so much about Kodiak that it is sometimes called the Kodiak whale. The valuable sperm whale, whose head and hunch are so productive in spermaceti, belongs to a milder sea, but he sometimes strays to the Aleutians. The narwhal, with his two long tusks of ivory, out of which was made the famous throne of the early Danish Kings, belongs to the Frozen Ocean; but he, too, strays into the straits below. As no sea is now mare clausum, all these may be pursued by a ship under any flag, except directly on the coast and within its territorial limit. And yet it seems as if the possession of this coast as a commercial base must necessarily give to its people peculiar advantages in this pursuit. What is now done under difficulties will be done then with facilities, such at least as neighbourhood supplied to the natives even with their small craft. In our country the whale fishery has been a great and prosperous commerce, counted by millions. It has yielded very considerable gains, and sometimes large fortunes. The town of New Bedford, one of the most beautiful in the world, has been enriched by this fishery, and yet you cannot fail to remark the impediments which the business has been compelled to overcome. The ship has been fitted onthe Atlantic coast for a voyage of two or three years, and all the crew have entered into a 336 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. partnership with regard to the oil. Traversing two oceans, separated by a stormy cape, it reaches its distant destination at last in these northern seas, and commences its tardy work, interrupted by occasional rest and opportunity to refit at the Sandwich Islands. This now will be changed, as the ship sallies forth from friendly harbours near the game which is its mighty chase. From the whale fishery I turn to another branch of inquiry. Undoubtedly there are infinite numbers of fish ou this coast; but in order to determine whether they can constitute a permanent and profitable fishery, there are at least three different considerations which must not be disregarded: (1) the existence of banks or soundings; (2) proper climatic conditions for catching and curing the fish; (3) a market. 1. The necessity of banks or soundings is according to reason. Fish are not caught in the deep ocean. It is their nature to seek the bottom, where they are found in some way by the fisherman, armed with trawl, seine, or hook. As among the ancient Bomans private luxury provided tanks and ponds for the preservation of fish, so Nature provides banks,, which are only immense fish pveserves. Soundings attest their existence in a margin along the coast; but it becomes important to know if they actually exist to much extent away from the coast. On this point our information is already considerable, if not decisive. The Sea and Straits of Behring as far as the Frozen Ocean have been surveyed by a naval expedition of the United States under Commander John Bogers. From one of his charts now before me it appears that, beginning at the Frozen Ocean aud descending through Behring Straits and. Behring Sea, embracing Kotzebue Sound, Norton Bay, and Bristol Bay, to the Beninsula of Alaska, a distance of more than 12 degrees, there are constant uninterrupted soundings from 20 to 50 fathoms, thus presenting an immense extent proper in this respect for fishery. The famous Dogger Bank, between England and Holland, teeming with cod and constituting an inexhaustible fishing ground, has 90 fathoms of water. South of Alaska another chart shows soundings along the coast, with a considerable extent of bank in the neighborhood of the Shumagins and Kodiak, being precisely where all the evidence shows the existence of cod. These banks, north and south of Alaska, taken together, according to the indications of the two charts, have an extent unsurpassed by any other in the world. There is another illustration full of instruction. It is a Map 86 of the World, in the new work of "Murray on Mammals," " showing approximately the 100-fathom line of soundings," prepared from information furnished by the Hydrographic Department of the British Admiralty. Here are all the soundings of the world. At a glance you discern the remarkable line on the Bacific coast, beginning at 40 degrees of latitude and widening constantly in a north-westerly direction; then with a gentle concave to the coast, stretching from Sitka to the Aleutians, which it envelops with a wide margin, and then embracing and covering Behring Straits to the Frozen Ocean; the whole space, as indicated on the map, seeming like an immense unbroken sea-meadow adjoining the land, and constituting plainly the largest extent of soundings in length and breadth known in the world, larger even than those of Newfoundland added to those of Great Britain. This map, which has been prepared by a scientific authority, simply in the interest of science, is an unimpeachable and disinterested witness. Actual experience is better authority still. I learn that the people of California have already found cod-banks in these seas, and not deterred by distance have begun to gather a harvest. In 1866 no less than Aleutians with a better fish; and then, again, other fishing groun better in every way, were discovered south of Alaska, in the neighbc hood of the Shumagins, with an excellent harbour at hand Here ! vessel began its work on the 14th May, and, notwithstanding stor weather, finished it on the 24th July, having taken 52,000 fish . 1 largest catch in a single day was 2,300. The average weight of the 1 dried was 3 lbs. Old fishermen compared the fish in taking and qua] with that of Newfoundland. Large profits are anticipated. While! from the Atlantic side bring at San Francisco not less than 12 cent pound, it is supposed that Shumagin fish at only 8 cents a pound \ yield a better return than the coasting trade. It remains to be seei these flattering, reports are confirmed by further experience. From an opposite quarter is other confirmation. Here is a let which I have just received from Charles Bryant, Esq., at presen Member of the Massachusetts Legislature, but for eighteen ye acquainted with these seas, where he was engaged in the whale fishe After mentioning the timber at certain places as a reason for the ace sition of these possessions, he says: But the chief'est value, and this alone is worth more than the pittance asked foi consists in its extensive cod and halibut fish grounds. To the eastward of Kodial adsi In another letter Mr. Bryant se to Cook's Inlet widen as they ei that there are also large shoals again off Cross Sound and Sitk; he never examined " tin i th of hi cbu when and where to obtain fish if he wi beyond any charts of soundings which 11 are coincident with it as far as they go soundings in Bristol Bay and in various t navigators have done the same. Careful much that at this time the bottom of Behrii as far as the Frozen Ocean, constituting pletely known in its depth and character. Add to all this the official Beport of Mr. Giddings, Acting Si of Washington Territory, made to the Secretary of the Int< 1866, where he says: e William Sound, and ship-master adds that 3 exact limits, but only s, that he might know lem. His report goes m, although the charts k particularly notices long the coast. Other 3 have accomplished so aud of Behring Straits mmense bank, is eoui- andS Sitka, are fully equal to the largest taken in the eastern -wat. From all this evidence, including maps and pers< easy to see that the first condition of a conside: wanting. S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 22 338 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 2. Proper climatic conditions must exist also. The proverbial hardihood of fishermen has its limits. Elsewhere weather and storm have compelled the abandonment of banks which promised to be profitable. On a portion of this coast there can be no such rigours. South of Alaska and the Aleutians, and also in Bristol Bay, immediately to the north of Alaska, the fishing grounds will compare in temperature with those of Newfoundland' or Norway. It is more important to 87 know if the fish when taken can be properly cured. This is one of the privileges of northern skies. Within the Tropics fish may be taken in abundance, but the constant sun does not allow their preservation. The constant rains of Sitka, with only a few bright days in the year, must prevent the work of curing on any considerable scale. But the navigators make frequent mention of dry or preserved fish on the coast, and it is understood that fish are now cured at Kodiak. It had for a long time been customary on this island to dry seal flesh in the air, which could not be done on the mainland. Thus, the opportunity of curing the fish seems to exist near the very banks where they are taken. But the California fishermen carry their fish home to be cured, in which they imitate the fishermen of Gloucester. As the yearly fishing product of this port is larger than that of any other in North America, perhaps in the world, this example cannot be without weight. 3. The market also is of prime necessity. Fish are not caught and cured except for a market. Besides the extended coast, where an immediate demand must always prevail in proportion to an increasing population, there is an existing market in California, which is attested by long voyages to Kamtchatka for fish and by recent attempts to find fishing grounds. San Francisco at one time took from Okhotsk 900 tons of fish, being about one-eighth of the yearly fishing product of Gloucester. Her fishing-vessels last year brought home from the Shumagin banks 1,500 tons of dried fish and 10,000 gallons of cod-liver oil. There is also a growing market in Washington and Oregon, too, unless I am misinformed. But beyond a domestic market, spreading from the coast into the interior, there will be a foreign market of no Hmited amount. Mexico, Central America, and the States of South America, all Catholic in religion, will require this subsistence, and being southern in climate they must look northward for a supply. The two best customers of our Atlantic fisheries are Haiti and Cuba, two Catholic countries under a southern sun. The fishermen of Massachusetts began at an early day to send their cod to Portugal, Spain, and Italy, all Catholic countries under a southern sun. Our "salt" fish became popular. The Portuguese Minister at London in 1784, in a conference with Mr. Adams on a Commercial Treaty with the United States, mentioned " salt fish" among the objects most needed in his country, and added, "the consumption of this article in Portugal is immense, and he would avow that the American salt fish was preferred to any other on account of its quality." (John Adams' "Writings," vol. viii, p. 339.) Such facts are more than curious. But more important than the Bacific States of the American Continent are the great Empires of Japan and China, with uncounted populations depending much on fish. In China one-tenth subsist on fish. Notwithstanding the considerable supplies at home, it does not seem impossible for an energetic and commercial people to find a market here of inconceivable magnitude, which will dwarf that original fur trade with China that was once so tempting. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 339 From this survey you can all judge this question of the fisheries, which I only state without assuming to determine. You can judge if well-stocked fishing banks have been found under such conditions of climate and market as to supply a new and important fishery. Already the people of California have anticipated the answer, and their enterprise has arrested attention in Europe. The journal of Beterman, the "Geographische Mittheilungen," for the present year, which is the authentic German record of geographical science, borrows from a San Francisco paper to announce these successful voyages as the beginning of a new commerce. If this be so, as there is reason to believe, these coasts and seas will have a new value. The future only can disclose the form they may take. They may be a Newfoundland, a Norway, a Scotland, or perhaps a New England, with another Gloucester and another New Bedford. INFLUENCE OF FISHERIES. An eminent French writer, an enthusiast on fishes, LacepSde, has depicted the influence of fisheries, which he illustrates by the herring, calling it " one of those natural products whose use has decided the destiny of nations." Without adopting these strong words it is easy to see that such fisheries as seem about to be opened on the Bacific must exercise a wonderful influence over the population there, while they give anew spring to commerce and enlarge the national resources. In these aspects it is impossible to exaggerate. Fishermen are not as other men. They have a character of their own, taking its complexion from their life. In ancient Borne they had a peculiar holiday with games, known as "Biscatorii Ludi." The first among us in this pursuit were the Bilgrims, who even before they left Leyden looked to fishing for a support in their new home, on which King James remarked: "So God hath my soul, 'tis an honest trade; 'twas the Apostles' own calling." As soon as they reached Blymouto they began to fish, and not long afterwards appropriated the profits of the fisheries at Cape Cod to found a free school. From this Buritan origin are derived those fisheries which for a while were our chief commerce, and still continue an important element of national wealth. The cod fisheries of toe United States are now valued at more than 2,000,000 dollars aunually. Even they are inferior to the French fisheries, whose annual product is more than 3,000,000 doUars; and these again are small by the side of the British fisheries, whose annual product is not far from 25,000,000 dollars. Such an interest must be felt far and near, commercially and financially, while it contributes to the comfort of all. How soon it may prevail on the Pacific who can say? But this Treaty is the beginning. Of course it is difficult to estimate what is so uncertain, or at 88 least is prospective only. Our own fisheries, now so considerable, were small in the beginning; they were small even when they inspired the eloquence of Burke in that most splendid page never equalled even by himself. But the Continental Congress, in its original instructions to its Commissioners for the negotiation of peace with Great Britain, required as a fundamental condition, next to independence, that these fisheries should be preserved unimpaired. While this proposition was under discussion Elbridge Gerry, who had grown up among the fishermen of Massachusetts, repelled the attacks upon their pursuit in words which are not out of place here. | It is not so much fishing," he said, "as enterprise, industry, employment. It is not so much fish; it is gold, the produce of that avocation. It is the employment of those 340 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. who would otherwise be idle, toe food of those who would otherwise be hungry, the wealth of those who would otherwise be poor." After debate it was resolved by Congress that "the common right of taking fish should in no case be given up." For this principle the eldest Adams conteuded with ability and constancy until it was fixed in the Treaty, where it stands side by side with the acknowledgment of inde- In toe discussions which ended thus triumphantly, the argument for the fisheries was stated most compactly by Ealph Izard, of South Carolina, in a letter to John Adams, dated at Bails, the 24th September, 1778; and what he said then may be repeated now: I have grouped these allusions that you may see how the fisheries of that day, though comparatively small, enlisted the energies of our fathers. Tradition confirms this record. The sculptured image of a cod hanging from the ceiling in the hall of the Massachusetts House of Eepresentatives, where it was placed during the last century, constantly recalls this industrial and commercial staple with the great part which it performed. And now it is my duty to remind you that these fisheries, guarded so watchfully and vindicated with such con- small compared with what it is now. Exact figures, covering toe ten years between 1765 and 1775, show that during this period Massachusetts employed annually in the fisheries 665 vessels amounting to 25,620 tons, and only 4,405 men. In contrast with this interest, which seems so small, although at the time considerable, are the present fisheries of our country: and here again we have exact figures. The number of vessels in the cod fishery alone in 1861, just before the blight of the war reached this business, was 2,753 amounting to 137,665 tons, and with 19,271 men, being more than four times as many vessels and men, and more than five times as much tonnage, as for ten years preceding the Bevolution was employed annually by Massachusetts, representing at that time the fishing interest of the country. Small beginnings, therefore, are no discouragement to me, and I turn with confidence to the future. Already the local fisheries on this coast have developed among the generations of natives a singular gift in building and managing their small craft so as to excite the frequent admiration of voyagers. The larger fisheries there will naturally exercise a corresponding influence on the population destined to build and manage the larger craft. The beautiful baidar will give way to the. fishing- smack, the clipper, and the steamer. All things will be changed in form and proportion; but the original aptitude for the sea wiU remain. A practical race of intrepid navigators will swarm the coast, ready for any enterprise of business or patriotism. Commerce will find new arms; the country new defenders; the national flag new hands to bear it aloft. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Mr. Bresident, I now conclude this examination. From a review of .the origin of the Treaty, and the general considerations with regard to it, we have passed to an examination of these possessions under different heads, in order to arrive at a knowledge of their character and value; and here we have noticed the existing Government, which was found to be nothing but a Fur Company, whose only object is trade; then the population, where a very few Bussians and Creoles are a scanty fringe to the aboriginal races; then the climate, a ruling influence, with its thermal current of ocean and its eccentric isothermal line, by which the rigours of that coast are tempered to a mildness unknown in the same latitude on the Atlantic side; then the vegetable products, so far as known, chief among which are forests of pine and fir waiting for the axe; then the mineral products, among which are coal and copper, if not fron, silver, lead, aud gold, besides the two great products of New England, "granite-and ice;" then the furs, including precious 89 skins of the black fox and sea-otter, which originally tempted the Settlement, and have remained to this day toe exclusive object of pursuit; and lastly, the fisheries, which, iu waters superabundant with animal life beyond, any of the globe, seem to promise a new commerce to the country. All these I have presented plainly and impartially, exhibiting my authorities as I proceeded. I have done little more than hold the scales. If these have inclined on either side it is because reason or testimony on that side was the weightier. WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE. As these extensive possessions, constituting a corner of the continent, pass from the Imperial Government of Bussia, they will naturally receive a new name. They will be no longer Bussian America. How shall they be called? Clearly any name borrowed from classical history or from individual invention will be little better than a misnomer or a nickname unworthy'of such an occasion. Even if taken from our own history it will be of doubtful taste. The name should come from the country itself. It should be indigenous, aboriginal, one of the autochthons of the soil. Happily such a name exists, which is as proper in sound as in origin. It appears from the Beport of Cook, the illustrious uavigator, to whom I have so often referred, that the euphonious name now applied to the peninsula which is the continental link of the Aleutian chain was the sole word used originally by the native islanders I when speaking of the American Continent in general, which they knew perfectly well to be a great land." It only remains that, following these natives, whose places are now ours, we too should call this " great land" Alaska. Another change must be made without delay. As the Settlements of this coast came eastward from Bussia, bringing with the Bussian flag Western time, the day is earlier by twenty-four hours with them than with us, so that their Sunday is our Saturday, and toe other days of the week are in corresponding discord. This must be rectified according to the national meridian, so that there shall be the same Sunday for all, and toe other days of the week shall be in corresponding harmony. Important changes must follow, of which this is typical. All else must be rectified according to the national meridian, so that within the sphere of our common ^country there shall be everywhere the same generous rule and one prevailing harmony. Of course, the 342 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. rive place to unreformed Julian Calendar, received fr ours; old style yielding to new style. An object of immediate practical interest will be the survey of the extended and indented coast by our own officers, bringing it all within the domain of science and assuring to navigation much-needed assist- . ance, while the Bepublic is honoured by a continuation of national charts, where execution vies with seience, and the art of engraving is the beautiful handmaid. Associated with this survey, and scarcely inferior in value, will be the examination of the country by scientific explorers, so that its geological structure may become known, with its various products, vegetable and mineral. But your best work and most important endowment will be the Bepublican Government, which, looking to a long future, you will organize, with schools free to all and with equal laws, before which every citizen will stand erect in the consciousness of manhood. Here will be a moti-" ' coal itself will be insufficient. Here will be alth moi inexhaustible than any fisheries. Bestow such a Gi will bestow what is better than aU yon can receive, fish, sands of gold, choicest fur, or most beautiful i ivernment, and you phether quintals of .0 this 3rd day of August, A. d. 1870, dson, Acting Secretary of the Treas- igress, approved the 1st July, 1870, termination of Fur-bearing Animals This indenture, in duplies by and between William A. ury, in pursuance of an Ac entitled "An Act to preven in Alaska," aud the Alaskf established under the laws of the State of California, acting by John F. Miller, its Bresident and Agent, iu accordance with a Besolution of said Corporation, duly adopted at a meeting of its Board of Trustees, held the 31st January, 1870; Witnesseth, That toe said Secretary hereby leases to the said Alaska Commercial Company, without power to transfer, for the term of twenty years, from the 1st day of May, 1870, the right to en gage in the business of taking fur seals on the Islands of St. George and St. Baul, within the Territory of Alaska, aud to send a vessel or vessels to said islands for the skins of such seals. And the said Alaska Commercial Company, in consideration of their right under this lease, hereby covenant and agree to pay for each year during said term and in proportion during any part thereof, the sum of 55,000 dollars into the Treasury of the United States, in accordance with the regulations of the Secretary, to be made for this purpose under said Act, which payment shall be secured by deposit of United States bonds to that amount; and also covenant and agree to pay annually into the Treasury of the United States, under said Bules and Begulations, a revenue tax or duty of 2 dollars upon each fur seal skin taken and shipped by them, in accordance with the provisions of the Act aforesaid; and also the sum of 62£ cents for each fur seal skin taken and shipped, and 55 cents per gallon for each gallon of oil obtained from said seals for sale on said islands and elsewhere, and sold by said Company. And also covenant and agree, in accordance with said APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 343 Bules and Begulations, to furnish free of charge, the inhabitants of the Islands of St. Baul and St. George annually during said term, 25,000 dried salmon, 60 cords of firewood, and a sufficient quantity of salt, and a sufficient number of barrels for preserving the necessary supply of meat. And the said lessees also hereby covenant and agree during the term aforesaid, to maintain a school on each island, in accordance with said Bules and Begulations, and suitable for the education of the natives of said islands, for a period of not less than eight months in each year. And the said lessees further covenant and agree not to kill upon said Island of St. Baul more than 75,000 fur seals, and upon the Island of St. George not more than 25,000 fur seals per annum; not to kill any fur seal upon the island aforesaid in any other month except the months of June, July, September aud October of each year; not to kill such seals at any time by the use of firearms or other means tending to drive the seals from said islands; not to kill any female seal or any seal less than one year old; not to kill any seal in the waters adjacent to said island or on the beaches, cliffs or rocks where they haul up from the sea to remain. Aaid the said lessees further covenant and agree to abide by any restriction or limitation upon the rights to kill seals under this lease, that the Act prescribes or that the Secretary of the Treasury shall judge necessary for the preservation of such seals. And the said lessees hereby agree that they will not in any way sell, transfer or assign this lease, and that any transfer, sale or assignment of the same shall be void or of no effect. And the said lessees further covenant and agree to furnish to the several masters of the vessels employed by them, certified copies of this lease, to be presented to the Government revenue officers for the time being in charge of said islands, as the authority of the said lessees for the landing and taking said skins. And the said lessees further covenant and agree that they or their agents shall not keep, sell, give or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors on either of said islands to any of the natives thereof, such person not being a physician furnishing the same for use as medicine. And the said lessees further covenant and agree that this lease is accepted subject to all needful Bules and Begulations which sh all at any time or times hereafter be made by the Secretary of the Treasury for the collection and payment of the rentals herein agreed to be paid by said lessees, for the comfort, maintenance, education and protection of the natives of said islands, and for carrying into effect all the provisions of the Act, aforesaid, and will abide by and conform to Said Bules and Begulations. 91 And the said lessees,, accepting this lease with a full knowl edge ofthe provisions of the aforesaid Act of Congress, further covenant and agree that they will fulfil all the provisions, requirements and limitations of said Act, whether herein specifically set out or not. In witness whereof the parties aforesaid have hereunto set their hands and seals, the day and year above written. WrLLIAM A. BlCHARDSON, Acting Secretary of the Treasury. Alaska Commercial Company. (By Jno. F. Miller, President.) Executed in presence of J. H. Saville. r^" 344 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ARTICLE FROM THE "FORUM," NOVEMBER 1889, BY PROFESSOR JAMES B. ANGELL, RELATING TO AMERICAN RIGHTS IN BEHRING SEA. interest and TOn8equ«Bce.nSTneflr8t concerns our right (freely exercised of late uuder orders of our Treasury Department) to seize foreign vessels engaged in .catching fur-bearing seals In Behring Sea many miles away from land, and to send them into port for condemnation and forfeiture. The second concerns the determination of the boundary between Alaska and British America. The former is just now engaging public attention much more than the latter. Bossibly the latter may prove both the more important and the more difficult. NaturaUy enough, some Canadians whose vessels have been seized, and others who wish to annoy the Macdonald Ministry, are using sharp language about the captures. Fortunately the British Government is proceeding with much deliberation and freedom from excitement. If we are reasonable, there is good ground to believe that we can come to an understanding with England and other nations that will secure all the protection we can properly ask for our seals. What have we been doing to British vessels in Behring Sea? For more than three years armed vessels of our Bevenue Marine Service have, in obedience to the commands of the Secretaries of the Treasury, captured British vessels when it was evident that they were catching seals in that sea, even though the vessels were 40, 50, 90 miles, or even farther from shore. These seizures have been made for alleged violation of Section 1956 of the Bevised Statutes of the United States, which provides "that no person shall, without the consent of the Secretary of the Treasury, kill any otter, mink, marten, sable, fur-seal, or other fur-bearing animal within the limits of Alaska Territory, or in the waters thereof," under certain penalties. H. F. French, Acting Secretary of the Treasury, 12th March, 1881, officially interpreted that expression, "in the waters thereof," as including all the waters in Behring Sea within our boundaries. He referred to the description-of the western boundary-line of Alaska found in the Treaty of Cession by Bussia, which reads as follows: APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 345 Secretary Manning, in 1886, indorsed and adopted this view. Early in 1887 Bresident Cleveland ordered the discontinuance of proceedings against three British sealers which had been seized, the discharge of the vessels, and the release of the persons arrested. But seizures did not cease. Indeed, Secretary Bayard announced to the British Minister that the above action was taken "without conclusion of any questions which may be found to be involved." At the last Session of Congress an Act was passed (approved the 2nd March, 1889) "to provide for the protection of the salmon fisheries of Alaska." In its third section it provides that "Section 1956 of the Bevised Statutes of the United States [quoted in part], above, is hereby declared to include and apply to all the dominions of the United States in the waters of the Behring Sea." It makes it the duty of the Bresident each year to make proclamation accordingly. On the 22nd March last Bresident Harrison issued his Broclamation, warning "all persons against entering the waters of Behring Sea within the dominion of the United States for the purpose of violating the provisions of said section 1956, Bevised Statutes," and declaring that "all persons found to be or to have been engaged in any violation of the laws of the United States will be arrested and punished as above provided." 93 Now, whatever may be the nature of our acts of which the British complain; it is obvious that we have not been claiming an exclusive jurisdiction for all purposes over Behring Sea, as in 1821 Bussia claimed it for 100 Italian miles from the coast all the way from. Behring Strait down to the 51st degree of latitude. The Czar, by his Ukase, excluded foreigners from pursuing "commerce, whaling, fishing, and all other industry" in those waters and on the adjacent lands. Under Mr. French's ruling, followed by Mr. Manning, our revenue- cruizers have been directed to arrest foreign vessels only to prevent them from killing fur-bearing animals. The chief object of the legislation by Congress is to prevent the indiscriminate slaughter and early extinction of the fur-seals, which chiefly resort to the Bribyloff Islands to breed. If sealers are allowed to catch them ad libitum, while they are on their way to their breeding place, these animals will soon be exterminated, as they have been elsewhere. Therefore the number that the Alaska Commercial Company, which has the exclusive privilege of taking seals on the Islands of St. Paul and St. George of the Pribyloff group, is allowed by contract with the Government to catch is limited to 100,000 a-year. It is, of course, for the interest of many nations that the race of seals should not be destroyed. It is especially for the interest of Great Britain that the race should be perpetuated, for all the seal-skins procured by us in Behring Sea are sent to London to be dressed and prepared for use. The question is, whether for this laudable purpose of preserving the fur-bearing seals from extinction, and maintaining our undisputed right to control toe taking of these animals'on the Bribyloff Islands, we may rightfully board, search, aud seize foreign vessels in Behring Sea more than 3 miles away from land. The equal right of all nations to use the high seas for any lawful purpose of commerce, navigation, fishing, or hunting is now so universally recognized; the United States have been so constantly the staunch defender of this right; we have so vigorously opposed all attempts of Great Britain to search our vessels in time of peace; we have claimed so vehemently the. right of fishing in Canadian waters sharplv up to 3-mile line from shore, that obviously we must show some very plain and cogent reasons to justify our course iu Behring Sea. What reasons have been or can be given? APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT '. 346 Our Government has given, so far as is known, no o ment than that of Acting Secretary French (above qi inform either our citizens or foreign Bowers of the pr which the seizure of British sealers is to be justifie< our action by Secretary Bayard, nor up to the time o Secretary Blaine or Secretary Windom, has been pub But in our newspapers editorial writers or contri gested lines of defence of our action. Th ngby th str< in tha ed i Ah and successfully rei Edict read as follow se; but stoutly i of the Mr. Adams, replying to Minister at Washington, c 1822) that the Bresident 1 ritorial claim by Bussia continent, and added: " 1 shore beyond the ordinary extends has excited still g It has been said by som did not pertain to Behrinj not be pleaded against a ( It is true that the actio directed against alleged below the Aleutian Islam them. But the language Behring Sea as well as to the name Behring Sea w waters which we know by to tions to Mr. Middleton, our in negotiating the Treaty of from the risdiction the tersburgh, to guide h July, 1823) as follows 94 continent; and they assume the right of fishery of all other nations to the extent coast. The United States can admit no part of And again, in a paper accompanying t The right of navigation and of fishing in the ] coast north of latitude 45°, can as little he inte of traffic with the natives of North America. After reading such language from Mr. Adams, can what his answer would have been to a proposition by Br istructions,he said: doubt oncede APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 347 that the Pacific south ofthe 55th parallel was an open sea, but that the part north of it formed a closed sea, over which she had exclusive jurisdiction ? It may be worthy of notice that, although the Bussians sought to exclude foreigners from within 100 miles of the coast, they did not absolutely base their action on the claim that the North Bacific was a closed sea. Affirming that the conditions might justify such a claim and absolute interdiction of the entrance of foreigners, they chose to set forth as the ground of the Edict the necessity of preventing illicit trade. But Mr. Adams thought it worth while to deny explicitly that they could maintain with any justice the claim that the North Bacific was a closed sea even if they had wished to do so. The Treaty of 1824 secured to us the right of navigation and fishing "in any part of toe great ocean commonly called the Pacific Ocean or South Sea," and (in Article IV) for ten years that of frequenting the interior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks upon the coast for the purpose of fishing and trading. At the "expiration of the ten years Bussia refused to renew this last provision, and it never was formally renewed. But, for nearly fifty years at least, American vessels have been engaged in taking whales in Benring Sea without being disturbed by the Bussian Government. Long before the cession of Alaska to us, hundreds of our whaling vessels annually visited the Arctic Ocean and Behring Sea, and brought home rich cargoes. It would seem, therefore, that Bussia regarded Behring Sea as a part of the Pacific Ocean, and not as one of the "interior seas," access to which was forbidden by the termination of the IVth Article of the Treaty. H. H. Bancroft, in his "History of Alaska," says that in 1842 the Bussian Minister of Foreign Affairs explicitly refused to send cruizers to interfere with our whalemen in that sea on the ground that the Treaty gave us the right of fishing over the whole extent of the Bacific. Whether, therefore, we have regard to Mr. Adams' arguments or to the treatment of our whalers by Bussia, it seems that we must find some other justification of our seizures of British sealers than the possession of the right through the cession of Alaska by Bussia. Can we sustain a claim that Behring Sea is a closed Sea and so subject to our control ? It is, perhaps, impossible to frame a definition of a closed sea which the publicists of all nations will accept. Vattel's closed sea is one "entirely inclosed by the land of a nation, with only a communication with the ocean by a channel, of which that nation may take possession." Hautefeuille substantially adopts this statement, asserting more specifically, however, that the channel must be narrow enough to be defended from the shores. Berels, one of the more eminent of the later German writers, practically accepts Hautefeuille's definition. But so narrow a channel or opening as that indicated by the eminent French writer can hardly be insisted on. Brobably most authorities will regard it as a reasonable requirement that the entrance to the sea should be narrow euough to make the naval occupation of it easy or practicable. We, at least, may be expected to prescribe no definition which would make the Gulf of St. Lawrence a closed sea Behring Sea is not inclosed wholly by our territory. From the most western island in our possession to the nearest point on the Asiatic shore is more than 300 miles. From our most western island, Attou, to the nearest Bussian island, Copper Island, is 183 miles. The sea from east to west measures about 1,100 miles, and from north to south fully 800 miles. The area of the sea must be at least two-thirds as great as that of the Mediterranean, and more tlian twice that of the 348 • APPEND IX TO CASE OF G REAT BRITAIN. North Sea. chief entra The Stra ice to the ( ts of Gibraltar are Julf of St. Lawreno 3 only about 50 mi less than 9 miles wid a, which is entirely sur es in width. Behrin e. The -ounded way to the precedent i i north by toe Straits, 36 mile t up a claim to hoh Itois great sea, with its wide closed sea. -« as never formally r Boutwell, when setup&toe claim tha suryfin 1872, speaking c s, guided by the caution of certain Senators, in its Act of i, 1889, forbore to use language which might seem to ap atives did insert in the Bill a section beginning as folio i disagreeing with the House on the adoption of this lan- imittee of Conference agreed to the phraseology as it now of the 21st March, 1889, merely the 2 id March and gives war ning against "violat ion of the la\ theU nited Sta1 'T" ?ufobvio usly neither the Act nortl e Brocl ble t( autho rity in tl ewS' of rely affirm that we .ver'o jxercise ar dora that( ds in that lominion c xtends.1* ^ l6f< to be determined, be, ho ,- the unrestrained 1 Behr ng Sea w. ister to Bussia, Mr.! sente d by Bus >ians, is of intei est. Briefly stated, it is to is: Th< y is the m the people on the A 3iatic s bore of elihood. Every people must be enjoyed in ways compatible with the safety, aud certainly with the existence, of the people on its shores. Hence, toe Bussians should control the seal fishery iu their part ofthe sea. No doubt the condition of the Siberians on that coast would present a strong case for generous action on the part of foreigners in abstaining from interference with their means of gaining a livelihood. By common consent, out of regard to the hardships of their life, fishermen are not disturbed in their pursuits in time of war. But can the Bussian argument, even if it has validity for the Siberians, be used by us? We have without auy scruple for half a century taken whales in the seas adjacent to them. We can hardly assert with much plausibility APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 349 that the members of toe Alaska Commercial Company, which has the monopoly of seal-catching on and near the Bribyloff Islands, can plead, in forma pauperis, for protection on grounds of charity. It may be argued that, since most ofthe seals which are taken by the British breed on our soil in the Bribyloff Islands, we have an exclusive claim to them in the sea, or at any rate a right to protect them there from extinction. But some of them breed on Copper Island and Behring Island,- both of which belong to Bussia. How is it possible to maintain any claim to ownership in seals on the high seas under any principle of law applicable to wild animals? We can acquire no property rights in animals ferw natural from their birth on our soil, except for the time that we hold them in our possession. A claim by Canada to the wild ducks hatched in her territory, after the birds have passed her boundary, would seem to be just as valid as ours to seals in the open sea. I recall only one case which seems to furnish any analogy for the claim that we may regulate seal fishing in the open waters of Behring Sea. The British Government does regulate and control the, pearl fisheries in the open sea from 8 to 20 miles west of the northern end of Ceylon. But it is to be presumed that this is done under sufferance of other Bowers, because they have had no interest in interfering with the pursuit of the pearl divers. Should they claim toe right to seek pearls in those waters, it is not easy to see how Great Britain could oppose any argument except that of long acquiescence by them in her exclusive possession of the pearl grounds; and it is questionable whether that argument would have much weight. It may be said that if we have no right to exclude other nations from taking seals in the open waters of Behring Sea, and if the Law and the Treasury Begulations, as they now stand, can be enforced against our own citizens in those same open waters, we are clearly discriminating against our own countrymen. The foreigners may kill seals at times and in places forbidden to us. This is true. It is one of the anomalies and embarrassments of the present situation. On the whole, we find no good ground on which we can claim as a right the exclusion of foreigners from the open waters of Behring Sea for the purpose of protecting the seals. If we have any good ground, and are.determined to stand on it, then we ought to proceed with more vigour in maintaining our policy. To send one little revenue-steamer, carrying a small crew, into Behring Sea, and to dispatch on each of the captured vessels one man, a common seaman, as a prize crew or commanding officer, is simply absurd. Each of the vessels seized, instead of coming within the jurisdiction of a United States Court, goes to a British port, files its claim for damage with the British authorities, and prepares for another voyage to the same waters in which it was captured. If, however, we have no right to seize foreign vessels in the open waters of Behring Sea, then we ought to lose no time in negotiating with the interested Bowers, especially Great Britain, Bussia, and Japan, on the best method of preserving the seals from extermination, and of securing to ourselves what we have a right to retain. Those Bowers showed, in the correspondence carried ou with them by Secretary Bayard, their entire willingness to come to some understanding on the -matter. It is so obviously for the 96 interest of the above-named States that the seals should not be exterminated that it cannot be difficult to make some satisfactory adjustment of the question. The limits of this article compel brevity in treating the question of determining the boundary between Alaska APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. and British America. The lang ing this boundary is copied fr< and Great Britain, Articles III i f Cessioi 5 betwe< between the 131st s from this last-men the mountains situi 141st degree of wei point of intersectio a's far as the Froze egree of west longitude (] orfch along the channel cal vhere it strikes the 56th di ine of demarcation 1 of Wales' Island sha the line oi by a line ] of 10 mar SSSSft The li determii ble mine oe thus ind ingitbefor s near the rights of two nati Thep property a ons be fixed incipal diffi ha id i : toe ed(lj tos Bi iidi. ish taken such a position) that our maps do not correctly indicate the initial point of the line at Portland Channel. Their contention is probably without good ground. Again, while the Treaty-provides that the line " shall follow the summit of the mountains," it is affirmed, and so far as we now know with probable truthfulness, that the mountains do not form a range, but are so scattered here and there that it is impracticable to make a line that shall comply with the Treaty. Furthermore, suppose it were practicable to run a line on the summit, the coast is so irregular and so indented with bays that it may not be easy to agree on a line from which to lay off the 10 marine leagues referred to in the second paragraph of Article IV. But even if all these obstacles are removed, the actual labour and cost of running the line in this wilderness will be very great. In 1872 our engineering officers estimated that the cost would be 1,500,000 dollars, and the time required for the field work nine years, and for the mapping one more year. If, as seems probable from our scanty information, the line described is an impossible one to run, we shall have to agree on an arbitrary line run from some point in the south of the territory to some point in the neighbourhood of the Chilkat Bass, so as to give us substantially the territory intended to be conveyed by Article IV. But it seems desirable that we should make some preliminary surveys before we take any decisive action. The British, who have had trading and scientific expeditions exploring British Columbia, doubtless know more of the region under consideration than we. They are ready to begin negotiations at once. Congress should not delay action. Our experience has shown us that boundary questions are not speedily APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 351 settled. After a < ,eutury of effort t determine d nearly all our bou ndaries ex eeptthis betww sn Alaska an< British Co umbia. If we beg marked ins will ki it will be vears lat the lumber low whether th before we sha man and the iy are amenal 1 have dete rmined and theUn ited States or to that of Gi eat Britain. 1 t is the par ; of wisdom to sett lied wildei ness, rather tha ry while the ( lebatable r lave arisen and ble n shed. (Signed) James B. Angell. BEHRING SEA ARBITRATION. APPENDIX Case of Her Majesty's Government. VOLUME II. S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 23 CONTENTS OF VOL. II. Part 1.—Selections from Correspondence respecting the Ukase of 1821 between Great Britain and Bussia, 1821-25. Part 2.—Selections from Correspondence between United States and Bussia, 1822-87. Part 3.—French Texts of the Treaties of 1824 and 1825, and English Text of the Treaty of 1867. 3?A^ H T 1. SELECTIONS FROM CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA, 1821-25. SELECTIONS FEOM CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING THE RUSSIAN UKASE OF SEPTEMBER, 1821. 1831-35. fABLE OF CONTENTS. No. Name. No. Date. Suhject. Page. l Baron Nicolay Oct. 31 351 \ P Nov. 20 4£&S^^^ eetAmerica. 2 3 Count Lieven Nov. 29 ■^SB^IBSiSB erica. Send- 3 fe Sir C. Bagot 56 Nov. 17 "Sl^oSiS? nf iSSttf fjf § LordStowell Dec. 26 ^^^i^~ SrtI: n 6 Board of Trade •TaT2' 7 Whale fishery in Behring's Strait s. Inclosing f|8 To Count Lieven ,an. 18 M§|I|^PP| est coast of %t 8 To Sir C. Bagot r> Jan. 19 JSiiikZcmnolZZ-Z coast Amer- sii 9 Mr. S. Canning 11 Feb. 19 Mgtarjurg|n ^rthj •who are not 15 10 Hudson's Bay Com- Ma, 27 ^fS^SBZst^Z est coast of :> 1 To Duke of Welling- ^•"hlo^^S SataS 16 | Dukeof Wellington.. Sept. 11, 16. M2^ica.^UM^i0orandum of eoiiv rsationwith ffl i pany. Sept. 25 lEfed^Sui6!^ of America. 11 be afforded 14 To Duke of Welling- 1*^6 Sept. 27 ^Irica.^^tng^age"^ SdIussian' 21 Duke of Wellington-- 38 NOV.2S uWzW^fM B°Uy'wh»eit 23 362 APPENDIX TO CASE Of GREAT BRITAIN. Table of contents—Continued. Duke of WeUington. Count Lieven irC. Bagot... Count Nesselrode to Count Lieven. Duke of Wellington.. 3. Canning Ship-oi :iety. Count Lieven * Separate. Eeb. 25 Feb. 10 June 27 July 12 ian Ukase. Further co Proposed occupation of t« Columbia Biver. Sendini in "North American Re\ awithRus- w ill be ad- ime jt risdicl ^orth-wesl i Confere: t St. Petersburgh with a view to settli Maritime jurisdiction. Substance of preceding. To commence negotiations upon the basis of No. 14. Maritime jurisdiction. Sends fuU power and two opinions by Law Officers, furnished on first receipt of Ukase. ' ^knowledges No: 19. thai with Cot t Ness. r. C. Bagot's pro- Maritime jurisdicti naval force reported 1 case into effect. Inclo raal Intelligencer." Vhale fishes Alarm created by a. ment. Asklngforre America. Pending Russo-American ne{ ing proposed common understanding bet England and America. Whale-fishing. British vessels may pursue usual navigation without fear or molestation. Maritime jurisdiction on north-west coast o . Amerioa. Sending copies of Nos. 23,24,25, am 26. As to line of demarcation at 57° between British and Russian settlers, and concerted action by England and the United States. Maritime jurisdiction on north-west coast cers of Imperial Navy which suspend provisionally the Ukase of 4th September, 1821. :aritime jurisdiction on north-west coast America. Sending copy of No. 28, which 1 also been communicated to the American M settlement of. Conversations with Count Nesselrode. Mr. Middleton has had last last year several interviews with the Russian Government respecting the Ukase, and has communicated copy of a letter from Count Nesselrode respecting intentions of Imperial Govern with regard to its execution (inclosed). Returning correspondence wit] is to " provisional suspension." JPrivate and Confidential. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. Table of contents—Continued. 363 No. Name. No. Date. Snbjeot. Page. 36 To.Shipowners' Society. Nov. 26 Russian Ukase. Cannot state in distinct terms that it has been annulled, as negotiations are still pending. Has only been provisionally ; 37 To Sir 0. Bagot 2 Jan. 15 Reasons why the United States Government should not be a party to the negotiations be- territorial claims. Refers to new United tions on questions at issue with Russia. Acceptable limits of Russian claims on north-west 48 United States interests derived from Treaty with Spain in 1819. 38 Mr.EnderbytoBoard Feb. 7 Limits of maritime jurisdiction. Mr. Pitt's views in 1790 in connection with Spanish ring'"straits 8houu\befreeaVlga mS 52 Sir C. Bagot 23 Mar. 17 Regrets failure to induce Russians to adjust of the negotiations. He offered the Russians Difficulty raised as regards question of maritime jurisdiction. Protection asked for Russian ship 52 Proposals and replies annexed. 18 Mar. 24 Thinks Hudson's Bay Company will recom- May 29 Will soon be able,to' authorize Sir C.Bagot to nortb-west frontier, with certain (specified) qualifications. Expects usual trade privileges. Assumes that Ukase of 1821 respecting exclu sive jurisdiction over North Pacific will be withdrawn. 42 To Sir C. Bagot May 29 Transmitting copy of letter to Count Lieven. May soon expect instructions for conclusion of negotiations respecting the north-west coast; also respecting Greece. do 26 July 12 Transmitting draft Convention respecting north 61 west frontier. Not to allow boundary below Mount St. Elias to extend beyond 10 leagues from sea. Instructions respecting right to visit each other's possessions. No timelimita- 44 do July 24 Transmitting Memorandum by Count Lieven on tbe draft Convention. May accept mode of tracing frontier as suggested in it on certain conditions. Must insist on free navigation of Behring's Sea. 65 45 Count Lieven. Draft Convention respecting north-west coas . Considers the frontier should follow the snm- mit, and not the base, of the mountains. Con- a^Ted^ntv^Mte^Bthrta^^^ts^tato u Mr. Addington 39 Aug. 2 Ki&lslss! 66 47 g. c Ba^ot 41 Aug. 12 draftnConveSnnbecausTitlwUl no^conceae 67 rightto trade/or^at^^ trading at allbetween latitude 60° and Behring's 48 Cotmt Lieven Sept. 12 Regretting Russian Government refuse to con- 70 it here before meeting of Parliament. Mode of 49 To Mr. Ward 3 Sept. 13 eluded before the meeting of Parliament. 71 r~ APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Table of contents—Continued. Transmitting synopsis from "National Intelligencer" of Convention between Russia and the f Inc and other points. I ance generally. Set may be delayed, br kaorNewA inclosed for if 1821 ) way or Inst the Uks asage from President communicating Treaty apateh shSwrnTtfat tV U^nitecf'states* Gqv- L'his fact strengthens our hands. ff?™Russia. 0rHfi%re°neeWbetween it an<f the ' projet." Is assured Russia does not demand sxclusive navigation of Behring's Sea and of jeas lying north of it. Receipt oi despatches. Hopes objects alluded in them have been secured by the Convent* irds fishery J- - ocol tacked on t( ssselrode us. Refers to SELECTIONS FROM CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING THE RUSSIAN UKASE OF SEPTEMBER, 1821. Kb. 1. Baron Nicolay to the Marquis of Londonderry.—(Received November 12^ Londkes, le 31 Oetobre (12 Novembre), 1821. Le Soussign6, Envoy6 Extraordinaire et Ministre Plenipotentiaire de Sa Majeste" l'Empereur de Toutes les Eussies, s'empresse de s'acquitter aupres de son Excellence M. le Marquis de Londonderry des ordres qu'il vient de recevoir de sa Cour eu portant a la connaissance du Ministere Britannique la communication suivante. Au moment de renouveler le privilege de la Oompagnie Busse-Amel-i- caine et de sonmettre a une revision les Beglemens concernant ses operations commerciales, le Gouyernement Imperial a du vouer une attention particuliere aux plaintes auxquelles ont plus d'une Ms donn6 lieu les entreprises de contrebandiers et d'aventuriers Strangers sur les cdtes nord-ouest de l'Am6rique appartenant a la Eussie. II a 6te reconnu que ces entreprises n'ontpas seulement pour objet un commerce frauduleux de pelleteries et autres articles exclusivenient reserve's a la Compagnie Busse-Am6ricaine, mais qu'elles paroissent souvent meme trabir une tendance hostile; attendu que des gens sans aveu viennent fournir des armes et des munitions aux naturels dans les posessions Eusses dAm6rique, et qu'ils les excitent en quelque sorte a la resistance et a la re>olte contre les autorites qui s'y trouvent 6tablies. II 6toit done essentiel d'opposer des mesures s6veres a ces menees, et de garantir la Oompagnie contre les prejudices sensibles qui en r£sultoient pour elle, et e'est dans cette vue que le Eeglement ci-joint vient d'etre public. Apres avoir ainsi expose les motifs qui ont dicte ce Eeglement, le Soussigne a ordre d'y ajouter les explications suivantes. Le nouveau Eeglement n'interdit point aux batimens Strangers la navigation dans les mers qui baignent les possessions Eusses sur les cdtes nord-ouest de l'Amerique et nord-est de l'Asie. Une defense pa- reille, qu'il n'eut pas 6U difficile d'appnyer d'une force navale suffisante, auroit et6 a la verite" le moyen le plus efflcace de proteger les int6rets de la Compagnie Eusse-Amerieaine, et elle sembleroit en outre fondeesur des droits incontestables. Car, d'un c6t6 61oigner une fois pour toutes, des plages indiquees ci-dessus, les navires elrangers, c'dtoit faire cesser a jamais les entreprises coupables qu'il s'agit de prevenir. D'un autre cdt6, en considerant les possessions Eusses qui s'etendent, tant sur la cote nord-ouest de l'Amerique, depuis le Detroit de Beliring jusqu'au 366 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 51° de latitude septentrionale, que sur la c6te opposee de PAsie et les iles adjacentes, depuis le meme detroit jusqu'au 45°, on ne sauroit dis- convenir que l'espace de mer dont ces possessions forment les limites ne. reunisse toutes les conditions que les publicistes les plus connus et les mieux accredited ont attachees a la definition Wune mer fermAe, et que par consequent le Gouvernement Eusse ne se trouve parfaitement auto- • rise a exercer sur cette mer des droits de sonverainete, et nommement celui d'interdire l'approcbe aux etrangers. Cependant, qnelque impor- tantes que fussent les considerations que reclamoient une semblable mesure, quelque legitime qu'elle eut et6 en elle-meine, le Gouvernement Imperial n'a pas voulu, dans cette occasion, faire usage d'une faculte qui lui assurent les titres de possession les plus sacres, et que confirment d'ailleurs des auto rites irrefragables. II s'est born6 au contraire, comme on a lieu de s'en convaincre par le Eeglement nouvellement publie, a defendre a tout batiment etranger, non seulement d'aborder dans les Etablissemens de la Compagnie Americaine, comme dans la presqu'ile du Kamtchatka et les cdtes de la Mer d'Ochotsh, mais aussi de naviguer le long de ces possessions et en general, d'en approcher a une distance de 100 milles d'ltalie. 2 Des vaisseaux de la marine Imperiale viennent d'etre exp^dies pour veiller au maintien de cette disposition. Elle nous paroit aussi legale qu'elle a ete urgente. Car, s'il est demontre que le Gouvernement Imperial eut eu a la rigueur la faculte de fernier entiere- ment aux etrangers cette partie de l'Ocean Pacifique, que bordent nos possessions en Amerique et en Asie, a plus forte raison le droit en vertu duquel il vient d'adopter une mesure beaucoup moins generalement restrictive doit ne pas £tre revoqu6 en doute. Oe droit est en effet universellement admis, et toutes les Puissances Maritimes l'ont plus ou moins exerce dans leur systeme colonial. Enfin, l'usage que le Gouvernement Imperial vient d'en faire en faveur de la Compagnie Eusse-Americaine, ne sauroit prtfju- dicer aux interets d'aucune nation attendu qu'il n'est guere a supposer, qu'outre les exceptions specifiees dans notre Eeglement, un vais- seau etranger quelconque puisse avoir des motifs reels et legitimes pour relacher aux Etablissemens Eusses. La Cour Imperiale aime done a esperer que les Puissances auxquelles ce nouveau Eeglement est communique reconnoitront les considerations majeures qui lui ont servi de base, et que, par une suite des relations de paix et de bonne harmonie qui subsistent entre elles et la Eussie, elles n'hesiteront pas a imposer a leurs sujets respectifs le devoir de s'y conformer stricte- ment, afin de pr6venir les inconveniens auxquels une contravention de leur part donneroit lieu necessairement. Les officiers commandant les batimens de guerre Eusses qui sont destine a veiller dans l'Oc6an Pacifique au maintien des dispositions susmentionnees, ont recu l'ordre de commencer a les mettre en vigueur envers ceux des navires etrangers qui seroient sortis d'un des ports de l'Europe apres le ler Mars, 1822, ou des Etats-Unis apres le ler Juillet. A dater de ces epoques aucun navire ne pourra plus legalement pr6- texter l'ignorance du nouveau Eeglement. Le Soussigne saisit, &c. Le Bajjon de KicoiiAY. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The King's Advocate to the Marquis of Londonderry.—(Received November 22.) Doctors' Commons, November 20,1821. My Lord: I am honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Mr. Plantas' letter of the 15th instant, transmitting a note from the Eussian Envoy, inclosing a printed copy of an Edict for regulating foreign trade with the Aleutian Islands, and other possessions on the north-west coast of America, appertaining to Bussia. And your Lordship is pleased to request that I would take the tenour of the Begulations therein contained into consideration, and report thereon for your Lordship's information. In obedience to your Lordship's directions I have the honour to report that it appears to be the object of this communication to obtain indirectly from His Majesty's Government an acknowledgment of territorial rights which are assumed by Bussia over a portion of sea that may become of great importance with reference to the trade of that part of the world, and the discoveries which are now directed to that quarter. The communication indirectly asserts an exclusive right in the sovereignty ud?une mer fermie, sur l'espace de mer, dont les possessions" (from Behring's Straits to 51° north, on the west coast of America, and 45° north on the coast of Asia) "ferment les limites," and it proceeds to announce as a qualified exercise of that right the exclusion of all foreign ships, under pain of confiscation, from approaching within 100 miles of those coasts. The extent of territory so assumed is much greater than is ordinarily recognized by the principles of the law of nations. And I humbly submit whether it may not be expedient to declare the intention of His Majesty's Government to adhere to those principles, with such observations as may be deemed expedient to deprecate any infringement on the rights of commerce and navigation that may affect Great Britain or her subjects. I have, &c. (Signed) Christ. Eobinson. 3 Ko. 3. Count Lieven to the Marquis of Londonderry.—(Received November 30.) Le Comte de Lieven presente ses compliments a Milord Londonderry, et a l'honneur de transmettre ci-joint a son Excellence la copie qu'elle lui a demandee de la d6peche de M. le Comte de Kesselrode, en date du 7 Octobre, sub Ko. 29. Harley Street, Londres, le 29 Novembre, 1821. [Tnclosure 1 in No. 3.—Cironlaire.] Count Nesselrode to Count Lieven Saint-P£tersboukg, le 7 Octobre, IStl. s Comte: An moment de renouveler le^priv ciales .t de 8' plusd i des Reglei irnement a du vouer n me fois donne" lien les entrep'r a c6tes nord-ouest de l'Ameriqi de la Compagnie Russe- concernant ses operations particuliere aux plaintes » de contrebandiers et aven- appartenant a la Russie. II a ete r< APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN, r objel un commerce la Compagnie ■ahir une tendance hos- les et des munitions aux quelque sorte a la frauduleux de pelli Russe-Americaine, mais qu'elles paroissent souvent me tile; attendu que des gens sans aveu viennent fournir d. naturels dans nos possessions d'Amerique, et qu'ils les e_ resistance et a la revolte contre les autorit«5s qui s'y trouvent etablie II etait done essentiel d'opposer des mesures s^yeres a cos menees, et de garaptir la Compagnie contre les prejudices sensibles quienresultoientponr elle; et c est dans cette vne que le Reglement ci-joint vient d'etre public. Les Missions Imperiales sont invitees a le porter a la connaissance des Gouvernements aupres desquels elles sont accre'dite's, et a leur exposer les motifs qui Pont dicte en y ajoutant les explications suivantes. . Le nouveau Reglement n'interdit point aux batimens (Strangers la navigation dans les mers qui baignent les possessions Russes sur les c6tes nord-ouest de PAmerique' et nord-est de l'Asie. Une defense pareille qu'il n'eut pas ete difficile d'appuyer d'une les interets de la Compagnie Russe-Americaine, et elle sembleroit en outre fondee sur des droits i ncontestables. Car, d'un cote" eloigner une fois pour toutes, des plages indique"es ci-dessus, les navires strangers, e'etoit faire cesser a jamais les entreprises coupables qu'il s'agit de prevenir. D'un autre c6te, en considerant les possessions Russes qui s'etendent, taut sur la cdte nord-ouest de l'Ame'rique, depuis le Detroit de Behring jusqu'au 51° de latitude septentrionale, que sur la c6te opposde de l'Asie et les lies adjacentes, depuis le meme detroit jusqu'au 45°, on ne sauroit diseonvenir que l'espace de mer dont ces possessions forment les limites ne reunisse toutes les conditions que les publicistes les plus connQs et les mieux acere'dites ont attaches a la definition d'une mer fermie, et que par consequent le Gouvernement Russe ne se trouve parfaitement autorise a exercer sur cette mer des droits de souverainete, et nomme'inent celui d'en interdire l'approche aux etrangers. Cependa.nt quelque importantes que fussent les considerations que redamoient une semblable mesure, quelque legitime qu'elle eut ete en elle-meme, le Gouvernement Imperial n'a pas voulu, dans cette occasion, faire usage d'une faculte que lui assurent les titres de possession les plus saeres, " s autorites irrefragables. II s'est borne, au contraire, et que confirment d'a comme on a lieu de s'i a tout batiment etran pagnie Americaine, ci epa: tpu i de i approche Des vaisseaux de la marine maintien de cette disposition. Car s'il est demontre que le Gc former entierement aux etran; possessions en Amerique et en vient d'adopter une mes 4 ■ pas etre revoque en dou toutes les Puissances Mi colonial. Enfin, l'usage que If la Compagnie Russe-Ame supposer, qu'outre les exceptions specifiees dans notre etranger quelconque puisse avoir des motifs reels et legitimes Russes. Nous aimons done a esperer que les Puis- a. Regler attendu qu'il n' Rfeglement, iwv pour relacher aux Etablissi sances auxquelles ce nouve siderations majeures qui In paix et de bonne harmonie qui subsistent e pas a imposer a leurs sujets respectifs le devoir prevenir les inconveniens anxquels une contri necessairement. Sa Majeste l'Empereur desire que les Missions obtienne: tant de la communication que leur prescrit la presente Cir de la Comet les cfites de la Mer aer le long de ces possessions, et, en general, d'en milles d'ltalie. mperiale viennent d'etre expedies pour veiller au Elle nous paroit aussi legale qu'elle a ete urgente. vernement Imperial eut eu a la rigueur la faculte de rs cette partie de l'Ocean Pacifique, que bordent nos Lsie, a plus forte raison le droit en vertu duquel il ?e beaucoup moins generalement restrictive, doit ne i. Ce droit est, en effet, universellement admis, et itimes l'ont plus ou moins exerce dans leur systeme Souvernement Imperial vient d'en faire en favour de prejudicier aux inter&ts d'aucune nation, e elles et la Ri mforr, suite de? relati r strietement, : Receves &c. P. S.—En dressant les instructions pour les officiers commandant les bfttin guerre Russes qui sont destines a veiller, dans l'Ocean Pacifique, au maint dispositions nouvellement arretees a regard des Etablissemens de la Con Russe-Americaine, le Gouvernement Imperial est parti do la supposition qu'nn etranger qui auroit fait voile d'un des ports de 1'Europe apres le 1M Mars 1 d'un des ports des Etats-Unis, apres le ler Juillet de la mime anne© ne pourri legalement pretexter l'ignorance du nouveau Reo-lement Nos marins ont do l'ordre de regler en consequence leur conduite quant a i'epoque a dater de 1 ils auroient a mettro en vigueur les dispositions susmentionnees. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 369 Nous croyons devoir communiquer ces notions additionnelles aux Missions Impe- riales, en les mvitant a les porter egalement a la connoissance des Gouvernemens aupres desquels elles sont accreditees, afin de completer ainsi les informations renfermees dans la Circnlaire de ee jour. Ukase, dated September 4,1821. Nous etant eonvaincus par les Rapports qui nous ont ete presentes quele commerce de nos sujets avec les Iles Aieoutes et la partie de la c6te nord-ouest de l'Amerique soumise a la Russie, eprouve des entraves et qu'il est expose a des pertes sensibles par suite du commerce frauduleux qu'exercent des etrangers. Considerant, d'autre part, que la cause principale de ces pertes est le defaut de regies positives, tendantes a fixer les limites de la navigation le long de ces cdtes et l'ordre auquel doivent etre soumises les relations maritimes tant dans ces parages que sur toute la e6te orientale de la Siberie et aux Iles Kouriles, nous avons juge convenable d'arreter a cet egard les principes developpes dans le Reglement special annexe au present Ukase. . En le transmettant au Senat dirigeant, nous lui ordonnohs de le publier et de prendre toutes les mesures necessaires a son execution. L'original est signe de la propre main de Sa Majeste l'Empereur. Alexandre. Le 4 Septembke, 1821. Sir C. Bagot to the Marquis of Londonderry.—(Received November 21.) Ko. 56.] St. Petersburgh, November 17,1821. My Lord : In my despatch Ko. 50 of the 3rd October, I transmitted to your Lordship the heads of an Ukase which had been published here, respecting the commerce and navigation of the north-west coasts of America, the Aleutian and Kurile Isles, and the eastern coasts of Siberia. 5 Shortly after the date of that despatch I had an opportunity of speaking of this Ukase to Count Kesselrode, and he gave me to understand (as I then thought) that it would be communicated to me officially, accompanied by an explanation of its object, and the grounds upon which it had been issued. After waiting several weeks for this communication, I found that it had been already made through the Imperial Ministers abroad to such of the European Powers as might have been supposed to be interested in the matter, and that it had been dispatched by a special messenger to the United States. This circumstance will, I hope, explain to your Lordship satisfactorily the reasons for which I have so long delayed to write more fully to His Majesty's Government upon a subject which seems to me of some national importance. I have not seen, nor do I know the nature of, the communication which may have been made to your Lordship by the Bussian Ambassador in London, but in my conversation with Count Nesselrode upon the subject, he told me that the object of the measure was to prevent the "commerce interlope'' of the citizens of the United States, who were not only in the habit of resorting to the Eussian coasts and islands in the Pacific, for the purpose of interfering in their trade with China in the lucrative article of sea-otter skins, but were also in the constant S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 24 370 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. practice of introducing prohibited articles, and especially gunpowder, into the Eussian dominions in that quarter, that representations had been repeatedly made to the American Government-upon the subject, who had professed to be unable to control their citizens in those distant seas, but had intimated that they should not take in ill-part, whatever measures the Bussian Government might deem it expedient to adopt for the protection of their own rights. When I found that the Ukase had been already communicated to your Lordship I abstained from entering with Count Kesselrode into any further discussion of it, or inquiring of him upon what grounds the 51st degree of north latitude (which, after the last Treaty between Spain and the United States, reduces the possessions of Great Britain to 2o of latitude) had been now .declared, I believe for the first time, to be the boundary of the Eussian dominion upon tho^oasts, but * have adverted to the novel principle in the Decree which dooms to confiscation i approach within 100 Italian miles of the Bussian coasts, and 1 find that this extraordinary pretension has been adopted from, and is supposed to be justified by, the Xllth Article of the Treaty of Utrecht. I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship, under a separate cover, an English translation of the Ukase, and I at the same time inclose a Map of the north-west coasts of America, and the Aleutian and Kurile Islands, which has been published in the Quarter-Master- . General's Department here, and upon which I have marked all the principal Bussian Settlements. . I have, &c. (Signed; essels which: Charles Ba< ie hnndw 1,1821. Rules established for the Limits of Navigat Coast of the Eastern Siberia, the North-] Kurile, and other Islands. $ 1. The pursuits of commerce, whaling, n islands, posts, and gulfs, including the w. beginning from Behring's Straits to the 51° < Islands to the eastern coast of Siberia, a: Behring's Straits to the-south cape of the latitude, is exclusively granted to Russian $ 2. It is therefore prohibited to all fore Olta $ 3. An excepti by heavy gales, or real war such as belongs to Russia; the hole! at any of the abo re-men ti where Russiai ^d § 5. On the ral of pilot will me t h« PI of northern latitude, also from the Aleutian a well as along the Kurile Islands from Island of Urup, viz., to the 45° 50' north sign vessels, not only to land on the coasts stated above, but, also, to approach them The transgressor's vessel is subjeot to con- made in. favour of vessels carried thither i, and unable to make any other shore but 3 they are obliged to produce convincing Bption. Ships of friendly Governments, pt from the foregoing Rule 28. In this rovided with passports from the Russian reasons stated in the foregoing rule, touch a obliged to endeavour to choose a place iereafter stated. int-ship, wind and weather permitting, a ring place appropriated for the purpose. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 371 The captain, who, notwithstanding this, anchors elsewhere without being able to assign a reason to the Commander of the place, shall pay a fine of 100 dollars. 5 6. All rowing-boats of foreign merchant-vessels are obliged to land at one place appointed for them, where, in the day-time, a white flag is hung out, and at night a lantern, and where a clerk is to attend continually to prevent importing and exporting any articles or goods. Whoever lands at any other place, even without an intent of smuggling, shall pay a fine of 50 dollars, and if a person be discovered bringing any articles ashore, a fine of 500 dollars is to be exacted and the goods to be confiscated. § 7. The commanders of said vessels being in want of provisions, stores, &c, for the continuation of their voyage, are bound to apply to the Commander of the place, who will appoint where these may be obtained, after which they may, without difli- . culty, send their, boats there to procure all they want. Whoever deviates from this Rule shall pay a fine of 100 dollars. § 8. If it be unavoidable, for the purpose of repairing or careening a foreign merchant-ship, that she discharge the whole cargo, the master is obliged to ask the permission of the Commander of the place. In this case the captain shall deliver to the Commander an exact list of the natured quality of the goods discharged. Every one who omits to report any part of the cargo will be suspected of smuggling, and shall pay a fine of 1,000 dollars. §_9. All expenses incurred by these vessels during their stay in the Russian territories must be paid in cash or bills of exchange. In case, however, the captains of these ships have no money on board and nobody gives security for their bonds, the Commander can, at their request, allow the sale of such articles, stores or goods, required merely for defraying the above-stated expenses. These sales, however, can be made only to the Company, and through the medium of the Commander, but must not exceed the expenses of the ships, under penalty of the cargo being seized and a fine paid of 1,000 dollars. § 10. As soon as said foreign merchant-vessels are ready for their cargoes, stores, provisions, &c, they must immediately proceed to take them in, and after an examination, if they have loaded all the above-stated articles, and a written certificate of their not having left anything behind, they are to set sail. Such vessels as have not been unloaded are likewise subjected to sail without the least delay as soon as they are able to proceed to sea. § 11. It is prohibited to all commanders of the said foreign vessels, commissioners and others, whosoever they may be, to receive any articles, stores, or goods in those places where they will have landed, except in the case as per,§ 7, under penalty of seizure of their ship and cargo. § 12. It-is prohibited to these foreign ships to receive on board, without special permission of the commanders, any of the people in the service of the Company, or of the foreigners living in the Company's Settlements. Ships proved to have the intention of carrying off any person belonging to the Colony shall be seized. § 13. Every purchase, sale, or barter is prohibited betwixt a foreign merchant- ship and people iu the service of the Company. This prohibition extends equally to those who are on shore and to those employed in the Company's ships. Any ship acting against this Rule shall pay five times the value of the articles, stores, or goods constituting this prohibited traffic. § 14. It is likewise interdicted to foreign ships to carry on any traffic or barter with the natives of the islands, and of the north-west coast of America, in the whole extent here above mentioned. A ship convicted of tnis trade shall be cOnfis- 7 § 15. All articles, stores, and goods found on shore in ports and harbours belonging to Russian subjects (carrying on prohibited traffic) or to foreign vessels are to be seized. § 16. The foreign merchant-ships lying in harbour or in the roads dare, under no pretence, send out their boats to vessels at sea, orto those already come in, until they have been spoken to and visited, according to the existing customs. Whenever a foreign vessel hoists a yellow flag to announce an infectious disease being on board, or the symptoms of the same, or any other danger of which she wishes to be ' freed,. every communication is interdicted until said flag is taken down. From this Rule'however, are excepted persons appointed for the purpose and whose boats be under the colours of the Russian-American Company. Any vessel acting contrary to this Regulation shall pay a fine of 500 dollars. « 17 No ballast may be thrown overboard but in such places as are appointed by the Commanders. The transgressor is liable to a fine of 500 dollars. 4 i8 To all foreign merchant-ships during their stay in anchonng-places, harbours, or roads it is prohibited to have their guns loaded either with balls or cartridges under the risk of paying a fine of 50 dollars for each gun. <S 19 No foreign merchant-ship in port, or in the roads; or riding at anchor, may fire guns or muskets without previously informing the Commander of the place or 372 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. In acting Settlement, unless it be for pilots, signalizing the same by the firing of o three guns, and hoisting her. colours as is customary m similar wa contrary thereto she is subjected to a fine of 100 dollars for each shol « 20 On the arrival of a foreign ship in the harbour, or m the roads, a boat will ; iately be sent to meet her, and to deliver to the captain aprinted copy of these :eipt in a book destined for the purpose. He „„, „8 per annexed form, all information required 'using to comply with these Regulations dare not Regulati< ns, for which he m ust give is further of foreig i vessels. All shi is refusi approach the harbour, road itain of a foreign merchant-ship c » by throwing the s which they could :om their superiors, from the ship, and on the coast, and in the ports, and likewise prevent the the Company's people. They are answerable for the c other inferiors. Illicit trade carried on by sailors, sul carry on smuggling without punishment, and justify 1 fault on the sailors. Therefore, every article found up not hide in their pockets or under their clothes to 8 sold or bought on shore, will be considered as coi is subject to the prescribed fine. « 24. Foreign men-of-war shall likewise comply with t for the merchant-ships, to maintain the rights and benel of opposition, complaints will be made to their Governr § 25. In case a ship of the Russian Imperial navy, or the one belonging to the Russian American Company, meet a foreign vessel on the above-stated coasts, in harbours or roads, within the before mentioned limits, and the Commander find grounds, by the present Regulation, that the ship be liable to seizure, he is to act as follows: § 26. The Commander of a Russian vessel suspecting a foreign vessel to be liable to confiscation must inquire and search the same, and finding her guilty, take possession of her. Should the foreign vessel resist, he is to employ first persuasion, then threats, and at last force; endeavouring, however, at all events, to do this with as much reserve as possible. If the foreign vessel employ force against force, then he insider the same as an evident enemy, and force her to surrender according to the] valla^ . After getting everything in order and safety on board the foreign vessel, the . Commander of the Russian ship, or the officer sent by him, shall demand the journal of the captured vessel, and on the spot shall note down in the same that on such a day, month, and year, at such an hour, and in such, a place, he met such and such a foreign vessel, and shall give a brief account of the circumstance, pursuit, and, finally, of the seizure. After signing the same he shall desire the captain of the captured vessel to confirm the same in his own handwriting. Should he, however, refuse to sign the same, the Russian officer is to repeat his summons in presence of all the officers, and if on this it be again refused, and nobody will sign in lieu of the captain, he is then to add this circumstance, signed by himself. After this arrangement the journal, list ofthe crew, passports, invoices, accounts, and all further papers respecting the views and pursuits ofthe voyage ofthe vessel, shall be put up in one parcel, APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 373 as well as all private papers, viz., the journals of the off with the seals ofthe Russian officer, and those of the ct foreign vessel. This packet shall remain sealed with th vessel until their arrival at the port of St. Peter and Par. in the Court as mentioned in § 33. Besides this, every the Russian officer and the foreign captain that is not r< of the voyage to the port of St. Peter and Paul, es ship's crew, which shall not be i, letter § 28. Ha-< i, &c, and sealed i first officer of the >mmander of the Russian here it shall be deposited iveryimng else must be sealed by lot requisite for the continuation :cepting the effects for immediate 'thheid from them. s of precaution, the officer sent to arrest the for- oigurveasoi auau majte msxantly his report to his Chief, and await his orders. § 29. Thus, should, by any cause stated in the 2nd, 11th, 12th, and 21st sections of these Regulations, a foreign vessel be subjected to confiscation in any port near the Settlement of the Russian-American Company, the Commander of that Settlement is obliged either to ask the assistance of the Russian man-of-war, if there be any, and the Commander of which, on receipt of a written request, is obliged to arrest the vessel, and use all the precautions prescribed in the foregoing Article, or, if there be no Russian man-of-war in the harbour or its neighbourhood, and the Commander of the Settlement find that he and his people can arrest the vessel by themselves, he then is to act according to the 26th, 27th, and 28th section, and putting ashore the captain, and every means of getting the vessel away, he must endeavour as soon as possible to give information of this event either to the Governor of the Colonies of the Russian-American Company or the Commander of the Imperial man-of-war, if it be known where she lie. § 30. When, in consequence of sne send the Company's vessel, or a Govei the place shall deliver up the vessel si respecting his reasons for confiscating line vessel. § 31. The commander of the vessel, taking charge of the seizure per inventory, shall examine immediately into all circumstances mentioned, and compare it with the accounts of the Commander of the Settlement, who will give every elucidation required. § 32. All vessels detained by Russian mien-of-war are ordered by these Regulations to be brought to the port of St. Peter and Paul, where the sentence is to be passed on them by a Court established for adjudging such cases. § 33. This Court, under the presidency of the Commander of Kamtchatka, 9 shall consist of the three Senior Officers under him, and of the Commissioner of the Russian-American Company. 6 34. As soon as a Russian vessel, bringing into the port of St. Peter and Paul a foreign vessel arrested by her, has come to an anchor in the place assigned her, the commander of her is immediately to repair to the Commander of Kamtchatka, ' r of the c rnor of the Colonies shall ig, then the Commander of jag to her, and shall report briefly what ve ssel he had brougl eifying their di wals, and what 35. The Comm nder of Kamtchat spe. ship, when on boan vdei rthe and the sick, esse! has sufficient ! will order two in the detained t. Peter and Paul to make a idSra , shall use all possible di f such poin » as may require the pre J 41. Havi ng settled everything on he Court in imediately shall open the jossible the solution of the inquiry, -5 whether the v 374 4 42. In ord 1. That the Regulations, APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. c to ascertain this, the following proofs shall be substantiated: essel was met with within the boundaries prescribed in § 2 of these id that her having been within such limits was not occasioned by Eej , and the 4 lented, sselto a clear stat § 43. In order to decide either case, the Court is to inspect all documents and tracing on one part all proofs of guilt, and on the other, all doubts tv clear the foreign vessel, summon the Commanding officer of the Russii give all additional information deemed needful, and com stances condemning the foreign vessel, the Court shall dra- the reason of her condemnation. § 44. Should the Court, in making ont said statement, find that the foreign vessel has been arrested without sufficient cause, said Court on passing sentence is to determine the damage suffered by such detention, and to furnish both parties with a certified copy of this resolution. 4 45. In the course of two days, both parties shall declare whether they are satisfied with the decision of the Court or not, and in the latter case (should it happen) assign it in writing. 4 46. Should both parties be satisfied with the decision of the Court, then the Commander of Kamtchatka is to release immediately the detained vessel, returning everything to the master according to the inventory, along with the adjudged damages, exacting them from whomsoever is to pay the same. 4 47. If, on the Contrary, the Court receive on the third day a repeal to its decision, it is bound to take that repeal into immediate consideration, and finding it just, to change its decision, if not, to confirm the same, and make it known to the parties a second time. After this no representations shall be admitted, and both parties 10 shall be summoned before the Court which shall allow them to make their protest in writing, and will then state all the reasons why the sentence passed should be carried into execution. 4 48. If the Court find by the indictment that the vessel has been lawfully detained, then the master of the foreign vessel, or the two eldest in command under him, shall mtion made kn< > days, and no ing thei ■ntation s of their oy of the condemnation, ourt is to receive within thre* ■, and if he do not present the s im, with two of his crew, notif i, and that the condemnation ii is case the Court comes to its micated to the whole crew c and every one, that such sentence has been n Commander of Kamtchatka is to carry the s will be explained hereafter. 4 51. Should, however, the master deliver within the time limited his protest, then the Court, examining it with all possible impartiality, shall call for all further explanations, and, having inserted the whole into the journal of the Court, shall pass a final sentence, and pronounce it, as stated in § 47. 4 52. If, by sentence of the Court, the arrested vessel be released, and adjudged ive damages for her detention, and if the vessel has been arrested by any of nal decision, which, on the following the foreign vessel, who shall sign, all made known to them, after which the intence' of the Court into execution, as the Company's officers, and the damages are not above 5,000 of Kamtchatka shall demand immediate paym< Russian-American Company, but if the damagi to the Company's office, and give to the foreigi cannot be paid by the Company otherwise thai of its Court of Directors. If, on the other hanc unlawfully by a Russian man-of-war, th< adjudged damages (not exceeding the su sum, and to report, in order to incash it exceed the sum of 5,000 roubles the Com tificato for the receipt of the money aft Russian Government. § 53. The reimbursement of such damau detention shall be exacted from the Commander and all the officers of the war, who, havijig been called by the Commander to a council, shall have giv opinion that such a ship ought to be detained. 4 54. As soon as a foreign ship is sentenced to be confiscated, the Commander of Kamtchatka is to make due arrangements for transporting the crew to Ochotsk, and from thence to any of the ports in the Baltic, in order to enable every one of them to reach his own country. With the confiscated ship and cargo, he is to act as with a prize, taken in time of war. bles, the Commandei t of said sum from the office of the exceed that sum, he is to notify it mister a certificate; but the money ifter the inspection and Resolution | hand, the foreign vessel has been detained Commander of Kamtchatka.is to pay the q of 5,000 roubles) out of any Government i-om the guilty, but if the damages should lander of Kamtchatka is to furnish a cer- r the regulation and confirmation of the 3 as may have been incurred by unlawful lan-of- APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 375 $ 55. After this the Commander of Kamtchatka shall order a Committee to value tne vessel and her cargo. This Committee is to be composed of one member appointed yJ- e Commander of Kamtchatka, one by the Commander of the man-of-war, and a third by the Russian-American Company. J 5 56. These Commissioners are to make up a specified list and valuation according to the following rules: 5 1. All provisions, rigging, iron, powder, and arms shall be put down at such prices as they cost Government there. 2. All merchandise which might be used in Kamtchatka and the Company's Colonies, and which are carried there at times from Russia, shall be valued at their prices then existing. 3. All goods which are not imported into these places from Russia, but are wanted there, shall be valued like goods brought from Russia, being the nearest to them, and in proportion to their wants. 4. All goods not in use at Kamtchatka or the Colonies shall be sent to Irkutsk and sold at public auction by the proper authorities. 4 57. The said Commissioners shall present their valuation to the Commander of Kamtchatka for his approbation, who, in case of not finding the same exact, shall return it, with his remarks, and shall appoint other officers to inspect such articles as may appear unfairly valued. 11 4 58. If the Commissioners hereafter continue in their opinion, and the Com mander of Kamtchatka find it impossible to agree thereto, he shall provisionally consent and leave the final decision to Government. 4 59. According to this valuation the Commander of Kamtchatka shall mark, for the use of Government, all those articles which he thinks are wanted; the remainder is left at the disposal of the officers of the ship or of the Russian-American Company. The seized vessel shall be valued by the Court, and the valuation sent immediately to the Minister of the Navy, with a report whether such a vessel is wanted for Gov- 4 60. The whole sum of valuation of the confiscated vessel and cargo is to bo divided in the following manner. The expenses necessary to forward the ship's crew to one of the ports in the Baltic are to be deducted, and the remaining sum divided, if the vessel has been taken by the Russian-American Company's officers, and carried to the port of St. Peter and Paul by a ship of said Company, without the interference of a man-of-war, into five parts, of which one goes to the Government, and the remaining four-fifths to the American Company. If the vessel be taken in any of tho Company's Settlements by the Company's officers, but brought to the port of St. Peter and Paul by a man-oi-war, after deducting one-fifth for Government, two-fifths are to belong to tho crew of the man-of-war, and the remaining two-fifths to the Russian-American Company, and finally, if such foreign vessel be detained by men-of-war only without the assistance of the Company's officers, then, after deducting one-flfth for Government, the remainder is left to the officers But if a vessel be taken by the conjoint forces of a man-of-war and a Company's vessel, then the prize shall be divided between them in proportion to their strength, regulating the same according to the number of guns 9 61. The sum coming to the officers of the mau-of- to the Rules for dividing prizes in time of war. In all c share in seizing foreign vessels convicted of the intention of infringing the privileges most graciously granted to the Russian-American Company, may expect to receive tokens of His Imperial Majesty's approbation, especially when, after deducting the expenses for conveying the crew, their part in the prize money should prove but trifling. 4 62. If a foreign vessel detained by a Russian being under the command of a Russian officer should be cast away before reaching the port of St. Peter and Paul, the following principle shall be observed: If the foreign vessel alone be lost, and the Russian accompanying her arrive at the port of St. Peter and Paul, then the Court acts according to the foregoing Rules to determine whether that vessel was lawfully seized. In this case Government takes unon itself the expenses of conveying to a port of the Baltic such of the ship s crew as were saved. But if such a vessel should not be proved to have been detained lawfully, then independant of those expenses, the ship shall be valued, and such valuation forwarded to Government for the payment of what may be deemed just; at the same time investigation shall be made on the loss of the vessel, and the officer that had the command (if saved) is to be tried according to the maritime Rules and Regu- a41<638 The Commander of Kamtchatka is bound to make a special Report to the Governor-General of Siberia respecting every circumstance happening toforeign vessels, annexing copies of all documents, journals, and sentences of the Court, and of all papers relating thereunto. - Theorfginal is signed: ^^SiS^Lm. 376 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Edict of His Imperial Majesty, Autocrat of All the Rnssii The Directing Senate maketh known to all men: Whereas in an Edict of His Imperial Majesty issued to the Directing Senate on the 4th day of September, and signed by His Imperial Majesty's own hand it is thus expressed: "Observing from Reports submitted to us that the trade of our subjects on the Aleutian Islands and on the north-west coast of America appertaining unto Russia, is subjected, because of secret and illicit traffic, to oppression and impediments, and finding that the principal cause of these difficulties is the want of Rules establishing the boundaries for navigation along these coasts, and the order of naval communication as well in these places as on the whole of the eastern coast of 12 Siberia and the Kurile Islands, we have deemed it necessary to determine these communications by specific Regulations, which are hereto attached. "In forwarding these Regulations to the Directing Senate, we command that the same be published for universal information, and that the proper measures be taken to carry them into execution." (Countersigned) Count D. Gurikff, Minister of Finances. It is therefore decreed by the Directing Senate that His Imperial Majesty's Edict be published for the information of all men, and that the same be obeyed by all whom it may concern. (L. S.) The original signed by the Directing Senate. Printed at St. Petersburgh, in the Senate, Septeml r 7,1821. [Several Maps foil r-1 Lord Stowell to Lord Melville. Grafton Street, London, December 26,1821. My Dear Lord : I have perused these papers, and it appears to me to be unsafe to proceed to any controversial discussion of the proposed Begulations, till it is shown that they issue from a competent authority founded upon an acknowledged title of territorial and exclusive possession of the portions of the globe to which they relate. I am myself too slightly acquainted with the facts regarding such possession (how originally acquired and how subsequently enjoyed) to be enabled to say that upon undisputed principles such a possession exists. It is perfectly clear from these Begulations that it has not hitherto been exclusive in the extent in which it is now claimed; for they are framed for the very purpose of putting an end to foreign intercourses of traffic therein, which they denominate illicit but which they admit existed de facto. The territories claimed are of different species—islands—portions of the continent—and large portions of the sea adjoining. I know too little of the history of their connection with either islands or continents to say with confidence that such a possession has in this case been acquired. I content myself with remarking that such possession does not appear in the opinion and practice of States to be founded exactly upon the same principles in the cases of islands and continents. In that of islands, discovery alone has usually been held sufficient to constitute a title. Not so in the case of continents. In the case of the South American Continent the Spaniards and Eortuguese resorted to grants from an authority which in that age was universally respected, and continued in respect till subsequent possession had confirmed their title. But I think that it has not been generally held, and cannot be APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 377 maintained that the mere discovery of a coast gives a right to the exclusive possession of a whole extensive continent to which it belongs, and less to the seas that adjoin to a very considerable extent of distance. An undisputed exercise of sovereignty over a large tract of such a continent and for a long tract of time would be requisite for such purposes. I am too ignorant of particular facts to say how far such principles are justly applicable to such cases. I observe that by these Begulations the commerce in these islands, continents, and adjoining seas is declared to have been granted exclusively to Bussian subjects; who the granter is, is not expressly declared. If, as is probable, the Autocrat of Bussia is meant, the inquiry then reverts to the question respecting the foundation of such an authority, and thinking that that question must be first disposed of, I content myself with observing upon the Begulations themselves that they are carried to an extent that appears very unmeasured and insupportable. I have, &c. (Signed) Stowell. Board of Trade to Foreign Office.—(Received January 7.) Office for Trade, London, January 7,1822. Dear Sir : The inclosed seems to contain all the information that we can expect from the persons interested in the southern whale fishery; but I will try and squeeze a little more out of them if I can. Pray let me have the inclosed back, as it is an original, or if you will return it when you have read it, I will send you a copy to-morrow. Mr. Eobinson desired me to inform the parties that the point in question was too high matter for this Committee to do anything in its Board of Trade capacity. I am, &c. (Signed) Thos. Lock. [InclosaremKo.6.] Messrs. S. Enderby $ Son and Mr. W. Mellish to Board of Trade. Paul's Wharf, London, November 27,1821. My Lords: We most respectfully address your Lordships on the subject of an Ordinance or Ukase issued by the Emperor of Russia on the 9th October iast. The 1st Article of that Ordinance in a sweeping way forbids all but subjects of Russia from commencing a whale fishery from*Behring's Straits to 51° north latitude on the north-west coast of America as well as in the Aleutian Islands on the east coast of Siberia and Kurile Islands, that is to say, from Behring's Straits to the south Cape in the Island Ooroop in 45° 51' north latitude. By this Article it appears that British ship-owners and merchants are forbidden from attempting to carry on any fishery or branch of industry, under penalties, to the north of 51° north latitude on the north west coast of America, or to the north of 45° 51' north latitude on the eastern coasts of the North Pacific Ocean. The 2nd Article forbids all foreign vessels touching at the Russian Establishments within the above stated limits, or even to approach them within a less distance than 100 Italian miles, the cargo to be forfeited, without it can be proved that the vessel is in want of provisions or driven in by tempestuous weather. These two leading Articles in the Ordinance we consider as a declaration of war against the commercial and fishing of British merchants if their enterprize carries their ships to the north of the limits laid down by Russia. One British ship of 500 tons employed in the whale fishery has recently been as far as 47^° north latitude on the oast coast, and found sperma cetm whale* so plenty that great numbers of vessels will sail immediately after the 1st January if we receive the protection we earnestly solict from our Government against this extraordinary Ordinance. Two British 1 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. If Captain Parry is successful in effecting a passage into the North Pacific Ocea: either through Behring's Straits or else.where, the Russian Ukase will prevent on Waiting your Lordship's directions for our future government, we have, &c. (Signed) Sam. Endkrby & Son. No. 7. The Marquis of Londonderry to Count Lieve TheTJn lersigned 1 as the h addressed to him bj Baron Emperor 3f All the Bussias, 1821, for v arious pur[ oses, the the territc rial rights of his America, 1 ordering u of His Im perial Maje sty's sub eign Office, January 18,1822. hereby to acknowledge the note, :olai of the 12th November last, 3d by His Imperial Majesty the date th 4th edwil ed with th His 1 id ■ ble whii ajestj 5 G< State which His Majesty has the satisfaction to feel himself connected by the most intimate ties of friendship and alliance; and having beei referred for the report of those high legal authorities, whose duty it if to advise His Majesty on such matters. The Undersigned is directed, till such friendl place between the two Governments as may ofr upon so delicate and important a point, to make such pr test against the enactments of the said Ukase as may save the rights of His Majesty's Crown, and may pro tec and properties of His Majesty's subjects from molestatio cise of their lawful callings in that quarter of the globe. The Undersigned is commanded to acquaint Count I being the King's constant desire to respect, and cause t< by his subjects in the fullest manner, the Emperor of rights, His Majesty will be ready to enter into amicable explanations upon the interests affected by this instrument, in such manner as may be most acceptable to His Imperial Majesty. In the meantime, upon the subject of this Ukase generally, and especially upon the two main principles of claim laid down therein', viz., an exclusive sovereignty alleged to belong to Bussia over the territories therein described, as also the exclusive right of navigating and trading within the maritime limits therein set forth, his Britannic Majesty must be understood as hereby reserving all his rights, not being prepared to admit that the intercourse which is allowed on the face of this instrument to have hitherto subsisted on those coasts, and in those seas, can nations can take i that it Bspected APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 379 be deemed to be illicit, or that the ships of friendly Powers, even supposing an unqualified sovereignty was proved to appertain to the Imperial Crown in these vast and very imperfectly occupied territories, could, by the acknowledged law of nations, be excluded from navigating within the distance of 100 Italian miles as therein laid down from the coast, the exclusive dominion of which is assumed (but, as His Majesty's Government conceive, in error) to belong to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of All the Bussias. (Signed) Londonderry. The Marquis of Londonderry to Sir C. Bagot. No. 5.] Eoreign Office, January 19,1822. Sir : With reference to your Excellency's several despatches relative to the Ukase lately issued by the Emperor of Bussia under date the 4th September last, for various purposes therein set forth, especially connected with the territorial rights of his Crown on the north-western coast of America, bordering upon the Pacific, and the commerce and navigation of His Imperial Majesty's subjects in the seas adjacent thereto, I have now the honour to inclose you a copy of a note which, by His Majesty's command, I have addressed to the Count de Lieven, the Bussian Ambassador in London, upon this subject; I am to desire, that in any communications which you may have with the Bussian Government relative to this Ukase, you will conform yourself to the tenour of the note herewith sent. I am, &c. (Signed) Londonderry. Mr. Stratford Canning to the Marquis of Londonderry.—(Received Marcli 21.) No. 11.] Washington, February .19,1822. Mr Lord: I was informed this morning by Mr. Adams that the Bussian Envoy has, within the last few days, communicated officially to the American Government an Ukase of the Emperor of Eussia, which has lately appeared iu the public prints, appropriating to the sovereignty and exclusive use of His Imperial Majesty the north-west coast of America down to the 51st parallel of latitude, together with a considerable portion of the opposite coasts of Asia, and the neighbouring seas to the extent of 100 Italian miles from any part of the coasts and intervening islands so appropriated. In apprizing me of this circumstance, Mr. Adams gave me to understand that it was not the intention of the American Cabinet to admit the claim thus notified on the part of Eussia. His objection appears to lie more particularly against the exclusion of foreign vessels to so great a distance from the shore. , T , ,. The note given in by M. de Poletica is confined, I believe, to a mere communication of the Emperor's Ukase, and of the periods at which 380 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. it will begin to have force, viz., from the 1st-March with respect to European vessels, and from the 1st July for vessels from this country. Mr. Adams inquired whether I had heard from your Lordship on this head, and on the supposition that a similar communication had in all probability been made by the Bussian Ambassador in London, appeared desirous of learning tbe course which His Majesty's Government intended to adopt with reference to it. I could only reply by saying that I had not yet received any intimation from your Lordship o subject. I have, &e. (Signed) ithe Stratford Canning. Hudson's Bay Company to the Marquis of Londonderry.—(Received March .) . Hudson's Bay House, London, March 27,1822. My Lord : It has fallen under the observation of the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company that the Bussian Government have made a claim to the north-west coast of America, from Behring's Straits to the 51st degree of north latitude; and in an Imperial Ukase have prohibited foreign vessels from approaching the coast within 100 miles, under penalty of confiscation. Likewise that the American Government are claiming a very considerable extent of country bordering on the Pacific Ocean; and that a Bill is in progress in the House of Bepresentatives for settling the Columbia and forming it into a State of the Union. In the Eeport presented to the House on which this Bill is founded, the Committee state that the title of the United States to the sovereignty of the territory from the 41st degree to the completion of the 53rd degree of north latitude is unquestionable; but that, in the opinion of the Committee, the American Government have a good claim as far as 60° north latitude. I need not remind your Lordship that a large portion of that country was discovered by British navigators, and taken possession of on behalf of Great Britain; nor of the affair of Nootka Sound, in 1789, in consequence of aggressions committed upon British subjects on that coast; but it may be necessary to state to your Lordship that the Americans had no trade with the natives until long after the British Establishments had been formed in the country to the westward of the Bocky Mountains. In the year 1792 Sir Alexander McKenzie, then a partner in the late North-West Company, explored from the interior the country west of the Bocky Mountains, and was the first who penetrated to the Pacific Ocean. In the preceding year Captain Vancouver had surveyed the Columbia Biver from the mouth to the Falls, 200 miles from the sea. For above twenty years the British fur traders have had Settlements, and the Company have an Establishment of 200 men on the Columbia Biver at this period, and large and valuable Establishments to the northward. 16 It was not till the year 1806 that the Americans explored this country, when an expedition was fitted out under Captains Lewis and Clarke, who proceeded to the head of the Mississourie, thence APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 381 across the Bocky Mountains to the Biver Columbia, and down it to the mouth, and returned by the same route. Soon after the return of these gentlemen, an American Chartered Company was established under the name of the Pacific Fur Company, who began their operations in 1810. Ships were sent and a fort built at the mouth of the Columbia. This fort was given up to the late North-West Company in the American War, when they hpught of the Pacific Fur Company their whole stock- in-trade, and the country was abandoned by the Americans, and they have not since had any traders in the Columbia, or to the northward. The fort, after the Treaty of Ghent, was demanded by the American Government as included, with other fortified places in that Treaty, although it is more properly only a trading station, and it has been delivered up, but it remains unoccupied. By a Convention in October 1818, subsequent to the Treaty, it was agreed by the Contracting Parties that the country in question, for the purposes of trade, was to be free to the subjects of both nations for ten years. The fur trade of Great Britain, by au Act of last. Session and grant from His Majesty, is vested in the Hudson's Bay Company; I cannot, therefore, refrain from calling your Lordship's attention to this matter as of considerable importance at the present moment, and not unlikely to lead to very unpleasant occurrences at some future period, if no notice is taken of these proceedings of the Bussian and American Governments, the effect of which would be to exclude British subjects from the northwest coast of America, and a valuable trade in the interior. I have, &c. (Signed) J. H. Pelly, Deputy Governor. Earl Bdthurst to the Duke of Wellington. Downing Street, September 14,1822. My Lord : I have the honour to transmit, for your Grace's guidance in the execution of the commission with which His Majesty has been pleased to intrust you in consequence of the lamented death of the Marquis of Londonderry, a Memorandum which was originally drawn up by his Lordship, and, having been approved by His Majesty's confidential servant, was submitted to His Majesty's Government and received His Majesty's sanction. I am, &c. (Signed) Bathurst. [Inclosure in No. 11.] Memorandum. The subject-matter upon which the allied Ministers will have to deliberate at the approaching meeting at Vienna may be classed under the following heads: 1. The Turkish question, internal and external. 2. The Spanish question, European and American. 3. The Affairs of Italy. 382 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. As British points, the Slave Trade, the Austrian Debt, and the late Russian Ukase will demand attention. Upon the Russian Ukase the objections to its enactment, in principle, are set forth in the note addressed to Count Lieven in reply to his communication of the Ukase to the British Government. The duty of the British Plenipotentiary will be to bring the Russian Cabinet to some distinct explanation as to the mode in which the differences of opinion on this instrument may be reconciled. 17 No. 12. Memorandum by the Duke of Wellington. September 11,1822. In the course of a conversation which I had yesterday with Count Lieven, he informed me that he had been directed to give verbal explanations of the Ukase respecting the north-west coast of America. These explanations went, he said, to this, that the Emperor did not propose to carry into execution the Ukase in its extended sense. That His Imperial Majesty's ships had been directed to cruize at the shortest possible distance from the shore in order to supply the natives with arms and ammunition, and in order to warn all vessels that that was His Imperial Majesty's dominion; and that His Imperial Majesty had besides given directions to his Minister in the United States to agree upon a Treaty of Limits with the United States. It appears here that this explanation when given will be very little satisfactory; and that at best it is only a verbal explanation of a written and published Ukase, the terms of which, however contrary to the law of nations and protested against by us, must be the rule for our merchants and traders till we can obtain some document in writing which will alter it. This is the sense in which I propose to act at Vienna upon this part of the instructions, and it is desirable that I should be informed whether we have.any claim to territory on the north-west coast of America, and what are the opinions and reasonings ofthe civilians upon the question of dominion on the sea. The Eussian Ministers will very probably assimilate their claim of dominion as thus verbally explained to the claim which we are supposed to have of dominion in the Narrow Seas, which it was attempted to bring into discussion at the Congress at Vienna in 1815. We avoided the discussion, and explained the practice of giving and receiving salutes prevailing in the British navy in a manner satisfactory to all parties. But we never relinquished the claim of the dominion. On the other hand, we have not recently claimed the dominion in a Proclamation, and warned others not to approach it. September 16,1822. Since writing the above I have again seen Count Lieven on this subject, and he has informed me that the Emperor has authorized his Minister in the United States to treat upon limits in North America with the United States. He gave me this instruction confidentially, and in order that if we had any claim to territory on the north-west coast of America we might bring it forward, so as not to be shut out by any agreement made between Bussia and the United States. It is desirable, therefore, that I should be informed upon this subject as soon as may be convenient. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 383 No. 13. Hudson's Bay Company to Mr. George Canning.—(Received September .) Hudson's Bay House, London, September 25,1822. Sir: I have the honour to address you, on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company, upon the subject of the claim set up by Bussia to that part of the north-west coast of America which is to the north of the 51st degree north latitude. It appears to the Directors of this Company that the claim of Bussia is not well founded, and as the interests of the Company and of the British fur trade would be essentially and greatly injured, should the claims of Bussia be admitted by the British Government, I feel"it to be incumbent upon me, in addition to the representations which I have already made upon this subject, to state briefly the progress.of the British fur trade in that part of North America, and to apprize you of the forts or trading stations, situated to the north of the 51st degree north latitude, which are now occupied by the traders and servants of this Company. In the year 1793 Sir Alexander McKenzie crossed the Bocky Mountains in 56° 30' north latitude, aud penetrated to the Pacific Ocean in latitude 52° 20'. Immediately after his return the British fur traders sent expeditions and established trading posts in the country to the westward of the Bocky Mountains. New trading stations have been gradually formed, as the country was more fully explored, and 18 uutil 1821 the whole trade of an extensive district named New Caledonia, and extending from the mouth of Fraser's Biver, situated about 49° north latitude to about 60° north latitude, was carried on by the British North-West Company. The partnership of the British North-West Company being then about to expire, arrangements were made in 1821 by which the Hudson's Bay Company acquired possession of all the forts and trading stations of that Association situated in New Caledonia, as well as in other parts of British North America. The principal forts or permanent and centrical trading stations in New Caledonia, now occupied by the traders and servants of this Company, are situated at the Eocky Mountain portage in 56° north latitude and 121° west longitude; on" Stewart's Lake, in 54° 30' north latitude and 125° west longitude; on McLeod's Lake in 55° north latitude and 124° west longitude, and on Fraser's Lake in 55° degrees north latitude and about 127° west longitude, and there are several minor trading posts, the situation of which are occasionally changed according to local circumstances. By these means an extensive trade is carried on with all those Indian tribes which inhabit the country from about 60° north latitude as far south as the mouth of Fraser's Biver, which is in about 49° north latitude, and between the Bocky Mountains and the sea. The British fur traders have never met with the traders of any other nation in that country, and it does not appear that any part of it has ever been occupied by the subjects of Bussia or of any other foreign Power. All the considerable rivers which fall into the Pacific Ocean in this extent of coast have not yet been sufficiently explored to ascertain whether any of them are navigable with large boats, and have safe harbours at their discharge into the sea; the furs procured in that-country have therefore been brought to England down the Peace Biver and through the Hudson's Bay Company's territories. But it is probable 384 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. that, in such an extent of < the sea will be discovered gooffs and furs through the A direct communciation country to the south of Nev of the Columbia Biver, w] Establishments extending Mountains, and the same communication by sea with This Company has tradii which falls into the Frozen which carry on a trade thatr: the idt. ome practicable communication with rould'save the expensive transport of >r of America. is found to be advantageous in the raia situated on the various branches is Company have extensive trading Lead waters of that river in the Bocky iges would be derived from a direct Jaledonia. blishments also in McKenzie's Biver, as far north as 66° 30' north latitude, Indians who inhabit the country to srth of 60° of north latitude, and who, can communicate more easily with McKe: sEh rth iNe aledoi I have thus given a brie the north-west coast of An Government will take the ] of this Company and of tl world. I have, &c. (Signed J. H. Pelly, Deputy Governor. Memorandum. Thej indso: nthe of America from Behrin _ 51st degree north latitude, ai a correspondence which tc Washington in the months i March, and April, 1822, 1 American Government and Ambassador, the Chevalie Politica. 19 1. The discoveries : Russians during the n the First. 2. The discoveries made by Behringand Tchiricoff in 1741, during the reign of the Empress Anne and the Map published by the Imperial Academy in 1758, the result of the labours of the Academicians who accompanied the expedition, viz., Miiller, Steller, Fischer, De l'Isle de la Crayere, Krasilnicoff, <&c. j discov- 'ny'plane Based husband's instructions, ordered an expedition to be fitted out in 1728, and gave the command of it to Vitus Behring, a Dane by birth, who ascertained the separation of the two continents as high as 67° on the coast of Asia; in the following year he made an attempt to discover the coast of America, but was unsuccessful, and from this period no attempts at discovery were made till the year 1741. (See Coxe's account of Miiller, who gives an account of this voyage, and who is the authority on which the Russian Government relies, states, "That Behring came in sight*of land in 58° 28' north latitude, and Tchiricoff in latitude 56. That Behring did not land on the mainland . . . but sent a boat on shore for water on a large island." APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 385 That Cape or Mount St. Elias ■ named by Behring. That he named a point of land which projects into the sea Cape St. Elias, but that he never landed or took possession. Muller further states, which Steller confirms, "That on the 21st July, leaving their anchorage place between two islands . . . on one of which a boat's crew with Steller had landed, they set sail and attempted to trace the coast to 65°, but their course was so interrupted by islands, they could proceed no further north. From Muller's account it is doubtful whether they ever reached America; they certainly never landed on the mainland or took possession. Steller likewise states he landed on islands but never on the mainland. Behring died in this expedition on an island near Kamschatka, which is now called after him, and his vessel was Muller's account of Tchiricoff is that he made the laud in 56°, that he sent ten men in a boat for water, but never returning, it is supposed they were massacred; six more were dispatched in another boat to look after their comrades who probably shared the same fate. On the 27th July, Tchirikoff took his departure for Kamschatka, and arrived on the 9th October in Avatka Bay. The famous Astronomer De ITsle was with Tchirikoff, and it is not probable that the observations he took he would have made a mistake of 7 degrees. (The celebrated Geographer, Guillaume De l'Isle, from tho papers of his brother De ITsle de la Crayere, who was with the expedition, gives the latitude 55° 36'.) The Map alluded to was published under the direction of Muller, and which, as will be seen, places Cape St. Elias about 59°, and the coast discovered by Tchirikoff in about 56°. (This Map is in the history of Kamschatka). On reference to the Maps according to Cooke, Vancouver, &c, it will be seen that the coast where Tchirikoff made the land in 56°, consists entirely of islands, and that 49° is Nootka Sound. Muller in his Map marks the coast as Without islands, proving that Tchirikoff mistook the islands for the mainland. Tchirikoff does not appear to have again visited tho north-west coast of . America. (See history of Kamschatka.) These discoveries were entirely to the northern Archipelago so-called, named the Fox and Aleutian Islands. The voyages from 1741 to 1778 were entirely confined to the Fox and Aleutian Islands, &c, not at all extending to the 4. In 1763 Russian Establishments extended as far as the Island of Kodiak or Kichtak. In 1778, Cook found them at Ounalashka and some Russian inscriptions at Kodiak. Oui nd iak both S. Ex. 177, pt. 4- APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. In fine Captain Meares, Portlock, La Peyrouse, unanimously attest the existence of Russian Establishments in these latitudes. Vancouver was visited by Russians m Prince William's Sound, which is in - upwards of 60°. Meares and Portlock saw Russians in Cook's ■ Inlet. Captain Meares commanded the "Nootka" and Captain Port- lock the" King George." . . . ships engaged in the fur trade between Canton and the north-west coast from 1780 to 1790, but it cannot be found where Peyrouse attests their existence, though in the 234th page of the 2nd vol. of the Paris edition o£ his voyages, published 1798, there is the following sentence: "J'ai trouve" parmi leurs bijoux des morceaux 5. If the Imperial Government had at the time published the discoveries made by the Russian navigators after Behring and Tchirikoff, viz., Chodiloff, Serebriani- coff, Krassilnicoff, Paycoff, Poushcaroff, Lazeriff, Medwedeff, Solvnieff, Lewash- eff, Krimstin, and others, no one could refuse to Russia the right of first discov- 21 6. That Don Jose Martinez in 1789 did not remove the Russian colonists from Nootka, and that the Spaniards acknowledged, by the Report of Captain Malespina, that they had no right beyond Cape Blanc in latitude 42° 50'. 7. That in 1799 the Emperor Paul I granted to the present American Fur Company its first Charter; he gave it the exclusive possession of the northwest coast of America, which belonged to Russia from the 55° north latitude to Behring's Straits. He permitted them .to extend their discoveries to the south, and there to form Establishments, provided they did not encroach upon the territory occupied by other Powers. This act when made public excited no claim on the part of other Cabinets, not even ou the part of Madrid, which confirms that it did not extend its pretensions to the 60th degree. When by the Treaty of Washington the American Government acquired all the right of territory which belonged to Spain beyond 42°, no northern boundary lamed, because Spain couldnotdefine The Court of Madrid had in the year 1790 claimed to latitude 61°, and quotes in a letter from the Spanish to the French Minister the 16th June, 1890, an admission of Russia to the claim of Spain to the 61° north latitude, though perhaps a little equivocal. 8. The 51° being only the mean point between the Russian Establishments of New Archangel in 57° and the American Colony which is found at the mouth of the Columbia in 46°. See J. Q. Adams' letter in answer to 30th March, 1822. It is not at all defined that the mouth of the Columbia belongs to America. By a Convention with the United States, January 1819, the country to the westward of the Rocky Mountains is left common to both nations for ten years. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 387 9. Thatin 1789 the Spanish packet " St. This Establishment, even if authentic Charles" found m the latitude of 48 and that they were the descendants of Tchi- 49 a Russian Colony of twenty families, ricoff, would lie on Nootka, an Island, and which were the descendants of the com- therefore giving no right of possession panions of Tchiricoff. to the mainland. It is singular, if they were the descendants of Tchiricoff, that neither Krnsenstern or Kotzebue mention the circumstance, and that neither Vancouver or Cook, or any traders have noticed it. No. 14. Mr. G. Canning to the Duke of Wellington. No. 6.] Foreign Office, September 27,1822. My Lord Duke: Your Grace is already in possession of all that has passed both here and at St. Petersburgh on the subject of theissue in September of last year, by the Emperor of Bussia, of an Ukase indirectly asserting an exclusive right of sovereignty from Behring's Straits to the 51st degree of north latitude on the west coast of America, and to the 45th degree north on the opposite coast of Asia, and (as a qualified exercise of that right) prohibiting all foreign ships, under pain of confiscation, from approaching within 100 Italian miles of those coasts. 22 The Ukase having been communicated by Baron Nicolai, the Bussian Charg6 d' Affaires at this Court, to His Majesty's Government, was forthwith submitted to the legal authorities whose duty it is to advise His Majesty on such matters; and a note was in consequence addressed by the late Marquis of Londonderry to Count Lieven, the Bussian Ambassador, and also communicated to His Majesty's Ambassador at St. Petersburgh, protesting against the enactments of the said Ukase, and requesting such amicable explanations as might tend to reconcile the pretensions of Bussia in,that quarter of the globe with the just rights of His Majesty's Crown and the interests of his subjects. As such explanations will probably be offered to your Grace during the Conferences about to take place at Vienna, I hasten to signify to you the King's commands as to the language which you will hold on the part of His Majesty upon this subject. The opinions given in November and December last by Lord Stowell and by His Majesty's Advocate-General (copies of which are already in your possession) will furnish you with the best legal arguments in opposition to the pretensions put forward in the Bussian Ukase; and as, in both these opinions, much stress is very properly laid upon the state of actual occupation of the territories claimed by Eussia, and the different periods of time at which they were so occupied, I have obtained from the Governor of the principal Company of His Majesty's subjects trading in that part of the world the information which your Grace will find in the inclosed papers. That information will enable you sufficiently to prove to the Eussian Ministers, not only that the point of prior discovery may be fairly disputed with Eussia, but that the much more certain title of actual occupation by the agents and the trading servants of the Hudson's Bay Company extends at this moment to many degrees of higher latitude on the north-west coast of America than is claimed as the territory of Eussia by the Ukase in question. 1 388 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Enlightened statesmen and jurists have long held as insignificant all titles of territory that are not founded on actual occupation, and that title is in the opinion of the most esteemed writers on public law to be established only by practical use. With respect to the other points in the Ukase which have the effect of extending the territorial rights of Bussia over the adjacent seas to the unprecedented distance of 100 miles from the line of coast, and of closing a hitherto unobstructed passage, at the present moment the object of important discoveries for the promotion of general commerce and navigation, these pretensions are considered by the best legal authorities as positive innovations on the right of navigation. As such, they can receive no explanation from further discussion, nor can by possibility be justified. Common usage, which has obtained the force of law, has indeed assigned to coasts and shores, an accessorial boundary to a short limited distance for purposes of protection and general convenience, in no manner interfering with the rights of others, and not obstructing the freedom of general commerce and navigation. But this important qualification the extent of the present claim entirely excludes, and when such a prohibition is, as in the present case, applied to a long line of coasts, and also to intermediate islands in remote seas where navigation is beset with innumerable and unforeseen difficulties, and where the principal employment of the fisheries must be pursued under circumstances which are incompatible with the prescribed courses, all particular considerations concur, in an especial manner, with the general principle, in repelling such a pretension as an encroachment on the freedom of navigation, and the unalienable rights of all nations. I have indeed the satisfaction to believe, from a conference which I have had with Count Lieven on this matter,—that upon these two points,—the attempt to shut up the passage altogether, and the claim of exclusive dominion to so enormous a distance from the coast,—the Eussian Government are prepared entirely to waive their pretensions. The only effort that has been made to justify the latter claim was by reference to an Article in the Treaty of Utrecht which assigns 30 leagues from the coast as the distance of prohibition. But to this argument it is sufficient to answer, that the assumption of such a space was, in the instance quoted, by stipulation in a Treaty, and one to which, therefore, the party to be affected by it had (whether wisely or not) given its deliberate consent. No inference could be drawn from that transaction in favour of a claim by authority against all the world. I have little doubt, therefore, but that the public notification of the claim to consider the portions of the ocean included between the adjoining coasts of America and the Bussian Empire as a mare clausum, and to extend the exclusive territorial jurisdiction of Eussia to 100 Italian miles from the coast, will be publicly recalled, and I have 23 the King's commands to instruct your Grace further to require of the Eussian Minister (on the ground of the facts and reasonings furnished in their despatch and its inclosures) that such a portion of territory alone shall be defined as belonging to Eussia as shall not interfere with the rights and actual possessions of Her Majesty's subjects in North America. I am, &c. (Signed) George Cak.iing. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 389 No. 15. The Duke of Wellington to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received December 9.) ^0> 38-l Verona, November 28,1822. Sir: I inclose thecopy of a Confidential Memorandum which I gave to Count Nesselrode on the 17th October, regarding the Bussian Ukase, and the copy of his answer. I have had one or two discussions with Count Lieven upon this paper, to which I object as not enabling His Majesty's Government to found upon it any negotiation to settle the questions arising out of the Ukase, which discussions have not got the better of these difficulties; and I inclose to you the copy of a letter which I have written to Count Lieven, explaining my objections to the Bussian "Memoire Confidentiel." This question then stands exactly where it did. I have not been able, to do anything upon it. I have, &c. (Signed) Wellington. [Inclosure 1 in No. 15.] Memorandum. In the month of September 1821 His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia issued an Ukase, asserting the existence in the Crown of Russia of an exclusive ' right of sovereignty in the countries extending from Behring's Straits to the 51st degree of north latitude on the west coast of America, and to the 45th degree of north latitude on the opposite coast of Asia, and as a qualified exercise of that right of sovereignty, prohibiting all foreign vessels from approaching within 100 Italian miles of those coasts. After this Ukase had been submitted by the King's Government to those legal authorities whose duty it is to advise Hi's Majesty on such matters, a note was addressed by the late Marquis of Londonderry to Count Lieven, the Russian Ambassador, protesting against the enactments of this Ukase, and requesting such amicable explanations as might tend to reconcile the pretensions of Russia in that quarter of the globe with the just rights of His Majesty's Crown, and the interests of his subjects. We object, first, to the claim of sovereignty as set forth in this Ukase; and, secondly, to the mode in which it is exercised. The best writers on the laws of nations do not attribute the exclusive sovereignty, particularly of continents, to those who have first discovered them, and although we might, on good^ grounds, dispute with Russia the priority of discovery of these continents, we contend that the much more easily proved, more conclusive, and more certain title of occupation and use, ought to decide the claim of sovereignty. Now we can prove that the English North-West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company have for many years established forts and other trading stations in a country called New Caledonia, situated to the west of a range of mountains called Rocky Mountains, and extending along the shores of the Pacific Ocean from latitude 49° to latitude 60°. This Company likewise possess Factories and other Establishments on Mackenzie's River, which falls into the Frozen Ocean as far north as latitude 66° 30', from whence they carry on trade with the Indians inhabiting the countries to the west of that river, and who, from the nature of the country, can communicate with Mackenzie's River with more facility than they can with the ports in New Caledonia. Thus, in opposition to the claim founded on discovery, thepriority of which, 24 however, we conceive we might fairly dispute, we have the indisputable claim of occupancy and use for a series of years, which all the best writers on the laws of nations admit is the best founded claim to a territory of this description. Objecting as we do to this claim of exclusive sovereignty on the part of Russia, I might save myself the trouble of discussing the particular mode of its exercise as set forth in this Ukase, but we object to the mode in which the sovereignty is proposed to be exercised under this Ukase, not less than we do the claim of it. We cannot admit the right of any Power possessing the sovereignty of a country «o exclude the vessels of others from the seas on its coasts to the distance of 100 Italian miles. r — APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. le to other arrangements contained in the said Ukase, c< ,,,,,,,,; x ^..nt-ships the right to search in time of peace, &c,which \ quite contrary to the laws and usages of nations, and to the practice of modern tim Verona, October 17,1822. [rnclosnre 2 In No. 15.] Me'moire Confidentiel. Le Cabinet de Russie a pris en mure consideration le Memoire Confidentiel que M. le Due de Wellington lui a remis le 17 Octobre dernier rolativement aux mesures adoptees par Sa Majesty l'Empereur sous la date du 4 (16) Septembre, 1821, pour determiner l'etendue des possessions Russes sur la c6te nord-ouest de l'Ameriqne, et pour interdire aux vaisseanx etrangers l'approche de ces possessions jusqu'a la distance de 100 milles d'ltalie. Les ouvertures faites a ce sujet au Gouvernement de Sa Majeste" Britanniqne par le Comte de Lieven au moment ou cet Ambassadeur alloit quitter Londres, doivent deja avoir prouve" que l'opinion que le Cabinet de Saint-James avoit concue des mesures dont il s'agit, n'etoit point fonde"e sur une appreciation entitlement exacte des vues de Sa Majesty Imperiale. La Russie est loin de meconnoitre que l'usage et l'occupation constituent le plus solide des titres d'apres lesquels un Etat puisse reclamer des droits de souverainete" sur une portion quelconque du continent. La Russie est plus loin encore d'avoir voulu outrepasser arbitrairement les limites que ce titre assigne a ses domaines sur la cdte nord-ouest de l'Amerique, ou exiger en principe general de droit maritime les regies qu'une necessite pnrement locale l'avoit obligee de poser pour la navigation etrangere dans le voisinage de la partie de cette c6te qui lui appartient. C'etoit au contraire parce qu'elle regardoit ces droits de souverainete" comme legitimes et parce que des considerations imperieuses tenant a l'existence meme du commerce qu'elle fait dans les parages de la cdte nord-ouest de l'Amerique, la forcoient a etablir un systeme de precautions devenues indispensables, qu'elle a fait paroltre l'Ukase du 4 (16) Septembre, 1821. La Russie seroit toujours prete a faire part des motifs qui en justifient ses dispositions mais pour le moment elle se bornera aux observations suivantes. M. le Due de Wellington aflirme dans son Memoire Confidentiel du 17 Octobre que des Etablissemens Anglois, appartenant a deux Compagnies: celle de la Baye de Hudson et celle du Nord-Ouest, se sont formes dans une contree appeiee la Nouvelle- Caiedonie, qui s'etend le long de la cdte de l'Ocean Pacifique, depuis le 49° jusqu'au 60° de latitude septentrionale. La Russie ne parlera point des Etablissemens qui peuvent exister entre le 49 et 51 parallele, mais^ quant aux autres, elle n'hesite pas de convenir qu'elle en ignore jusqu'a present l'existence, pour autant au moins qu'ils toueheroient l'Ocean Pacifique. Les Cartes Angloises meme les plus recentes et les plus detainees n'indiquent absolument aucune des stations de commerce mentionnees dans le Memoire du 17 Octobre, sur la cdte meme de l'Amerique, entre le 51° et 60° de latitude septentrionale. D'ailleurs, depuis les expeditions de Behring et de Tchiricoff, e'est-a-dire, depuis pres d'un siecle, des Etablissemens Russes ont pris, a partir du 60°, une extension progressive, qui des l'annee 1799 les avoit fait parvenir jusqu'au 55 parallele, comme le porte la premiere Charte de la Compagnie Russe-Americaine, Charte qui a recu dans le terns une publicite oflicielle et qui n'a motive aucune protestation de la part de l'Angleterre. 25 Cette m6me Charte accordoit a la Compagnie Russe le droit de porter ses Etablissemens vers le midi au dela du 55° de latitude septentrionale, pouryn que de tels accroissemens de territoire ne pussent donner motif de reclamation a aucune Puissance etrangere. L'Angleterre n'a pas non plus proteste contre cette disposition, elle n'a pas meme reclame contre les uouveanx Etablissemens que la Compagnie Russe-Americaine a pu former au sud du 55°, en vertu de ce privilege. La Russie etoit done pleinement autorisee a profiter d'un consentement, qui, pour etre tacite, n'en etoit pas moins solennel, et a determiner pour bornes de ses domaines le degre de latitude, jusqu'auquel la Compagnie Russe avoit etendu ses operations depuis 1799. Quoiqu'il en soit et quelque force que ces circonstances pretent aux titres de la Russie, Sa Majeste Imperiale ne deviera point dans cette conjoncture du systeme habltuel de sa politique. Le premier de ses vceux sera toujours de prevenir toute discussion et de consolider de plus en plus les rapports d'amitie et de parfaite intelligence qu'elle se feiicite d'entretenir aveo la Grande-Bretagne. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 391 En. consequence l'Empereur a charge son Cabinet de declarer a M. le Due de Wellington (sans que cette declaration pnisse prejudicier en rien a ses droits, si elle n'etoit point acceptee) qu'il est pret a fixer, au moyen d'une negociation amicale et sur la base des convenances mutuelles, les degres de latitude et de longitude que les deux Puissances regarderont comme dernieres limites de leurs possessions et de leurs Etablissemens sur la c6te nord-ouest de l'Amerique. Sa Majeste Imperiale se plait a croire que cette negociation pourra se terminer sans difficulte a la satisfaction reciproque des deux Etats, et le Cabinet de Russie peut assurer des a present M. le Due de Wellington que les mesures de precaution et de surveillance qui seront prises alors sur la partie Russe de la cdte d'Am6rique, so trouveront entiSrement conformes aux droits derivant de sa souverainete, ainsi qu'aux usages etablis ontre nations, et qn'aucune plainte legitime ne pourra s 61ever contre elles. Veboke, le 11 (23) Novembre, 1822. [Inclosure 3 in No. 15.] The Duke of Wellington to Count , November 28, 1822. M. le Comte : Having considered the paper which your Excellency gave me last night on the part of his Excellency Count Nesselrode on the subject of our discussions on the Russian Ukase, I must inform you that I cannot consent, < n the paTt of my Government, to found on that paper the negotiations for the settlement of the question which has arisen between the two Governments on this subject. We object to the Ukase on the grounds: 1. That His Imperial Majesty assumes thereby an exclusive sovereignty in North America of which we are not prepared to acknowledge the existence or the extent. Upon this point, however, the Memorandum of Count Nesselrode does afford the means of negotiation, and my Government will be ready to discuss it either in London or St. Petersburgh whenever the state of the discussions on the other question' arising out of the Ukase will allow of the discussion. The second ground on which we object to the Ukase isTihat His Imperial Majesty thereby excludes from a certain considerable extent of the open sea vessels of other We contend that the assumption of this power is contrary to the law of nations, and we cannot found a negotiation upon a paper in which it is again broadly asserted. We contend that no Power whatever can exclude another from the use of the open sea. A Power can exclude .itself from the navigation of a certain coast, sea, &c, by its own act or engagement, but it cannot by right be excluded by another. This we consider as the law of nations, and we cannot negotiate Upon a paper in which a right is asserted inconsistent with this principle. 26 I think, therefore, that the best mode of proceeding would be that you should state your readiness to negotiate upon the whole subject, without restating the objectionable principle of the Ukase, which w Ever yours, &c. The Duke of Wellington to Mr. G. Canning.—{Received December 9.) jr0- 441 Verona, November 29,1822. Sir: Since I wrote to you yesterday I have had another conversation with the Bussian Ministers regarding the Ukase. It is now settled that both the Memorandums which I inclosed to you should be considered as non avenus, and the Bussian Ambassador in London is to address you a note in answer to that of the late Lord Londonderry, assuring you of the desire of the Emperor to negotiate with you upon the whole question of the Emperor's claims in North 392 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. America, reserving them all if the result of the negotiation should not be satisfactory to both parties. This note will then put this matter in a tram of negotiation, which is what was wished. ^ I have, &c. (Signed) Wellington. No. 17. Mr. S. Canning to Karl Bathurst.—(Received - Washington, November 21,1822. Being directed by my instructions to transmit to His Majesty's Government whatever information I may happen to obtain respecting the proposed occupation of the territory adjacent to the Columbia Eiver, I have endeavoured not to lose sight of this subject, the rather as an effort will probably be made in the course of the approaching Session to bring it under the immediate deliberation of Congress. The correspondence which, some months ago, took place between M. Poletica, the late Eussian Minister at Washington, and Mr. Adams, relative to another portion of the north-west coast of America, has contributed to turn the attention of the public towards the same quarter. On the questions involved in this correspondence an interesting article has lately appeared in the " North American Beview," a work of merit published periodically at Boston. The argument, bottomed on facts, which the reviewer maintains in opposition to the territorial pretensions of Bussia, would seem, as far as the title of that Power is concerned, to be of a very conclusive description. As the article is rather long, 1 have made extracts of the material parts for your Lordship's more convenient perusal. They will be found in the Inclosure (A). A.] [Inclosure in No. 1 Extract from the "North Am. i Revie The third voyage of Cook having made us acquainted with countries of which little was before known, several enterprising individuals, allured by the prospect of a profitable traffic with the natives, engaged in voyages to the north-west coast as early as 1784. The citizens of the United States, then just recovering from the entire prostration of their commerce by the revolutionary war, and possessing more enterprise than capital, were not slow in- perceiving the benefits likely to result from the participation in a branch of trade where industry and perseverance could bo substituted for capital. In 1787, two vessels were fitted out in the port of Boston, the "Columbia," of 300 tons, and the "Washington," of 100 tons burthen; the former commanded 27 by Mr. John Kendrick, the latter by Mr. Robert Grey, since known as the first -navigator who entered the River Columbia. Other vessels followed shortly after, and those intrusted with the management of these voyages soon acquired the necessary local knowlege to insure a successful competition with the traders of other nations (mostly English) who had preceded them. The habits and ordinary pursuits of the New Englanders qualified them in a peculiar manner for carrying on this trade, and the embarrassed state of Europe/combined with other circumstances, gave them, in the course of a few years, almost a monopoly of the most lucrative part of it. In 1801, which was, perhaps, the most flourishing period of the trade, there were sixteen ships on the. north-west coast, fifteen of which were Americans and one English. Upwards of 18,000 sea-otter skins, besides other furs, were collected for the China market in that year by the American vessels alone. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 393 Since that time the trade has declined, the sea-otter having become scarce in consequence of the impolitic system pursued by the Russians, as well as by the natives who destroy indiscriminately the old and the young of this animal, which will probably in a few years be as rarely met with on the coastof America as it is now on that of Kamtchatka and among the Aleutian Islands, where they abounded when first discovered by the Russians. There are at the present time absent from the United btates fourteen vessels engaged in this trade, combined with that to the Sandwich Islands, which for several years past has been carried on to a considerable extent in sandal wood. These vessels are from 200 to 400 tons burthens, and carry from twenty- five to thirty men each, and they are usually about three years in completing a voyage. After exchanging with the natives of the coast for furs such part of their cargoes as is adapted to the wants or suited to the fancy of these people, the ships return to the Sandwich Islands, where a cargo of sandal wood is prepared, with which, and their furs, they proceed to Canton, aud return to the United States with cargoes of teas, &c. The value at Canton of the furs, sandal wood, and other articles carried thither the last season, by American vessels engaged in the trade, was little short of half-a-million of dollars. When it is considered that a comparatively small capital is originally embarked, that a great part of the value arises from the employment of so much tonnage, and so many men, for the long time necessary to perform a voyage; and that Government finally derives a revenue from that portion of the proceeds ^ which is brought home in teas, equal, at least, to the amount invested at Canton, we believe this trade will be thought too valuable to be quietly relinquished. We have not met with any account of Tchiricoff's voyage from which the slightest inference can be drawn that he saw the American coast in the parallel of 49°, but, on the contrary, all the accounts which we have seen concur in fixing the southern limits of his continental researches north of 55°. The earliest account we can find is in a Memoir of Philippe Buache, read to the French Academy in 1752, and published at Paris in 1753. This Memoir is accompanied by a Chart, prepared by M. de Lisle, formerly First Professor of Astronomy in the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburgh, and brother to Delile de la Crayere, one of the Academicians who accompanied Tchiricoff. On this Chart is marked the route of that navigator from Kamtchatka to America and of his return. It appears from this that they discovered the coast of America on the 15th July, 1741, about the latitude of 55° 30', and sent a boat, with the pilot Dementiew and ten men with orders to land. This boat not returning after several days a second was sent with four men, who shared the fate of the first, and nothing was heard of them till 1822, when they were fortunately discovered by M. de Poletica in the latitude of 48° and 49°. After waiting in vain for thoretuin of his boats, Tchiricoff left the coast of America, and on his return discovered land in latitude 51°. This could be no other than the southernmost of the Aleutian Islands ; and the circumstance of the natives coming off to him in skin canoes confirms the supposition, as no canoes of that description have ever been found on the American coast in that parallel. The authenticity of this account of Tchiricoff's voyage can hardly be questioned. It -was published a few years only after his return, and it is stated that M. de Lisle had received the manuscripts of his brother, who died at Kamtchatka shortly after the termination of the voyage. Muller, who was in tho expedition on board Behring's ship, gives nearly the same account as the above of Tchiricoff's voyage, placing his land fall in latitude of 56°. Cox, Burney, and all writers on this subject whom we have met with, have adopted these accounts. M. Fleurieu, the most intelligent writer on this subject of the last century, in his "Historical Introduction" to the voyage of Marchand, published in 1801, speaking of the Russian navigators alluded to by M. de Poletica, says, "The principle 28 object of all these voyages was the examination of that long archipelago, known under the collective name of the Aleutian or Fox Islands, which the Russian Charts divide into several archipelagoes under different names; of all that part of the coast which extends east and west under the parallel of 60°, and comprehends a great number of islands situated to the south of the mainland, some of which were visited and others only perceived, by Behring; lastly, of the peninsula of Alaska, and of the lands situated to the north of this peninsula as far as the 70th degree. It is on these Aleutian Islands, and on upwards of 300 leagues ofthe coast, which extends beyond thepolar circle, that the indefatigable Russians have formed these numerous Settlements," &o. From all these facts we feel fully warranted in the conclusion that no Russian navigator, excepting Tchiricoft, had seen the coast eastward of Behring's Bay previous to the Spanish voyages of Perez m 1774; Heceta, Ayala, and Quadra in 1775; and that of Cook in 1778; or even so late as1788, when it was first visited by vessels from the United States. -*Thus much for the Russian "title of first discovery;" that of "first occupation" comes next. We have no doubt that Russian fur-hunters formed Establishments at an early period on the Aleutian Islands and neighbouring coast of the continent; but we are eauallv certain that it can be clearly demonstrated that no Settlement was made eastward of Behring's Bay till the one at Norfolk Sound in 1799. The statements of 394 Cook, Van APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. the fact i Vancouvei (vol. Hi, p. tho Russia nents eastward of this station, but that their ar coast as far as Cape Suckling, and their "We, however, clearly understood that the ;h these Settlements; that they were solely dependent mercantile Companies; and that that in 1789 the S in the latitude 48 in the whole of t vill dispel axo, found f Jui Dels; in 1788 Captai subsequently, came l n Spanish Settlemen mds of probab Qing462indivi( the very spot f made to the ci respe at .N >tka Captain Haro .at Nootka,but Ine^lmtrican s^whowire^actT, In the sum in with M. Ba mander-in-chi ranoflf, at that ti ef of all the Rus visited the An lerican ship, and 3 personally intimate with of his having discovered ; must have been highly t to be permanent, and to ade; and, therefore, very dre plai 5 his \ and he e Itoestabl ' torical fi b extended their had found the sea-otters so abun- dered a most perilous enterprise, tempt ever made by the Russians itward. This, though not a "his- e hold ourselves pledged. " No En: i, who h; APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN, It would thus seem that M. Baranoff knew nothing ofthe extensive Russian Establishments in 48° and 49°, and we may, without injustice, regard as wholly gratuitous on the part of M. de Poletica the discovery of the long lost companions of Tchiricoff; We are tempted, moreover, to dwell a moment on the unparalleled ii to this party. 460 descendants from fifteen men in forty-seven years would afford a duplication of numbers in a little more than nine years, a statement we should not dare to make in the hearing of Mr. Godwin. But what has become of these " eight Establishments?" The plain truth is, that in fixing the situation of the eight Establishments, discovered by Captain Haro, M. do Poletica has made the mistake ot 10° of latitude. They were actually found in latitude 58° and 59°, instead of 48° and 49°, and distant more than 1,000 miles from the.situation assigned them by the Russian Minister. This fact appears, beyond a doubt, from the account of the voyage of Captain Haro, given by M. Fleurieu, in the "Historical Introduction" before referred to. It is there stated, on the authority of two original letters, the one from San Blass, dated the 30th October, 1788 (a few days after the return of Haro), the other from the City of Mexico, the 28th August, 1789, that Don Haro found, between the latitudes of 58° and 59°, eight Russian Establishments, each composed of between sixteen and twenty families, forming a total of 462 individuals. It is added, " that the strangers had succeeded in habituating to their customs and manners 600 of the natives of the country, and received a tribute from thein for the Empress of Russia." For this part of the account M. de Poletica has substituted his own speculations concerning the lost companions of Tchiricoff. In a note M. Fleurieu remarks, that " in the letter from St. Blass it is mentioned that the Settlements are situated between the latitudes of 48° and 49°, but it is either the fault of the copy, or it is by design, that the latitudes have been improperly indicated." M. de Humboldt, in his " Political Essav on the Kingdom of New Spain," vol. ii, p. 320, mentions the voyage of Don Haro, in'the St. Carlos, and essentially confirms the account already given. As he had access to the manuscrint account of tbe vovao-e. we presume his authority will not be questioned. Page nation has yet formed a solid Establishment on the in Cape Mendocina (latitude 42°) to the 59th degree of la Russian Factories commence," &c. It is perfectly well known to every navigator, Russia i visited that part of the world, that no Russian Settlemen between the latitudes of 58° and 42°, except the one so often mentioned at Norfolk Sound. On what, then, rests the Russian claim to any part of the country between those parallels? Simply ou the facts that Tchiricoff in 1741 saw land in 55° 36', and that M. Baranoff in 1799 made a Settlement at Norfolk Sound, which was 30 destroyed in 1802, and re-established in 1804. Such, we conceive, is the plain result of an investigation of the very authorities which M. de Poletica himself has adduced. We attach no importance to the circumstance of land being seen by Tchiricoff in 1741; but if M. de Poletica- does, we are perfectly willing to try titles with him on the score of discovery. It is well known that Spain, by the IHrd Article of the Treaty of 1819, ceded to the United States all her rights to the western America north of 42°. It follows that all the discoveries made by her navigators beyond that limit now belong to the United States. It is a "historical fact," and one too well authenticated to admit of doubt; and it is stated by M. de Humboldt, in his "Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain," p. 313, that"Francisi in his voyage from Macao to Acapulco, discovered in 1582 the north-west c America under the 57° 30'." "On correcting the old observations by the new, in places of which the identity is ascertained, we find that Gali coasted part of tlie Archipelago of the Prince of Wales, or that of King George." Here we find that the land was discovered and its shores examined 159 years before the voyage of Tchiricoff, and from 2 degrees farther north than the cape seen by that navigator—a fact that puts the Russian claim to discovery out of the question. As little do we believe in the validity of the claims resulting from the occupation of Norfolk Sound in 1799. This sound was first discovered and examined by the Spanish expedition under Heceta, Ayala, and Quadra in 1775, and received the name of "Bay of Guadalupa." A few years afterwards it was visited for commercial purposes^and abounding ii valuable furs, soon became the general resort of all t* was frequented by the vessels of Great Britain, Franc years before the Russians had extended their excurs therefore clear that, at that time, they had no claim or.,.__ then prior to 1799, Russia possessed no rights on this part of the coast but such a„ were common to and enjoyed by other nations, we confess ourselves unable to perceive why the establishing of a few hunters, and mounting soi corner of Sitka Bay, should give her the right of restraining a interdicting a commerce which had hitherto been free. o in that trai e United States severa ward; and it if jcupation. TJ? l intercourse and 396 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. It is well known to the Russian Fur Company that nearly all the sea-otter skins, and most of the other valuable furs, are procured north of the 51st degree, and if " foreign adventurers " can be prevented from approaching that part of the coast, the Company would soon be left in undisturbed possession of the whole trade, for south of 51° it is not of sufficient value to attract a single vessel in a season. This would not only secure to them a monopoly in the purchase, but give them the control of the Chinese market for the most valuable furs, which would be still more important. But we suspect a deeper design than the monopoly of a few otter-skins, for which the interests of the Fur Company are made a convenient cover. We have the authority of Humboldt for stating that, in 1802, the Russian Government limited their territorial claims to the north of 55°. They are now extended to 51°, and M. de Poletica informs us that this is only " a moderate use of an incontestable right." If the eight Establishments existed in 1789 where the Russian Minister places them, no one would deny their right of possession at that time as far as 48°. The nearest European Settlement was then the Spanish one of St. Francisco, in 38°. The point, equidistant from these two, is the 43rd degree, which, according to the principle asserted by M. de Poletica, would have been the Russian boundary in 1789. The Russians have already made a considerable Settlement on Spanish territory at Fort Bodega in latitude 40°, and it is possible that, guided by the same spirit of philanthropy which prompted the dismemberment of Poland, the august Emperor may choose to occupy the fertile, but defenceless, Province of California, and annex it to his already extensive dominions. Notwithstanding the friendly relations that exist between the United States and Russia, we should deem it a serious evil to have, on our western frontiers, a formidable population, subjects of an ambitious and despotic Gov- Those engaged in the trade to the north-west coast have always considered it a lawful commerce, and, having been-confirmed in that opinion by the official declaration of the Executive of the United States that " from the period of the existence of the United States as an independent nation, their vessels have freely navigated those seas, and the right to navigate them is a part of that independence," and that " the right of the citizens of the United States to hold commerce with the aboriginal natives of the north-west coast of America without the territorial jurisdiction of other nations, even in arms and ammunitions of war, is as clear and indisputable as that of navigating the seas," they are not disposed to surrender these rights 31 without a struggle. The American vessels employed on the north-west coast are well armed and amply furnished with the munitions of war. Separated from the civilized world, and cut off, for a long time, from all communication with it, they have been accustomed to rely on their own resources for protection and defence, and to consider and treat as enemies all who attempt to interrupt them in the prosecution of their lawful pursuits. To induce them to relinquish this commerce "persuasion" will be unavailing, "threats" will be disregarded, and any attempts at coercion will be promptly resisted, unless made by a force so superior as to render resistance hopeless, in which event they will look with confidence to their Government for redress and support. The trade carried on by citizens ofthe United States with the Russian Settlements on the north-west coast has tbe sanction of their own Government, and till now has never been prohibited by that of Russia. It is done openly and with the consent of the "established authorities" at the several places, who are themselves, in most instances, parties to all commercial transactions. But for the supplies which this trade has furnished some of the Russian Settlements must have been abandoned, and, from Langsdorff's account ofthe situation of "New Archangel," it appears that in 1805 the people would have perished from famine had they not been relieved by American traders. At this moment American vessels are engaged, by contract with rvants of the Russian Fur Company, in supplying their Settlements with the '"» "ud comforts of lifo. No. 18. Count Lieven to Mr.> G. Canning. Londkes, le 19 (31) Janvier, 1823. A la suite des declarations verbales que le Soussign<§, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plenipotentiaire de Sa Majeste l'Empereur de Toutes les Eussies, a faites au Ministere de Sa Majeste Britannique, le Cabinet de St. James a du se convaincre que si des objections s'Stoient elevees APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 397 contre le Eeglement pubhe au nom de Sa Majeste l'Empereur de Toutes . les Bussies, sous la date du i (16) Septembre, 1821, les mesures ulte- rieures adoptees par Sa Majeste Imperiale ne laissent aucun doute sur la purete de ses vues et sur le d6sir qu'elle aura toujours de concilier ses droits et ses interets avec les interets et les droits des Puissances auxquelles l'unissent les liens d'une amiti6 veritable et d'une bienveil- lance r^ciproque. Avant de quitter Verone, le Soussign6 a regu l'ordre de donner au Gouvernement de Sa Majeste" Britannique une nouvelle preuve des dispositions connues de l'Empereur, en proposant a son Excellence Mr. Canning, Principal Secretaire d'Etat de Sa Majeste Britannique pour les Affaires Etrangeres (sans que cette proposition puisse porter atteinte aux droits de Sa Majeste Imperiale, si elle n'est pas acceptee), que de part et d'autre la question de droit strict soit provisoirement ecartee, et que tous les diffierends auxquels a donne" lieu le Eeglement dont il s'agit, s'applanissent par un arrangement amical fond6 sur le seul prin- cipe des convenances niutuelles et qui seroit n6goci6 a St. Pe\tersbourg. L'Empereur se flatte que Sir Charles Bagot ne tardera point a recevoir les pouvoirs et les instructions n6cessaires a cet effet et que la proposition du Soussign£ achevera de demontrer au Gouvernement de Sa Majeste Britannique combien Sa Majeste Imperiale souhaite qu'aucune divergence d'opiuion ne puisse subsister entre la Bussie et la Grande- Bretagne, et que le plus parfait accord continue de ptesider a leurs relations. Le Soussign6 saisit, &c. Lleven. No. 19. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. Ko. 1.] Foreign Office, February 5,1823. Sir : With reference to my despatch No. 5 of the 31st December last, transmitting to your Excellency the copy of an instruction* addressed to the Duke of Wellington, as well as a despatcht from his Grace 32 dated Verona the 29th November last, both upon the subject of the Bussian Ukase of September 1821,1 have now to inclose to your Excellency the copy of a notef which has been addressed to me by Count Lieven expressing His Imperial Majesty's wish to enter into some amicable arrangement for bringing this subject to a satisfactory termination, and requesting that your Excellency may be furnished with the necessary powers to enter into negotiation for that purpose with His Imperial Majesty's Ministers at St. Petersburgh. I avail myself of the opportunity of a Eussian courier (of whose departure Count Lieven has only just apprized me) to send this note to your Excellency, and to desire that your Excellency will proceed to open the discussion with the Bussian Minister upon the basis of the instruction to the Duke of Wellington. I will not fail to transmit to your Excellency Full Powers for the conclusion of an agreement upon this subject by a messenger whom I will dispatch to you as soon as I shall have collected any further mfor- *N0.14. tNo. 16~ t No. 18. 398 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. mation which it may be expedient to furnish to your Excellency, or to found any further instruction upon, that may be necessary for your guidance in this important negotiation. I am, &c. (Signed) George Canning. No. 20. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. Ko. 4.] Foreign Office, February 25,1823. Sir : I transmit to your Excellency herewith a Full Power which the King has been pleased to grant to you under the Great Seal, authorizing and empowering you to adjust the differences which have arisen in consequence of the Ukase promulgated at St. Petersburgh on the 4th September, 1821, which prohibits, under pain of confiscation, all foreign vessels from approaching within 100 Italian miles of the north-western coast of America, the Aleutian and Kurile Isles, and the eastern coasts of Siberia. I have nothing further to add to the papers with which your Excellency has already been furnished on this subject, except two opinions which were laid by the King's Law Officers before His Majesty's Government on the first receipt of the Ukase in question. I am, &c. (Signed) George Canning. Sir C. Bagot to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received March 15.) No. 8.] St. Petersburgh, February 10 (22), 1823. Sir: Count Lieven's courier arrived here yesterday afternoon,, and I had this morning the honour to receive your despatch No. 1 of the 5th instant, inclosing to me a copy of his Excellency's note to you of the 31st of last month, respecting the Imperial Ukase of the 16th September,' 1821. As the post is on the point of setting out I have only time to acknowledge the receipt of this despatch, and to assure you that I shall immediately proceed to open with the Bussian Ministry the discussions which you instruct me to hold upon the important subject to which it relates. I had yesterday an interview with Count Nesselrode, when I took occasion to speak with him generally upon the state of affairs as they appear to be affected by the King of France's speech at the opening of the Chambers, but nothing passed in our conversation which it seems necessary that I should report to you, and I have not had an opportunity of seeing the Emperor since his return from Verona. The latest intelligence received here from Constantinople is still that of the 25th of last month. I ought to state that in the copy of the instructions given to the Duke of Wellington by your despatch No. 6 to his Grace of the 33 27th September last, and which was transmitted to me in your APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 399 despatch No. 5 ofthe 31st December, the opinions of Lord Stowelland of His Majesty's Advocate-General upon the subject of this Ukase, and the other papers therein referred to, were not inclosed. I have, &c. (Signed) Charles Bagot. Count Nesselrode to Count Lieven. Satnt-P:etersbourg, le 17 Avril, 1823. M. le Comte : Par mes depeches du 17 de ce mois, j'ai fait connoitre a votre Excellence les resultats peu satisfesans de nos negotiations ave& Sir Charles Bagot, relatives aux frontieres qui doivent separer les possessions Busses des possessions Angloises par la c6te nord-ouest de l'Ainerique. Aujourd'hui, M. le Comte, je vous d£velopperai les motifs qui ne nous ont pas permis d'accepter les propositions de l'Ambassadeur d'Angle- terre. Pour ne pas entrer sans n6cessite dans de trop longs details, je me bornerai a discuter ici le point de la question sur lequel nous n'avons pu tomber d'accord. L'Oukase du 4 (16) Septembre, 1821, avoit porte jusqu'au 51° de latitude septentrionale les limites des domaines de la Eussie sur la cote nord-ouest du Continent Am6ricain. Cependant l'Empereur s'etant convaincu que presqu'a la meme epoque la Compagnie Angloise de la Baie d'Hudson avoit forin§ des Etablissemens par les 53° et 54° de latitude septentrionale, et que ces Etablissemens n'6toient meme plus ties eloigned de la cote, nous autorisa a donner, des l'ouverture des negociations, une preuve de ses intentions conciliantes, en declarant a Sir Charles Bagot que nous nous tiendrions aux limites assignees a nos possessions Ainericaines par la Charte de l'Empereur Paul, qu'en consequence la ligne du 55° degre" de latitude septentrionale, constitueroit au midi la frontiere des Etats de Sa Majeste Imperiale, que sur le continent et vers l'est, cette frontiere pourroit courir le long des montagnes qui suivent les sinuosites de la cote jusqu'au Mont Elie, et que de ce point jusqu'a la Mer Giaciale nous fixerions les bornes des possessions respectives d'apres la ligne du 140e degte de longitude ouest meridien de Greenwich. - Afin de ne pas couper Pile du Prince de Galles, qui selon cet arrange: meut devoit rester a la Bussie, nous proposions de porter la frontiere meridionale de nos domaines au 54° 40' de latitude et de la faire aboutir sur le Continent au Portland Canal, dont l'embouchure dans l'Ocean est a la hauteur de File du Prince de Galles et Forigine dans les terres entre le 55° et 56° de latitude. Cette proposition ne nous assuroit qu'une 6troite lisiere sur la cote meme, et elle laissoit aux Etablissemens Anglois tout Fespace nSces- 6aire pour se multiplier et s'etendre. "Vous verrez, M. le Comte, par les pieces ci-jointes, qu'en outre nous aiuioncions l'ouverture du port de Novo-Archangelsk et que nous pro- mettions la libre navigation des fleuves qui se trouveroient sur notre territoire. . • Apres quelques discussions, les dernieres contre-propositions de bir Charles Bagot furent de comprendre toute File du Prince de Galles dans les possessions de la Bussie, mais de stipuler que notre frontiere suivroit 400 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. de cette ile la passe dite Duke of Clarence's Sound, et qu'elle n'aboutiroit a la c6te qu'au-dessus du 56° de latitude septentrionale. Cette difference, si on la considere sur la Carte, paroit insignifiante au premier coup d'oeil; elle est neanmoins si essentiellepour nous, qu'il nous est absolument impossible d'adherer au plan de demarcation trace" par le Plenipotentiaire de Sa Majeste Britannique. Nous lui avons expose, dans notre reponse a sa seconde note verbale et dans notre replique du 18 Mars, des considerations que nous ne pouvons perdre de vue et qui nous semblent decisives. L'Empereur vous charge, M. le Comte, d'inviter le Cabinet de St. James a les peser avec la plus mure attention, et Sa Majeste se flatte qu'a la suite d'un examen impartial il s'empressera lui-inenie de reconnoitre combien nos raisons sont graves et legitimes. En premier lieu, aucun Etat n'a reclame contre la Charte de l'Empereur Paul, et ce silence universel peut et doit etre envisage comme une reconnoissance de nos droits. 34 On nous objecte que nous n'avons pas forme" d'fitablissemens etablis sur la c6te nord-ouest au-dessous du 57° de latitude. Cela est vrai, mais dans la saison de la chasse et de la penhe la cdte et les eaux avoisinantes sont exploitees par notre Compagnie Americaine bien au dela du 55° et du 54° parallele. Ce genre d'occupation est le seul dont ces parages soient susceptibles, ou du moins le seul qui soit necessaire lorsqu'un peu plus au nord on a fonde et organise des Colonies. Nous sommes done pleinement en droit d'insister sur la continuation d'un benefice que notre commerce s'est assure des Fannee 1799, tandis que les Compagnies Angloises de la Baie d'Hudson et du Nord-Ouest ont a peine atteint depuis trois ans le voisinage de ces latitudes, tandis qu'elles n'occupent encore aucun point qui touche a l'Ocean, et qu'il est notoire que e'est pour Favenir seulement qu'elles cherchent a s'y nie- nager les profits de la chasse et de la peche. Ainsi nous voulons con- server, et les Compagnies Angloises veulent acquirir. Cette seule cir- constance suffit pour justifier nos propositions. Elles ne sont pas moins conformes au principe des convenances mutuelles, qui devoit servir de base a. la negotiation. Si FHe du Prince de Galles nous demeure, il faut qu'elle puisse nous etre de quelque utilite. Or, d'apres le plan de FAmbassadeurd'Angle- terre, elle ne seroit pour nous qu'une charge et presque un inconvenient. Cette ile, en effet, et les Etablissemens que nous y formerions, se trouveroient entierenient isoies, prives de tout soutien, enveloppes par les domaines de la Grande-Bretagne et a la merci des Etablissemens Anglois de la cdte. Nous nous epuiserions en frais de garde et de surveillance dont aucune compensation n'aliegeroit le fardeau. Un arrange* ment pareil reposeroit-il sur le priucipe des convenances mutuelles? Nous, invoquons toutefois ce principe avec d'autant plus dty-justice que l'Angleterre elle-meme a prouv6 par un acte authentique qu'elle regardoit comme douteux ses droits sur le territoire dont elle demande Fabandon. La Convention passee le 20 Octobre, 1818, entre la Cour de Londres et les Etats-Unis, declare propriete commune des deux Puissances pour dix ans toute l'etendue de pays comprise entre les Rocky Mountains, l'Ocean Pacifique, et les possessions Eusses. Les titres des Etats-Unis a la souverainete de ce pays sont done aussi valables que ceux de l'Angleterre. Cependant, le Cabinet de Washington a reconnu que nos limites devoient descendre jusqu'au 54° 40'. II la reconnu par une transaction formelle que nous venons de parapher avec son Plenipotentiaire, et cette reconnoissance n'a point pour consequence unique de fortifier nos argumens, elle nous procure d'autres r6sultats auxquels nous attachions, avec raison, le plus haut interet. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 401 Tranquilles de ce cdte, nous n'avons main ten ant aucune crainte a nourrir, et le Cabinet de Londres conviendra sans doute qu'un tel etat de choses augmente le prix des sacrifices que nous lui offrons. D6ja il existe une difference de pres de quatre degres entre la demarcation de' l'Oukase du 4 (16) Septembre, 1-21, et celle que nous indiquons aujpurd'hui. Les Etablissemens des Compagnies Angloises peuvent pccuper cet intervalle. A Fest ils peuvent unir les deux cdtes de l'Amerique; au midi rien n'empdche qu'ils n'acquierent une extension considerable. Pour nous, nous bornons nos demandes a celle d'une simple lisiere du continent, et afin de lever toute objection, nous garantissons la libre navigation des fleuves, nous annoncons l'ouverture du port de Novo Arkhangelsk. La Bussie ne sauroit ponsser plus loin ses concessions. Elle n'en fera pas d'autres, et elle est autorisee a en attendre de la part de l'Angleterre; mais encore une fois, elle ne reclame que des concessions negatives. On ne peut effectivement assez le rep6ter, d'apres le temoignage des Cartes les plus receutes, l'Angleterre ne possede aucun Etablisse- ment, ni a la hauter du Portland Canal, ni au bord meine de l'Ocean, et la Bussie, quand elle insiste sur la conservation d'un mediocre espace de terre ferme, n'insiste au fond que sur le moyen de faire.valoir, nous dirons plus, de ne pas perdre les iles environnantes. C'est la position dont nous parlions tout al'heure; nous ne recherchons aucun avantage, nous voulons eviter de graves inconveniens. En resume, M. le Comte, si Fon consulte le droit dans cette negociation, la Bussie a celui qu'assurent, d'une part, un consentement tacite, mais incontestable, de Fautre, une exploitation paisible depuis vingt- cinq ans et qui peut dtre cousidetee comme equivalente a une occupation continue. Si Fon invoque le principe des convenances mutuelles, la Bussie laisse au developpement progressif des Etablissemens Anglois, une vaste eten- due de cdte et de territoire; elle leur assure de libres debouches; elle pourvoit aux interdts de leur commerce, et pour compenser tant d'offres dictees par le plus sincere esprit de conciliation, elle se reserve unique- ment un point d'appui> sans lequel il lui seroit impossible de garder une moitie de ses domaines. De telles vues n'ont besoin que d'etre presentees dans leur vrai 35 jour pour qu'un Gouvernement comme celui de la Grande- Bretagne sache les appretier. Douter de son adhesion dans cette 'circonstance, ce seroit douter de sa justice; et il vous sera facile, l'Empereur se plait a le croire, d'obtenir le consentement definitif de l'Angleterre a une transaction qui rempliroit nos vceux et nos esperances, en ptevenant toute discussion ulterieure. Becevez, &c, Nesselrode. No. 23. The Duke of Wellington to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received — .) London, May 21,1823. My Dear Mr. Canning: I see that the newspapers have again drawn the pnblick attention to the Bussian Ukase; and as it is possible some question maybe asked upon it in Parliament, I inclose you a Memorandum of what passed at Verona, and stating where you will find the documents. Ever yours, &c. . m (Signed) Wellington. S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 26 402 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. [Inclosure in Wo. 23.] Memorandum. The Duke of Wellington was instr distinct explanation as to the mode in ment (the Ukase) may be reconciled. Iu consequence of this instruction he gave Count Nesselrode a confidential Memorandum ou the 17th October, to which the Count gave an answer on the 28th November. Copies of both papers, as well as of a letter from the Duke of Wellington to Count Lieven of the 28th November on tho last mentioned will be found in the Duke's despatch to Mr. Canning of the 28th November.* Ou the 29th November the Duke wrote another despatch to Mr. Canning t stating that it had been settled that both tho papers before sent were to be considered as non avenus, and that the Russian Ambassador in London was to address to Mr. Canning a note in answer to that of the late Lord Londonderry, assuring him ofthe desire of the Emperor to negotiate with His Majesty upon the whole question ofthe Emperor's claims in North America, reserving them all if the result of the negotiation should not be satisfactory to both parties. Th»t which is required then is to get from Count Lieven this note. May 21,1823. Mr. S. Canning to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received May 27.) No. 44.] Washington, April 23,1823. Sir : By accounts which have reached this country through commercial channels it appears that a Bussian naval force is actually employed in carrying into effect the Edict issued by the Court of St. Petersburgh inSeptember 1821 for the purpose of declaring its pretensions to an exclusive dominion over certain parts of the North Pacific Ocean and north-west coast of America, and of prohibiting the entry of all foreign vessels within 100 Italian miles of the territorial limits so claimed. The inclosed paragraph, taken from the'■'National Intelligencer" of this morning, contains the fullest statement which I have yet seen of this circumstance, though it is not .improbable that the American Gov-, ernment may be in possession of more complete information on the subject, as an officer is understood to have recently arrived overland with despatches from the "Franklin Seventy-Four," stationed in the Pacific. The correspondence which took place in the spring of last year 36 between the Bussian Envoy and Mr. Adams on occasion of the Emperor of Bussia's Edict, and the prohibitory Begulations of the American Bussian Company, as sanctioned by it, being notified officially to this Government, was forwarded to your office at the time in one of my despatches. Judging from the tone assumed on this subject by the American journals, the people of the United States would not be found unwilling to support the President in resisting a continued enforcement of the above- mentioned Edict. I have, &c. (Signed) Stratford Canning. *No. 15. +No. 16. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 403 [InolosureinN-0.24.] Extract from the "National Intelligencer" of April 23, 1823. The following is a more particular version of the information brought by the late arrival from the Pacific, that a naval force is enforcing the monstrous pretension set up by the Government of Russia to the exclusive use of one half of the whole Pacific Ocean: "We learn by Captain Gardner at New Bedford, from the Sandwich Islands, that the brig 'Pearl,' Captain Stevens, of Boston, arrived there five days before he sailed from the north-west coast, having been ordered off by the Russian officer commanding at Norfolk Sound. After leaving the port, the 'Pearl' was boarded by the Russian frigate 'Apollo,' and documents were presented to Captain Stevens declaring the Russian claim to exclusive jurisdiction to extend to latitude 51° north on the north-west coast of America, northward to Behring's Straits, and thence to latitude 47° 50' north on the coast of Japan, and that all vessels, of whatever nation, caught within 100 Italian miles even of those extensive limits (except in the case of actual distress), will be subject to confiscation—national vessels not excepted. The 'Apollo' was about to dispatch vessels, and also to proceed down the coast for the purpose of ordering all vessels oft'. Two other large Russian frigates are on their way to the coast."—Boston Pal. Sliip-oicners1 Society to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received .) New Broad Street, June 11,1823. Sir : I have been requested by the Committee of this Society to represent to you, Sir, that considerable alarm has been excited among the owners of ships engaged in the southern whale fishery by the Order lately issued by His Majesty the Emperor of Bussia "prohibiting foreign vessels to touch at the Bussian Establishments along the northwest coast of America from Behring's Straits to 51° north latitude, as well as in the Aleutian Islands on the east coast of Siberia, and the Kurile Islands, that is to say, from Behring's Straits to the South Cape in the Island of Ooroop, viz., in 45° 51' north latitude, or even to approach them within a less distance than 100 Italian miles." This Committee being aware of the delicacy of the subject, and that, the attention of His Majesty's Government had been directed to it, have been unwilling to trouble you with any representations, but as there are now many ships fishing in those seas, and several others bound . thither, and it appears that fears are generally entertained lest the seizure and confiscation of some of them should take place by the Bussian authorities, upon the plea of their having been within the prohibited limits, the Committee have felt it their duty, and have requested me thus most respectfully to express to you, Sir, their hope that you may be enabled to communicate to them such information as will remove those apprehensions. I have, &c. (Signed) George Lyall, Chairman of the Committee. 37 No. 26. Mr. S. Canning to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received June 12.) jf0# 47 l Washington, May 3,1823. Sir: The Bussian Envoy, Baron Tuyll, who arrived here about three weeks ago, has proposed to the American Government, in the name of his Court, to send instructions to Mr. Middleton at St. Petersburgh for the purpose of enabling him to negotiate an arrangement of the differ- 404 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. ences arising out of the claims asserted by the Emperor of Bussia to an exclusive dominion over the north-west coast of America, and the neighbouring seas as far as the 51st degree of north latitude. The proposal, I conceive, to be similar to that which was made by Count Nesselrode to His Majesty's Plenipotentiary at Verona relative to the same object, as it affects Great Britain. The American Secretary of State, in apprizing me of the communication received from Baron Tuyll, expressed a desire that I would mention it to His Majesty's Government, and stating that Mr. Middleton would in all probability be furnished with the necessary powers and instructions, suggested whether it might not be advantageous for the British and American Governments, protesting as they did against the claims of Bussia, to empower their Ministers at St. Petersburgh to act in the proposed negociation on a common under- i standing. He added that the United States had no territorial claims I of their own as high as the 51st degree of latitude, although they dis- puTeTrttre~exteTlt of those~advanced by Bussia, and opposed the right of that Power' to exclude their citizens from trading with the native inhabitants of those regions over which the sovereignty of Eussia had been for the first time asserted by the late Edict of the Emperor, and most particularly the extravagant pretension to prohibit the approach of foreign vessels within 100 Italian miles of the coast. At the same time that he submitted this overture for the consideration of His Majesty's Government, Mr. Adams informed me that he had received an account similar to that which lately appeared in the newspapers, and.which has already been forwarded to your Office, of an American trading-vessel having been ordered away from the north-west coast by the Commander of a Bussian frigate stationed in that quarter. He did not appear, however, to apprehend that any unpleasant consequences were likely to result from that occurrence, as it was understood that provisional instructions of a less exceptionable tenour had been dispatched from St. Petersburgh in compliance with the representations of foreign Powers. In bringing under your notice this overture of the American Government, respecting which I cannot presume to anticipate the sentiments of His Majesty's Cabinet, I have only to add that on asking Mr. Adams whether it was his intention to enter more -largely upon the subject at present, I was informed, in reply, that it would be desirable for him previously to know in what light the British Government was disposed to view the suggestion which he had offered. He appeared to be under an impression that the instructions and powers requisite for acting separately in this affair had already been transmitted to Sir Charles Bagot. I have, &c. (Signed) Stratford Canning. Memorandum to be delivered to Mr. Lyall, Chairman of the Ship-owners' Society. No doubt is entertained but that British vessels may pursue their usual navigation within the seas mentioned in Mr. Lyall's letter without apprehension of molestation from Bussia. The warning off of the American vessel took place before notice of the modifications of the Ukase, assurances of which were given to the APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 405 Government of the United States in tbe month of April last, could have reached the Eussian Commander in those seas. Similar assurances were given to the British Government by the Bussian Ambassador in September; and the whole subject is now under negotiation at St Petersburgh. Foreign Office, June 27,1823. 38 No. 28. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. No. 12.] Foreign Office, July 12,1823. Sir : I have the honour to inclose, for your Excellency's information, the copy of a despatch received from His Majesty's Minister in America upon the subject of the Bussian Ukase relating to the north-west coast of America, also of a letter from the Ship-owners' Society upon the same subject, and of a Memorandum of my reply to that letter. Your Excellency will observe from Mr. Stratford Canning's despatch that the Government of the United States are desirous to join with that of His Majesty in bringing forward some proposition for the definitive settlement of this question with Bussia. We have no precise information as to the views of the American Government, Mr. Bush not having yet received any instructions upon the subject. It seems probable, however, that the part of the question in which the Anierican Government is peculiarly desirous of establishing a concert with this country is that which concerns the extravagant assumption of maritime jurisdiction. Upon this point, it being now distinctly understood that Bussia waives all her pretensions to the practical exercise of the rights so unadvisedly claimed, the only question will be as to the mode and degree of disavowal with which Great Britain and the United States might be respectively satisfied. Upon this point, therefore, such a concert as the United States, are understood to desire will be peculiarly advantageous; because, supposing the disavowal made, there is no disposition on the part of His Majesty to press hard upon the feelings of the Emperor of Bussia, and it would certainly be more easy for His Majesty to insist lightly on what may be considered as a point of national dignity, if he acted in this respect in concert with another Maritime Power, than to exact any less degree, either of excuse for the past or of security for the future, than that other Power might think necessary. Great Britain and the United States may be satisfied jointly with smaller concessions than either Power could accept singly, if the demands of the other were likely to be higher than its own. I therefore think it best to defer giving any precise instructions to your Excellency on this point until I shall have been informed of the views of the American Government upon it. In the meantime, however, you will endeavour to draw from the Bussian Government a proposal of their terms, as we should undoubtedly come much more conveniently to the discussion, and be much more likely to concert an Agreement upon moderate terms with the American Government if a proposal is made to us, than to agree in originating one which would be satisfactory at once to both Governments and to Bussia. r 406 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The other part of this question which relates to territorial claim and boundary is perhaps susceptible of a separate settlement; of the two principles on which the settlement could be made, viz., joint occupancy or territorial demarcation; the latter is clearly preferable. A line of demarcation drawn at the 57th degree between Bussian and British settlers would be an arrangement satisfactory to us, and would assign^ to Bussia as much as she can pretend to .be due to her. Tour Excellency will therefore bring this suggestion forward, and acquaint me how far a formal proposition on this basis would be agreeable to His Imperial Majesty's Government. The arrangement might be made, if more agreeable to Eussia, for an expirable period of ten or fifteen years. I am, &c. (Signed) George Canning. P. s.—July 13.-—Since this despatch was written I have received from Mr. S. Canning the despatch of which I inclose a copy, by which your Excellency will learn that instructions are to be sent to Mr. Bush to enter into discussion here (among other matters) upon the subject of the Ukase. There is nothing in this communication to vary the instructions herein given to your Excellency. G. 0. 39 No. 29. Count Nesselrode to Count Lieven.—(Communicated August 14.) [Confidentielle.-Extrait.] Saint-PEtersbotjrg, le 26 Juin, 1823. Les instructions additionnelles envoy6es aux officiers de la Marine Imperiale chargees de la surveillance de nos cdtes dans la partie nord- ouest de l'Amerique, portent nomm^ment: 1. Que les Commandans de nos batimens de guerre doivent exercer leur surveillance aussi pres que possible du Continent, c'est-a-dire, sur une 6tendue de mer qui soit & la portee du canon de la cote; qu'ils ne doivent point 6tendre cette surveillance au dela des latitudes sous les- quelles la Compagnie Americaine a effectivement exerce ses droits de chasse et de peche, tant depuis Fepoque de sa creation, que depuis le ■ renouvellement de ses privileges en 1799, et que, quant aux iles, ou se trouvent des Colonies ou Etablissemens de la Compagnie, elles sont toutes indistinctement comprises dans cette regie gen6rale; 2. Que cette surveillance doit avoir pour objet de r^primer tout commerce frauduleux, et toute tentative de nuire aux interims de la Compagnie en troublant les parages ftequentes par ses chasseurs et ses p&cheurs, enfin, de ptevenir toute entreprise dont le but serait de fournir aux naturels du pays, sans le consentement des autorites, des armes a feu, des amies blanches, ou des munitions de guerre; 3. Que dans ce qui concerne les batimens Agates, battus par la tem- pete, ou entraines par les courans, les Commandans des vaisseaux de la marine Imp6riale continueront a se conformer aux dispositions du Eeglement du 4 Septembre, 1821; qu'ils s'y conformeront de meme a l'egard des batimens qui se livreraient au commerce, aux tentative s ou entreprises ci-dessus indiqu6es; et que noinnrement, ils pourront en agir d'apres les principes recus parmi toutes les nations, lorsqu'un vaisseau Stranger, ayant a bord des marchandises prohibees ou des APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 407 munitions de guerre, approcherait d'un de nos Etablissemens jusqu'a la portee du cannon, sans avoir egard aux interpellations et declarations que nos officiers lui adresseraient en conformite de ce que leur a 4. Que ces officiers doivent s'abstenir de toute .intervention dans l'exercice des fonctions locales du Directeur des Colonies, qui a recu des instructions parfaitement analogues a celles dont ils ont 6te munies eux-memes, et qui se trouve revetu du pouvoir d'un Commandant du Port. Votre Excellence voudra bien observer que ces nouvelles instructions, qui, dans le fait, sont de nature a faire suspendre provisoirement Feffet de FOukase Imperial du 4 Septembre, 1821, n'ont 6te exp^diees de St. PStersbourg qu'au mois d'Aoiit de Fanned passed; que par consequent l'officier qui se trouvait alors en croisiere dans les parages en question, et le Directeur de nos Colonies, ne pourront les recevoir avant le mois de Septembre prochain, et que nommement le Capitaine Touloubieff, Commandant le sloop Eusse "FApollon," ne pouvait en avoir connais- sance a Fepoque de Fincident rapporte par les journaux Americains. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. No. 17.] Foreign Office, August 20,1823. Sir : Count Lieven called upon me some days since, and communicated to me confidentially the inclosed extract of a despatch* which his Excellency had received from Count Nesselrode upon the subject of the Bussian Ukase of the 4th September, 1821. Although it is very probable that your Excellency is already in possession of the facts stated in this paper, I think it right to transmit it to your Excellency lest it should not yet have come to your Excellency's knowledge. I considered it expedient to make this communication known to Mr. Bush, the American Minister in this country, whose Government must naturally be deeply interested in any resolution which may be adopted by that of Bussia upon this subject, apprizing Count Lieven that I had done so. I am, &c. (Signed.) George Canning. Sir C. Bagot to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received September 23.) No. 36.] St. Petersbdrgh, August 19 (31), 18 Sir: Count Nesselrode being upon the eve of setting out to joii Emperor upon his journey through the interior, and it being pro! that he will not return to St. Petersburgh before the middle of No ber, I have thought it advisable, even in the absence of those fu instructions, which you lead me to expect in your despatch No. the 12th of last mouth, to apprize him of the probability of Mr. Mi ton and myself being soon instructed to act jointly in negotiating i *No. 29. 408 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. him some proposition for the definitive settlement of that part at least of the question growing out of the Imperial Ukase of the 4th (16th) September, 1821, which regards the maritime jurisdiction assumed by Bussia in the North Pacific Ocean. I have been induced to acquaint Count Nesselrode thus early with the fact, partly with a desire of ascertaining, so far as I could, the manner in which a combined measure of this kind would be viewed by the Imperial Government; and partly to ascertain whether his own absence would necessarily delay our negotiations upon this subject. In respect to the first of these objects, I am happy in being able to state that the proposed concert of measures between His Majesty and the United States, so far from being unacceptable to Count Nesselrode, is considered by him, and principally for the same reasons which are assigned in your despatch, as the most agreeable mode in which the question could be brought under discussion. In regard to the second object, finding that Count Nesselrode received so favourably my intimation of the course which we were about to pursue, I thought that I should best learn whether the Bussian Government was prepared to proceed immediately to negotiation if I suggested to him, as I did, the facilities which it would probably afford to all parties if, instead of leaving to His Majesty the perhaps difficult task of originating a proposition upon the subject, which would be at the same time, satisfactory both to the United States and to Bussia, the Imperial Government themselves should propose some arrangement for our consideration, which, while it might protect the legitimate commercial interests of His Imperial Majesty's subjects, might also effectually save what was the great object of the negotiation—the dignity and rights both of His Majesty and the other Maritime Powers of the world. Count Nesselrode received this suggestion exactly as I could have wished, and he seemed fully sensible of the delicacy shown towards the Imperial. Government in proposing such a course. He said that he thought that he should probably receive his Imperial Majesty's orders to instruct M. Poletica (who, from his long residence in America, and his repeated discussions with the Government of the United States upon the subject, is supposed to be the person here who is most conversant with the whole question) to prepare, during the absence of the Emperor, such materials as may enable the Imperial Government, immediately upon the Emperor's return to St. Petersburgh, to shape some such proposition as that which I had suggested, but he did not give me any reason to suppose that M. Poletica would be authorized to conclude an arrangement, or that anything could be definitively settled till after his own return. In tbe meantime, the American Minister here has not yet received the instructions referred to by Mr. Stratford Canning in his letter to you of the 3rd May, a copy of which is inclosed in your despatch No. 12. I have, however, apprized him of the wish of his Government to act in concert with that of His Majesty in this business, of His Majesty's readiness to accede to this wish, and of the probability of his receiving, in the course of a very short time, precise instructions upon the subject. From the few general conversations which I have had with Mr. Middleton, he does not seem at all desirous of pressing hardly upon the Imperial Government, and he appears to think that, if any sufficient public disavowal of the pretensions advanced in the Ukase can be obtained, his own Government will be perfectly ready to lend them- • selves to whatever course may best save the feelings and the pride of Eussia. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 409 Mr. Middleton now tells me, what I was not before aware of, that he had last year, by the direction of the President, several interviews with Count Nesselrode and Count Capodistrias upon the subject of this Ukase, and that it was at length agreed that he should inquire officially what were the intentions of the Imperial Government in regard to the execution of it, an assurance being previously given that the answer which he should receive would be satisfactory. • Mr. Middleton has been good enough to furnish me with a copy of this answer, which I 41 now inclose. As, however, he considers the communication of • the paper as personally con fiden tial, I take the liberty of req uest- ing that nopnblic use may be made of it. In regard to the second part of this questiou, that which relates to the territorial claim advanced by Bussia in respect to the north-west coasts of North America, I have explained to Count Nesselrode that the United States making no pretension to territory so high as the 51st degree of north latitude, the question rests between His Majesty and the Emperor of Bussia alone, and becomes therefore a matter for separate settlement by their respective Governments. I have suggested to him that this settlement may perhaps be best made by Convention, and I have declared our readiness to accede to of boundary as the Eussian Government may itself prefer, intimating, only object of the Imperial Government was-to be upon s in this respect. This conversation took place before I had received youi in cypher of the 25th of last month, which reached, m instant by post. I had, however, taken upon myself to bringing forward any suggestion that the territorial arran be made for an expirable period, as I thought it possibh the subject of this separate negotiation, I told him that c had, I believed, always extended to the 59th degree of but that a line of demarcation drawn at the 57th de entirely satisfactory to us, and that I believed that the ernment had in fact no Settlements to the southward < Memorandum of what I said, and I hope shortly to be able to ascertai how far this Government may be inclined to accept a more form; proposition founded upon this basis. I have, &o. (Signed) Charles Bagot. 410 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. p. s.—Since writing the above I have again seen Count Nesselrode, who has informed me that he has received the Emperor's commands to put M. Poletica in direct communication with Mr., Middleton and myself upon the subject of that part of the Ukase in which it is proposed that we should act conjointly whenever Mr. Middletown shall have received the instructions which he expects from his Government. O.B. Count Nesselrode to Mr. Middleton. St. PIstersbourg, ce leT Aout, 1822. Le Soussigne, Secretaire d'Etat, dirigeant le Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres, s'est empress^ de mettre sous les yeux de l'Empereur la note que Mr. Middleton, Envoye Extraordinaire et Ministre Pleiiipotentiaire des Etats-Unis d'Anieriqne, lui a adressee le 27 Juillet, afln de rappeler 1'attention du Ministere Imperial sur la corres- pondance qui a eu lien entre l'Envoye' de Russie k Washington et le Gouvernement des Etats-Unis, concernant certaines clauses du Reglement emane le 4 (16) Septembre,. 1821, et destine a proteger les interets du commerce Russe sur la c6te nord-ouest de l'Amerique Septentrionale. Amine du desir constant de maintenir dans toute leur integrite les relations 42 amicales qui subsistent entre la Cour de Russie et le Gouvernement des Etats- Unis, l'Empereur s'est plu a pr6venir les vceux que viennent de lui 6tre temoignes. Deja depuis un mois M. le General-Major Baron de Tuyll, nomme an poste qu'occupoit M. de Poletica, a recu l'ordre de poursuivre, immediatement apres son arrivee a Washington, la tache importante que son predecesseur auroit egalement remplie, si l'etat de sante lui avoit permis de prolonger son sejour en Ameriqne. Ne doutant pas des dispositions amicales que le Gouvernement Americain apportera aux negociations que le General Tuyll va ouvrir; et assure d'avance que par une suite de ces memes negociations les interets du commerce de la Compagnie Russe- Americaiue serout preserves de toute lesion, l'Empereur a fait munir les vaisseanx de la marine Imperiale qui font et feront la croisiere sur la cOte nord-ouest des instructions les plus analogues au but que les deux Gouvernemens aimerout a atteindre par des explications dirigees de part et d'autre, dans un esprit de justice, de Concorde, et d'amitie. En ecartant ainsi de son c6te toute chance qui auroit pu metier aux voyes de fait que le Gouvernement Americain semble apprehender de ioin, Sa Majeste Imperiale se plait a esperer que le President des Etats-Unis adoptera successivemeut des mesures que sa sagesso lui montrera comme les plus propres a rectifier toutes les erreurs accreditees par une malveillance qui cherche h, denaturer les intentions et a com- promettre les rapports intimes des deux Gouvernemens. Du moment oil la marine et le commerce des Etats-Unis seront convaincus que Ton s'occupe respectivement des questions qui se sont eieve.es au sujet du Reglement du 4 (16) Septembre, dans la ferme resolution de les decider d'un commun accord, sous les auspices du bou droit et d'une amitie inalterable; des ce moment, la surveillance dont se trouvent charges, en vertu des nouvelles instructions, les vaisseaux de la marine Imperiale, qui se rendront sur le nord-ouest d'Amerique, ne sauroit jamais motiver de facheuses complications. C'est en se livrant a cette certitude que Mr. Middleton voudra bien sans doute partager, qu'il ne reste plus au Soussigne qu'a ajouter aux communications qu'il a eu ordre de faire en reponse a la note du 21 Juillet 1'assurance de sa consideration tres istinguee. Nesselrode. No. 32. Sir G. Bagot to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received November 17.) [Confidential.] No. 48.] St. Petersburgh, October 17 (29), 1823. Sir: Mr. Hughes, the American Charg6 d'Affaires at Stockholm, arrived here on the 16th instant, and has delivered-to Mr. Middleton the instructions which I had already led him to expect from his Gov- APPENDIX TO CASE OE GREAT BRITAIN. 411 ernment upon the subject of the Imperial Ukase of the 4th September, 1821, and upon the concert of measures which the United States are desirous of establishing with Great Britain in order to obtain a disavowal of the pretentions advanced in that Ukase by this country. As Mr. Hughes was the bearer of instructions upon the same subject to the American Minister in London, I may, I am aware, presume that Mr. Bush will have already communicated to you the view taken of this question by the United States, and I think'it probable that you may have already anticipated this despatch by framing for my guidance such further instructions as, under that view, it may be thought necessary that I should receive. It may, nevertheless, be very desirable that I should lose no time in reporting to you the substance of some conversations which Mr. Middleton has held with me since the arrival of Mr. Hughes, and it is principally for this purpose that I now dispatch the messenger Walsh to England. Although Mr. Middleton has not communicated to me the instructions which he has received, I have collected from him, with certainty what I had long had reason to suspect, that the United States, so far from admitting that they have no territorial pretensions so high as the 51st degree of north latitude, and no territorial interest in the demarcation of boundary between His Majesty and the Emperor of Bussia to the north of that degree are fully prepared to assert that they have at least an equal pretension with those Powers to the whole coast 43 as high as the 61st degree, and an absolute right to be parties to any subdivision of it which may now be made. Unless I greatly misconceive the argument of Mr. Middleton, it is contended by the American Government that, in virtue of the Treaty of Washington, by which the Floridas were ceded by Spain to the United States, the latter are become possessed of all claims, whatever they might be, which Spain had to the north-west- coasts of America, north of the 42nd degree of north latitude, and that when Great Britain, in the year 1790, disputed the exclusive right of Spain to this coast, tho Court of Eussia (as, indeed, appears by the declaration of Count Florida Blanca, and as it would, perhaps, yet more clearly appear by reference to the archives of the Foreign Department here) disclaimed all intention of interfering with the pretensions of Spain, and, consequently, all pretensions to territory south of the 61st degree, and that, therefore, any division of the coast lying between the 42nd and 61st degrees ought in strictness to be made between the United States and Great Britain alone. Mr. Middleton, however, admits that the United States are not pre- / pared to push their pretensions to this extent. He says that they are ready to acknowledge that no country has any absolute and exclusive I claim to these coasts; and, that it is only intended by his Government to assert that, as heirs to the claims of Spain, the United States have, / in fact, the best pretensions which any of the three Powers interested / can urge. Assuming, upon these grounds, their right to a share in the division, the United States, it seems, desire that, the division being made, the three Powers should enter into a joint Convention mutually to grant to each other, for some limited period, renewable at the pleasure of the parties, the freedom of fishery and of trade with the natives, and whatever other advantages the coasts may afford; and Mr. Middleton has confidentially acquainted me that he has in fact received from his Government the "projet" of a tripartite Convention to this effect, and he has communicated to me a copy, which I now inclose, of the Full 412 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Powers with which he has been furnished to negotiate such Convention with the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and Bussia. As neither the instructions nor the powers which I have received iu regard to this question were framed in contemplation of any such pretension as that which is now put forward by the American Government, I have explained to Mr. Middleton how impossible it is for me to proceed further with him in the business until I shall have received, fresh instructions from you, and I have, with his knowledge, informed M. Poletica that I must, for the present, suspend the conferences (upon the territorial part of the question at least) into which he and I had already entered. I cannot disguise from myself that, judging from the conversations which I have had, both with Count Nesselrode and M. Poletica, upon the general subject of the Ukase, these new, and, I must think, unexpected pretensions of the United States are very likely to render a satisfactory adjustment of the business a matter of more difficulty than I at first apprehended. A full disavowal by Bussia of her pretension to an exclusive maritime jurisdiction in the North Pacific Ocean will, I have no doubt, be obtained; but I- am strongly inclined to believe that this Government will not easily be brought to acknowledge the justice of any claim of the United States to any part of the territory in question north of the 51st degree, and, I am still more strongly inclined to believe, that a division once made, this Government will never permit the United States, if they can prevent it, either to fish, settle, or trade with the natives within the limits of the territory which may be alloted to Bussia. I take this opportunity of inclosing to you a copy of the note which I received from Count Nesselrode the day before he left St. Petersburgh, acquainting me that the Emperor had appointed M. Poletica to enter into preliminary discussion with Mr. Middleton and myself, upon the different questions growing out of the Ukase. As it appeared by this note that M. Poletica was not empowered to treat, or indeed to pledge his Government to any precise point, I have abstained from entering with him as fully into the matter as I should have done had his powers been more extensive. I had, however, two conversations with him previously to Mr. Middle- ton's receipt of his last instructions, upon the subject of territorial boundary as it regarded ourselves, and I then gave him to understand that the British Government would, I thought, be satisfied to take Cross Sound, lying about the latitude of 57£°, as the boundary between the two Powers on the coast, aud a meridian line drawn from the head of Lynn Canal, as it is laid down in Arrowsmith's last Map, or about the 135th degree of west longitude, as the boundary in the interior of the continent. 44 M. Poletica, not beiu g authorized to do more than take any sug gestion of this kind ad referendum, I am of course not yet able to inform you, as I am instructed to do by your despatch No. 12, how far a more formal proposition on this basis, or on the basis of a line drawn at the 57th degree, as suggested in that despatch, might be agreeable to the Imperial Government. M. Poletica seemed to suggest the 55th ' degree as that which, in his opinion, Bussia would desire to obtain as her boundary; and he intimated that it would, be with extreme reluctance that Bussia would, he thought, consent to any demarcation which would deprive her- of her Establishment at Sitca, or rather at Novo- Archangelesk. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 413 Still, I should not altogether have despaired of inducing this Government to accept Cross Sound as the boundary; and though I am aware that in suggesting this point I put in a claim to something more than I am instructed to do in your despatch above referred to, I thought that it might be for the advantage of the negotiation if I reserved the proposition of the 57th degree to a later period of it, and, judging from the Map, it appeared to me that it might be desirable to obtain, if possible, the whole group of islands extending along the coast. But the discussion of this and all other points connected with settlement of boundary, seems necessarily to be suspended for the moment by the nature of Mr. Middleton's late instructions, and I shall not think it safe to venture further into the question until I shall have learnt the opinion of His Majesty's Government upon the pretensions advanced iu those instructions by the United States. I have, &e. (Signed) Charles Bagot. [Inclosure 1 in Uo. 32.] Full Powers to Mr. Middleton. To all to -whom these Know ye that reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity, prudence, and abilities of Henry Middleton, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at the Court of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, I have invested him with full and all manner of power, for, aud in the name of the United States to meet and confer with any person or persons furnished with like powers on the part of His said Imperial Majesty, and with him or them to negotiate and conclude a Convention or Conventions, Treaty or Treaties, of and concerning the commerce and navigation ofthe two countries; of and c their respective rights and claims in respect to navigation, fishery, aud con the north-west coast of America, and the ocean and islands thereto adjoining or appertaining; of and concerning the abolition of the African Slave Trade; and of and concerning the principles of maritime war and neutrality. And I do further invest him with full power also to meet and confer on the said subjects with any person or persons furnished with like powers on the part of His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; and with the said Russian and British Plenipotentiaries jointly, to conclude a Treaty or Treaties, Convention or Conventions, in relation to the respective rights and claims of the three Powers in, said north-west coast of America, and adjoining ocean and islands, or in relation to the abolition of the African Slave Trade; or in relation to the principles of maritime war and neutrality; he, the said Henry Middleton, transmitting any and every such Convention or Treaty, whether concluded jointly with British and Russian, or severally with Russian Plenipotentiaries, to the President of the United States for his ratification, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, if the same skalLbe given. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto Given under my hand at the City of Washington, the 29th day of July, a. d. 1823, and of the Independence of the United States of America the forty-eighth. (Signed) James Monroe. By the President: (Signed) John Qoincy Adams, 6 . Secretary of State. 414 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. [Inclosure 2 In No. 32.] Count Nesselrode to Sir C. Bagot. St. Petersbourg, le 22 Aout, 1823. M 1'Ambassadeur : EnquittantSt. Petersbourg, l'Empereur m'a charge d'annoncer a votre Excellence que, m'ayant donne" ordre dela suivre dans son voyage, elle avoit autorise M. le Conseiller d'Etafc Actuel de Poletica a entainer avec vous, M. 1'Ambassadeur, des pourparlers relatifs aux differends qui se sont eleven entre la Russie et l'Ano-leterre, a la suite du nouveau Reglement donne a la Compagnie Russe-Americaine par l'Oukase de Sa Majeste Imperiale en date du 4 (16) Septembre, 1821. Ces pourpalers auront pour but de preparer les voies k l'ajustement definitif de ces differends, et jeue doute point qu'ils ne facilitent ce resultat si vivemeut desire par l'Empereur. Je saisis, &c. (Signed) Nesselrode. Ship-owners7 Society to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received November 24.) New Broad Street, November 19,1823. Sir : In the month of June last you were pleased to honour me with an interview on the subject of the Eussian Ukase prohibiting foreign vessels from touching at or approaching the Bussian Establishments along the north-west coast of America thereinmentioned, when you had the goodness to inform me that a representation had been made to that Government, and that you had reason to believe that the Ukase would not be acted upon; and very shortly, after this communication I was informed, on what I considered undoubted authority, that the Bussian Government had consented to withdraw that unfounded pretension. The Committee of this Society being about to make their Annual Beport to the ship-owners at large, it would be satisfactory to them to be able to state therein that official advices had been received from St. Petersburgh that the Ukase had been annulled; and should that be the case, I have to express the hope of the Committee to be favoured with a communication from you to that effect. I have, &c. (Signed) George Ltall, Chairman. Mr. G. Canning to Count Lieven. Foreign Office, November 25,1823. My Dear Count Lieven • I have received the inclosed letter from the Ship-owners' Society; my answer to it must be in writing, and not long after it will be in print I wish, therefore, that you should know beforehand what the nature of it will be, and for that purpose I inclose a draft of it which I will be obliged to you if you will return with any remark that may occur to you, returning also Mr. •Lyall's letter. • I have, &c. (Signed) Geo. Canning. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 415 No. 35. Count Lieven to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received November .) • [Particuliere et Confidentielle.] Ashburnham House, le 26 Novembre, 1823. Mon cher M. Canning: Je vous suis iufiniment reconnaissant de la communication que vous avez bien voulu me faire. Eu vous restituant ci-pres les deux annexes jointes a. votre lettre, et en me ptevalant de la permission que vous avez eu la bonte de me donner, je prends la 46 liberte de vous' observer: qu'il serait desirable que le passage marqu6 au crayon dans la Minute de votre reponse fut substitue par l'annonce, "que les nouvelles instructions donnees aux Commandants des croisieres Busses sont concues dans l'intention de prevenir les voies de fait entre les vaisseanx Busses et ceux des autres nations, et qu'en general elles peuvent etre consid^rees comme de nature a faire suspendre provisoirement l'effet de l'Ukase Imperial du 4 Septembre, 1821." Je crois que par ces expressions l'objet de tous serait 6galement atteint. Veuillez, &c. (Signed) • Lieven. Foreign Office to Ship-owners' Society. Foreign Office, November 26,1823. Sir : I am directed by Mr. Secretary Canning to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the lyth instant expressing a hope that the Ukase of September 1821 had been annulled. Mr. Canning cannot authorize me to state to you in distinct terms that the Ukase has been " annulled," because the negotiation to which it gave rise is still pending, embracing, as it does, many points of great intricacy as well as importance. But I am directed by Mr. Canning to acquaint you that orders have • been sent out by the Court of St. Petersburgh to their Naval Commanders calculated to prevent any collision between Bussian ships and those of other nations, and, in effect, suspending the Ukase of September 1821. I am, &c. (Signed) F. Conyngham. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. No. 2.1 Foreign Office, January 15, 1824. Sir : A long period has elapsed since I gave your Excellency reason to expect additional instructions for your conduct in the negotiation respecting the Bussian Ukase of 1821. . That expectation was held out in the belief that I should have to instruct you to combine your proceedings with those of the American Minister; and the framing such instructions was, of necessity, delayed until Mr. Bush should be in possession of the intentions of his Government upon the subject. 416 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. Upon receipt of your Excellency's despatch No. 48, reporting the arrival of Mr. Hughes at St. Petersburgh, with the instructions of the Government of the United States to Mr. Middleton, I applied to Mr. Bush for information as to the tenour of those instructions. I then found, what I had not before been led to suspect, that Mr. Bush had himself authority to enter into negotiations Avith us as to the respective claims of Great Britain and the United States on the north-west coast of America; although he does not appear to have been instructed to invite such negotiation here, if we should prefer leaving it to be conducted at St. Petersburgh. It seemed, however, that it would greatly facilitate your Excellency's task at St. Petersburgh if we could come to some satisfactory understanding with Mr. Bush on the principles and leading points of the negotiation, and that, at all events, it was advisable to ascertain so much from Mr. Bush as might enable us to judge whether it would or would not be expedient to agree to the proposal of the United States for combining our several negotiations with Bussia into one. Such a combination had indeed already been proposed by us with respect to so much of our respective discussions with Bussia as turned upon the maritime• pretension of the Bussian Ukase. But that proposal had not been made in contemplation of the territorial question to which the pretensions of the United States have given a new and complicated character. . The object in applying jointly to Bussia for a disavowal or qualification of her maritime pretension was at once to simplify and to soften to Eussia that act of qualification or disavowal, by enabling Bussia 47 to satisfy both Powers at once, without special and separate concession. But as, in the question of territorial limits, Bussia, at whatever point her pretensions might be stopped; could have but one of the two Powers for her neighbour, there did not seem to be any obvious advantage in bringing both to bear upon her together in the settlement of those limits. It is true that as, while we confine upon the Bussian territory to the north, we also confine upon that of the United States to the south, we must at one time or other come to a settlement with each of those Powers. But there is no obvious or cogent necessity for making those settlements simultaneous, especially as we have already a Convention subsisting with the United States which suspends the necessity of any definite settlement with that Government for five years yet to come. Whether, therefore, your Excellency should be empowered, according to the desire of the Government of the United States, to negotiate and conclude a tripartite arrangement with Bussia and the United States, or should be instructed to pursue that negotiation with Bussia singly, according to the tenour of your present powers, was a question to be determined in a great measure by the more or less probability of a satisfactory understanding between Great Britain and the United States as to their relative as well as their joint concerns in such negotiation. Now we have good reason to believe that, in respect to the question of territorial dominion between us and Bussia, an arrangement maybe agreed upon which will satisfy the wishes and secure the convenience of both parties by a line of demarcation to be drawn between the southernmost Settlement of Bussia and the northernmost post of the Northwest Company. The most southern Establishment of Eussia on the north-west coast . of America is Sitka, which is not laid down in our latest Maps'with sufficient exactness, but which appears by the Bussian Map published . APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 417 in 1807 to be situated, as the inclosed copy of a letter from Mr. Pelly, Chairman of the Hudson's Bay Company, also represents it, in latitude 57°, and not (as the Map of which a copy was inclosed to your Excellency indicates) on the continent, but on a small island of the same name at the mouth of Norfolk Sound; the larger islands contiguous thereto, forming (what is called by Vancouver) Fung George's Archipelago, are separated from each other by a Strait, called Chatham Strait, and from the mainland by another Strait, called Stephen's Strait or passage. Whether the Bussians have extended their Settlements to these larger islands is not known, but Mr. Pelly positively avers that they have no Settlement on the mainland, nor any commerce to the eastward of the coast. He suggests, therefore, either the channel between the islands, or that between the islands and the mainland, as the most desirable line of demarcation to the eastward, which being agreed to, the line to the southward might be drawn so as to comprehend Sitka and all the Bussian Settlements upon the islands. If this agreement could be obtained, it would effectually prevent all danger of a collision with Bussia; and the United States not intending, as it is understood, to urge any claim in opposition to that of actual occupancy, whether on the part of Bussia or of Great Britain, in the latitudes in which the claims of Great Britain and Bussia come in contact, the intervention of the United States in such an arrangement could, be necessary only as an Umpire. Such an intervention in this case is not likely to be required, on account of an irreconcilable conflict between Great Britain and Bussia; nor would a Power whose pretensions are (theoretically at least) in conflict with both parties be the fittest for such an ©ffice. Tour Excellency's despatch No. 48 describes latitude 55° as the point at which M. Poletica appeared to wish that the line of demarcation between Bussia and Great Britain should be drawn. By a Memorandum which I have received from Mr. Bush of what his Government would propose as a general settlement, it appears that latitude 55° is the point which the United States likewise have proposed for that same line of demarcation. This coincidence certainly argues either a foregone understanding between Bussia and the United States, or a disposition on the part of the United States to countenance and promote what they know to be the desire of Bussia. When to this statement I add that the United States propose, according to the aforesaid Memorandum of Mr. Bush, to draw the Hue of demarcation between themselves and Great Britain at latitude 51°, the point at which the Eussian pretension, as set forth in the Ukase of 1821, terminates, it does not seem very uncharitable to suppose that the object of the United States in making a selection, otherwise wholly arbitrary, of these two points of limitation for British dominion, was to avoid collision with Bussia themselves, and to gratify Bussia 48 at the expense of Great Britain. There is obviously no great temptation to call in such an Arbiter, if the partition between Bussia and ourselves can be settled, as no doubt it can, without arbitration. . . .«».- By admitting the United States to our negotiation with Bussia, we should incur the necessity of discussing the American claim to latitude 51° at the same time that we were settling with Eussia our respective limits to the northward. . But the question of the American claim is for the present merged in the Convention of 1818; and it would be a wanton increase of difficul- S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 27 r 418 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BKITATN. ties to throw that Convention loose, and thus to bring the question which it has concluded for a time into discusion precisely for the purpose of a coincidence, as embarrassing as it is obviously unnecessary. If Eussia, being 'aware of the disposition of the United States to concede to her the limit of latitude 55°, should on that account be desirous of a joint negotiation, she must recollect that the proposal of the United States extends to a joint occupancy also, for a limited time, of the whole territory belonging to the three Powers; and that the Convention now subsisting between us and the United States gives that joint occupancy reciprocally to us in the territory to which both lay claim. To this principle it is understood the Bussian Government object; nor, so far as we are concerned, should we be desirous- of pressing it upon them; but as between ourselves and the United States we are not prepared to abandon it, at least for the term for which the Convention of 1818 has to run. There would be some awarkwardness in a tripartite negotiation which was not to be conducted and concluded in all its parts upon an uniform principle. These reasons had induced us to hesitate very much as to the expediency of acceding to the proposition of the United States for a common negotiation between the three Powers; when the arrival of the Speech of the President of the United States at the opening of the Congress supplied another reason at once decisive in itself, and susceptible of being stated to Mr. Bush with more explicitness than those which I have now detailed to your Excellency, I refer to the principle declared in that Speech, which prohibits any further attempt by European Powers at colonization in America. Upon applying to Mr. Bush for an explanation of this extraordinary doctrine, I found him unprovided with any instructions upon it. He said, indeed, that he had not heard from his Government since the opening of the Congress, and had not even received officially a copy of the President's Speech. His conviction, however, was, that against whatever power the President's doctrine was directed, it could not be directed against us. He appealed in support of that conviction to the existence of the Convention of 1818, by which we and the United States hold for a time joint occupancy and common enjoyment of all the territory on the northwest coast of America above latitude 42°. / It was obviously the impression on Mr. Bush's mind that this pre- [/tension on the.part of his Government was intended as a set-off against the maritime pretension of the Bussian Ukase. I do not mean to authorize your Excellency to report this construction at St. Petersburgh as that of the American Minister, but yon will have no difficulty in stating it as one to which we think the President's Speech liable, as that indeed which appears to us to be by far the most probable construction of it; as such, it furnishes a conclusive reason for our not mixing ourselves in a negotiation between two parties whose opposite pretensions are so extravagant in their several ways as to be subject not so much of practical adjustment as of reciprocal disavowal. Mr. Bush is himself so sensible of the new consideration which is introduced into the negotiation by this new principle of the President's that although he had hitherto urged with becoming pertinacity the adoption of the suggestion of his Government, he has, since the arrival of the President's Speech, ceased to combat my desire to pursue the course already begun of a separate negotiation at St. Petersburgh, and APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 419 has promised to write by this messenger to Mr. Middleton to prepare him for your Excellency's continuing to act upon your former instructions. It remains, therefore, only for me to direct your Excellency to resume your negotiation with the Court of St. Petersburgh at the point at which it was suspended inconsequence of the expected accession of the United States, and to endeavour to bring it as speedily as possible to an amicable and honourable conclusion. The questions at issue between Great Britain and Bussia are short and simple. The Bussian Ukase contains two objectionable pretensions: first, an extravagant assumption of maritime supremacy; secondly, an unwarranted claim of territorial dominion. 49 As to the first, the disavowal of Bussia is, in substance, all that we could desire. Nothing remains for negotiation on that head but to clothe that disavowal in precise and satisfactory terms. We would much rather that those terms should be suggested by Bussia herself than have the air of pretending to dictate them; you will therefore urge Count Nesselrode to furnish you with his notion of such a declaration on this yioint as may be satisfactory to your Government. That declaration may be made the preamble of the Convention of limits. As to the territorial question, I have already stated that the line of demarcation the most satisfactory to us would be one drawn through "Chatham Strait," the channel separating the island on which Sitka is- situated from the island to the eastward of it, or if the Bussians have establishments on that island also, then through the channel called "Stephen's Passage," which separates the whole archipelago from the mainland. If one or the other of these channels cannot be obtained as the . boundary, then the line must be drawn on the mainland to the north of the northernmost post of the North-West Company from east to west till it strikes the coast, and thence may descend to whatever latitude may be necessary for taking in the island on which Sitka stands. It does not appear from your Excellency's despatch how far the line proposed by M. Poletica to be drawn at latitude 55° was intended to run to the eastward. If to the Bocky Mountains it, obviously, would be wholly inadmissible by us, inasmuch as the communication of the North-West Company from Canada through those mountains with the whole of the north-west country is in a higher latitude than 55°. Neither has Eussia' any claim whatever to any inland territory approaching that latitude. She has no occupancy inland. Mr. Pelly's l the coast. And it is to the guard against any unfounded Beport denies that she 1 las any ev coast alone that discover y could, in It is absolutely essenti al, thereto pretension, or any vague expectatio this purpose it'is necessai y that wh degree of longitude should also be assigned as a bmit between the territorial rights of the two Powers. If your Excellency can obtain the strait which separates the islands from the mainland as the boundary, the prolongation of the line drawn through that strait would strike the mainland near Mount Elias—the lowest pomt of unquestioned Bussian discovery. But if that were too much to insist upon, the 135th degree of longitude, as suggested by your Excellency, northward from the head of Lynn's Harbour, might suffice. 420 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. It would, however, in that case, be expedient to assign, with respect to the mainland southward of that point, a limit, say, of 50 or 100 miles from the coast, beyond which the Bussian posts should not be extended to the eastward. We must not on any account admit the Bussian territory to extend at any point to the Bocky Mountains. By such an admission, we should establish a direct-and complete interruption between our territory to the southward of that point, and that of which we are in possession to the eastward of longitude 135° along the course of the Mackenzie Biver. As your Excellency had alreadymade so much way in previous discussion, it is to be hoped that, on resuming the negotiation, very little time need be required to bring it to a conclusion. It is extremely important to conclude it as quickly as possible. It being once decided not to negotiate jointly with the United States, we must take care to be out of the way while the discussions between Bussia and the United States are going on; and the example of having come to agreement with us promptly and amicably on both points of litigation would, perhaps, be not less valuable to Bussia in her subsequent discussions with the United States, than would have been the facility which we had in contemplation for Bussia when we originally proposed that her disavowal of the maritime principle should be addressed simultaneously to us both. At that time our claim to such disavowal and the claim ofthe United States were precisely alike; Bussia had nothing to plead against either of us as a compensation for those claims. The principle put forth by the President of the United States has introduced, a difference between the respective situations of the United States and Great Britain with respect to Bussia which did not exist before. In the former state of things it might have been expedient, both for ourselves and for the United States, as well as less distasteful to Bussia, to return an answer common to us both; but, as things stand now, Bussia might naturally wish to qualify her answer to the United States with some reciprocal, demand of explanation. The only point of view in which the United States could now 50 insist upon interfering with, or even taking cognizance of, the negotiation between us and Bussia would be in order to see that the pretensions on the north-west coast of America derived to the United States from Spain, through the Treaty of 1819, were not prejudiced by our separate Agreement. That object cannot be more effectually provided for than by inserting into our Convention with Eussia, as a protection for the claims of the United States, that part of the IHrd Article of the Convention concluded by us with the United States in 1818 which was inserted in that Convention for the protection of the claims of Spain herself in the rights which she had not then ceded. By that Article it is stipulated that the agreement between the two Contracting Parties " should not be taken to affect the claims of any other Power or State in any part of the said country." Such a clause your Excellency will voluntarily propose to insert in the Convention which you are to conclude with Count Nesselrode; and you will apprize Mr. Middleton of your intention of proposing that insertion. I am, &c, (Signed) George Canning. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 421 [Inclosure 1 in So. 37.] Hudson's Bay Company to Mr. G. Canning. Hudson's Bay House, London, January 8,1824. Sir : In reference to the conversation which I had the honour of having with you on Monday last, I beg to call your attention to my letter of the 25th September, 1822, on the subject of the trading stations of the Hudson's Bay Company in the countries on the north-west coast of America. In addition to what is therein stated, I have to inform you that it appears, by the intelligence received this last season, that our traders are extending their posts still farther to the northward in the country to the west ofthe Rocky Mountains. It may be proper for me also to mention, that the Hudson's Bay Company have a chain of trading posts on the McKenzie's River as far north as about 67° north latitude, and that Indians trade at those posts who come from the countries lying to the west of that river and to the north of 60° north latitude, and that our traders aTe extending their posts to the westward into that country. The Russian station called "Sitka" is an island, and can give no claim by occupation to any part ofthe continent. But, even if they had stations on the sea coast of the continent, this could not be held to give to Russia a better claim to a southern boundary on a line of latitude eastward than our stations in 67° north latitude gives to Great Britain to one on a line of latitude westward. From a want of accurate knowledge of the courses of the rivers or ranges of mountains, it is difficult to suggest any satisfactory boundary in the interior of the country in question, and (if consistent with your views) it might, perhaps, be sufficient at present to settle a boundary on the coast only and the country 50 or 100 miles inland, leaving the rest of the country to the north of that point and to the west of the range of the mountains, which sejiarate the waters which fall into the Pacific from those which flow to the east and north, open to the traders of both In this case, I would suggest the northern end of the inlet called Chatham Straits as the most southern point at which the coast boundary ought to be fixed. This is but a little (if at all) to the north of the most northern trading station in the country to the west of the Rocky Mountains. The islands lying to the west of Chatham Straits maybe given to Russia; but the Russians not to trade either on the coast or in the interior south of the boundary, and the British not to trade on the coast north of it. If it is considered proper to fix at present the interior boundary, I would suggest a line drawn from the above-mentioned point at Chatham Straits due north, until it strikes the range of mountains which separate the waters (being the supposed continuation of the range called the Rocky Mountains), and thence to follow the ridge of these mountains to the Frozen Ocean. This is the greatest concession which I think it would be advisable to make to Russia with regard to the interests of the British fur trade, and it would be desirable, as the means of preventing the risk of collision between the traders of 51 the two nations, if Mount Elias on* the coast at 60° north latitude was taken as the boundary point, from whence the line of longitude should be drawn. I have, &c. J. H. Pbllt. [Inclosure 2 in No. 37.] Memorial relating to the North-West Coast of America. The principal Settlements of the Russian Fur Company in the North Pacific Ocean are on the Aleutian or Pox Islands, the Island of Kodiak being the great entrepdt or magazine of the peltries, which are collected in the neighbouring islands and from Cook's Inlet, Prince William's Sound, where, however, it does not appear the Russians have establishments inland, but the furs are collected by a coasting trader in the "baidarkat" or canoes. . Mr G S. Langsdorff, who accompanied Captain Erusenstern m his voyages m the years 1803, 1804, 1805,1806, and 1807, in giving an account ofthe fur trade, gives the following statement and history of the Settlement of Lichta: "The constant decrease in the number of sea otters upon the coast ol liamsciiatlia induced the Russians to extend their possessions eastward, first to the islands between the coast of Asia and America, and finally to the north-west coast of America. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 'oik Sound appearing to present a favourable spot for an establishment, it was •ed expedient to take possession of it. A fortress, with proper warehouses rtling-houses, were built After a time, the natives rose upon the s and killed almost the whole party. In the year 1804, the Director, M. de f, again took possession of it with a large force, building a fortress, and giv- le name of Kerr Archangel. sent occupation gives to a Government the right of possession, the occupancy ilk Sound could not give to Russia a claim to the coast bordering on the ir the interior maiuland, and it does not appear that Russia has any ports or ants on the north west coast of America which would give to Russia any claim to the country by present occupancy, except at a Settlement called which is on the coast of New Albion, in latitude 38° 30'. wintry of New Albion is covered with oak-ash pine timber of large dimen- t for ship-building, and on the coast of California a veiy fine description of ■ found. The land is capable of the highest state of cultivation, producing t wheat, potatoes, hemp, aud all kinds of vegetables. Uissians build vessels of large burthen at their Settlement, and, under the of encouraging the fur trade, have encroached so far south; and in the year jy sent a M. de Resaukoff to negotiate with the Spanish Government for per- to form an establishment in New California, which negotiation, however, i Gove nment have, ho ? enable the Rus oRn >v the right of first discov- t from various authorities ild be of great importance ographer of the King of Spain, acknowl- sa was quite unknown, and a few years at Sir Francis Drake on an expedition izabeth's Foreland, and he sailed as high of the aha, m.ede t of Ainerii Dr from first it of Norfol o claim to the coast, < xcept to the land abo soverv, the land, wine )und, and island, and not appear that Russia ild a she t, low the claim t< up to 37o mntry to the westward Mr. Fnderby to Board of Trade. Paul's Wharf, February 7,1824. Str: After the long and patient audience you admitted Mr. Mellish and myself to on the 5th instant I hope you will pardon my intruding on you by letter on the subject of nations claiming boundary-lines of waters to prevent their Colonies being interfered with. Previous totheConvention which was con eluded with Spainin 1790 Mr Pitt sent to desire I would call on him at the Treasury, which I did; he asked me how near the coast of Spanish America in the Pacific Ocean APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 423 we fished for whales. I answered, frequently within 3 sea leagues. Mr. Pitt said he could not ask for such a short distance from the Spanish Colonies on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, where all their most valuable gold and silver mines are placed, as they would be great objects for illicit trade, and that Spain was very jealous of any foreign intercourse with their most valuable Colonies. Mr. Pitt said he believed Spain would be satisfied with a boundary-line of 10 sea leagues from the coast, which I acceded to in behalf of the adventurers in the whale fishery. As I conclude that a boundary-line of waters in the North Pacific Ocean will be agreed to between Great Britain and Bussia, I hope I may be pardoned suggesting that there ought not to be any boundary- line in entering into Behring's Straits for the purpose of fishing or of attempting to find a passage through. Behring's Straits are very narrow in all parts, and it would be almost impossible to fish in those straits without being daily within 5 or 6 leagues from the Eussian Colonies on the eastern coast of the straits. All I ask is that we may be protected in all our fair pursuits and enterprizes in killing whales, seals, and other amphibious animals, and in exploring and navigating the most distant and unknown parts of the oceans in search of islands not colonized without control from any foreign Power. I have, &c. (Signed) Sam. Enderby. Sir C. Bagot to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received April 13.) No. 23.] St. Petersburgh, March 17 (29), 1824. Sir: It is with a feeling of considerable disappointment that, after a constant negotiation for more than six weeks, after having gone to the utmost limit of your instructions—and after having taken upon myself to go even far beyond them—I should nevertheless have to acquaint you that I have entirely failed in inducing the Bussian Government to accede to what I consider to be a fair and reasonable adjustment of our respective pretensions on the north-west coasts of North America, or to the adoption of any line of territorial demarcation -which appears to me to be reconcilvable, under the spirit of your instructions, with our legitimate interests in that quarter of the world. In order that I may put you in complete possession of the whole course of my negotiation upon this subject, and may explain the.precise grounds upon which I have felt myself compelled to suspend, 53 for the present, all further proceedings in this business, it will, I fear, be necessary that I should enter into a detail of some length, and that I should load this despatch with several papers which are now become of importance. It was on the 16th of last month that I had my first conference upon this question with the Bussian Plenipotentiaries, Count Nesselrode and M. Poletica. I opened this conference by explaining to the Plenipotentiaries the reasons for which His Majesty had judged it advisable to treat separately upon this matter, rather than, as it had been originally intended, in concert with the Government of the United States. I then laid before them Count Lieven's note to you of the 31st January, 1823, L 424 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. proposing that the question of strict right should be provisionally waived on both sides, and that the adjustment of our mutual pretensions should be made upon the sole principle of the respective convenience of both countries. This basis of negotiation being willingly accepted by all parties, I stated that, so far as I understood the wishes and interests of Bussia, her principal object must be to secure to herself her fisheries upon the islands and shores of the north-west coasts of North America, and the posts which she might have already established upon them; that, on the . other hand, our chief objects were to secure the posts upon the continent belonging totheHudson's Bay Company, the embouchures of such rivers as might afford an outlet for our fur-trade into the Pacific, and the two banks of the Mackenzie Biver; that, in the belief that such were our respective objects, I would propose as our boundary a line drawn through Chatham Straits to the head of Lynn Canal, thence north-west to the 140th degree of longitude west of Greenwich, and thence along that degree of longitude to the Polar Sea. This proposal was made by me verbally, and was taken for consideration by the Bussian Plenipotentiaries, who at our next meeting offered a "contre-projet," which T afterwards requested might be reduced to writing, and of which I inclose a copy (Inclosure 1). In offering this " contre-projet," Count Nesselrode seemed to intimate that, however disposed the Emperor might be to retract pretensions advanced by himself which might be thought to conflict with the interests of other Powers, it would be asking too much of the Imperial dignity to require that pretensions advanced twenty-five years ago by the Emperor Paul, and which had been hitherto undisputed, should be now renounced. I thought it my duty, upon an intimation of this kind being made, to declare at once that all considerations of such a nature were incompatible with the stipulated basis of our negotiation, and that if the question of national dignity was to be touched, I, too, should have much to say upon that head, and should probably find it quite impossible to make those concessions which, upon the simple ground of mutual convenience, I might perhaps without difficulty do. This explicit declaration had its desired effect, and the Bussian Plenipotentiaries engaged not to introduce again arguments of this kind into our discussions. As the "contre-projet" offered to me appeared to be, generally speaks ing, entirely inadmissible, I drew up such a modification of my original proposal as would, I thought, meet the only reasonable objection made to it (an objection made in conversation by the Bussian Plenipotentiaries), viz., the inconvenience which Bussia might experience by vessels of the United States claiming a right, under their Convention with Great Britain, to visit the waters lying between King George's Archipelago-and the islands and continent to the eastward of it, and which might, in this manner, seriously annoy the subjects of His Imperial Majesty in their pursuits and occupations upon those shores. This modification of my first proposal will be found in the inclosed paper (Inclosure 2), which I delivered to the Eussian Plenipotentiaries at our next Conference. You will observe that in making the proposal so modified, I, in fact, exceeded, in some degree, the strict letter of your instructions by assigning to Bussia the islands lying between Admiralty Island to the north, and Duke of York and Prince of Wales Islands to the south, but I entertained sanguine expectations that such a, proposal, coupled with the concession of a line of coast extending 10 marine leagues into the interior of the continent, would have been considered as amply sufficient APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT-BRITAIN. ' 425 for all the legitimate objects which Bussia could have in view, and quite as much as she could pretend to with any shadow of real claim'or justice. So far, however, from this being the case, my amended proposal was met at our next Conference by observations which I again requested might be reduced to writing, and which will be found in the inclosed paper (Inclosure 3). As, in this paper, parts of the main continent to which Bussia 54 cannot by possibility have ever acquired any claim, aud of which Great Britain is at this moment actually in partial occupation, are offered to His Majesty in the light of concessions, it became necessary for me to reject any such offers as a boon in the most explicit terms, and you will find that I have not failed to do so in the inclosed paper (Inclosure 4), with which I replied to the paper in question. As, however, I felt strongly the importance of adjusting this business, if possible, at the present moment, and as I felt also that, although the Bussian Plenipotentiaries had, in consequence of my former remarks, agreed to waive altogether all question of national dignity in discuss- I ing it, His Imperial Majesty might yet possibly feel an invincible repugnance to retract from the pretensions advanced by the Emperor Paul in the Charter given to the Bussian American Company in 1799 (however unacknowleged by other Powers such pretension might have been), I - thought that I should not act in opposition to the spirit at least of my instructions if, in deference to such a sentiment on the part of the Emperor, and with a view to finish the business quickly, I ventured to make yet one other proposition which, while it saved this point of dignity to Bussia by giving to her the 55th degree of latitude as her boundary upon the islands, might preserve also uninterrupted our access to the Pacific Ocean, and secure to His Majesty the 50th degree of north latitude as the British boundary upon the coast. The proposition by which I had hoped to effect these objects will also be found in the paper (Inclosure 4), in delivering which I gave it clearly to be understood that it contained my ultimate proposition. It was not till the day before yesterday, that is, nearly ten days after I had given in this paper, that I was invited to another Conference, when I was informed that the Imperial Government had, after anxious consideration, taken their final decision, and that they must continue to insist upon the demarcation as described by them in the first paper (Inclosure 1). • Finding this to be the case, I repeated that I had already gone far beyond the utmost limit of my instructions, and that I was sorry to say that I must now consider our negotiations as necessarily suspended, so far at least as the question of territorial demarcation was concerned. Count Nesselrode then inquired whether I should object to transmit to my Court the final decision of himself and M. Poletica as it is declared in the inclosed paper (Inclosure 5), and whether I did not think that His Majesty's Government, seeing how slight our disagreement was, might not be disposed to furnish me with such further instructions as would enable me to meet the views of the Eussian Government, informing me, at the same time, that it was intended to acquaint Count Lieven by the courier, who is to be dispatched to-night to London, with the course which the negotiation had taken, and to instruct him to j hold some conversation with you upon the subject. I told Count Nesselrode that I should of course feel it to be my duty to transmit this and all other papers connected with the negotiation to you without loss of time, but that I could not by any means take upon 426 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT ERITAIN. myself to say what might be the opinion of His Majesty's Government as to the pretensions so tenaciously adhered to by the Imperial Government, further than by saying that certainly they were such as-had never been contemplated by my Court in the instructions with which I had been as yet furnished, and that if a territorial arrangement perfectly satisfactory to both parties could not now be made, it might possibly be thought by my Government that our respective pretensions might still remain without any serious inconvenience in the state in which they had before stood, and that it would only be necessary for the present to confine their attention to the adjustment of the more urgent point of the maritime pretensions—a point which would not admit of equal postponement. In reply to this observation Count Nesselrode stated, to my extreme surprise, that if the territorial arrangement was not completed, he did not see the necessity of making any agreement respecting the maritime question; and I found myself most unexpectedly under the necessity of again explaining very distinctly, both to him and to M. Poletica, that the maritime pretension of Eussia was one which, violating as it did the first and most established principles of all public maritime law, admitted neither of explanation nor modification, and that my Government considered themselves possessed of a clear engagement on the part of Bussia to retract in some way or other a pretension which could neither be justified nor enforced. Here the matter rested; but I ought to state that, notwithstanding this unexpected observation of Count Nesselrode, I do not at all believe that, had we been able to agree upon our southern line 55 of demarcation, we should have found any real difficulty either as regards the retraction of the maritime pretension, or as regards our western boundary, or any of the other minor details which we should have been called upon to adjust; but the observation was made, and considering what has already passed upon this subject both here in London and in America, considering also the delicacy with which His Majesty had left it to the Bussian Government themselves to frame the terms in which their retractation of this preposterous pretension should be made, His Majesty's Government may perhaps think it advisable that Count Lieven should be again given clearly to understand that it is a point to which no slight importance is attached by His Majesty, and that the pretension as it now stands will admit of no remedy but that of publick, formal, and precise retractation in some- shape or another. Such has been the course of my late negotiation upon this question, and such the grounds upon which I have thought it my duty to suspend it for the present. I know full well the inconvenience of breaking off such a negotiation in such a stage and upon a point which, judging only by the Map, might perhaps appear of so little real importance to His Majesty's present interests, but when I consider by how much I have already exceeded my instructions, how more than doubtful is the real right of this Government to any part of the territory in most immediate dispute, and how much more exorbitant are their pretensions upon the northwest continent of America than I had before had reason to suspect, I certainly could not venture to take upon myself the heavy responsibility of making any further concessions of a territory the value and possible local advantages of which Ihad no means of estimating and which I believe are as yet so imperfectly known. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 427 It is somewhat remarkable that whilst the Bussian pretension of maritime jurisdiction stands unrecalled amongst the Ukases of the Imperial Government, a note such as that of which I herewith inclose a copy should have been addressed to me in the midst of our negotiations asking protection for a Bussian ship to navigate in safety those very seas and visit those very shores which the Court of Eussia has by such high-handed Decrees declared to be a part of her exclusive dominions, and a part, too, which the other Powers of the world are forbidden to approach. I have not yet answered this note, but if I am pressed to do so before I can receive the instructions of His Majesty's Government in respect to it, I shall certainly grant the certificate required as was done in a former and similar instance by Lord Cathcart. I have, &c. (Signed) Charles Bagot. Etnssie a Sir Charles Bagot, ligne de demarcation entre lusses par la Charte que feu i de Galles dans son extre"- ties ii Pour completer la ligne de demarcation et la rendre aussi distincte que possible, les Plenipotentiaires de Russie ont exprime" le desir de lui faire suivre le Portlaud Canal jusqu'aux montagnes qui bordent la cdte. De ce point, la limite remonteroit le long de ces montagnes parallelement aux sinuosites de la cdte, jusqu'a la longitude dn 139= degre" (meridien de Londres), degre" dont la ligne de prolongation vers le nord formeroit la limite ulterieure entre les possessions Russes et Angloises au nord, comme a Test. Le motif principal qui force la Russie a insister sur la souverainete de la lisiere indique"e plus haut sur la terre ferme depuis le Portland Canal jusqu'au point d'inter- section du 60c avec le 139° de longitude, c'est que, privee de ce territoire, la 56 En niquc Compagnie Russe-Ame" revanche la Russie se fe tous les fleuv* ppui, et qui n s qui aboutis ets de Sa Majeste" Britan- sent a l'Ocean dans cette Poi duG( Brita propc uniqne et a leurs va'iss sitions ci-dessus seroieu reuve de so e ouvriroit t acceptees [Inclosnre t d pressement a i Novo-Arch a No. 39.] sdess igelsk u devant des vceux ajets de Sa Majeste dans le cas ou les Ame nded Propos alb 1 Sir C. Bagot. Cor rime il a ete" convenu d our base de ne"g ociatio n les convenances mutu slles des deux pays, il et t a remarqi er' '?. r<5I>°n8e ^ 1 cee°d 8l'ex^rlmitkPra6ri^ 14p« ignes qui bordent la cO e, et de la le lo ig de ces mot tagne lal de Portland, de le, de la jusqu'aux 3 jusqu'a la longi- r 428 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. tude du 139e de°re, &c, 6teroit a Sa Majeste" Britannique la souverainete' de toutes ces anses et de ces petites baies qui se tronvent entre les latitudes 56° et 54° 45' dont plusieurs (a ce qu'il y a tout lieu a croire) communiquent directement aux Etablissemens de la Compagnie de Hudson's Bay, et seroient par consequent d'une importance essentielle pour son commerce, tandis que de l'autre cdte la Compagnie Russe- Americaine ne possfede aucun Etablissement sur la terre ferme entre les deux paralleles susmentionnfees, ni meme sur l'lle du Prince de Galles, ni sur les lies qui sont situe"es entre celle-ci et la terre ferme. En acceptant la proposition faite par Sir Charles Bagot dans sa premiere conference avec les Plenipotentiaires Russes, il n^y ai " inconvenient pour la Russie, celui qui pourroit re peut-etre les Etats-Unis, en vertu de leur Convei l'aunee 1818, de naviguer lrbrement dans tous les parage et la terre ferme, et de gener ainsi de quelque sorte le < Majeste Imperiale dans ces eaux. Pour obvier a cet inconvenient et pour assurer a la Russie l'entiere souverainete do ces parages, ainsi que toutes les iles et les cotes oil ily a effectivement des Etablissemens Russes, la Grande-Bretagne proposeroit de prendre pour ligne de demarcation entre les territoires des deux Puissances une ligne tracee del'ouest vers l'est, par le milieu du canal qui sSpare les Iles du Prince de Galles et du Due d'York de toutes les iles situees au nord des dites iles jusqu'a ce qu'elle touche la terre ferme. De la se prolongeant dans la meme direction sur la terre ferme jusqu'a un point distant de la c6te de 10 lieues marines, la ligne remonteroit de ce point vers le nord et le nord-ouest, parallelement aux sinuosites de la cdte, et toujours a- la distance de 10 lieues marines du rivage, jusqu'au 140B degre de longitude (de Greenwich) dont it alors du prolongement jusqu'a la Mer Polaire. 1 parolt) qu'un seul r du droit que l-eclameroient 3 la Grande-Bretagne de mtre l'lle du Roi George —--e des sujets de Sa n Sir C. Bagot's amended Proposal. L Observations of Russian Plenippie he motif qui a fait proposer l'adoption du principe des o le premier avantage de ce principe, e'est d'emr echer quo les Etablissemens respectifs sur la c6te nord-ouest ne puissent se nuire les wis aux autres et entrer en collision. Les Etablissemens Anglois de la Compagnie de la Baie de Hudson et du Nord- Ouest tendent a se porter vers l'ouest par les 53e et 54° degre de latitude septentrionale. Les Etablissemens Russes de la Compagnie Americaine tendent a descendre au sud vers le 55e parallele, et au dela, car il est a remarquor que si la Compagnie Americaine n'a point encore forme d'Etablissemens fixes sur la ligne mathematique du 55e degre, n est pas moins vrai qu'en vertu de son privilege de 1799, privilege contre 57 lelau n'a j: aans ces parages, et que regu nantes dans la saison qui lui perniet II etoit done de la convenance m limites it des progrfes reciproques qui plus facheuses complications. ' deleur convenancemutuelle dedei 6, elle exploite la chasse et lapeche it elle ocenpe les iles et les cdtes avoisi- >yer ses chasseurs et ses pdcheurs. des deux Empires d'assigner de justes le temps les II etoit ai irelles qui forment toujours les frontiferes les plus C'est par ces raisons que les Plenipotentiaires de Russie sur la cdte du continent au sud, le Portland Chan: " est par le 56e degre de latitude nord, et, a Test, la c. trfes petite distance les sinuosites de la cdte. D'aprfes les Cartes les plus recentes et les meill Etablissemens de la Compagnie de la Baie do Huds par le 53e et le 54e degre, et Ton ne sauroit prouve: jusqu'au grand Ocean. Cependant, d'aprfes le principe des cmTOnnnnAa des Plenipotentiaires de Russie, laissi Anglaises: 1. Toute la partie de la cdte situee i 51° degre de latitude nord, envisagfee comme nn l'Oukase du 4 (16) Septembre, 1821. 2. Tout le territoire situe entre les Etablissemeni gine du Portland Channel, qui est au 56e parallele. ures publiees en Angleterre, les n ne se rapprochent des cdtes que que sur aucun point ils arrivent APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 429 3. Tout le territoire situe derrifere la chaine de montagnes dont il a ete question ci-dessus, jusqu'au point d'intersection du 139° degre de longitude, meridien de Les Plenipotentiaires de Sa Majeste Imperiale, prevoyaut memo le cas oil sur la lisifere de la cdte qui appartiendroit a la Russie, il setrouveroit desfleuves anmoven desquels les Etablissemens Anglois pourroient communiquer avec l'Ocean se sont empresses d'offrir, par une stipulation eventuelle, la libre navigation de ces fleuves lis ont, en outre, annonce a son Excellence Sir Charles Bagot que le port de Novo- Archangelsk sera ouvert au commerce des sujets de Sa Majeste le Roi dela Grande- Bretagne. D'autre part, les Plenipotentiaires de Russie ont l'honneur de lui observer itera- tivement, que sans une lisifere sur la cdte du continent a partir du Portland Channel, les Etablissemens Russes des iles du voisinage n'auroient aucun point d'appui- qu'ils seroient a la merci de ceux que des etrangers formeroient sur la terre ferme, et que tout arrangement semblable, loin d'etre fonde sur le principe des convenances mutuelles,ne presenteroit que des dangers a l'une des Parties et des avantages exclu- Ou ne parlera point ici des deux pointes de l'lle du Priuce de Galles, qui sont situees au-dessous de la ligne du 55e degre de latitude nord. Ces deux pointes ne pourroient etre d'aucune ntilite k la Grande-Bretagne, et si les neuf-dixifemes de l'lle du Prince de Galles appartiennent a la Russie, il est evidemmeut d'un interdt reci- proque que l'lle lui appartienne tout entiere. Ce court expose suffit pour justifier le projet que les Plenipotentiaires de Sa Majeste Imperiale ont remis a Sir Charles Bagot, etsur la toneur duquel ils ne peuvent lis espferent, au reste, que les intentions qui ont dicte ce projet serout appreeiees tant par l'Ambassadeur de Sa Majeste Britannique que par son Gouvernement. [Inclosure 4 in Wo. 39.] Reply by Sir C. Bagot to Observations of Russian Plenipotentiaries. La decouverte oula simple occupation de quelques iles situees sur la cdte d'un continent ne peut donner aucun droit a la souverainete de la terre ferme voisine, principe qui n'est pas moins fonde sur l'opinion reconnue des juristes les plus c61febres, que sur 1'usage universellement observe entre les nations. D'aprfes ce principe, Sir Charles Bagot a constamment soutenu dans les Conferences qu'il a eu l'honneur d'avoir avec les Plenipotentiaires de Russie, que Sa Majeste 58 Britannique ne sauroit admettre que les droits de la Russie sur la cdte nord- ouest du Continent d'Amerique puissent s'etendre vers le midi sur ce continent an dela du point ou la Russie aura actuellement forme des Etablissemens. II n'a jamais ete affirme par les Plenipotentiaires de Sa Majeste Imperiale que la Russie possfede des Etablissemens quelconques sur la terre ferme au sud du 60e ou 59e degre de latitude nord, mais ils ont declare que, privee d'une lisi6re sur la terre ferme, la Compagnie Russe-Americaine n'auroit aucun moyen de souteuir ses Esta- blissemens sur les Iles, qui serioent des lors sans point d'appui et ne pourrioent avoir aucune solidite. Tout argument fonde sur la consideration de la convenance pratique de la Russie ne pouvoit dtre que du plus grand poids, et le Plenipotentiaire de Sa Majeste Britannique n'hesita pas d'abandonner, en consequence de cette observation des Plenipotentiaires de Russie, la ligne de demarcation qu'il avoit d'abord proposes, savoir, celle qui devoit passer par le milieu de Chatham Straits jusqu'a I'extremite" septentrionale de Lynn Canal et de la a Mont Elias, ou a l'intersection du 140e degre de longitude, et d'en proposer une autre qui assnreroit a la Russie non seulement une sur les lies, mais qui lui assureroit aussi la possession de l'avoisinent, ou qui se trouvent placees entre cet Etablissement et la terre ferme, la possession enfin de tout ce qui pourroit devenir, par la suite, de quelque utilite, ou pour sa solidite ou pour sa prosperite. Mais le Plenipotentiaire de Sa Majeste Britannique ne peut pas admettre que la Busse accorderoit ou assureroit a Sa Majeste Britannique un nouvel avantage par sa renonciation a la partie dela cdte sitnee entre rembouchure du Portland Canal et le de<*re de latitude envisage comme limite des possessions Russes dans l'Oukae* ^ nimeme par sa renonciation a toutepartiedu continent an midi des Etabliss y ont ete deja formees; car, quandmeme Sa Majeste Britannique eut jama: ce degre de latitude comme formant la ligne de demarcation en autant qn les lies, elle ne pourroit, d'aprfes le principe enonce plus haut, 1 avoir recon limite snr le continent voisin, sur lequel la Compagnie de la Bale de Hu< d6ja etabli plusieurs de ses postes les plus importants. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. crnie a en etfet des Etablissemens me L'origine du Portland Canal peut etre, comme il y a li( de quelque flenve qui coule par le milieu du pays occupe p de Hudsou, et il est par consequent d'une importance maj s de la cdte, au nord du acrilier les interets de la cdte, et des iles qui en 5 latitude nord, quel que onveuir de prendre pour e les lies situees plus a i de croire, 1'embouchure r la Compagnie de la Baie ure a la Grande-Bretagne Ce fut dans l'espoir c e pouvoir concilier ces objets indispensables avec ceux du Gouvernement Imperial dtre egalemeut de Tint actuel, que le Pienipote utiaire de Sa Majeste Britannique eut l'honneur de proposer erence avec les Plenipotentiaires de Russie, une ligne de dans sa dernifere Couf demarcation, qui tout e a conservant a la Russie pour limite meridionale sur les lies le degre de latitude de signe par 1'Oukase de 1799, assigneroit en mdme terns k la Grande-Bretagne pour 1 mite sur la cdte de la terre ferme la latitude de 56° 30' nord. 11 semble qu'une ligne tracee de 1'extremite meridionale du detroit nomme "Duke of Clarence's Sound " p ar le milieu de ce detroit, jusqu'au milieu du detroit qui separe les Iles du Prin ce de Galles et du Due d'Yor'k de toutes lis iles situees au nord des dites iles, de li , vers 1'esfc par le milieu du meme detroit j usqu'a la terre ferme, et se prolongean t ensuite dans la direction, et de la niaiiifere d6ja proposees ion du 140e degi [Inclosure 5 in So. 39.] Final Decision of Russian Plenipoi s Plenipotentiaires de Russie ont porte a la con re, les derniferes propositions qui leur ont ete fait A I la ligne de demarcation qui sej s Aug ;te Imperi s de decla de l'A ale, ce sRus sdes propositions ne lui out terativement a M. l'Ambas- une utilite r celles qui la Rus L'Empereur charge seTplenipc sadeur d'Augleterre: Que la possessson de l'lle du Prince de Galles, sans cdte situee vis-a-vis de cette ile, ne pourroit dtre d'au Que tout Etablissement forme snr la dite ile, ou s trouverait en quelque sorte tourne par les Etablisseui et complettement k la merci de ces derniers. Qu'en consequence un arrangement semblable ne principe des convenances mutuelles. Qu'au reste, d'aprfes le temoignage des Cartes les plus recentes publiees en Augle- terre, il n'existe aucun Etablissement Anglais ni sur la cdte mdme du continent ni au nord du 54° de latitude septentrionale. Qu'ainsi, quand les limites fixees aux possessions Russes par la Charte de 1799, n'auraient point en leur faveur depuis vingt-cinq ans le conseutement tacite de toutes les Puissances, encore la Russie exerceroit-elle sur cette partie de la cdte pre- cisement les mdmes droits qne la Grande-Bretagne, d'oii il resulte one la auestiou deyrait toujours dtre resolne, non d'aprfes les interdts exclusifs d'u mais de manifere k concilier leurs interdts reriproques. Qu'enfin, quant k la navigation des fieuves, la Russie crovait avoir offert k la Grande- Bretagne tons les avantages et toutes concessions que celle-ci peut desirer. Et que dans cet etatde choses les Plenipotentiaires deSa Majeste Imperiale avoient ordre d'insister sur leurs propositions anterieures, propositions dont ils ont anipla- ment developpe les motifs k son Excellence M. le Chevalier Bagot. L'Empereur espfere que ces motifs seront apprecies par le Gouvernement de Sa Majeste Britannique, et que M. 1'Ambassadeur d'Angleterre les fera valoir avec ce icher les opinions respeetives qu'il a manifestd dans tout le cours de ullement conforme a e est au regret de n lers de demeurer steriles tG, le 17 (29) Mars, 1824. i pas la voir terminee dls k present; n du Cabinet de Londres empdeheront s APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Memorandum. La Compagnie Russe-Americaine a ete muuie k differentes epoques de la part des Missions etrangferes accreditees prfes la Cour Imperiale de Russie de certificate destines a assurer appui et protection aux navires que la dite Societe dirige vers les con- trees soumises a la domination des Puissances amies. Sachant apprecier tous les avantages d'une assistance aussi efficace, la Compagnie vient de s'adresser au Ministere Imperial dans le but d'obtenir par son intervention une lettre de protection d'nsago pour le vaisseau " Heifene," commande par le Lieutenant de la Marine Tchistiakoff. Ce batiment, dont la destination est de porter des provisions aux Colonies de la Compagnie, s'occupera en mehie terns de recherches scientifiques dans les parages vers lesquels il dirige sa course. En consequence, le Soussigne a l'honneur de prier son Excellence M. le Chevaliei de Bagot, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plenipotentiaire de Sa Majeste Britannique, de vouloir bien lui transmettre, a l'usage du Lieutenant Tchistiakoff, un oertificat leqnel, en specifiant le but de l'expedition, redamerait en faveur du commandant et de l'equipage un accueil hospitaiier, et s'ils se trouvaient dans le cas d'y avoir recours, une assistance efflcace de la part des autorites Britauniques. 60 Le Soussigne se plairait k reconnattre dans un accueil favorable a la demande qu'il vient d'exprimer au nom de la Compagnie Russe-Americaine une nouvelle preuve des relations amicales qui existent entre les deux Cours, et il saisit, &c. St. Petersbourg, le 12 Mars, 1S24. No. 40. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. ~$o. 18.] Foreign Office, April 24,1824. Sir: Tour despatches to No. 23 inclusive received here on the 14th instant by the messenger Draffen (alter an unusually expeditious journey), have been laid before the King. The courier whom your Excellency mentioned as being dispatched to Count Lieven at the same time with Draffen has not yet arrived— at least so I learn from Count Lieven, who denies having yet received the instructions which he is promised. I take advantage of the departure of Sir Alexander Malet, whom His Majesty has been pleased to allow to be attached to your Excellency's Embassy (Mr. Bloom field, whose assistance I had so long ago promised, not being yet able to leave England), to acknowledge the ' receipt of your late despatches, but I must refer your Excellency for any detailed observations upon them to what I shall write to you by a messenger, whom I intend to dispatch so soon.as I shall have conferred with Count Lieven on the contents of his promised instructions. I will not, however, defer till that opportunity the informing your Excellency that your conduct in suspending the negotiation with respect to the north-west coast of America, when you found that the modifications, which you judiciously took upon yourself to make in your instructions, were not met by corresponding concessions ou the part of the ltussian Government, has received His Majesty's gracious approbation. I have referred the whole question of this negotiation anew to the Governors of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose Beport I expect shortly to receive. I have some reason to think that that Beport will recommend the policy of closing with the Eussian proposals rather than leaving the points in dispute unsettled for an indefinite time. It will then remain 432 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. to consider, after I shall have learnt the tenour of the instructions sent to Count Lieveu, whether it may be most expedient for the King's service to carry on the ulterior discussions with the Eussian Ambassador here, or to authorize your Excellency to resume and conclude the negotiation. I am, &c. (Signed) George Canning. No. 41. Mr. G. Canning to Count Lieven. Foreign Office, May 29,1824. After mature consideration of the two despatches from Count Nesselrode to yourExcellency on the 5th ultimo, copies of which your Excel- . lency had the goodness to put into my hands, I have the satisfaction to acquaint your Excellency that I shall be enabled shortly to send to His Majesty's Ambassador at St. Petersburgh such instructions on the subject matter of both as shall meet, in a great degree, the wishes of your Court. 1. As to the line of demarcation to be drawn between Bussian and British occupation on the north-west coast of America,- Sir Charles Bagot's discretion will be so far enlarged as to enable him to admit, with certain qualifications, the term last proposed by the Bussian Government. The qualifications will consist chiefly in a more definite description of the limit to which the strip of land required by Bussia on the continent is to be restricted; in the selection of a somewhat more western degree of longitude as the boundary to the northward of Mount Elias; in precise and positive stipulations for the free use of all rivers which may be found to empty themselves into the sea within the Bussian Gl frontier, and of ail seas, straits, and waters which the limits assigned to Bussia may comprehend. It can hardly be expected that we should not also put in our claim for the like privileges of trade as are, or maybe, stipulated with Bussia by any other nation; and we take for granted that the exclusive claims of navigation and jurisdiction over the North Pacific Ocean, which were put forward in the Ukase of September 1821 are to be altogether withdrawn. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. No. 22.] Foreign Office, May 29,1824. Sir: I transmit to your Excellency a copy of a letter which I have addressed to Count Lieven upon the subject-matter of two despatches from Count Nesselrode to Count Lieven, which that Ambassador communicated to me, and copies of which I also inclose. Your Excellency will learn from my letter to Count Lieven that you may expect definitive instructions very shortly, both for the conclusion of the negotiation relating to the north-west coast of America, and to the proposed Conference on the pacification of Greece. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 433 I hope to dispatch a messenger to your Excellency with these instructions in the course ©f the next week. Meantime the inclosed paper will put your Excellency generallv in possession of the sentiments of His Majesty's Government upon these several subjects. But your Excellency will not take any step upon them until you shall have received my promised instructions. I am, &c. (Signed) George Canning. No. 43. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. ^o. 26.] Foreign Office, July 12,1824. Sir: After full consideration of the motives which are alleged by the Eussian Government for adhering to their last propositions respecting the line of demarcation to be drawn between British aud Bussian occupancy on the north-west coast of America; and of the comparative inconvenience of admitting some relaxation in the terms of your Excellency's last instructions, or of having the question between the two Governments unsettled for an indefinite time, His Majesty's Government have resolved to authorize your Excellency to consent to include the south points of Prince of Wales' Island within the Bussian frontiers, and to take as the line of demarcation, a line drawn from the southernmost point of Prince of Wales' Island from south to north through Portland Channel, till it strikes the mainland in latitude 56; thence following the sinuosities of the coast, along the base of the mountains nearest the sea to Mount Elias, and thence along the 139th degree of longitude to the Polar Sea. I inclose the draft of a projet of Convention founded upon these principles, which your Excellency is authorized to sign previously to your quitting St. Petersburgh. The advantages conceded to Bussia by the line of demarcation, traced out in this Convention, are so obvious, as to render it quite impossible that any objection can reasonably be offered on the part of the Bussian Government to any of the stipulations in our favour. There are two points which are left to be settled by your Excellency: 1. In fixing the course of the eastern boundary of the strip of land to be occupied by Bussia on the coast, the seaward base of the mountains is assumed as that limit; but we have experience that other mountains on the other side of the American Continent, which have been assumed in former Treaties as lines of boundary, are incorrectly laid down in the Maps; and this inaccuracy has given rise to very troublesome discussions. It is therefore necessary that some 62 other security should be taken that the line of demarcation to be drawn parallel with the coast, as far as Mount St. Elias, is not carried too far inland. This is done by a proviso that that line should in no case (i. e., not in that of the mountains, which appear by the Map almost to border the coast, turning out to be far removed from it) be carried further to the east than a specified number of leagues from the sea. The utmost extent which His Majesty's Government would be disposed to concede would be a distance of 10 leagues; but it would be desirable if your Excellency were enabled to obtain a still more narrow limitation. S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 28 434 APPENDIX TO CASK OP GREAT BRITAIN. 2. Article 5 of the "Projet" is copied from Article IV of the Convention between Bussia and the United States of America. By the American Article the right of visiting respectively and resorting to each other's possessions is limited to ten years. This limitation is left in blank in the "Projet." We should have no objection to agree to the Article without any limitation of time. We should prefer a longer period (say twenty years) to that stipulated by the Americans. Tour Excellency will obtain either of these extensions if you can, but you must not agree to a shorter term than ten years. Your Excellency will be careful to make it understood that this limitation of. time cannot in any case extend to the use by Great Britain of the harbour of New Archangel, still less of the rivers, creeks, &c, ou the continent, the use of all which isiu the nature of.a compensation for the perpetual right of territory granted to Eussia, and, therefore, must be alike perpetual. If your Excellency shall, as I cannot doubt, conclude and sign this Convention before your departure, you will make it a point to bring with you the ratification of the Bussian Government to be exchanged by Count Lieven against that of His Majesty. I have, &c. (Signed) George Canning. His Me jesty the King of the United Sa Majeste le Roi du Royaume-U Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and laG ande-Bretagne et de l'lrlande, « His Maje ty the Emperor of All the Rus- Maj< ste-1'Einpereur de Toutes les Ru l desirous of drawing still closer desi ant resserrer les liens d'amitie the'ties >f friendship and good under- wliich uuite them, by means of bom e intelligence qui les unisseut standing ant un accord qui regleroit, s an Agree ment which shaU settle, upon prin Mpe d'une convenance reciprc tbe basis different of reciprocal convenience, tbe points connected with the com- diffe Ian reus points relatifs au commer ivigation, et aux pScheries de vigation, and fisheries of their s sur l'Ocean Pacifique, ainsi qv m the Pacific Ocean, as well as limi the limit of their possessions and estab- 3 sur la cdte nord-ouest de l'A lishmeutf on the north-west coast of que leurs dites Majestes ont nomm America; their saidMajestieshavenamed Piei their Plei ipotentiaries to conclude a Conor this purpose, that is to say: vention i His Me jesty the King of the United Sa Majeste le Roi du Royaumc Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, de 1 a Grande-Bretagne et de l'Irh &c, &c. &c; &c. &c, &c.; And Hi 3 Maj esty the Emperor of All the Et Sa Majeste l'Empereur de Tout ;reed between the High Contra ies that tbeir respective snbje joy the right of free navigati le whole extent of the Paci H est convenu Contractantes q> uavigueront libr iue de l'Ocean 1 Artici^! I. entre les I eront point troubles APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 435 It being well understood that the said right of fishery shall not be exercised by •the subjects of either of the two Powers, nearer than two marine leagues from the respective possessions of the other. ! . Article II. The line which separates the possessions of the two High Contracting Parties upon the continent and the Islands of America to the north-west, shall be drawn in the manner following: Commencing from the two points ofthe island called "Prince of Wales'Island," which form the southern extremity thereof, which points lie in the parallel of 54° 40', and between the 131st and 133rd degree of west longitude (meridian of Greenwich), the line of frontier between the British and Russian possessions shall ascend ndrtberly along the channel called PortlandChannehtill it strikes the coast of the Continent lying in the 56th degree of north latitude. From this point it shall be carried along that coast, in a direction parallel to its windings, and at or within the seaward base of the mountains by which it is bounded, as far as the 139th degree of longitude west ofthe said meridian. Thence the said meridian line of 139th degree of west longitude, in its extension as far as the Frozen Ocean, shall form the boundary of the British and Russian possessions on the said Continent of America to the north-west. Article III. It is, nevertheless, understood, with regard to the stipulations of .the preceding 1. That the said line of coast on the Continent of America, which forms the boundary of the Russian possessions, shall ethai Bien entendu, que la dite liberie de pecherie ne sera exercee par les snjets de l'une des deux Puissances qu'a la distance de 2 lieues maritimes des possessions res- pecti vea de l'autre. Arti CLE II. La ligne separat ive entre les posses- des deux Hai S <! ntrac- s sur le com inent et les 1 des de L'Ami riquedunord atra cee de lams les deux En couimencant its de 1'isle dite du Prince de Galles point l'extremite nusrieparaa e, h llelo squels ; entre le 131° et le 13! « de gre de ;ude ouest (me ridiendeG wich), lalig ne de la front Britanniques at busses, les Dosses- rd, par la pa sse dite : e Po rtland Chan nel, jusqu'a c e qu'elle oucl e a la e de la de' latitudeaiord. De ce point elle suivra cette cfite, parallelement k ses sinuosites, et sous ou dans la base vers la mer des montagnes qui la bordent, jusqu'au 139° degre de longitude ouest du dit meridien. Et de la, la susdite ligue meridionale'du 139e degre de longitude ouest, en sa prolongation jusqu'a laMerGlaciale,formera la limite des possessions Britanniques et Russes, sur le dit Continent de l'Ame- e leagues in breadth from the sea towards the interior, at whatever distance the aforesaid mountains may be. 64 2. That British subjects shall for ever freely navigate and trade alon g the said 1 ine of coast, and along the neighbouring islands. 3. That the navigation and commerce of those rivers of the continent which cross this line of coast shall be open to British subjects, as well to those inhabiting or visiting the interior of this continent, as to those coming from the Pacific Ocean, who shall touch at these latitudes. Article IV. The port of Sitka or Nove Archaugelsk Bhall be, and shall for ever remain, open to tbe commerce of the subjects of His Britannic Majesty. 1. Que la susdite lisi bre de cdte surle Continent del'Anier iquc rmantla limite des possessions Rus doit, en depuis 1 deB d la distance de I quelqu tes niont 2. Que les sujets Brit iques na rigue- ront et commencer HI p6tuite sur la dite lisi de c6te, celle des isles qui 1' t le com des fleuves du cout lisifere, serout librt sujets B hal quen- tant l'interieur de c pa es du c te de l'Ocean Pacifique. Article IV. Le port de Sitka ou Nove Archangelsk mcrce des sujets de Sa Majeste Britanni- 436 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. Article V. With regard to the other parts of the northwest coast of America, and of the islands adjacent thereto, belonging to either of the two High Contracting Parties, it is agreed that, for the space of years from the April, 1824, their respective vessels, and those of their subjects, shall reciprocally enjoy the liberty of visiting, without hindrance, the gulfs, havens, and creeks of the said coast, in places not already occupied, for the pur-. poses of fishery and of commerce with the natives of the country. It being understood: 1. That the subjects of either of the High Contracting Parties shall not laud at any spot where there may be an establishment of the other, without the permission ofthe Governor oro.therauthority of the place, unless they should be driven thither by stress of weather or other accidents. 2. That the said liberty, of commerce shall not include the trade in spirituous liquors, in fire-arms, swords, bayonets, &c, gunpowder, or other warlike stores. The High Contracting Parties reciprocally engaging not to permit the above- mentioned articles to be sold or transferred, in any matter whatever, to the natives of the country. Article VI. No establishment shall, in future, be formed by British subjects, either upou the coast or upon the borders ofthe continent comprised within the limits of the Russian possessions designated in Article II; and, in like manner, no such establishments shall be formed by Russian subjects beyond the said limits. 65 Article VII. Such British and Russian vessels navigating these seas, as may be compelled by stress of weather, or by any other accident, to take shelter in the respective ports, shall be at liberty to refit therein, to provide themselves with all necessary stores, and to put to sea again, without the payment of any duties excent nort and lighthouse dues not ( paid by national vessels. ever, the master of such ship should be obliged to dispose of some of his merchandize in order to defray his expenses, he shall conform himself to the Regulations and Tariffs of the place where he may have landed. Article VIII. Article V. Par rapport aux autres parties des cdtes du continent de l'Amerique du nord-ouest, et des isles qui l'avoisinent, appartenan- tes k l'une et a l'autre des deux Hantes Parties Contractantcs, il est convenu que pendant l'espace de dix ans k compter du Avril, 1824, leurs vaisseaux respec- reciproquement frequenter, sans entrave, les golphes, havres, et criqnes dos dites etablissement de l'une des Hantes Parties Contractantcs, les sujets de l'autre ne pourront y aborder, sans la permission du • Commandant ou autre prepose de cet endroit, k moins qu'ils n'y seront forces par tempetes ou quelque autre accident. 2. Que la dite liberie de commerce ne comprendra point celui des liqueurs spiri- blanches, delapoudrek canon, ou d'autres especes de muuitions de guerre. Tons lesquels articles les deux Puissances s'en- gagent reciproqnement dene pointlaisser vendre ni transferer, en manure quelcon- que, aux indigenes de ces pays. Article VI. Dorenavant il ne pourra etre forme par les sujets Britanniques aucun etablissement, ni sur les c6tes ni sur la lisiere du continent comprises dans les limites des possessions Russes designees par PArticle II; et de meme, il n'en pourra pas etre forme aucun par des sujets Russes hors des dites limites. Article VII. 1 Ru: seding those par des tempetes, ou par qu accident, k se refngier dans les ports res- pectifs, pourront s'y radouber et s'y pour- voir de toutes choses necessaires, et se remettre en mer librement, sans payer aucun droit hors ceux de port et des fanaux, qui n'excederont pas ce que pay- A moins que tel na ARTICLE VIII. present Convention, the officers employed accord, les officiers et employes de part The present Convention shall 1 e rati- La present fied, and the ratifications shall be ex- etlesratifica ace of dans months, or sooner, if possible plnt6t si fair Pleni- En foi de poteutiaries have signed the san e, and respectifs l'oi have affixed thereto the seals of thei rarms. cashet de leu Done at the day of in the year of Our Lord 1824. 1824. No. 44. Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot. No. 29.]. Foreign Office, July 24,1824. Sir: The "Projet" of a Convention which is inclosed in my No. 26 having been communicated by me to Count Lieven, with a request that his Excellency would note any points in it upon which he conceived aiiy difficulty likely to arise, or any explanation to be necessary, I have received from his Excellency the Memorandum a copy of which is herewith inclosed. Your Excellency will observe that there are but two points which have struck Count Lieven as susceptible of any question. The first, the assumption of the base ofthe mountains, instead of the summit as the line of boundary; the second, the extension of the right of the navigation of the Pacific to the sea beyond Behring's Straits. As to the first, no great inconvenience can arise from your Excellency (if pressed for that alteration) consenting to substitute the summit of the mountains instead of the seaward base, provided always that 66 the stipulation as to the extreme distance from the coast to which the lisiere is in any case to run, be adopted (which distance I have to repeat to your Excellency should be made as short as possible), and provided a stipulation be added that no forts shall be established or fortifications erected by either party on the summit or in the passes of the mountains. As to the second point, it is perhaps, as Count Lieven remarks, new. But it is to be remarked, in return, that the circumstances under which this additional security is required will be new also. By the territorial demarcation agreed to in this " Projet," Bussia will become possessed, in acknowledged sovereignty of both sides, of Behring's Straits. The Power which could think of making the Pacific a mare clausum may not unnaturally be supposed capable of a disposition to apply the same character to a strait comprehended between two shores of which it becomes the undisputed owner; but the shutting up of Behring's Straits, or the power to shut them up hereafter, would be a thing not to be tolerated by England. 438 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. Nor could we submit to be excluded, either positively or constructively, from a sea in which the skill and science of our seamen has been and is still employed in enterprizes interesting not to this country alone, but to the whole civilized world. The protection given by the Convention to the American coasts of each Power may (if it is thought necessary) be extended in terms to the coasts of the Bussian Asiatic territory; but in some way or other, if not in the form now prescribed, the free navigation of Behring's Straits and of the seas beyond them must be secured to us. These being the only questions suggested by Count Lieven, I trust I may anticipate with confidence the conclusion and signature of the Convention, nearly in conformity to the " Projet," and with little trouble to your Excellency. The long delay of the ship .makes it peculiarly satisfactory to me to have reduced your Excellency's task in this matter within so small a compass. I am, &c. (Signed) George Canning. Memorandum from Count Lieven ontlie North-West Coast Convention. Le Projet de Convention r6dige~ par le Cabinet Anglais fait courir la limite des possessions Busses et Anglaises sur la cdte nord-ouest d'Amerique au sud du Mont Elie; le long de la base des montagnes qui suivent les sinuosites de cette cote. II est a observer qu'en these g6nerale, lorsqu'une chaine de montagnes sert a. fixer une limite quelconque, c'est toujours la cime de ces montagnes qui forme la ligne de demarcation. Dans le cas dont il s'agit ici le mot de base par le sens in<16fini qu'il pr^sente, et le plus ou moins d'extension qu'on peut lui donner, neparait guere propre a mettre la delimitation a l'abri de toutes contestations ultorieures, car il ne serait point impossible, vfi le peu de certitude des notions geographiques que l'on possede encore sur ces parages, que les montagnes designees pour limite s'etendissent par une pente insensible jusqu'aux bords m6me.de la c6te. Quant a la clause du meme | Projet," ayant pour but d'assurer aux vaisseaux -Anglais l'entr6e libre daiis la Mer Glaciate par le Detroit de Behring, il semble en premier lieu que cete condition, entierement nouvelle, est par sa nature etrangere a l'objet sp6cial de la negotiation; et les termes g6n6raux dans lesquels elle est concue feront peut-6tre h6siter le Gouvernement Imperial a l'admettre sans en modifier Penonc6 actuel pour ne point exposer les cotes de ses possessions Asiatiques dans la Mer Glaciale aux inconvenieus qui pourraient naitre de la visite des batimens etrangers. No. 46. Mr. Addington to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received September 8.) No- 39-] Washington, August 2,1824. Sir: A convention concluded between this Government and that of Eussia for the settlement of the respective claims of the two nations to the intercourse with the north-western coast of America reached the Department of State a few days since. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 439 67 The main points determined by this instrument are, as far as I can collect from the American Secretary of 'State, (1) the enjoyment of a free and unrestricted intercourse by each nation with all the settlements of the other on the north-west coast of America- and (2) a stipulation that no new Settlements shall be formed by Eussia, south, or by the United States, north, of latitude 54° 40'. The question of the mare clausum, the sovereignty over which was asserted by the Emperor of Bussia in his celebrated Ukase of 1821, but virtually, if not expressly, renounced by a subsequent declaration of that Sovereign, has, Mr. Adams assures me, not been touched upon in the above-mentioned Treaty. Mr. Adams seemed to consider any formal stipulation recording that renunciation as unnecessary and supererogatory. I have, &c. (Signed) H. U. Addington. No. 47. Sir G. Bagot to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received September 9.) No. 41.] St. Petebsburgh, August 12,1824. Sir: You will certainly learn with considerable surprise that, so far from having it iu my power, as I had confidently hoped that I should have, to bring with me, on my return to England, a Treaty signed and ratified by the Bussian Government, upon the subject of the northwest coasts of America, I am already enabled to acquaint you that, after only two meetings with the Bussian Plenipotentiaries, I have ascertained that it is totally impossible to conclude with them any arrangement upon the subject which is at all reconcileable with the I Projet" transmitted to me in your despatch No. 26 of the 12th of last month, even if I were to take upon myself to exercise, upon several points of it, a discretion which is not given to me by your instructions. To satisfy His Majesty's Government upon this subject, it seems only necessary that I should transmit to you the inclosed copy of a "Contre-Projet" offered to me by the Imperial Plenipotentiaries on the day after our .first meeting, viz., on Saturday last, the 21st instant. The differences between this "Contre-Projet" and the "Projet" which I had given in are, in many respects, unimportant, consisting either in unnecessary changes in the expressions, or in the order of the Articles, or in other minor points, none of which, as I have reason to think, would have been tenaciously adhered to, and of which some might have been safely admitted. But there are three points upon which the differences appear to be almost, if not altogether, irreconcileable. These points are: 1. As to the opening for ever to the commerce of British subjects, Of the port of Novo-Arch angelsk. 2. As to the liberty to be granted to British subjects to navigate and trade for ever along the coast of the lisiere which it is proposed to cede to Eussia, from the Portland Channel to the 60th degree of north latitude, and the islands adjacent. 3. As to the liberty to be given reciprocally to each Power to visit, for a term of years, the other parts of the north-west coasts of America. As to the first of these points, the Bussian Plenipotentiaries declare that, however disposed they might, and probably should be, to renew 440 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. this liberty to His Majesty's subjects at the expiration of ten years, they can, under no circumstances, consent to divest themselves for ever of a discretionary power in this respect, by granting such a privilege in perpetuity. Upon this point I reminded the Plenipotentiaries that the freedom of the port of Novo-Archangelsk was originally offered to Great Britain by themselves, unsolicited and unsuggested by me, in the first "Contre- Projet" which they gave to me in our former conferences; that the same offer had been repeated by Count Nesselrode in his despatch to Count Lieven of the 5th April last, and that upon neither occasion had it been accompanied by any restriction as to any period of time. It is admitted to me that no period of time was specified upon those occasions, but that it was never intended to declare that the freedom should be perpetual, and that they could never be induced to grant it upon such terms. As to the second point: The Eussian Plenipotentiaries declare that they are ready to grant to His Majesty's subjects for ten years, but for no longer period, the liberty to navigate and trade along the 68 coast of the UsUre proposed to be ceded to Eussia, from the Portland Channel to the 60th degree of north latitude, and the islands adjacent; and that they are ready to grant for ever the right of ingress and egress into and from whatever rivers may flow from the American continent and fall into the Pacific Ocean within the above-described lisiere but that they can, under no circumstances, and by no supposed correspondent advantages, be induced to grant to any Power the privilege to navigate and trade in perpetuity within a country the full sovereignty of which was to belong to Eussia; that such perpetual concession was repugnant to all national feeling, and was inconsistent with the very idea of sovereignty. As regards the third point, the Bussian Plenipotentiaries declared that the coasts of North America extending from the 60th degree of north latitude to Behring's Straits, the liberty to visit which, under certain conditions, is stipulated in the "Projet" by Great Britain, in return for a similar liberty to be given, under the same conditions, to Bussian subjects to visit the North American coasts belonging to His Majesty, are, and have always been, the absolute and undisputed territory of His Imperial Majesty, and that it is not the intention of His Imperial Majesty to grant to any Power whatever for any period of time the liberty which is required. These are the three principal points upon which I was yesterday distinctly given to understand that the Bussian Government would consider it their duty to insist, and, consequently, that, unless my instructions should enable me to modify the" Projet" so far as regarded them, the negotiations must be considered as at an end. It is, I believe, scarcely necessary that, after having stated this, I should trouble you with any further observations upon the subject. The other differences which exist between the "Projet" and the " Contre-Projet," though numerous, are, as I have said before, of minor importance, and such as would, I think, have been easily adjusted. What they are will be best shown by the "Contre-Projet" inclosed. I hope that His Majesty's Government will give me credit for not having too hastily supposed that the objections urged by the- Eussian Plenipotentiaries were insurmountable. I am, I think, too well acquainted with, and have too long negotiated upon, this subject to have deceived myself in this respect, and I am fully persuaded, from what has passed between Count Nesselrode, M. Poletica, and myself APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 441 since the arrival of your instructions, that-the determination of the Russian Government is now taken rather to leave the question unsettled between the two Governments for any indefinite time, than to recede from their pretensions so far as they regard the three points which I have particularly specified. In closing yesterday the Conference, which assured me that all further chance of negotiation was, for the present at least, terminated, I thought it my duty to remiud the Eussian Plenipotentiaries that the maritime jurisdiction assumed by Eussia in the Pacific, which he had mixing it with a general adjustment of other points, remained" by the breaking off of our negotiations, still unretracted; and, that my Government would probably be of opinion that, upon that part of the question some arrangement must yet be entered into. It may be proper to add that, in reference to the 6th Article of the "Contre-Projet," I gave the Russian Plenipotentiaries distinctly to understand that neither His Majesty's Government nor those of the other Maritime Powers of the world would, as I thought, be likely to accept the free navigation of Behring's Straits as a concession on the part of Russia. I have, &c. (Signed) Charles Bagot. Counter-Draft of the Russian Plen Sa Majeste l'Emperc de la Grande Brotagni intelligence qui les ur c6te nord-ouest de l'Amerique, ai 69 des Plenipotentiaires. poui lesquels, apres s'etre comm A partir des deux de Galles, laquclle a lele du 54° 40> de lat de Greenwich) la lij de longitude ouest (meme meridien) et d« fives sur le Continent Americain sera fo tude dans sa prolongation jusqu'a la Mer 1. Que dans les possessions des d Articles precedens et nommement r 442 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. les golplies, havres, criqnes, dans les parties des iles et des cOtes, qui ne seraient point occupies par des Etablissemens soit Russes, soit Britanniques, et d'y faire la peche et le commerce avec les naturels du pays. 2. Que partout ou il y aura un Etablissement de l'une des Hautes'Puissances Con- tractantes, les sujets de l'autre ne pourront y aborder sans la permission dn Commandant ou pripose du lieu, sanf les cas d'accidens ou de tempete. 3. Que la liberie de commerce ci-dessns mentionnee ne comprendra ni les liqueurs spiritueuses, ni les armes k feu et armes blanches, ni la poudre a canon et autres munitions de guerre: tous articles que les Hautes Puissances Contractantes s'enga- gont reciproqnoment k ne pas laisser vendre par leurs sujets respectifs aux naturels de la cote et des lies nord-ouest de l'Amerique. 4. Que sur la lisifere de la dite cfite indiquee en 1'Article II de la presente Convention comme appartenante k la Russie les sujets de Sa Majeste Britannique jouiront k perpetuite de la Jibre navigation des fleuves, soit qu'ils habitent l'interienr du continent, soit qu'ils veulent y arriver de l'Ocean Pacifique au moyen de ces mSmes fleuves. 5. Que le port de Sitka on Novo-Archangelsk s ->,e etranger, et qu'a l'expiration de ce term i.» »«r.^o^„„nes de ia Russie. Article IV. A l'avenir il ne pourra etre forme aucun Etablissement par les sujets de Sa Majeste Britannique dans les limites des possessions Russes designees aux Articles I et II et de m6me il n'en pourra etre forme aucun par les sujets de Sa Majeste l'Empereur de Toutes les-Russies hors des dites limites. Article V. Les Hautes Puissances Contractantes stipulent en outre que leurs sujets respectifs navigueront librement, sur toute l'etendue de l'Ocean Pacifique, tant au nord qu'au sud, sans entrave quelconque, et qu'ils jouiront du droit de peche en haute 70 mer, mais que ce droit ne pourra jamais etre exerci qu'a la distance de 2 lieues marines des cdtes ou possessions, soit Russes, soit Britanniques. Article VI. Sa Majeste l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, vonlant mfimedonnerunepreuvepar- tieuliere de ses egards pour les interets des sujets de Sa Maieste Britannique et rendre plus utile le succfes des entreprises, qui auraient ponr resultat de decouvrir un passage au nord du Continent Americain, consent a ce que la liberie de navigation mentionnee en l'Article precedent s'etende sous les memes conditions, au Detroit de Behring et a la mer situee au nord de ce detroit. Article VII. Les vaisseanx Russes et Britanniques navignant sur l'Ocean Pacifique et la mer ci-dessns indiquee, qui seroient .forces par les tempetes on par quelque avarie, de se refugier dans les ports respectifs des Hautes Parties Contractantes, pourront s'y radouber, s'y pourvoir de tous les objetsqui leur serontnecessaires et se remettre en mer librement, sans payer d'autres droits que ceux de port et do fanaux, lesquels seront fixes pour eux du meme montant que pour les navires nationaux. En pareilles occasions les patrons des batimens, soit Russes, soit Britanniques, seront tenus de se conformeraux lois, Ordounances, et Tarifs en vigueur dans le port, ouilsauront aborde. Article VIII. Dans tousles cas de plainte sur Finn-action des Articles dn present accord, les officiers et ionctionnaires publics s'abstiendront de part et d'autre de toute violence ou voye de fait, et rendront un compte exact de l'affaire et de ses circonstauces a leurs Cours respectives, lesquelles termineront le differend k l'amiable, et selon les principes d'une mutuelle justice. Article IX. La presente Convention sera ratifiee et les ratifications en seront echane-ees dans l'espace de mois, ou plutdt si faire se pent. cachetfdelIeuqll0i ^ P1<5niPotentia1res respectifs l'ont signee, et y ont appose le Fait k St.- Petersbourg, le , 1824. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 443 No. 48. Mr. G. Canning to Count Lieven. Foreign Office, September 12,1824. M. le Comte : It is with great regret, and, I confess, with some surprise, that 1 have learnt from Sir Charles Bagot that your Court have declined to conclude the Treaty, the project of which was sent out by the "Herald." This refusal is the more unexpected, as the chief alterations made in the original "Projet" were introduced here (as your Excellency can bear witness) at the suggestion of the Eussian Plenipotentiaries themselves. I have not yet had time to give sufficient consideration to the " Contre- Projet" now presented on the part of those Plenipotentiaries, to be enabled to say positively whether it can be accepted in all its parts. But I would fain hope that the differences between us.may be not insurmountable. And I do most earnestly entreat your Excellency to submit to your Court, by your first messenger, the expediency of sending to your Excellency instructions and full powers to conclude and sign the Treaty here. This will save three months. It will enable us to conclude before the meeting of Parliament. And I do assure your Excellency that, after the expectations which have been so often held out to Parliament of a speedy and satisfactory termination of the discussions respecting the Ukase of 1821,1 cannot look forward without uneasiness to the disappointment of those expectations. 71 I know that the Ukase is practically suspended; but we have no document to show that it is so; and we have, as your Excellency knows, purposely abstained from requiring any, in the hope that the subject of the Ukase would be merged in the larger arrangements respecting the north-west coast of America. I write to Mr. Ward in the sense of this letter. And I most anxiously wish that no personal delicacy may prevent your Excellency from repeating and enforcing my suggestion. I have, &c. (Signed) George Canning. Mr. G. Canning to Mr. Ward. jj-0> 3#i Foreign Office, September 13,1824. Sir : Sir Charles Bagot's despatches of the 26th August were received here on the 9th instant, and have been laid before the King. The only point on which I have to instruct you, in consequence of their arrival, is that of the refusal of the Court of St. Petersburgh to conclude and sign the Treaty respecting the north-west coastof America. Nothing could be less expected than this refusal, and the grounds of it are the more unsatisfactory, as part at least of the stipulations to which objection is taken, was founded on suggestions of the Eussian Plenipotentiaries themselves. 444 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. I do not, however, intend that you should enter into argument upon this subject with Count Nesselrode, or the Minister to whom thePorte- feuille may be intrusted iu his absence. What you are to represent, and earnestly to urge with the Russian Government, is that they should send to Count Lieven instructions and full powers to conclude and sign the Treaty here. By these means it will still be possible to brine it to a conclusion before the meeting'of Parliament. And you will assure the Russian Minister that this consideration weighs with us most particularly, because the hope and promise of some amicable and satisfactory arrangement touching the Ukase of 1821, has been so often confidently held out to Parliament, that we look forward with great anxiety to the discussions which might arise upon a fresh disappointment of those expectations. I am, &c. (Signed) , George Canning. No. 50. Sir C. Bagot to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received October 23.) [Extract.] No. 46.] Washington, August 31,1824. The Count de Medem, a gentleman in the service of the Emperor of Russia, reached this place some days since as bearer to the Russian Envoy of the Convention relative to the trade in the North Pacific and coast* of-America, lately concluded at St. Petersburgh between the Court of Eussia and the United States. The inclosed extract from the " National Intelligencer," which may be considered official, presents a synopsis of that Treaty Article by Article. Extract from the "National Intelligencer" of August 3,1824. Convention with Russia.—Mr. Lucius Bull, who arrived in this city a few days ago, was the bearer of despatches from our Minister at St. Petersburgh. By these it appears that a Convention was concluded on the 5th (17th) April last between Mr. Middleton, on the part of the United States, and Count Nesselrode and M. Poletica on the part of Russia. We understand that the Convention consists of six Articles, in which all the points in dispute between the two Governments are adjusted, iu a manner the most honourable and advantageous to this country. 72 The 1st Article authorizes the free navigation of the Pacific Ocean by both Parties, and recognizes the right of fishing and of landing on all points of the ■west coast not already occupied, in order to trade with the aborigines. Hud Article provides that the citizens or subjects of neither country shall land at points occupied by either, without the permission of the Governor or Commandant. IHrd Article fixes the boundary-line at 54°, north of which the United States are not to form Establishments, and south of which Russia caunot advance. IVth Article allows free entrance to both Parties for ten years into all the gulphs, harbours, &c, of each for the purposes of fishing and trading with the natives. Vth Article interdicts a trade in fire-arms and liquors, and provides that violations of this Article shall be punished, not by seizure of the vessel, but by penalties to be prescribed by each Government on its own citizens or subjects. VI.—This Article prescribes that the ratification shall be changed within ten months from tbe date of the Treaty. This Convention may be regardod as a second signal effect of the manly and independent Message of our President to the late Congress. If the Emperor Alexander had left it to our own Government to fix the terms of the Treaty, it could not more completely have secured all our interests in the Pacific. We congratulate the country upon this new evidence of the excellence of the system which has been pursued by our present Administration. My Dear Count Lieven Believe me, &c ' (Signed) P. S.—May I trouble your Excellency >Ianta as.(though only an extract from a lis paper to Mr. G. 0. Mr. G. Canning to Mr. S. Canning. . December 8,1824. His Majesty ha rich has already ierusal, and I in< ich Sir Charles and presented to Sir Charles I Charles Bagot's departm You will obsei >Article which! 446 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. To that transposition we cannot agree, for the very reason which Count Nesselrode alleges in favour of it, viz., that the " economie or arrangement of the Treaty ought to have reference to the history of the negotiation. The whole negotiation grows out of the Ukase of 1821. So entirely and absolutely true is this proposition that the settlement of the limits of the respective possessions of Great Britain and Eussia on the north-west coast of- America was proposed by us only as a mode of facilitating the adjustment of the difference arising from the Ukase by enabling the Court of Eussia, under cover of the more comprehensive arrangement, to withdraw, with less appearance of concession, the offensive pretensions of that Edict. It is comparatively indifferent to us whether we hasten or postpone all questions respecting the limits of territorial possession on the Continent Of America, but the pretensions of the Eussiau Ukase of 1821 to exclusive dominion over the Pacific could not continue longer unrepealed without compelling us to take some measure of public and effectual remonstrance against it. You will therefore take care, in the first instance, to repress any attempt to give this change to the character of the negotiation, and will declare without reserve that the point to which alone the solicitude of the British Government and the jealousy of the British nation attach any great importance is the doing away (in a manner as little disagreeable to Eussia as possible) of the effect of the Ukase of 1821. That this Ukase is not acted upon, and that instructions have been long ago sent by the Russian Government to their cruizers in the Pacific to suspend the execution of its provisions, is true; but a private disavowal of a published- claim is no security against the revival of that claim. The suspensiou of the execution of a principle may be perfectly compatible with the continued maintenance of the principle itself, and when we have seen in the course of this negotiation that the Russian claim to the possession of the coast of America down to latitude 59 rests in fact on no other ground than the presumed acquiescence of the nations of Europe in the provisions of an Ukase published by the Emperor Paul in the year 1800, against which it is affirmed that no public remonstrance was made, it becomes us to be exceedingly careful that we do not, by a similar neglect, on the present occasion allow a similar presumption to be raised as to an acquiescence in the Ukase of 1821. The right of the subjects of His Majesty to navigate freely in the Pacifick cannot be held as matter of indulgence from any Power. Having once been publickly questioned, it must be publickly acknowledged. We do not desire that any distinct reference should be made to the Ukase of 1821; but we do feel it necessary that the statement of our right should be clear and positive, and that it should stand forth in the C(.:ivention in the place which properly belongs to it, as a plain and substantive stipulation, and not be brought in as an incidental consequence of other arrangements to which we attach comparatively little importance. This stipulation stands in the front of the Convention concluded between Eussia and the United States of America; and we see no reason why upon similar claims we should obtain exactly the like satisfaction. For reasons ofthe same nature we cannot consent that the liberty of navigation through Behring's Straits should be stated in the Treaty as a boon from Russia. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 447 The tendency of such a statement would be to give countenance to those claims of exclusive jurisdiction against which we, on our own behalf, and on that of the whole civilized world, protest. No specification of this sort is found in the Convention with the United States of America, and yet it cannot be doubted that the Americans consider themselves as secured in the right of navigating Behring's Straits and the sea beyond them. 74 It cannot be expected that England should receive as a boon that which the United States hold as a right so unquestionable as not to be worth recording. Perhaps the simplest course after all will be to substitute, for all that part of the "projet" and "counter-projet" which relates to maritime rights and to navigation, the first two Articles of the Convention already concluded by the Court of St. Petersburgh with the United States of America, in the order in which they stand in that Convention. Russia cannot mean to give to the United States of America what she withholds from us; nor to withhold from us anything that she has consented to give to the United States. The uniformity of stipulations in pari materia gives clearness and force to both arrangements, and will establish that footing of equality between the several Contracting Parties which it is most desirable should exist between three Powers whose interests come so nearly in contact with each other in a part ofthe globe in which no other Power is concerned. . This therefore is what I am to instruct you to propose at once to the Russian Minister as cutting short an otherwise inconvenient discussion. This expedient will dispose of Article I of the " projet" and of Article V and VI of the " contre-projet." The next Articles relate to the territorial demarcation, and upon them I have only to make the following observations: The Russian Plenipotentiaries propose to withdraw entirely the limit of the lisidre on the coast which they were themselves the first to propose, viz., the summit of the mountains which run parallel to the coast, and which appear, according to the Map, to follow all its sinuosities, and to substitute generally that which we only suggested as a corrective of their first proposition. We cannot agree to this change. It is quite obvious that the boundary of mountains, where they exist, is the most natural and effectual boundary. The inconvenience against which we wished to guard was that which you know and can thoroughly explain to the Russian Plenipotentiaries to have existed on the other side of the American Continent, when mountains laid down in a Map as in a certain given position, and assumed in faith of the accuracy of that Map as a boundary between the possessions of England and the United States turned out to be quite differently situated, adiscovery which has given rise to the most perplexing discussions. Should the Maps- be no more accurate as to the western than as to the eastern mountains, we might be assigning to Bussia immense tracts of inland territory, where we only intended to give and they only intended to ask, a strip of sea coast. To avoid the chance of this inconvenience we proposed to qualify the general proposition, " that the mountains should be the boundary, with the condition if those mountains should not be found to extend beyond 10 leagues fromthe coast." The Bussian Plenipotentiaries now propose to take the distance invariably as the rule. But we cannot consent to this change. The mountains, as I have said, are a more eligible boundary than any imaginary line of demarcation, and this being their own 448 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. original proposition the Eussian Plenipotentiaries cannot reasonably refuse to adhere to it. Where the mountains are the boundary, we are content to take the summit instead of the "seaward base" as the line of demarcation. I omitted in my last instructions to Sir Charles Bagot, though I had signified to Count Lieven, that I intended to require a small extension of the line of demarcation from the point where the lisiere on the coast terminates in latitude 59 to the northward. The extension required is from 139° to 141° west longitude, the latter being the parallel which falls more directly on Mount Elias. With regard to the port of Sitka, or New-Archangel, the offer came originally from Eussia, but we are not disposed to object to the restriction which she now applies to it. We are content that the port shall be open to us for ten years, provided only that if any other nation obtains a more extended term, the like term shall be extended to us also. We are content also to assign the period of ten years for the reciprocal liberty of access and commerce with each other's territories, which stipulation maybe best stated precisely in the terms of Article 4 of the American Convention. These, 1 think, are the only points in which alterations are required by Eussia. And we have no other to propose. A "projet" such as it will stand according to the observations 75 of this despatch is inclosed, which you will understand as furnished to you as a guide for the drawing up of the Convention, but not as prescribing the precise form of words, nor fettering your discretion as to any alterations, not varying from the substance of these instructions. It will of course strike the Eussian Plenipotentiaries that bytheadop- tion of the American Article respecting navigation; &c, the provision for an exclusive fishery of 2 leagues from the coasts of our respective possessions falls to the ground. I But the omission is in truth immaterial. The law of nations assigns the exclusive sovereignty of 1 league to each Power on its own coasts, without any specific stipulation, and though Sir Charles Bagot was authorized to sign the Convention with the specific stipulation of 2 leagues, in ignorance of what had been decided in the American Convention, at the time, yet, after that Convention has been some months before the world, and after the opportunity of consideration has been forced upon us by the act of Bussia herself, we cannot now consent, in negotiating de novo, to a stipulation hich, ^ adv: lile it is abs titae .ctbetw nt to e United Sta1 ictical £ ad, would id us to ve, at the 2d States i of the origin and Count Nesselrode himself has frankly admitted that it wa that we should expect, and reasonable'that we should recei^ hands of Bussia, equal measure, in all respects, with the Unit* of America. It remains only in recapitulation, to remind yo principles of this whole negotiation. It is not on our part, essentially a negotiation about limits. It is a demand of the repeal of an offensive and unjustifiable arroga- tion of exclusive jurisdiction over an ocean of unmeasured extent- but a demand qualified and mitigated in its manner, in order that its justice may be acknowledged and satisfied without soreness or humiliation on the part of Russia. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 449 We negotiate about territory to cover the remonstrance upon principle. But any attempt to take undue advantage of this voluntary facility, we must oppose. If the present " Projet" is agreeable to Russia, we are ready to conclude and sign the Treaty. If the territorial arrangements are not satisfactory, we are ready to postpone them; and to conclude and sign the essential part, that which relates to navigation alone, adding an Article, stipulating to negotiate about territorial limits hereafter. But we are not prepared to defer any longer the settlement of that essential part of the question, and if Russia will neither sign the whole Convention nor that essential part of it, she must not take it amiss that we resort to some mode of iecording in the face of the world our protest against the pretensions of the Ukase of 1821, and of effectually securing our own interests against the possibility of its future operation. I am, &c. (Signed) Geobge Canning. Mr. Addington to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received Marcli 4.) No. 9.] Washington, January 29,1825. Sir : I have the honor to transmit to you herewith-an official copy of the Convention concluded on the 5th (17th) April last, between the United States and Russia, and ratified on the 12th instant by the President, for defining the extent of the rights of either nation to the navigation of the Northern Pacific, and their traffic and intercourse with the north western coast of America. I have, &c. (Signed) H. U. Addington. 13th Congress, 2nd Session. Message from the President of the United States, transmitting a Copy of the Convention between the United States and the Emperor of Russia. Concluded at St. Petersburgh on the 5th of April last. January 21, 1825.—Read: ordered that it lie upon the table. MESSAGE. To the House of Representatives ofthe United States: I communicate herewith, to both Houses of Congress, copies of the Convention between the United States and His Majesty the Emperor of All the Bussias, concluded at St. Petersburgh on the 5th (17th) of April last, which has been duly ratified on both sides, and the ratifications of which were exchanged on the 11th instant. (Signed) James Monroe. Washington, January 18,1825. S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 29 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas a Convention between the United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, was concluded and signed at St. Petersburgh, on the 5th (17th) day of April, in the, year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four; Avhich Convention, being in the French language, is, word for word, as follows, a translation of the same being hereto annexed: [Original.] [Translation.] Le President des Etats-Uuis d'Ameri- que, et Sa Majeste" l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, voulant cimenter les liens d'amitie" qui les unissent, et assurer entre eux le maintien invariable d'un parfait accord, moyennant la presente Convention, ont uomm6 pour leurs Plenipoten- . tiaires a cet effet, savoir: Le President des Etats-Unis d'Amerique, le Sieur Henry Middleton, citoyen des dits Etats, et leur Envoys Extraordinaire et Ministre Plenipotentiaire pres Sa Majesty Imperiale; et Sa Majeste l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, ses amis et foaiix les Sieurs Charles Robert, Comte de Nesselrode, Conseiller Prive- actuel, Membre du Conseil d'Etat, Secretaire d'Etat dirigeant le Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres, Chambellan actuel, Chevalier del'Ordrede St. Alexandre Nevsky, Grand-Croix de l'Ordre de St. Wladimir de la premiere classe, Chevalier de celui de l'Aigle Blanc de Eologne, Grand-Croix de l'Ordre de St. Etienne d'Hongrie, Chevalier des Ordres du St. Esprit et de St. Michel et Grand-Croix de celui de'la Legion d'Honneur de 77 France, Chevalier Grand-Croix des Ordres de l'Aigle Noir et de l'Aigle Rouge de Prusse", de l'Anonciade de Sar- . daigne, de Charles III d'Espagne, de St. Ferdinand et du Merite de Naples, de l'Elepkant de Danemarc, de l'Etoile Polaire de Suede, de la Couronne de Wurteinberg, des Guelphes de Hanovre, du Lion Beige, de la Fidelity de Bade, et de St. Constantin de Parme; et Pierre de Poletica, Conseiller d'Etat actuel, Chevalier de l'Ordre de Ste. Anne de la premiere classe, et Grand-Croix de l'Ordre de St. Wladimir de la seconde; lesquels, apres avoir 6cha,ng6 leurs pleins pouvoirs, trouves en bonne et due forme, ont arr6t6 et sign6 les stipulations suivantes: Article I. II est convenu que dans aucune partie du GrandOcean, appele" communeinent Ocean Pacifique ou Mer du Sud, les citoyens ou . sujets respectifs des Hautes Puissances Contractantes ne seront ni trouble's, ni genes, soit dans la navigation, soit dans the Most Holy and Indivisible • The President of the United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, wisbing to cement the bonds of amity which unite them, and to of the present Conventio i of 1 The Pr. , He* t Mid id Stat Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary near his Imperial Majesty; and His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, his beloved and faithful Charles Robert, Count of Nesselrode, actual Privy Counsellor, Member of the Council of State, . Secretary of State directing the Administration of Foreign Affairs, actual Chamberlain, Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, Grand Cross of tbe Order' of St. Wladimir of the first class, Knight of that of the White Eagle of Poland, Grand Cross of the order of St. Stepheu of Hungary, Knight of the Orders ofthe Holy Ghost and of St. Michael, and Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour of France, Knight Grand Cross of the Orders ofthe Black and of the Red Eagle of Prussia, of the Annunciation of Sardinia, of Charles III of Spain, of St. Ferdinand and of Merit of Naples, of the Elephant of Denmark, of the Polar Star of Sweden, of the Crown of Wurtemberg,- of the Guelphs of Hanover, of the Belgic Lion, of Fidelity of Baden, and of St. Constantino of Parma; and Pierre de Poletica, actual Counsellor of State, Knight of the Order of St. Anne of the first class, and Grand Cross of the Order of St. Wladimir of the second; who, after having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form, having agreed upon and signed the following stipulations: Arti ;le I. It is agreed that in any part of the Great Ocean, commonly called the Pacific Ocean, or South Sea, the respective citizens or subjects of the High Contracting Powers shall be neither disturbed nor restrained, either in navigation or in fish- APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 451 l'exploitation de la peche, soit dans 1 faculte" d'aborder aux cotes sur des poinl qui ne seroient pas deja occupe"s, afin d' faire le commerce avec les indigenes, sav toutefois les restrictions et conditio! deterniiue'es par les Articles qui suiven Aim . etde e II. ing, or in the power of resorting to the coasts, upon points which may notalready have been occupied, for the purpose of trading with the natives, saving always the restrictions and conditions determined by the following Articles: Article IL With the view of preventing the rights des Hautes Puissai deviennent le prdtexte d'un commerc illicite, il est convenu que les citoyen, des Etats-Unis n'aborderont k aucui point oil il se trouve un Etablrssemen Russe, sans la permission du Goiivernen ou Commandant; et que reci proquemen 1 mjets Russes ne pourront aborder san r la cote nord-ouest. ■permiss Etats-l ART! s III. II est il ne pc des Etr r les lis, ou sous l'autorite" des dits Etats, aucun Etablissement sur la c6te nord-ouest d'Amerique, ni dans aucune des ties adjacentes aunord du 54° 40' de latitude septentrionale; et que de meme il n'en pourra etre forml aucun par des sujets Russes, ou sons l'autorite dela Russie, au sud de la meme paralelle. 78 Arti 5 IV. edS ■fthi ) there is a Russian Establishment, without the permission of the Governor or Commander; aud that, reciprocally, the subjects of Russia shall not resort, without permission, to any Establishment of the United States upon the north-west Article III. ureed that hereafter here shall not be formed by the citizens f the United States, or under the author- II est neanmoins entendu que pendant un terme de dix annees a compter de la signature de la presente Convention, les vaisseaux des deux Puissances, ou qui appartiendroient a leurs citoyens ou sujets respectifs, pourront reciproque- mentfr6queiiter, sans entravequelconque, les mers interieures, les golfes, havres, et criques sur Jacdte mentionnee dansl'Arti- cle precedent, afin d'y faire la peche et le Article V. Sont toutefois excepte"es de ce meme commerce accorde par 1'Article precedent, toutes les liqueurs spiritueuses, les armes a feu, armes blanches, poudre, et munitions de guerre de toute espece, que les deux Puissances s'engagent r6ciproque- ment a ne pas vendre, ni laisser vendre aux indigenes par leurs citoyens et sujets respectifs, ni par. aucun individu qui se trouveroit sous leur autorite". II est ega- lenient stipule que cette restriction ne pourra jamais servir de pretexte, ni etre aUeguee dans aucun cas, pour autoriser soit la visite ou la detention des vaisseaux, soit la saisie de la marchandise, soit enfin des mesures quelconques de contrainte envers les armateurs ou les equipages qui feroieut ce commerce; les Hautes Puissances Contractantes s'etant It Article IV. fertheless, understood 1 >rni of t irom tne signature or the present Convention, the ships of both Powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects respectively, may reciprocally frequent, without any hindrance whatever, the interior seas, gulfs, harbours, aud creeks upon tbe coast mentioned in the preceding Article, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives of the country. Article V. All spirituous liquors, fire-arms, other arms, powder, and munitions of war of every kind are always excepted from this same commerce permitted by the preceding Article; and the two Powers engage reciprocally neither to sell, or suffer them to be sold, to the natives, by their respective citizens and subjects, nor by any person who may be under their authority. It is likewise stipulated that this restriction shall never afford a pretext, nor be advanced, in any ease, to authorize either search or detention of the vessels, seizure of the merchandize, or, in fine, any measures of constraint whatever, towards the merchants or the crews who may carry on this commerce, the High Contracting Powers reciprocaUy reserving to themselves to determine upon the penalties to 452 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. rles be j it reserve de stat •ir, et d'infliger lesamendes jas de contravention k cet Article, by their Article, par leurs citoyens ou sujets res- subjects, pectifs. o inflict the punish- contraventionofthis a VI. When tins les cachets de leurs armes. Fait k St. Petersbourg le 5 (17) Avri de l'an de- grace mil huit cent vingt quatre. [l.s.] Henry Middleton. [l.s.] Le Comte C. de Nicsselrode. :eto i i-oni the date below, or >of the respective Pleni- 9 signed this Convention, ixed the seals of their Done at St. Petersburg the 5th (17th) <Vpril of the year of Grace one thousand jight hundred and twenty-four. (l.s.] Henry Middleton. [l.s.] Le Comte C.de Nesselrode. ' [l.s.] Pieure de Poletica. And whereas the said Convention has been duly ratified on both parts, and the respective ratifications of the same were exchanged 79 at Washington, on the eleventh day of the present month, by John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State of the United States, and the Baron de Tuyll, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Imperial Majesty, on the part of their respective Governments: Now, therefore, be it known that I, James Monroe, President of the United States, have caused the said Convention to be made public, to the end that the same, and every clause and Article thereof, may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States and the citizens thereof. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this twelfth day of January, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the forty-ninth. (Signed) James Monroe. By the President: (Signed) John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State. No. 54. Mr. S. Canning to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received March 2.) No-13-] St. Petersburgh, February l (13), 1825. Sir: I avail myself of the return of the messenger Meates to inform you that yesterday evening I had my first conference with the Eussian .Plenipotentiaries, Count Nesselrode and M. de Poletica. After mutually communicating our full powers, those of the Russian .Plenipotentiaries being the same which were exhibited to Sir Charles •Bagot, I stated that the "Projet" which I was prepared to give in APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 453 agreeably to your instructions, respecting the differences growing out of the Imperial Ukase of September 1821 would be found to contain fresh proofs of the conciliatory spirit in which His Majesty's Government had directed this negotiation, that it was now time to bring the negotiation, either in one way or another, to its final conclusion, and, with this view, His Majesty's Ministers, in empowering me to offer a new " Projet," had gone at once to the utmost extent "of concession, justified by their sense of duty, in order to remove the objections of the Russian Government. On reading the " Projet" some difficulties were started and some discussion took place; but I hold it unnecessary to trouble you with a more particular account of this conference as the Russian Plenipotentiaries were not then prepared to express any decided opinion as to those parts of the % Projet" which do not entirely come up to their proposals, and I have expressly reserved to myself the liberty of recording my explanations in an official shape in the event of their, persisting to object to any essential part of its contents. Count Nesselrode said that he hoped to be ready with his answer in the course of a week. The Emperor's being again at Czarskoe-Zelo for two or three days may possibly occasion some delay. (Signed) Stratford Canning. I have, &c. Mr. G. Canning to Mr. S. Canning. No. 6.] Foreign Office, March 15,1825. Sir: Your despatches to No. 13 inclusive have been received and laid before the King. I inclose to you a copy of a despatch received from Mr. Addington, by which you will see that the Government and Senate of the United States have ratified the Treaty of North-West American Boundaries and Navigation, which was negotiated at St. Petersburgh last year. It is hardly necessary to point out to you the additional force which the conclusion of this transaction gives to that part of your 80 instructions on the same subject, which prescribes the demand for this country of terms as favourable as those which have been obtained by the United States. I am, &c. (Signed) George Canning. Mr. 8. Canning to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received March 21.) 2fo. 15.1 St. Petersburgh, February 17 (March 1), 1825. Sir: Bv the messenger Latchford I have the honour to send you the accompanying Convention between His Majesty and the Emperor of Eussia respecting the Pacific Ocean and North-West Coast of America, which, according to your instructions, I concluded and signed last night with the Russian Plenipotentiaries. 454 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. The alterations which, at their instance, I have admitted into the "Projet" such as I presented it to them at first, will be found, I conceive, to be in strict conformity with the spirit and substance of His Majesty's commands. The order of the two main subjects of our negotiation, as stated in the preamble of the Convention, is preserved in the Articles of that instrument. The line of demarcation along the strip of land on the north-west coast of America assigned to Russia is laid down in the Convention agreeably to your directions, notwithstanding some difficulties raised on this point, as well as on that which regards the order of the Articles, by the Russian Plenipotentiaries. The instance in which you will perceive that 1 have most availed myself of the latitude afforded by your instructions to bring the negotiation to a satisfactory and prompt conclusion, is the division of the third Article of the new "Projet," as it stood when 1 gave it in, into the third, fourth, and fifth Articles of the Convention signed by the Plenipotentiaries. This change was suggested by the Russian Plenipotentiaries, and at first it was suggested in a shape which appeared to me objectionable; but the Articles, as they are now drawn up, I humbly conceive to be such as will not meet with your disapprobation. The second paragraph of the fourth Article had already appeared parenthetically in the third Article of the " Projet," and the whole of the fourth Article is limited in its signification and connected with the Article immediately preceding it, by the first paragraph. With respect to Behring's Straits, I am happy to have it in my power to assure you, on the joint authority of the Russian Plenipotentiaries, that the Emperor of Russia has no intention whatever of maintaining any exclusive claim to the navigation of those straits, or of the seas to the north of them. It cannot be necessary, under these circumstances, to trouble you with a* more particular account of the several conferences which I have held with the Eussian Plenipotentiaries; and it is but justice to state that I have found them disposed, throughout this latter stage of the negotiation, to treat the matters under discussion with fairness and liberality. As two originals of the Convention prepared for His Majesty's Government are signed by the Plenipotentiaries, I propose to leave one of them with Mr. Ward tor the archives of the Embassy. I have, &c. (Signed) Stratford Canning. No. 57. Mr. , . Canning to Mr. G. Canning.—(Received May 3.) ^°-30-] St. Petersburgh, April 3 (15), 1825. Sir : I beg leave to trouble you with a few words in acknowledgment of your two despatches, the one containing a copy of a letter addressed by you to his Excellency Prince de Polignac on the subject of certain oyster fisheries lying between the Island of Jersey and the adjacent coast of France; and the other inclosing a despatch from Mr. Addington to you, announcing the ratification of the Convention concluded last year between Eussia and the United States touching the navigation of the Pacific Ocean and other matters connected with that subject. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 455 81 I trust that the objects to which the communications trans mitted with those despatches relate have been found to be sufficiently secured by the Convention, which, under your instructions, I have signed, during my residence here, in concert with the Russian Plenipotentiaries. With respect to the right of fishing, no explanation whatever took place between the Plenipotentiaries and myself in the course of our negotiations. As'no objection was started by them to the Article which I offered in obedience to your instructions, I thought it unad-. visable to raise a discussion on the question; and the distance from the coast at which the right of fishing is to be exercised in common passed without specification, and consequently rests on the law of nations as generally received. Conceiving, however, at a later period that you might possibly wish to declare the law of nations thereon, jointly with the Court of Russia, in some ostensible shape, I broached the matter anew.to Count Nesselrode, and suggested that he should authorize Count Lieven, on your invitation, to exchange notes with you declaratory of the law as fixing the distance at 1 marine league from the shore. Count Nesselrode replied that he should feel embarrassed in submitting this suggestion to the Emperor just at the moment when the ratifications of the Convention were on the point of being dispatched to London; and he seemed exceedingly desirous that nothing should happen to retard the accomplishment of that essential formality. He assured me at the same time that his Government would be content, in executing the Convention, to abide by the recognized law of nations; and that, if any question should hereafter be raised upon the subject, he should not refuse to join in making the suggested declaration, on being satisfied that the general rule under the law of nations was such as we supposed. Having no authority to press the point in question, I took the assurance thus given by Count Nesselrode as sufficient, in all probability, to answer every national purpose. Referring to the American Treaty I am assured, as well by Count Nesselrode as by Mr. Middleton, that the ratification of that instrument was not accompanied with any explanations calculated to modify or affect in any way the force and meaning of its Articles. But I understand that, at the close of the negotiation of that Treaty, a Protocol, intended by the Russians to fix more specifically the limitations of the right of trading with their possessions, and understood by the American Envoy as having no such effect, was drawn up and signed by both parties. No reference whatever was made to this paper by the Eussian Plenipotentiaries in the course of my negotiation with them; and you are.aware, Sir, that the Articles of the Convention which I concluded depend for their force entirely on the general acceptation of the terms in which they are expressed. I have, &c. (Signed) Stratford Canning. PAET 2. SELECTIONS FROM CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA, 1822-87. TABLE OF CONTENTS. M. de Poletica to Mr. Mr. Adams to M. de Po- Mr. Forsyth to Mr. Dallas.. Mr. Forsyth to Mr. Mr. Seward to Mr. Clay Mr. Hoffman to Mr. Mr. Lotiirop to Mr. Bayard. SELECTIONS FROM CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA, 1822-87. TJw Chevalier de Poletica to tlie Secretary of State. Was Sir: I received two da; honour to address to me ou the United States, in answ I discharged the orders of the ne\ tctic His Ma the DN, February 28,1822. which you did me the rder of the President of ) 11th current, by which i communicating to you rnpa and i Emperor, my august So^ ative to foreign commerce in the waters lishments of the said Company on the 4th (16th) S< which bordt north-west c Readily yielding, Sir, to the desire expressed by you in your letter of knowing the rights and principles upon which are founded the determinate limits of the Russian possessions on the north-west coast of America from Behring Strait to the 51st degree of north latitude, I am happy to fulfil this task by only calling your attention to the following historical facts, the authenticity of which cannot be contested. The first discoveries of the Russians on the north-west continent of le Emperor Peter 1. They belong to d of the reign of this great Monarch, into the Pacific Ocean. Behring made his first voyage, tracted the attention of the Govern- arusted to Captain Behring (1741) a fcudes. She sent with him the Acade- yrere, Muller, Steller, Fischer, Krasil- and the first Chart of these countries )f their labours, published in 1758. name of the chief of this expedition, islands which are found between the two continents. Cape or Mount St. Elias, which still bears this name upon all the Charts, was so called by Captain Behring, who discovered it on the day of the feast of this saint; and his second, Captain Tchiricoff, pushed his discoveries as fa* as the 49th degree of north latitude. The first private expeditions undertaken upon the north-west coast of America go back as far as the year 1743. • In 1763 the Russian establishments had already extended as far as the Island of Eodiak (or Kichtak). In 1778 Cook found them at Ounalaska, and some Eussian inscriptions at Kodiak. Vancouver saw the Russian 461 the attempt, made towards tht to find a passage from the icy In 1728 the celebrated Capti The recital of his discoveries ment, and the Empress Anne new expedition in these same ] ■micians Gmelin, Delile de la ( nicoff, Krsecheninicoff, and oth< at pa 462 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. establishment in the Bay of Kinai. In fine, Captains Mirs, Portlock, La Peyrouse, unanimously, attest the existence of Eussian establishments in these latitudes. If the Imperial Government had at the time published the discoveries made by the Russian navigators after Behring and Tchiricoff, viz., Chlodiloff, Serebreanicoff, Krasilnicoff, Paycoff, Poushcareff, Lazereff, Medwedeff, Solowieff, Lewasheff, Kremtsin, aud others, no one could refuse to Russia the right of first discovery, nor could even any one deny her that of first occupation. Moreover, when D. Jos6 Martinez was sent in 1789 by the Court of "Madrid to form au establishment in Vancouver's Island, and to remove foreigners from thence, under the pretext that all that coast belonged to Spain, he gave not the least disturbance to the Russian Colonies and nawgators. Yet the Spanish Government was not ignorant of their existence, for this very Martinez had visited them the year before. The Keport which Captain Malespina made of the results of his voyage proves that the Spaniards very well knew of the Russian Colonies; and in this very Report it is seen that the Court of Madrid acknowledged that its possessions upon the coast of the Pacific Ocean ought not to extend to the north of Cape Blanc, taken from the point of Trinity, situated under 42° 59' of north latitude. When in 179!) the Emperor Paul I granted to the present American Company its first Charter, he gave it the exclusive possession of 2 the northwest coast of America, which belonged to Russia, from 55th degree of north latitude to Behring Straits. He permitted them to extend their discoveries to the south, and there to form establishments, provided that they did not encroach upon the territory occupied by other Powers. This act, when made public, excited no claim on the part of other Cabinets, not even on that of Madrid, which confirms that it did not extend its pretensions to the 60th degree. When the Government of the United States treated with Spain for the cession of a part of the north-west coast, it was able to acquire, by the Treaty of Washington, the right to all that belonged to the Spaniards north of the 42nd degree of latitude; but this Treaty says nothing positive concerning the northern boundary of this cession, because, in fact, Spain well knew that she could not say that the coast as far as the 60th degree belonged to her. From this faithful exposition of known facts, it is easy, Sir, as appears to me, to draw the conclusion that the rights of Russia to the extent of the north-west coast, specified in the Regulation of the Russian-American Company, rest upon the three bases required by the general law of nations and immemorial usage among nations—that is, upon the title of first discovery; upon the title of first occupation; and, in the last place, upon that which results from a peaceable and uncontested possession of more than half a century—an epoch, consequently, several years anterior to that when the United States took their place among independent nations. It is, moreover, evident that, if the right to the possession of a certain extent of the north-west coast of America, claimed by the United States, only devolves upon them in virtue of the Treaty of Washington, 1819 (and I believe it would be difficult to make good any other title), this Treaty could not confer upon the American Government any right of claim against the limits assigned to the Russian possessions upon the same coast, because Spain herself had never pretended to such a right.. L. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 468 The Imperial Government, in assigning for limits to the Russian possessions on the north-west coast of America, on the one side Behring Straits, and on the other the 51st degree of north latitude, has only made a moderate use of an incontestable right, since the Russian navigators, who were the first to explore that part of the American Continent in 1741, pushed their discovery as far as the 49th degree of north latitude. The 51st degree, therefore, is no more than a mean point between the Russian establishment of New Archangel, situated under the 57th degree, and the American Colony at the mouth of the Columbia, which is found under the 46th degree of the same latitude. All these considerations united have concurred in inspiring the Imperial Government with an entire conviction that, in the last arrangements adopted in Russia relative to her possessions on the north-west coast, the legitimate right of no foreign Power has been infringed. In this conviction the Emperor, my august Sovereign, has judged that his good right, and the obligation imposed by Providence upon him to protect, with all his power, the interests of his subjects, sufficiently justified the measures last takeu by His Imperial Majesty in favour of the Russian-American Company, without its being necessary to clothe them with the sanction of Treaties. I shall be more succinct, Sir, in the exposition of the motives which determined the Imperial Government to prohibit foreign vessels from approaching the north-west coast of America belonging to Russia within the distance of at least 100 Italian miles. This measure, however severe it may at first view appear, is, after all, but a measure of prevention. It is exclusively directed against the culpable enterprises of foreign adventurers, who, not content with exercising upon the coasts above mentioned an illicit trade, very prejudicial to the rights reserved entirely to the Russian-American Company, take upon them besides to furnish arms and ammunition to the natives in the Russian possessions in America, exciting them likewise, in every manner, to resistance and revolt against the authorities there established. The American Government doubtless recollects that the irregular conduct of these adventurers, the majority of whom was composed of American citizens, has been the object of the most pressing remonstrances on the part of Russia to the Federal Government, from the time that Diplomatic Missions were organized between the two countries. These remonstrances, repeated at different times, remain constantly without effect, and the inconvenience to which they ought to bring a remedy continues to increase. The Imperial Government, respecting the intentions of the American Government, has always abstained from attributing the ill-success of its remonstrances to any other motives than those which flow, if I may be allowed the expression, from the very nature of the institutions which govern the national affairs of the American Federation. But the high opinion which the Empetor has always entertained of the rectitude of the American Government cannot exempt him from the care which his sense of justice towards his own subjects imposes upon him. Pacific means not having brought any alleviation to the just grievances of the Russian-American Company, against foreign navigation in the waters which environ their establishments on the north-west coast of America, the Imperial Government saw itself under the necessity of having recourse to the iheans of coercion, aud of measuring the rigour according to the inveterate character of the evil to which it wished to put a stop. Yet it is easy to discover, on examining closely the last Regulation of the Russian-American Company, that no spirit of hostility had 464 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. anything to do with its formation. The most minute precautions have been taken iu it to prevent abuses of authority on the part of Commanders of Russian cruizers appointed for the execution of said Regulation. 3 At the same time, it has not been neglected to give all the timely publicity necessary to put those on their guard'against whom the measure is aimed. Its action, therefore, can only reach the foreign vessels which, in spite of the notification, will expose themselves to seizure by infringing upon the line marked out in the Eegulation. The Government flatters itself that these cases will be very rare; if all remains as at present— not one. I ought, in the last place, to request you to consider, Sir, that the Eussian possessions in the Pacific Ocean extend on the north-west coast of America from Behring Straits to the 51st degree of north latitude, and on the opposite side of Asia and the islands adjacent from the-same strait to the 45th degree. The extent of sea, of which these possessions form the limits, comprehends all the conditions which are ordinarily attached to shut seas ("mers fei mees"); and the Russian Government might consequently judge itself authorized to exercise upon this sea the rights of sovereignty, and especially that of interdicting the entrance of foreigners. But it preferred only asserting its essential rights, without taking advantage of localities. The Emperor, my august Sovereigu, sets a very high value upon the i maintenance of the relations of amity and good understanding which have till now subsisted between the two countries. The dispositions of His Imperial Majesty in this regard have never failed appearing at all times when an occasion has presented itself in the political relations of the United States with the European Powers; and, surely, in the midst of a general peace, Russia does not think of aiming a blow at the maritime interests of the United States—she who has constantly respected them in those difficult circumstances in which Europe has been seen to be placed in the latter times, and the influence of which the United States have been unable to avert. I avail, &c. (Signed) Pierre de Poletica. No. 2. Mr. Adams to M. de Poletica. Department of State, Washington, March 30,1822. Sir : I have had the honour of receiving your letter of the 28th ultimo which has been submitted to the consideration of the President of the United States. I From the deduction which it contains of the grounds upon which Articles of Regulation of the Russian-American Company have now, for the first time, extended the claim of Russia on the north-west coast of America to the 51st degree of north latitude, its only foundation appears to be the existence of the small Settlement of Novo Archangel sk situated, not on the American Continent, but upon a small island in latitude 57<^ and the principle upon which you state that this claim is now advanced is that the 51st degree is equidistant from the Settlement of Novo Archangelsk and the establishment of the United States APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 465 at the mouth of the Columbia River; but from the same statement it appears that, in the year 1799, the limits prescribed by the Emperor Paul to the Russian-American Company were fixed at the 55th degree of latitude, and that, in assuming now latitude of 57°, a new pretension is asserted, to which no settlement made since the year 1799 has given the colour of a sanction. This pretension is to be considered not only with reference to the question of territorial rights, but also to that prohibition to the vessels of other nations, including those of the United States, who approach . within 100 Italian miles of the coast. From the period of the existence of the United States as an independent nation, their vessels have freely navigated those seas, and the right to navigate them is a part of that independence. With regard to the suggestion that the Russian Government might have justified the exercise of sovereignty over the Pacific Ocean as a close sea, because it claims territory both on its American and Asiatic shores, it may suffice to say that the distance from shore to shore on this sea, in latitute 51° north, is not less than 90 degrees of longitude, or 4,000 miles. As little can the United States accede to the justice of the reason assigned for the prohibition above mentioned. The right of the citizens of the United States to hold commerce with aboriginal natives of the north-west coast of America, without the territorial jurisdiction of other nations, even in arms and munitions of war, is as clear and indisputable as that of navigating the seas. That right has never been exercised in a spirit unfriendly to Eussia; and although general complaints have occasionally been made on the subject of this commerce by some of your predecessors, no specific ground of charge has ever been alleged by them of any transaction in it which the United States were, by the ordinary laws and usages of nations, bound either to restrain or to punish. Had any such charge been made, it would have received the most pointed attention of this Government, with the sincerest and firmest disposition to perform every act and obligation of justice to yours which could have been required. I am commanded by the President of the United States to assure you that this disposition will continue to be entertained, together with the earnest desire that the most harmonious relations between the two countries may be preserved. Relying upon the assurance in your note of similar dispositions 4 reciprocally entertained by His" Imperial Majesty towards the United States, the President is persuaded that the citizens of this Union will remain unmolested in the prosecution of their lawful commerce, and that no effect will be given to an interdiction manifestly incompatible with their rights. I am, &c. (Signed) JonN Quincy Adams. No. 3. Mr. Adams to Mr. Middleton. Department of State, Washington, July 22, 1823. Sir : I have the honour of inclosing herewith copies of a note from Baron de Tuyll, the Eussian Minister recently arrived, proposing, on the part of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia, that a power should be transmitted to you to enter upon a negotiation with the Ministers of S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 30 466 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. his Government, concerning the differences which have arisen from the Imperial Ukase of the 4th (16th) September, 1821, relative to the northwest coast of America, and of the answer from this Department acceding to his proposal. A full power is accordingly inclosed, and you will consider this letter as communicating to you the President's instructions for the conduct of the negotiation. From the tenour of the Ukase, the pretensions of the Imperial Government extend to an exclusive territorial jurisdiction from the 45th degree of north latitude, on the Asiatic coast, to the latitude of 51° north on the western coast of the American Continent; aud they assume the right of interdicting the navigation and the fishery of all other nations to the extent of 100 miles from the whole of that coast. The United States can admit no part of these claims. Their right of navigation and of fishing is perfect, and has been in constant exercise from the earliest times, after the peace of 1783, throughout the whole extent of the Southern Ocean, subject only to the ordinary exceptions and exclusions of the territorial jurisdictions which, so far as Russian rights are concerned, are confined to certains islands north of the 55th degree of latitude, and have no existence on the Continent of America. The correspondence between M. Poletica and this Department contained no discussion of the principles or of the facts upon which he attempted the justification of the Imperial Ukase. This was purposely avoided on our part, under the expectation that the Imperial Government could not fail, upon a review of the measure, to revoke it altogether. It did, however, excite much public animadversion in this country, as the Ukase itself had already done in England. I inclose herewith the "North American Review" for October 1822, No 37, which contains an article (p. 370) written by a person fully master of the subject; and for the view of it taken in England, I refer you to the 52nd number of the " Quarterly Review," the article upon Lieutenant Kotzebue's voyages. From the articles in the " North American Review" it will be seen that the rights of discovery, of occupancy, and of uncontested possession, alleged by M. Poletica, are all without foundation in fact. It does not appear that there ever has been a permanent Russian settlement on this continent south of latitude 59°; that of New Archangel, cited by M. Poletica, in latitude 57° 30', being upon an island. So far as prior discovery can constitute a foundation of right, the papers which I have referred to prove.that it belongs to the United States as far as 59° north, by the transfer to them of the rights of Spain. There is, however, no part of the globe where the mere fact of discovery could be held to give weaker claims than on the north-west coast.' " The great sinuosity," says Humboldt, "formed by the coast between the 55th and 60th parallels of latitude embraces discoveries made by Gali, Behring, and Tchirikoff, Quadra, Cook, La Perouse, Malespier, and Vancouver. No European nation has yet foroie,d an establishment upon the immense extent of cost from Cape Mendosino to the 59th degree of latitude. Beyond that limit the Eussian factories commence, most of which are scattered and distant from each other, like the factories established by the European nations for the last three centuries on the coast of Africa. Most of these little Eussian Colonies communicate with each other only by sea, and the new denominations of Russian America, or Russian possessions in the new continent, must not lead us to believe that the coast of Behring Bay, the Peninsula of Alaska, or the country of the Ischugatschi, have become Russian provinces in the same sense given to the word when speaking of the Spanish provinces APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 467 of Sonora, or New Biscay." (Humboldt's "New Spain," vol. ii, book 3, chapter 8, p. 496.) In M. Poletica's letter of the 28th February, 1822, to me, he says that when the Emperor Paul I granted to the present American Company its first Charter in 1799, he gave it exclusive possession of the northwest coast of America, which belonged to Russia, from the 55th degree of north latitude, to Behring Strait. In his letter of the 2nd April, 1822, he says that the Charter to the -Russian-American Company, iu 1799, was merely conceding to them-a part of the sovereignty, or rather certain exclusive privileges of commerce. This is the most correct view of the subject. The Emperor Paul granted to the Eussian-American Company certain exclusive privileges of commerce—exclusive with reference to other Russian subjects; but Eussia had never before asserted a right of sovereignty over any part of the North American continent; aud in 1799 the people of 5 the United States had been at least for twelve years in the constant and uninterrupted enjoyment of a profitable trade with the natives of that very coast, of which the Ukase of the Emperor Paul could not deprive them. It was in the same year, 1799, that the Eussian Settlement at Sitka was first made, and it was destroyed in 1802 by the natives of the country. There were, it seems, at the time of its destruction, three American seamen who perished with the rest, and a new Settlement at the same place was made in 1804. In 1808, Count Komauzoff, being then Minister for Foreign Affairs and of- Commerce, addressed to Mr. Harris, Consul of the United States at St. Petersburgh, a letter complaining of the traffic carried on by citizens of the United States with the native islanders of the north-west coast, instead of trading with tiie Russian possessions in America. The Count stated that the Russian Company had represented this traffic as clandestine, by which means the savage islanders, in exchange for otter- skins, had been furnished with fire-arms and powder, with which they had destroyed a Russian fort, with the loss of several lives. He expressly disclaimed,,however, any disposition on the part of Russia to abridge this traffic of the citizens of the United States, but proposed a Convention by which it should be carried on exclusively with the agents of the Russian American Company at Kodiak, a small island near the promontory of Alaska, at -least 700 miles distant from the other Settlement at Sitka. On the 4th January, 1810, M. Daschkoff, Charge" d'Affaires and Con- sul-General from Russia, renewed this proposal of a Convention, and requested, as an alternative, that the United States should, by a legislative act, prohibit the trade of their citizens with the natives of the north-west coast of America, as unlawful and irregular, and thereby induce them to carry on the trade exclusively with the agents of the Russian-American Company. The answer of the Secretary of State, dated the 5th May, 1810, declines those proposals for reasons which were then satisfactory to the Russian Government, or to which, at least, no reply on their part was made. Copies of these papers, and of those containing the instructions to the Minister of the United States then at St. Petersburgh, and the relation of his conferences with the Chancellor of the Empire, Count Bomanzoff, on this subject, are herewith inclosed. By them it will be seen that the Eussian Government at that time explicitly declined the assertion of any boundary-line upon the north-west coast, and that the proposal of measures for confining the trade of the citizens of the United States exclusively to the Eus- 468 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. sian Settlement at Kodiak, and with the agents of the Russian-American Company, had been made by Count Romanzoff under the-impression that they would be as advantageous to the interests of the United States as to those of Russia. It is necessary now to say that this impression was erroneous. That the traffic of the citizens of the United States with the natives of the north-west coast was neither clandestine, nor unlawful, nor irregular. . That it had been enjoyed many years before the Russian-American Company existed, and that it interfered with no lawful right or claim of Russia. This trade has been shared also by the English, French, and Portuguese. In the prosecution of it, the English Settlement of Nootka Sound was made, which occasioned the differences between Great Britain and Spain in 1789 and 1790, ten years before the Eussian-American Company was first chartered. It was in the prosecution of this trade that the American Settlement at the mouth of the Columbia Eiver was made in 1811, which was taken by the British during the late war, and formally restored to them on the 6th October, 1818. By the Treaty of the 22nd February, 1819, with Spain, the United States acquired all the rights of Spain north of latitude 42°; and by the IHrd Article of the Convention between the United States and Great Britain of the 20th October, 1818, it was agreed that any country that might be claimed by either party on the north-west coast of America, westward ofthe Stony Mountain, should, together with its harbours, bays, aud creeks, aud the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open for the term of ten years from that date, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two Powers, without prejudice to the claims of either party or of any other State. You are authorized to propose an Article of the same import for a term of ten years from a signature of a Joint Convention between the United States, Great Britain, and Eussia. The right of the United States from the 42nd to the 49th parallel of latitude on the Pacific Ocean we consider as unquestionable, being founded (1) on the acquisition by the Treaty of the 22nd February, 1819, of all the rights of Spain; (2) by the discovery of the Columbia Eiver, first, from sea at its mouth, and then by land by Lewis and Clarke; and (3) by the Settlement at its mouth in 1811. This territory is to the United States of an importance which no possession in North America can be of to any European nation, not only as it is, but the continuity of their possessions from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, but as it offers their inhabitants the means of establishing hereafter water communications from the one to the other. It is not conceivable that any possession upon the Continent of North America should be of use or importance to Eussia for any other purpose than that of traffic with the natives. This was, in fact, the inducement to the formation of the Eussian American Company, and to the Charter granted them by the Emperor Paul. It was the inducement to the Ukase of the Emperor Alexander. By offering free and equal access for a term of years to navigation and intercourse Avith the natives to Eussia, within the limits to which our claims are indisputable, 6 we concede much more than we obtain. It is not to be doubted that, long before the expiration of that time, our Settlement at the mouth of the Columbia Eiver will become so considerable as to offer means of useful and commercial intercourse with the Russian Settlements on the islands of the north-west coast. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 469 With regard to the territorial claim, separate from the right of traffic with the natives and from any system of colonial exclusions, we are willing to agree to the boundary-line within which the Emperor Paul had granted exclusive privileges to the Russian-American Oompanv, that is to say, latitude 55°. If the Russian Government apprehended serious inconvenience from the illicit traffic of foreigners with their Settlements on the north-west coast, it may be effectually guarded against by stipulations similar to those a draft of which is herewith subjoined, and to which vou are authorized, on the part of the United States, to agree. As the British Ambassador at St. Petersburgh is authorized and instructed to negotiate likewise upon this subject, it may be proper to adjust the interests and claims of the three Powers by a Joint Convention. Your full power is prepared accordingly. Instructions conformable to these will be forwarded to Mr. Rush, at London, with authority to communicate with the British Government in relation to this interest, and to correspond with you concerning it, with a view to the maintenance of-the rights of the United. States. I am, &c. (Signed) John Quincy Adams. Mr. Adams to Mr. Rush. Department of State, Washington, July 22,1823. Sir: Among the subjects of negotiation with Great Britain: which are pressing upon the attention of this Government is the present condition of the north-west coast of this continent. This interest is connected, in a manner becoming from day to day more important, with our territorial rights; with the whole system of our intercourse with the Indian tribes; with the boundary relations between us and the British North American dominion; with the fur trade; the fisheries in the Pacific Ocean; the commerce with the Sandwich Islands and China; with our boundary upon Mexico; and lastly, with our political standing and intercourse with the Russian Empire. . . . By the Ukase of the Emperor Alexander of the 4th (16th) September, 1821, an exclusive territorial right on the north-west coast of America is asserted as belonging to Russia, and as extending from the northern extremity of the continentto latitude 51°, and thenavigation and fishery of all other nations are interdicted by the same Ukase to the extent of 100 Italian miles from the coast. When M. Poletica, the late Russian Minister here, was called upon to set forth the grounds of right conformable to the laws of nations which authorized the issuing of this Decree, he answered in his letters of the 28th February and 2nd April, 1822, by alleging first discovery, occupancy, and uninterrupted possession. . . . The United States and Great Britain have both protested against the Russian Imperial Ukase of the 4th (16th) September, 1821. At the proposal of the Russian Government a full power and instructions are now transmitted to Mr. Middleton for the adjustment, by amicable negotiation, of the conflicting claims of the parties on this subject. 470 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. We have been informed by the Baron de Tuyll that a similar authority has been given on the part of the British Government to Sir Charles The principles settled by the Nootka Sound Convention of the 28th October, 1790, were— . 1. That the rights of fishery in the South Seas, of trading with the natives ofthe north-west coast of America, aud of making Settlements on the coast itself for the purposes of that trade, north of the actual Settlements of Spain, were common to all the European nations, aud of course to the United States. 2. That so far as the actual Settlements of Spain had extended she possessed the exclusive rights, territorial and of navigation and fishery, extending to the distance of 10 miles from the coasts so actually occupied. 3. That on the coasts of South America, and the adjacent islands south of the parts already occupied by Spain, no Settlement should thereafter be made either by British or Spanish subjects, but on both sides should be retained the liberty of landing and of erecting temporary buildings for the purposes of the fishery. These rights were also, of course, enjoyed by the people of the United States. The exclusive rights of Spain to any part of the American continents have ceased. That portion of the Convention, therefore, which recognizes the exclusive colonial right of Spain on these continents, though confirmed, as between Great Britain and Spain, by the 1st Additional Article to the Treaty of the 5th July, 1814, has been extinguished by the fact of the independence of the South American nation and of Mexico. Those independent nations will possess the rights incident to that condition, and their territories will, of course, be subject to no exclusive right of navigation in their vicinity, or of access to them by any foreign nation. . . . 7 The right of carrying on trade with the natives throughout the west coast they (the United States) cannot renounce. With the Eussian Settlements at Kodiak, or at New Archangel, they may fairly claim the advantage of a free trade, having so long enjoyed it unmolested, and because it has been and would continue to be as advantageous at least to those Settlements as to them. But they will not contest the right of Eussia to prohibit the traffic, as strictly confined to the ' Eussian Settlement Itself, and not extending to the original natives of the coast. . . . I am, &c. (Signed) John Quincy Adams. Confidential Memorial prepared by Mr. Middleton, United States Minister at St. Petersburgh, and forwarded to Mr. Adams in his Letter of December 1 (13), 1823. It appears, then, that the position of Eussia relative to her rights upon the north-west coast of America had not at all changed since 1790. The Eussian-American Company had enjoyed its exclusive rights granted by the Emperor Paul. It had prospered and formed au establishment in the limits marked out by the Ukase in 1799 It had, however, never pretended to exclude other nations from a commerce shared with them for so long a time; but it saw with jealousy its profits diminishe nothing b convinced emanates iutention i all interes TheUk jde w shut np, a terms of the 1 for the flrsl which is at present the principal object of iseful to the sciences. tse bear that this pretension has now been nts. But it is thought better to pass •ssories to the principal point. Noth- if the vast territory contained in the se is, in fact, incorporated with the e principles. e principle that real occupation only y and to the sovereignty of an uuoccu- owe to the declared intention and to he Ukase, it is necessary to examine The following sections relate to the seizure of vessels, f ceediugs before the Tribunals against those who infrinj tion, and might furnish remarks worthy of attention as visit against ships in times of peace, permitted even over these matters, as simply ace ing is intended but first to knov, limits marked out by the Uks Empire of Eussia upon admissib All jurists are agreed upon tl can give the rights to the proper pied country newly discovered. With all the respect which w< the determination-indicated by the two points of fact: 1. If the country to the south and east of Behring Strait, as far as the 51st degree of north latitude, is found strictly unoccupied? 2. If there has been, latterly, a real occupation of this vast territory! We have already seen, in the summary of the dispute between England and Spain, what was tbe decision of Eussia upon the first point. It cannot be necessary for us to repeat it. As to what regards the real occupation, one may be convinced, on having recourse to the Charts officially published by the Russian Government, that the only establishment on this side of the 60th degree is that which is found on the Island of Sitka, situated under 57° 30' of latitude, and consequently more than 6 degrees from the southern limit fixed by the Ukase. The conclusion which must necessarily result from these facts does not appear to establish that the territory in question has been legitimately incorporated with the Russian Empire. The extension of territorial rights to the distance of 100 miles from the coasts upon two opposite continents, and the prohibition of approaching to the same distance from these coasts, or from those of with the intermediate islands, situated in vast seas, where the naviga- 1 472 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. tion is subject to innumerable and unknown difficulties, and where the chief employment, which is the whale fishery, cannot be compatible with a regulated and well-determined course. The right cannot be denied of shutting a port, a sea, or even an entire country, against foreign commerce in some particular cases. 8 But the exercise of such a right, unless in the case of a colonial system already established, or for some other special object, would be exposed to an unfavourable interpretation, as being contrary to the liberal spirit of modern times, wherein we look for the bonds of amity and of reciprocal commerce among all nations being more closely cemented. Universal usage, which has obtained the force of law, has established for all the coasts an accessory limit of a moderate distance, which is sufficient for the security of the country and for the convenience of its inhabitants, but which lays no restraint upon the universal rights of nations, nor upon the freedom of commerce aud of navigation. (See Vattel,'B. I., chapter 23, section 289.) In the case where this territorial limit would be insufficient, it is always allowable to make to it the augmentations which maybe desired, by the way of diplomacy, in concluding Treaties with the nations that might be found interested in it, the only means of reconciling them to the species of constraint which must necessarily result in this case to the Maritime Powers. Mr. Forsyth to Mr. Dallas. Department of State, Washington, May 4, 1837. Sir: I regret to have occasion so soon again to advert to a subject connected with the claims of the United States to the right of trading with the natives of the country, and of fishing on the north-west coast of this continent. You will perceive from a perusal of the accompanying papers that the expiration ofthe IVth Article of the Convention of 1824 with Russia is not unlikely to be attended with difficulties to our citizens frequenting that coast in pursuit of lawful objects. The leading features of the case, to which your attention is now invited (the particulars of which are more fully detailed in the inclosed copy of a letter dated the 24th November last, from J. C. Jones, Consul of the United States at the Sandwich Islands, to this Department, and of the protest to which it refers), are as follows: * The American brig " Loriot," Blinn, master, sailed from the port of Oahu on the22nd August last, bound to the north-west coast of America, for the purpose of procuring provisions, and also Indians to hunt for sea-otter on the said coast. It appears that she made the land called Forrester's Island on the 14th September following, and on the 15th anchored in the harbour of Tuckessan, latitude 54° 55' north, and . longitude 132° 30' west; that on the 18th a Russian armed brig arrived in the harbour of Tateskey, latitude 54° 45' north, aud longitude 132° 55' west; that on the succeeding day the "Loriot" was boarded by officers from the Russian brig, who ordered the captain of the American vessel to leave the dominious of His Majesty the Emperor of Eussia; *For these papers, see Senate Document 1, 25th Congress, 3rd Session. APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 473 that Captain Blinn then repaired onboard the Russian brig, where the same orders were repeated to him by the commander; that on the20fh and 23rd days of the same month these orders were reiterated; that on the 25th the " Loriot" was boarded by two armed boats from the Russian brig, and directed to get under weigh and proceed to the harbour of Tateskey; that on the 27th the armed boats again boarded the American brig, and compelled the captain to proceed to Tateskey; that when off that place, the weather being threatening, permission was asked of the Russian commander to enter the harbor with the " Loriot," which request was denied, and Captain Blinn was again ordered to leave the waters of His Imperial Majesty; and that Captain Blinn, The harbours designated in Captain Blinn's protest by the names of Tuckessan and Tateskey are not laid down on any map to which I have referred, and the Department has no knowledge of any Russian establishments having been formed on the north-west coast or adjacent islands, in or about the latitude given for these places. It will, therefore, be proper to ascertain whether there are, in fact, Russian Settlements at the points designated; and, if so, you are authorized to make a representation of the whole subject to His Imperial Majesty's Government, complaining of the proceedings in relation to the "Loriot," which are supposed to have been unauthorizedly instigated by the Russian- American Fur Company, and stating that the President cannot but regard this act as one of a most unfriendly character, as the United States have had no official or other notice of the existence of such establishments, and have not, although an application has long since been made for them, ever been furnished by the Russian Government with the regulations, consequent on the expiration of the IVth Article of the Convention, proposed to be applied to American vessels resorting to On the other hand, should there prove to be no Russian establishments at the places mentioned, this outrage on the "Loriot" assumes a still graver aspect. It is a violation of the right of the citizens of the United States, immemorially exercised, and secured to them as well by the law of nations as by the stipulations of the 1st Article of the Convention of 1824, to fish in those seas, and to resort to the coast, 9 for the prosecution of their lawful commerce upon points not already occupied. As such, it is the President's wish that you should remonstrate, in an earnest but respectful tone, against this groundless assumption of the Russian Fur Company, and claim from His Imperial Majesty's Government for the owners of the brig "Loriot," for their losses and for the damages they have sustained, such indemnification as may, on an investigation of the case, be found to be justly due to them. ' H I am, &c. (Signed) John Forsyth. 474 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. No. 7. Mr. Dallas to Mr. Forsyth. American Legation, St. Petersburgh, August 16,1837. Sir: Among the special dnties assigned to me in the instructions from the Department are those relating to the renewal of the IVth Article of the Treaty of 1824, by your despatch No. 2, and those arising out of the case of the American brig " Loriot," Richard D. Blinn, master, by your despatch No. 3. I have been anxious to address myself to the Imperial Ministry on both these topics, the'mutual connection of which is apparent; but anticipating at the outset much difficulty in accomplishing any purpose opposed by the Fur Company, prudence impels me to acquire, if possible, with more accuracy than I now possess it, information as to the extent of the Eussian establishments on the northwestern coast, and the periods of their respective commencements. My efforts in London to ascertain the positions of the two harbours referred to by Captain Blinn, Tuckessan and Tateskey, and their real character, were abortive, the geographer on whom I principally relied writing to me, the evening before I left the British metropolis, that his searches proved unproductive. An inquiry, to be cautiously conducted, has been set on foot since my arrival here, in the hope that some of the officers of the Russian navy, or some communicative member of the Fur Company itself, may possess the facts I want, and may enable me to move with less doubt and less danger of mistake. Although from the language of Captain Blinn's protest I am led to believe that Eussian establishments have been made at the places where he experienced the interference of which he complains, it would not seem politic to begin the negotiation by an admission which, though it might leave the unfriendliness of the proceeding for comment, must weaken, if not wholly destroy, his claim for redress. As soon as the inquiry instituted shall either succeed or fail, the subject will be open to Count Nesselrode, and I cannot anticipate more than one or two weeks of additional delay. Permit me, while on this topic, to remark that I cannot help foreseeing some perplexity from the construction which will be urged by the Russian Ministry for the Treaty of the 17th April, 1824. The 1st Article asserts for both countries general and permanent rights of navigation, fishing, and trading with the natives upon points not occupied by either, north or south of the agreed parallel of latitude, subject to enumerated restrictions, among which is the IVth Article, limiting, as it would seem, the exercise of certain of these very rights to a term of ten years. Our negotiator, Mr. Middleton, as he explained in a subsequent despatch to the Department of State, contemplated no abandonment of their rights either in principle or as a compromise, in the present or future time, but on the contrary repelled a clause proposed to him expressly for that purpose, aud regarded the IVth Article as enlarging, not restricting, the privileges provided for in the 1st. My conviction, however, arising from the language of the Russian precautionary record or Protocol (which Mr. Middleton rather avoided than rejected), is that Count Nesselrode will deem himself and M. Poletica to have attained by this IVth Article, though with the use of other words, the substance of the clause to which Mr. Middleton objected, and that he will con- APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 475 sider both Governments to have buried all controversy about the rights incident to the prior discovery of savage and unoccupied lands, and to have consented that, at the expiration of the ten years, the United States should be esteemed to possess in full domain the coast and islands to the south, and Russia the coast and islands to the north, of 54° 40' north latitude. He may ask, and with some plausibility, with what other object the IVth Article was framed ? It uses no phraseology tantamount to "establishments" or "settlements" or "points already occupied;" but protects from any hindrance for ten years only the power to frequent the interior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks upon the coast, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives—a power already duly enunciated without limit of time, for both countries, by the 1st Article; aud, if it was not intended mutually to yield the power in relation to the sections divided by the parallel of latitude at the expiration of the term, why disturb the operation of the 1st Article at all? A closer analysis of the negotiation of 1824 may possibly dispel these suggestions; or it will give me pleasure to find my apprehensions removed by the candour of the Vice-Chancellor; and, at all events, I shall never acquiesce, until instructed to do so by you, in a construction so opposite to the intentions of Mr. Middleton, and so conclusive as to all further claim of the United States. I have, &c, (Signed) G. M. Dallas. Mr. Dallas to Count Nesselrode. - American Legation, August 15 (27), 1837. The Undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United Stales of America, has the honour very respectfully to invite the attention of his Excellency the Vice-Ohancellor of the Empire to the following subject, specially given to him in charge as calling for an early submission to the consideration ofthe Imperial Government. It will doubtless be remembered that by the perpetual Convention of the 5th (17th) April, 1824, signed by his "Excellency Count Nesselrode aud M. Poletica on behalf of Eussia, and by Mr. Henry Middleton on behalf of the United States, it was agreed that in any part of the Great Ocean, commonly called the Pacific Ocean or South Sea, the respective citizens or subjects of the High Contracting Powers should be neither disturbed nor restrained, neither in navigation or in fishing, or in the power of resorting to the coasts, upon points which may not already have been occupied, for the purpose of tradin g with the natives; that, to prevent the rights of navigation and of fishing, exercised upon the Great Ocean, from becoming a pretext for an illicit trade, the citizens or subjects of either country should not resort, without permission, to any establishment of the other; and that there should not be formed to the north of 54° 40' of north latitude by the citizens of the United States, nor south of that parallel by Russian subjects, any establishment upon the north-west coast of America. It was declared by the IVth Article to be understood that during a term of ten years, count- 476 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. ing from the signature of the Convention, the ships of both countries respectively might reciprocally frequent, without any hindrance whatever, the interior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks upon the said coast, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives. The permanent powers to navigate, to fish, and to resort to the coasts upon unoccupied points, in order to trade with the natives, thus mutually recognized in a spiritof forecasting friendship, which removes, by explicit assurances, every possible cause of collision or jealousy, and has always characterized the relations and intercourse of the two Governments, would seem to be unequivocally distinct aud precise. It is to a vague and perverted condition of things, consequent, in a great degree, upon the expiration of the temporary provision of the IVth Article, much rather than to any inimical national policy, that the Undersigned imputes the incident, so detrimental to the interest of an American citizen, and so incompatible with the rights of his country, which is now submitted to the just and candid consideration of his Excellency Count Nesselrode. [Here follows a statement of the case of the " Loriot," substantially the same as that given above in Mr. Forsyth's instructions of the 4th May, 1837.]. The Undersigned is unwilling to make to his Excellency Count Nesselrode the remarks naturally suggested by this brief statement of facts (whose authenticity he cannot doubt), until every reasonable and just opportunity shall have been given to the Eussian officers implicated to temper, if possible, their harshness by explanation. His-firm confidence iu the dispositions heretofore expressed and manifested towards his country precludes his supposing, for one moment, that a proceeding so unfriendly in its nature and circumstances, and so inconsistent with the rights of American citizens, immemorially exercised and secured by the laws of nations, as well as by the stipulations of the 1st Article of the Treaty of 1824, was authorized by His Imperial Majesty's Government, or can receive its sanction. Nevertheless, it is made the duty of the Undersigned earnestly and most respectfully to remonstrate against such an unwarranted aggression by persons enjoying the character and using the means of agents in the Eussian service, and to claim, as he now does, from His Imperial Majesty's Government, for the losses and damages sustained by the owners of the brig " Loriot," such indemnification as may, on an investigation of the case, be found justly their due. In the sincere hope that an early and happy adjustment of this business may arrest its tendency to excite unkindness of feeling between the citizens and subjects of the two countries, the Undersigned avails, &c. (Signed) G. M. Dallas. No. 9. Mr. Forsyth to Mr. Dallas. Department of State, Washington, November 3,1837. Sir: You [sic] despatches Nos. 6 and 7 of the 16th August and 8th September respectively have been duly received and submitted to the President, by whom I am directed to make the following observations, With reference to your remarks- regarding tbe proper construction of the Convention of April 1824, between the United States and Eussia APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 477 Tbe 1st Article of that instrument is only declaratory of a right which the parties to it possessed, under the law of nations, without Conventional stipulations, to wit, to navigate aud fish in the ocean upon an unoccupied coast, and to resort to such coast for the purpose of tradine with the natives. 11 The Hnd Article prohibits the one party from resorting to points occupied by the other without permission. The IHrd Article prevents each party from occupying new points within certain limits. The IVth Article grants permission to either party to frequent, for a specified term, the interior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks upon the whole north-west coast of America, without regard to limits or occupation, for the purpose of fishing and of trading with the natives of the country. The question is as to the meaning and object of this last-mentioned Article. Is it to be interpreted as an agreement by either of the parties to abandon, after a specified term, the right to resort to any part of the coast which is unoccupied? ii-,;'<". ■ If the IVth Article is to be considered as applicable to ports of the coasts unoccupied, then it merely provides for the temporary enjoyment of a privilege which existed in perpetuity, under the law of nation's, and which has been expressly declared so to exist by a previous Article of the Convention. Containing no provision, therefore, not embraced in the preceding Article, it would be useless, aud of no effect. But the rule in regard to the construction of an instrument, of whatever kind, is that it shall be so construed, if possible, as that every part may stand. If the Article be construed to include points of the coast already occupied, it then takes effect, thus far, as a temporary exception to a perpetual prohibition, and the only consequence of an expiration of the term to which it is limited would be the immediate and continued operation of the prohibition. It is still more reasonable to understand it, however, as intended to grant permission to enter interior bays, &c, at the mouths of which there might be establishments, or the shores of which might be in part, but not wholly, occupied by such establishments, thus providing for a case which would otherwise admit of doubt, as without the IVth Article it would be questionable whether the bays, &c, described in it belong to the 1st or Hnd Article. In no sense can it be understood as implying an acknowledgment on the part of the United States of the right of Eussia to the possession of the coast above the latitude of 54° 40' north. It must be taken in connection with the other Articles of the Convention, which have, in fact, no reference whatever to the question of the right of possession of the unoccupied parts of the coast. In a spirit of compromise, and to prevent future collisions or difficulties, it was agreed that no new establishments should be formed by the respective parties to the north or south of a certain parallel of latitude, after the conclusion^ the Agreement; but the question of the right of possession beyond the existing establishments, as it subsisted previously to, or at the time of, the conclusion of the Convention, was left untouched. The United States, in agreeing not to form new establishments to the north of latitude 54o 40' north, made no acknowledgment of the right of Eussia to the territory above that line. If such an admission had been made, Russia, by the same construction of the Article referred to, must have acknowledged the right of the United States to the territory south of 478 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. tBe designated line. But that Russia did not so undeasteadtlee Article.; is conclusively proved by her having entered into a similar Agreement; (1825) with Great Britain, and have, in fact, acknowledged in thatj instrument the right of possession of the same territory by Great, Britain. The United States can only be considered as acknowledging! the right of Russia to acquire, by actual occupation, a just claim to; unoccupied lands above the latitude 54° 40' north, and even this is mere matter of inference, as the Convention of 1824 contains nothing more than a negation of the right of the United States to occupy new points within that limit. Admitting that this inference is just, and was in contemplation of the parties to the Convention, it cannot follow that the United States ever intended to abandon the just right acknowledged by the 1 st Article to belong to them under the law of nations—to frequent any part of the unoccupied coast of North America for the purpose of fishing or trading with the natives. All that the Convention admits is an inference of the right of Eussia to acquire possession by settlement north of 54° 40' north. Until that actual possession is taken, the 1st Article of the Convention acknowledges the right of the United States to fish and trade as prior to its negotiation. This is not only the just construction, but it is the one both parties are interested in putting upon the instrument, as the benefits are equal and mutual, and the object of the Convention, to avoid converting the exercise of a common right into a dispute about exclusive privilege, is secured by it. I am, &c. (Signed) John Forsyth. No. 10. Count Nesselrode to Mr. Dallas. St. Petersburgh, February 23,1838. Mr. Dallas, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, by his note of the 15th (27th) August last, has thought proper to interpose in behalf of the claims preferred by Eichard Blinn, a citizen of the United States, and master of the merchant-brig "Loriot." It appears from the above-mentioned note 12 that iu 1836 this vessel, having sailed for the north-west coast of America, arrived at Forrester's Island in latitude of 54° 55' north, with the intention of employing the natives in hunting for sea-otters, and that a few days after his arrival he was ordered off by a brig of the Russian-American Company, without having been able to pursue his project. Mr. Blinn, in virtue of the stipulations of the Convention of 5th (17th) April, 1824, and especially of the 1st Article of that Convention, now prefers complaints against the conduct of the Russian brig towards him, and asks indemnification for the losses sustained in consequence by the proprietors of the " Loriot." A claim of this nature, presented, too, by the Representative of a Power with which Russia is anxious to cultivate the most friendly relations, demanded the most serious attention on the part ofthe Imperial Ministry. The Russian-American Company was accordingly asked, without delay, for minute information respecting all the circumstances APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 479 connected with the above-mentioned facts, in order that it might be examined with an entire knowledge of the affair. This information has not yet reached the Imperial Ministry, as the Russian-American Company has not to this moment received any special report concerning the ordering off of the " Loriot." It appears, however, from the circumstances as stated in the very note of Mr. Dallas, as well as from a deposition made by one of the officers recently returned from those countries, that in notifying Mr. Richard Blinn to quit the shores where he was, the commander of the Kussian brig did nothing more than conform with the instructions given to him at the expiration of the IVth Article of the Convention. By examining the stipulations of that Convention, with the spirit of equity which marks the character of Mr. Dallas, he will be convinced that the Imperial Government cannot acknowledge the justice of the complaints of Mr. Blinn. It is true, indeed, the 1st Article of the Convention of 1824, to which the proprietors of the "Loriot" appeal, secures to the citizens of the United States entire liberty of navigation in the Pacific Ocean, as well as the right of landing without disturbance upon all points on the northwest coast of America, not already occupied, and to trade with the natives. But this liberty of navigation is subject to certain conditions and restrictions, and one of these restrictions is that stipulated by the IVth Article, which has specially limited to the period often years the right on the part ofthe citizens ofthe United States to frequent, without disturbance, the interior seas, the gulfs, harbours, and creeksnorth of the latitude of 54° 40'. Now, this period had expired more than two years before the " Loriot" anchored in the harbour of Tuckessan. In 1835 the Emperor's Minister in the United States had received orders to call the attention of the Cabinet at Washington expressly to the circumstance of the expiration of this period; and, in consequence of the official note addressed on this subject by Baron de Krudener to the Secretary of State, the Government of the United States caused to be published; in the Washington newspaper, a statement that, as the period of ten years had expired on the 4th of April, 1834, " the Governor of the Russian Colonies had formally notified the commanders of American vessels in that quarter that they could no longer claim, under the Convention, the right of landing, without distinction, at all the If, then, notwithstanding so formal a warning which the Government of the United States had itself aided in conveying to the knowledge of the citizens ofthe Union, the owners of the " Loriot" ventured upon an expedition to coasts where they had for two years been interdicted from landing, it appears that they should attribute only to themselves the ill- success of this enterprise, and that the Imperial Government cannot admit their claims, nor acknowledge their title to indemnification. In communicating these observations to Mr. Dallas, the Undersigned flatters himself with the belief that he will admit the justice of them, and cause them to be viewed in the same light by his Government. In. this hope he prays the Envoy to accept, &c. (Signed) Nesselrode. 480 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. No. 11. Mr. Dallas to Count Nesselrode. St. Petersburgh, March 5 (17), 1838. The Undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, had the honour to receive the answer of his Excellency Count Nesselrode, Vice-Chancellor of the Empire, dated the 23rd February, 1838, to the communication which the Undersigned, conformably to the special charge of his Government, addressed to his Excellency on the 15th (27th) August, 1837, in relation to the interference of certain of His Imperial Majesty's armed forces with the merchant brig "Loriot," owned and commanded by citizens of the United States, and prosecuting a trading voyage to the north-west coast of America, The remoteness of the regions where the incidents occurred which constitute the foundation of the reclamation on behalf of the parties injured, and the known difficulty of obtaining circumstantial details of any event in that quarter, connected with the assurance of his Excellency that the Imperial Ministry had given to the subject itsseri- 13 ous attention, must have engaged the Undersigned to protracted silence, under the conviction that everything which the justice of the case required would ultimately be attained. The note, however, of his Excellency, if accurately understood, dispenses with the necessity of additional information, and, adopting the statement of facts derived by the American Government from its citizens, would seem to remove all motive for further delay. An early notice, therefore, of the grou uds upon which a recognition of the claim has been declined is impelled alike by a profound respect for the source whence they emanated, and by a sense of the peculiar importance with which they bear upon the relations and interests of the two countries. The light in which the President of the United States regarded the treatment of Captain Blinn precluded the possibility of his supposing it warranted by the public authorities of Russia. He will hear with painful surprise that the subordinate by whom that treatment was inflicted did but obey the instructions with which he had been furnished in consequence of the expiration of the IVth Article of the Convention of 1824. It will be recollected that more than two and a-half years ago the American Secretary of State, Mr. Forsyth, in a letter of the 21st July, 1835, addressed to His Imperial Majesty's Minister then at Washington, the Baron de Krudener, expressed a wish to receive, as early as practicable, precise information of the measures His Imperial Majesty's Government had adopted or proposed to adopt in relation to the admission of American vessels into the harbours, bays, and rivers of the Russian Settlements ou the north-west coast of the contiueut; that this request was reiterated by Mr. Wilkins, the predecessor of the Undersigned, in a communication of the 1st November, 1835, and that his Excellency Count Nesselrode, in answer thereto, referring to the spring of 1836 as the earliest period at which an exact knowledge could be obtained of the measures which the local authorities had adopted, or which it would be necessary to adopt, left no room to doubt that they would then, or as soon as digested, be made known to the American Government. This information, so desirable as a basis for any corresponding measures to which the United States would have been urged by their uniform dispositions of amity towards Eussia, as well as by a provident attention to the regularity and security of their own commerce, has never APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 481 been imparted. Had the purport of the instruction, under which the "Loriot" was violently seized and driven from her voyage,been communicated, it would not have been allowed to work injury and loss to unoffending persons, without at least being first made the object of candid remonstrance, or of precautionary notice. And the President of the United States, unapprised of these Regulations, or of the particular points of the north-west coast on which Russian establishments were uewly formed, could not but view the abrupt proceeding to which Captain Blinn was subjected as an act, under any aspect, of the most unfriendly character. How far this sentiment will be changed or qualified by unexpectedly finding the slight on the American flag and the armed opposition to American trade to have been ordered, and to be now sanctioned, by the Government of His Imperial Majesty, upon the principles stated, the Undersigned cannot venture to foresee. Nor is the "informal notice" (lying before the Undersigned) published, at the repeated request of Baron de Krudener, in the " Washington Globe " on the 22nd. August, 1835, to which his Excellency has referred, susceptible, in the estimation of the Undersigned, of a construction which can ascribe to the American Government, or any of its citizens, the knowledge that a voyage like the one contemplated by Captain Blinn was inconsistent with any colonial interdict or general pretension of the Imperial authorities. Far from it. That publication,- while characteristic of the frank and confiding readiness with which' the American Executive proceeded to execute a wish expressed by a Power whose intercourse and relations inspire no distrust, compels, as is conceived, with unfeigned deference, the opposite construction, and imports a recognition of the entire lawfulness of such a voyage. In this spirit, and in this only, was it originally framed, and has ever since, without a question, been understood by the Government and people of the United States. True, it adverts to a Notice issued by the Governor of the Russian Colonies after the expiration of the IVth Article of the Convention, to the effect that the masters of American vessels could no longer claim the right they enjoyed under that IVth Article of landing at all the landing-places, without distinction, belonging to Russia on the north-west coast; and it further proceeds to observe to all interested in the trade that, under the Hnd Article of the same Convention, it is necessary for all American vessels resorting to any point where there is a Russian establishment to obtain the permission of the Governor or Commander. To the scope of phraseology of this " informal notice " it is believed Baron de Krudener never, orally or in writing, took the slightest exception. It will surely be perceived by his Excellency Count Nesselrode to contain no inhibition of trading voyages generally to the north-west coast of America, but, on the contrary, to confine its admonition expressly and precisely to "landing-places belonging to Eussia," and to " any point on the coast where there is a Russian establishment." Such landing-places and such points were alone supposed to be embraced in the Notice of Governor Wrangel, and were alone designated in the publication. American voyages to them were no longer as unembarrassed as during the operation of the IVth Article of the Convention, but to all Other points of that vast and wild territory the freedom of American navigation and trade remained unimpaired. It formed no part of the purpose of Captain Blinn to visit, with or without permission, any landing-place or point distinguished by Russian occu- 14 pancy or establishment; and it is therefore submitted that, even supposing him to have read the paragraph adduced, he could at least deduce from it nothing adverse to his voyage. - S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 31 482 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. The decision of the Imperial Ministry is stated by his Excellency the Vice-Chancellor to result from the very circumstances set forth in the note of the Undersigned, as well as from an affidavit of an officer recently returned from the Eussian Colonies, and to be founded upon the Convention of 1824. As the contents of the affidavit are not mentioned, they are presumed not to affect materially the narrative of the note, and certainly not to introduce any substantive assertion or denial adequate to give the case a totally new character, and to exact, by its • own force merely, a judgment which could not be reached without it. The remarks, therefore, which the Undersigned proposes to subjoin are necessarily restricted to the admitted allegations on behalf of Captain Blinn in connection with the stipulations of the Treaty. If, in pursuing this course, any injustice be done to the reasoning or views of the Imperial Ministry, he will, on the slightest intimation, hasten to rectify it with the frankness which he esteems indispensable to the faithful discharge of his representative duty. Avoiding a repetition of details heretofore enumerated, as well as their aggravating features, the leading facts of reclamation are that the brig "Loriot," owned and commanded by American citizens,.sailed from, the Sandwich Islands on the 22nd August, 1836, bound to the northwest coast, to procure provisions and Indians for hunting sea- otter ; that, having made Forrester's Island, she anchored in the harbour of Tuckessan,in latitude 54° 55' north; that no Russian establishment existed in that harbour; that four days afterwards an armed brig of His Imperial Majesty's navy went into a neighbouring harbour, called Tateskey, in latitude 54° 45' north; that no Russian establishment existed in this latter harbour; that she was boarded by officers from the armed brig, by whom her captain was first ordered' to leave the . dominions of Russia, and subsequently compelled to get under way and sail for the harbour of Tateskey; that when off the harbour of Tateskey she was, in threatening weather, refused permission to enter, and peremptorily again commanded to quit the waters of His Imperial Majesty; and, finally, that owing exclusively to this interference of armed force her voyage was abandoned, and she returned to the Sandwich Islands on the 1st November. It is this plain and brief story which the Undersigned, by instruction of his Government, has termed inconsistent with the rights of American citizens, immemorially exercised and secured by the laws of nations, as well as by the stipulations of the 1st Article of the Convention of 1824, and entitling the parties injured to such indemnification as might on an investigation be found justly their due. The right of the citizens of the United States to navigate the Pacific Ocean, and their right to trade with the aboriginal natives of the northwest coast of America, without the jurisidiction of other nations, are rights which constituted a part of their independence as soon as they declared it. They are rights founded in the law of nations, enjoyed in common with all other independent sovereignties, and incapable of being abridged or extinguished, except with their own consent. It is unknown to the Undersigned that they have voluntarily conceded these rights, or either of them, at any time, through the agency of thejr Government, by Treaty or other form of obligation, in favour of any community. Yet he deduces from the communication of his Excellency, after having given it the careful consideration to which every act from such a source lays claim, as the only ground upon which the reclamation on behalf of Captain Blinn is resisted, the proposition that the United States, by the Convention of 1824, yielded to His Imperial Majesty the right to hold commerce, on the expiration of ten years, with the aborig-' APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 483 inal natives on the north-west coast beyond the degree of 54° 40' north latitude. This proposition, if established, is unquestionably fatal to the pretensions of the master and owners of the "Loriot." It bears however, an aspect so detrimental to the interests of his countrymen' and to their attributes as an independent Power, is so inconsistent with the past policy and principles of the American Cabinets, and is withal - of such minor importance to the prosperity and greatness of Eussia, that the Undersigned trusts its want of solid foundation will, on further reflection, be apparent and confessed. The avowed objects of the Convention between the United States and His Imperial Majesty were " to cement the bonds of amity which unite them, and to secure between them the invariable maintenance of a perfect concord. The means of attaining these invaluable ends were embodied in its Articles. There is first a mutual and permanent agreement, declaratory of their respective rights, without disturbance or restraint, to navigate and fish in any part of the Pacific Ocean, and to resort to its coasts upon points which may not already have been occupied, in order to trade with the natives. These rights pre-existed in each, and were not fresh liberties resulting from the stipulation. To navigate, to fish, and to coast, as described, were rights of equal certainty, springing from the same source, and attached to the same quality of nationality. Their exercise, however, was subjected to certain restrictions and conditions, to the effect that the citizens and subjects of the Contracting Sovereignties should not resort to points where establishments existed without obtaining permission; that no future establishments should be formed by one party north, nor by the other party south, of 54° 40' north latitude, but that, nevertheless, both might, for a term of ten years, without regard to whether an establishment existed or not, without obtaining permission, without any hindrance whatever, frequent the interior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks, to fish and trade with the natives. This short analysis leaves, on the question at issue, no room for construction. 15 The view taken by his Excellency Count Nesselrode rests upon the provision last referred to, contained in the IVth Article of the Convention. Of this it is essential to fix the true character. Does its limitation of ten years apply to the broad national right of resorting to unoccupied points of the coast? If it do not^ the position taken is untenable. That it does not would seem to be a conclusion of the gravest as of the lightest scrutiny. The renunciation of a prerogative so high and important, if designed, would not have been left to mere inference from a disjointed paragraph, but would have been distinctly expressed in immediate connection with its first statement. No motive can possibly be assigned for permitting an intended abandonment of such a right, formally declared in the 1st. Article, to lurk unseen in the varied language of the IVth Article. The power of resorting to unoccupied points of the coast existed in perpetuity by the laws of nations, and is so enunciated in the 1st Article. To declare it afterwards to exist for ten years would be to insert a clause idle and without effect, providing for the temporary enjoyment of what had been previously pronounced permanent. But the interpretation of every instrument must be such as will, if possible, give substance and utility to each of its parts. Applied to points ofthe coast already occupied, the IVth Article takes effect as a temporary exception to the perpetual prohibition of the Hnd Article, and the only consequence of the expiration of the term to which it is limited is the revival and continued operation of that prohibition. 484 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. In employing, in the IVth Article, the descriptive words § interior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks," there is a departure from the comprehensive phraseology of the 1st Article, which is only to be explained by the fact that another idea was to be expressed. Nor is it difficult to understand what was really meant. The bonds of amity and perfect concord, which it was so desirable to cement and invariably maintain, would have been endangered, in peculiar localities, as to which . doubts might naturally arise whether they were embraced in the 1st or the Hnd Article. If, however, at their openings, or upon their commanding highlands, or on their shores, an occupied point or establishment existed, it was thought expedient to let them take character from that incident, without any nice measurement of its range or influence, at the expiration of ten years; and,accordingly, the IVth Article, avoiding too sudden a check of the actual account of trade, put a limit of time upon the liberty to frequent such places. The Undersigned submits that in no sense can the IVth Article be understood as implying an acknowledgment on the part of the United States of the right of Russia to the possession of the coast above the latitude of 54° 40' north. It must, of course, be taken in connection with the other Articles, and they have, in fact, no reference whatever to the question of the right of possession of the unoccupied parts. To prevent future collisions it was agreed that no new establishment should be formed by the respective parties to the north or south of the parallel mentioned; but the question of the right of possession beyond the existing establishments, as it stood previous to, or at the time of, the Convention, was left untouched. By agreeing not to form new establishments north of latitude 54° 40', the United States made no acknowledgment of the right of Russia to the territory above that line. If such an admission had been made, Russia, by the same construction of the Article referred to, must have equally acknowledged the right of the United States to the the territory south of the parallel. But that Russia did not so understand the Article is conclusively proved by her having entered into a similar agreement in her subsequent Treaty of 1825 with Great Britain, and having in that instrument acknowledged the right of possession of the same territory by Great Britain. The United States can only be considered inferentially as having acknowledged the right of Russia to acquire, above the designated meridian, by actual occupation, a just claim to unoccupied lands. Until that actual occupation be taken, the 1st Article of the Convention recognizes the American right to navigate, fish, and trade, as prior to its negotiation. Such is esteemed the true construction of the Convention, the construction which both nations are interested in affixing, as the benefits are equal and mutual, and the great object is secured of removing the exercise of a common right from the danger of becoming a dispute about exclusive privileges. . At the hazard of proving tedious, the Undersigned has thus endeavoured to convey to his Excellency Count Nesselrode the views suggested by his recent communication. The Government of the United States is ardent and uniform in its anxiety to cherish with that of Eussia the most friendly relations; in the reciprocation of this sentiment the fullest confidence is felt. The citizens and subjects of the two countries, meeting only with feelings of cordiality and for purposes of mutual advantage, are rapidly reaping the fruits of a wise and beneficent international policy. Every year enlarges the sphere of their commercial intercourse, discloses the identity' APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 485 of their interests, and strengthens their ties of amity. In the persuasion that the enlightened councils of His Imperial Majesty will join with the American authorities in every effort consistent with the honour and rights of their respective nations to rescue this condition of things from all danger of interruption, the Undersigned earnestly invites a reconsideration of the ground upon which the claim of the owners of the "Loriot" has been dismissed. With a consoling hope as to the result, he begs, &c. (Signed) G. M. Dallas. 16 No. 12. Jlfr. Seward to Mr. Clay. Department op State, Washington, February 24,1868. Sir: I recur on this occasion to my despatch No. 273, which related to alleged hostile demonstrations of a Russian armed vessel against a United States whaling-vessel in the Sea of Okhotsk. That communication was grounded upon mere rumour, which furnished no details, and was supported by no evidence. Prince Gortchacow, in his reply, answered substantially that the Russian Government had no information of the alleged conflict, and had given no orders or directions under which any hostile demonstrations could have been made. At last I have received details, which, however, are very limited, and testimony which is very incomplete. This subsequent information is contained in a despatch of Morgan L. Smith, Esq., United States Consul at Honolulu, which is accompanied by a deposition made by Manuel Enos, master of the American bark " Java."* In brief, Mr. Enos' statement presents the following facts, namely, that on the 27th July, while he was cruizing for whales in Shantar Bay, and standing towards Silas Richard's bluff, a Russian armed vessel came towards him, apparently under full steam, hoisted its flag, and threw open its ports. An officer from that Russian vessel went on board of the " Java," and ordered Captain Enos immediately on board the Russian steamer. The Russian Commander demanded to know the business of the United States vessel there. Captain Enos answered that his business was whaling, whereupon the Russian Commander ordered Captain Enos to leave the bay within twenty-four hours, under a threat of taking Captain Enos with his vessel to Nicolawasky, or blowing him out of the water, as the Russian Captain should think proper. Captain Enos replied that he had whaled in those bays for the last seventeen years, and had never heard of any one being driven out, or of any purpose of excluding whalers. Captain Enos thereupon immediately left Shantar Bay. Captain Enos further says that he afterwards learned from some of the crew'of the American bark " Endeavour" that they, knowing nothing of the trouble, went into the same place (Shantar Bay) a few days afterwards, and that their boats were fired into by the same vessel before mentioned, and that they were commanded to leave the bays by threats to the same effect with those which had been made against Captain Enos. The Consul transmitting this statement says that he has been unable to procure the name of either the Russian vessel or her Com- * For these papers, see Diplomatic Correspondence, 1868, p. 468. 486 NDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. mander; that he is informed by the master ofthe English bark " Cobang" that some Finns, subjects of the Czar, have a whaling-station there, ^keeping two schooners in the bay, and having their trying works on shore. If we were at liberty to assume these special statements to be true, and if we were not assured by the Russian Government that the transactions complained of occurred not only without its knowledge, but without any authority, we should in that case have reason for profound concern. As the matter stands, with the possibility that similar armed hostile demonstrations may be made on the same quarter, there is reason to apprehend that discontent will arise, and perhaps conflict may occur between citizens of the United States and the subjects of Russia in the Sea of Okhotsk. Nothing could be more inconvenient than such difficulties at the present moment, as I am well assured nothing could be more sincerely deprecated by the Russian Government. You will give a copy of this communication to Prince Gortchacow, and of its accompaniments, Consul Smith's despatch and Captain Enos' deposition, and invite Prince Gortchacow to give his attention to the same at his reasonable convenience. I am, &c, (Signed) William H. Seward. No. 13. Mr. Frelinghuysen to Mr. Hoffman. Department of State, Washington, March 7, 1882.- Sir: I inclose copies of letters from the Treasury, and a copy of a " letter from Messrs. Lynde and Hough, of San Francisco, to the Secretary of the Treasury, touching the Pacific coast fisheries. This latter communication states that, according to late news, "foreign vessels must receive an order from the Governor of Siberia, besides paying duties of 10 dollars per ton on all fish caught in Russian waters," which they say would be ruinous to their business. In view of the above, I have to ask that you will make immediate inquiry on this subject, and report the facts. If a brief telegram will furnish information of value to our fishermen in this regard, you can send one. I am, &c. (Signed) Fredk. T. Frelinghuysen. [Inclosure 1 iu No. 13.] Mr. Folger to Mr. Frelinghuysen. Treasury Department, February 2,1882. Sir : I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd ultimo, "-—'tting a copy of a despatch of the 21st November last from the Minister of TAkjA, Japan, with its'inclosure, relative to the Notice given by the licensing of foreign vessels the United States the Russian Consul at Yokoni i yoi that thif jetors of Cuf ian Consul's Notice is sv with six copies of the Cir Very respectfully, Asiatic coast of Ru Department has issued Circular instructions every port throughout the country, to which ed, dated the 30th January, 1882, and I iacl to APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 487 CIRCULAR TO' UNITED STATES COLLECTORS OF CUSTOMS. Permit required for Hunting, Trading, and Fishing on Russian Coasts ofthe Okhotsk and Treasury Department, Office of the Secretary, Washington, D. C, January 30,1882. To Collectors of Customs and others: The subjoined Notice by the Russian Consul at Yokohama, that American vessels are not allowed, without a special permit or licence from the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, "to carry on hunting, trading, fishing, &c, on the Russian coasts or islands in the Okbotsk or Behring Seas, or on the north-eastern coast of Asia or within the sea-bouudary line," is published by the Department for the information of American ship-masters interested. It will be observed that the Russian Order took effect on the 1st January, 1882. (Signed) Chas. J. Folger, Secretary [Inclosure 3 in No. 13.] Notice issued by Russian Consul at Yokohama. At the request of the local authorities of Behring and other islands, the Undersigned hereby notifies that the Russian Imperial Government publishes, for general knowledge, the following: 1. Without a special permit or licence from the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, foreign vessels are not allowed to carry on trading, hunting, fishing, &c, on the Russian coast or islands in the Okhotsk and Behring Seas, or on the northeastern coast of Asia, or within their sea-boundary line. 2. For such permits or licences, foreign vessels should apply to Vladivostok, exclusively. 3. In the port of Petropaulovsk, though being the only port of entry in Kamtchatka, such permits or licenoes shall not be issued. 4. No permits or licences whatever shall be issued for hunting, fishing, or trading at or on the Commodore and Robben Islands. 5. Foreign vessels found trading, fishing, hunting, &c, in Russian waters, without a licence or permit from the Governor-General, and also those possessing a licence or permit who may infringe the existing bye-laws on hunting, shall be confiscated, both vessels and cargoes, for the benefit of the Government. This enactment shall be enforced henceforth, commencing with a. d. 1882. 6. The enforcement of the above will be intrusted to Russian men-of-war, and also to Russian merchant-vessels, which, for that purpose, will carry military detachments and be provided with proper instructions. (Signed) A. Pelikan, Sis Imperial Russian Majesty's Consul. Yokohama, November 15,1881. 13 [Inclosure 4 in No. 13.] Mr. Folger to Mr. Freh nghuysen. r Department, February 24,1882. Sir: I ha ve the honour to inclose herewith, fo such action in the case as you may deem prope r, a letter from Messrs. Lyndo and E stating tha they are extensively engaged in the they will fi which they have never been molested; but they now learn that foreign vessels must order from the Governor of Siberia, lesides pay a duty of 10 dollars per ton on all fi sh caught in Russian waters, which, if sustained, will be ruinous. Very respectfully, (Signed) Chas. J. Folger, Secretary, 488 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. [Inclosure'5 in No. 13.] Messrs. Lynde 4" Sough to Mr. Folger. San Francisco, February 15,1882. Sir : You will please pardon us for this seeming intrusion, but the matter in which we now seek your aid and kind assistance is of great import to us. We now are and have been extensively engaged in the Pacific coast cod fisheries, and, in fact, are among the very few who fifteen years ago started in a small way, believing with energy and fair dealing we could work up an enterprise that would be a benefit to the coast. Our ideas were correct. We have been yearly sending vessels to the coast of Kamtchatka (Sea of Okhotsk) for fish. We never have been molested in Russian waters from catching cod-fish or procuring bait, which are small salmon in the rivers, or filling fresh water for the use of ship, but it appears now there is a law which has never been enforced against foreigners, the same we have recently noted, and which we have been apprised of, and the substance is that foreign vessels must receive an order from the Governor of Siberia, besides must pay a duty of 10 dollars per ton on all fish caught in Russian waters. This decree, if sustained, is ruinous to one of the best and rising industries of the coast, and as we fit our vessels to sail about the 1st May, leaves us but little chance to arrange matters this season save with your kind assistance in the matter. Our business is fishing entirely. We use no trade with natives, having nothing to do with the taking or purchasing of furs. At this time we are placed in a very bad predicament. Trusting that you can relieve us from this embarrassment, and receive an early reply on the subject, we are, &o. P. S.—Our vessels fish from 10 to 25 miles from shore. Lynde & Hough. L. & H. 1*0.14. Mr. Hoffman to Mr. Frelinghuysen.—(Received April 3.) Legation of the United States, St. Petersburgh, March 14,1882. Sir: I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of a Circular of the Treasury Department of the 30th January last upon the subject of fishing, &c, in the Behring Sea and in the Sea of Okhotsk. I am able to give the Department some little information upon this subject, derived nearly four years ago from Mr. Charles H. Smith, for many years a resident of Vladivostok, and at one time our Consul or Vice-Consul at that port. A glance at the Map will show that the Kurile Islands are dotted across the entrance to the sea of Okhotsk the entire distance from Japan on the south to the southernmost cape of Kamtchatka on the north. In the time when Russia owned the whole of these islands her Representatives in Siberia claimed that the Sea of Okhotsk was a mare clausum, for that Russian jurisdiction extended from island to island and over 2 marine leagues of intermediate sea from Japan to Kamtchatka. But about five years ago Russia ceded the southern group of these islands to Japan in return for the half of the Island of Saghalien, which belonged to that Power. As soon as this was done it became impossible for the Siberian authorities to maintain their claim. My informant was not aware that this claim had ever been seriously made at St. Petersburgh ^fJ3^ wh?linS grounds are found in the bays and inlets of the Sea of Okhotsk. Into these the Russian Government does not permit foreign whalers to enter, upon the ground that the entrance to them, from APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 489 headland to headland, is less than 2 marine leagues wide. But while they permit no foreign whalers to penetrate into these bays, they avail themselves of their wealth very little. The whole privilege of whaling m those waters is a monopoly, owned by an unimportant Company, which employs two or three sailing-schooners only, the trying and other laborious work being done at their stations on shore. 19 Referring to my No. 44 of June 1878,1 have the honour-to add that Baron Stoeckl told me in conversation last winter that we failed to make a Fishing Treaty with Russia in 1868, principally on account of the vested interests of this Company. Mr. C. H. Smith now resides at Great Falls, N. H., and would be glad, I am sure, to put his information at the service of the Department. I am, &c (Signed) Wiokham Hoffman. No. 15. Mr. Hoffman to Mr. Frelinghuysen.—{Received April 13.) Legation of the United States, - St. Petersburgh, March 27,1882. Sir : I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 120, with its inclosures, in reference to our Pacific Ocean fisheries. Tour despatch reached me yesterday, and to-day I have written to M. de Giers upon the subject, and I propose to call upon him upon his first reception-day. In the meantime, and until further information, I do not see that any new orders necessarily affecting our fishermen have been issued by the Russian Government. Messrs. Lynde and Hough have apparently given insufficient attention to the words " Russian waters." These waters are defined in the Notice published by the Imperial Vice- Consulate at Yokohama, as follows: "Fishing, &c., on the Russian coast or islands in the Okhotsk and Behring Seas, or on the north-eastern coast of Asia, or within their sea- boundary line." If I recollect correctly the information given me by Mr. Smith upon this subject, referred to in my No. 44 of June 1878, and in my No. 207 of this month, the cod-banks lie in the open Sea of Okhotsk, many marine leagues off the south-western coast of Kamtchatka. I observe that Messrs. Lynde and Hough state that their vessels fish from 10 to 25 miles from the shore. At that distance in an open sea they cannot be said "to fish upon the coast." I do not think that Russia claims that the Sea of Okhotsk is a mare clausum, over which she has exclusive jurisdiction. If she does, her claim is not a tenable one since the cession of part of the group of the Kurile Islands to Japan, if it ever were tenable at any time. I may add that, according to the information given me four years ago, Russia opposes no objections to foreign fishermen landing in desert places on the coast of Kamtchatka, far from the few villages which are found on that coast, for the purposes of catching bait and procuring fresh water; but she does object to all communication between trading and fishing vessels and the inhabitants, alleging that these vessels sell them whiskey, upon which they get drunk, and neglect their fishing, their only means of livelihood, and then, with their wives and children, die of starvation the ensuing winter. I am; &c (Signed) Wiokham Hoffman. I 490 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. No. 16. Mr. Hoffman to Mr. Frelinghuysen.—(Received June 6.) Legation of the United States, St. Petersburgh, May 22,1882. Sir: Referring to your No. 120 and to my Nos. 211 and 215,1 have the honour to forward to you herewith a translation of a note recently received from M. de Giers upon the subject of hunting, fishing, and trading in the Pacific waters. I do not see that there is anything in the Regulations referred to that affects our whalers, nor our cod fisheries either, except that when they go ashore to catch small fish for bait in the streams, they expose themselves to interruption from the Russian authorities, who, finding them in territorial waters, may accuse them of having taken their fish therein. I will endeavor to procure and forward you a translation of the Articles of the Code referred to by M. de Giers, that you may have the whole matter before you. This cannot be done, however, under several days. I am, &c. (Signed) Wiokham Hoffman. [Inclosure in No. 16.—Translation.] M. de Giers to Mr. Soffman. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Asiatic Department, May 8 (20), 1882. Sir : Referring to the exchange of communications which has taken place between us on the subject of a Notice published by our Consul at Yokohama relative 20 to fishing, hunting, and to trade in the Russian waters of the Pacific, and in reply to the note which you addressed to me, dated the 15th (27th) March, I am now in a position to give you the following information. A Notice of the tenour of that annexed to your note of the 15th March was, in fact, published by our Consul at Yokohama, and our Consul-General at San Francisco is also authorized to publish it. This measure refers only to prohibited industries and to the trade in contraband; the restrictions which it establishes extend strictly to the territorial waters of Russia only. It was required by the numerous abuses proved in late years, and which fell with all their weight on the population of our sea-shore and of our islands, whose only means of support is by fishing and hunting. These abuses inflicted also a marked injury on the interests of the Company to which the Imperial Government had conceded the monopoly of fishing and hunting ("exportation") in islands called the " Commodore" and the "Seals." Beyond this new Regulation, of which the essential point is the obligation imposed upon captains of vessels who desire to fish and to hunt in the Russian waters of the Pacific to provide themselves at Vladivostok with the permission or licence of the Governor-General of Oriental Siberia, the right of fishing, hunting, and of trade by foreigners in our territorial waters is regulated by Article 560 and those following of Vol. XII, Part II, of the Code of Laws. Informing you of the proceeding, I have, &o. (Signed) Giebs. APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT Mr. Hoffman to Mr. Frelinghu Leg ■(Re ed July 3.) tion of the United States, St. Petersburgh, June 14, 1882. Sir: Referring to my No. 228,1 have the honour to forward to yoil herewith a translation of a note aud inclosure received yesterday from M. de Giers upon the subject of fishing and hunting in the Russiar Pacific waters. As far as I am at present informed, the Departmenl has now before it the whole legislation of Russia upon the subject. I am, &c. (Signed) Wiokham Hoffman. Mini Sir : In consequence of May, relative to fishing an the desire to have a transl 1 have the honour to tram the Code, Vol. XII, Part I Receive, &o. [Inolosure 1 In No n.-Transla Hon.] M. de Giers to Mr. Soffm m. STRY OF POREK ,n Affairs , ASIAT the note which you addrei ssed to itionof theArti with a tear Code wl slation rinolosure 2 in No. 17.—Tn Articles 660, 561, 662, 665, and 571 of the Ru i Code, Vol. XII, Part II. to the use of one and all. Art. 561. No exception will be mad special privileges granted for the righ aited periods. Art. 562. The above Regulation regarding the right of fishing an occupations on the seas extends equally to all If* propertiei s extends equally to all lakes which do n b. 565. No restriction shall be established as regards the app employed for fishing and for analogous occupations in the high seas permitted to every one to use for this purpose such apparatus as he best according to the circumstances of the locality. Art. 571. Ships in quarantine are not permitted to fish. The s extends in general to all persons in those localities where ships are 1 No. 18. Mr. Lothrop to Mr. Bayard.—(Received March 7.) Legation of th . Pe •gh, Fe Sir : In compliance witl the 4th December last, I £ the Imperial Minister foi grounds on which the Am confiscated off East Cape. idr< ide 492 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. On the 21st January last I received a reply, a translation of which I inclose herewith, stating that the "Henrietta" was confiscated by the Judgment of a Commission sitting on board the Imperial corvette 1 Kreysser," for the offence of illicit trading on the Russian coast. On the 24th January I had a personal interview with General Vlan- galy, the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which I asked him how the Commission that sat on board the corvette was constituted. He informed me that it was composed of certain officers of the corvette, acting under the orders of the Government of Eastern Siberia, within whose general jurisdiction such matters were vested. I also called his attention to the fact that his note to me failed to specify in what the "illicit commerce" consisted, and asked him for further information. He replied that he was not then able to give me the desired information, but said an answer in respect to the seizure and condemnation of the American schooner "Eliza" was in preparation, and would be sent to me in a few days, and he thought that perhaps I might thereby receive the information sought. On the 1st February I received the promised communication respecting the "Eliza," a copy of which will accompany the despatch which will immediately follow the present one. It will be seen that the seizure and condemnation of the schooners rest on the provisions of an administrative Order ("d'une disposition administrative") prohibiting, after the first of the year 1882, all trading, hunting, and fishing on the Russian Pacific coasts without special licence from the Governor-General. It is claimed that very extensive publicity of this Regulation was given in 1881-83 through the newspapers of Yokohama, in the Russian Consulates of the Pacific, and at the American custom-houses. Upon the receipt of this last note I at once, for greater celerity, wrote to General Vlangaly asking him for a copy of the Trading Regulation or Order. I also asked if I was right in my understanding that the Commission was composed of the officers of the vessel that made the capture. I supposed this last note would be answered at once, but as it has not been, 1 have concluded not to wait any longer before reporting the case to you. The feature that strikes me as very peculiar in these cases is the fact that the captors are also the judges of their own acts. The Commission seems to sit at once at the place of capture, and the evidence on which it acts would seem to be that which the captors derive from their own observation on the spot. It is, perhaps, a fundamental and equitable maxim of jurisprudence that no one can be a judge of his own cause, and it will probably be worthy of consideration how far the decisions of a Tribunal so constituted can be considered as valid. I am, &c. (Signed) Geo. V. N. Lothrop. [Inclosure In No. 18 Translation.] General Vlangaly to Mr. Lothrop. Mr. Envoy: In consequen December, I hasten to ask i regard to the seizure of the ' r Foreign Affaii i, Asiatic Department, January 8 {20), 1887. %°l^?i™^^^?!^yj*0£ to.me ontlle 10tk (22nd) by telegraph, in iformation of the iritime Provi APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 493 I have now the honour to bring to your knowledge that, according to the information communicated to me by General Enghelm, Acting Governor of said province, the "Henrietta" was in fact seized and confiscated on the 17th (29th) August, i- virtue of a decision of the Commission sitting on board of the Imperial r "Kreysser," for the offence of iUicit trading on our coasts. Pray accept, &o. A. "\ Mr. Lothrop to Mr. Bayard.—(Received March 7.) Legation of the United States, St. Petersburgh, February 17,1887. Sir: I have the honour to transmit to you a translation of a communication receivedfrom the Imperial Foreign Office on the 1st February instant, relative to the seizure of the schooner "Eliza." The Russian Government claims that she was seized and condemned under the provisions of an Order, or Regulation, which took effect at the beginning of 1882, and which absolutely prohibited every kind of trading, hunting, and fishing on the Russian Pacific coast without a special licence from the Governor-General. It is not claimed that the "Eliza" was engaged in seal-fishing,but that she was found actually engaged in trading with the natives with the contraband articles of arms and strong liquors. She was condemned by a Commission sitting on the Imperial corvette " Rasbo'inik," composed of the officers thereof. In this respect the case is precisely like that of the " Henrietta," mentioned in my last preceding despatch No. 95, and of this date. It will be noticed that Mr. Spooner, the owner of the " Eliza," in his statement of his claim, declares that the "Eliza" was "on a trading voyage, engaged in bartering with the natives, and catching walrus, and as such did not come under the Notice of the Russian Government, which was directed against the capture of seals on Copper, Robbins, and Behring Islands." It will be seen that Mr. Spooner either refers to an Order of the Russian Government different from the one mentioned by the Imperial Foreign Office, or he understood the latter in a very different sense. I may add that the Russian Code of Prize Law of 1869, Article 21, and now in force, limits the jurisdictional waters of Russia to 3 miles from the shore. As stated in my previous despatch, I have asked for a copy of the Order or Regulation under which the "Henrietta" and "Eliza" were seized and condemned. Very truly, &c. (Signed) Geo. V. N. Lothrop. [Inolosure in No. 19.—Translation.] General Vlangaly to Mr. Lothrop. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Asiatic Department, January 19 (31), 1887. Mb. Envoy: The Chief of the General Staff of the Navy has just transmitted to me the information which I had requested from that Department in consequence of the note that von addressed to me bearing date the 5th (17th) July, 1886, in regard to the incident of the seizure of the schooner "Eliza." This information is in substance to the effect that the "Eliza" was confiscated not for the fact of seal-hunting, but by virtue of an Administrative Regulation prohib- 494 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. iting, from the beginning of the year-1882, every kind of commercial act, of hunting, and of fishing on our coasts of the Pacific, without a special authorization from tho Governor-General, and carrying with it, against those disregarding it, the penalty of the seizure of the ship as well as of the cargo. During the years 1881-83, the widest means of publicity were employed in bringing this Regulation to the knowledge of the parties interested. It was published in the journals of Yokohama, posted up in all our Consulates of the Pacific, and communicated to the American Custom-house establishments. The complainant cannot, therefore, plead ignorance of the prohibitory'measures in question. The crew of the "Eliza" was engaged not only hunting walrus on our coast of Kanitcuatka, and in commercial transactions with the natives, but traded there with illicit articles such as arms and strong liquors. The infringements of the printed Regulations are duly established by the open act and the confession of the captain, Austin Weston, who made no protest against the seizure of the vessel ordered under that head by the Commission sitting ad hoc on board the Imperial corvette "Rasboinik." The captain and his second officer besides acknowledge the offence charged against them of hunting and of trading in their depositions annexed to the Petition itself of Mr. Spooner and communicated to the Imperial Ministry by the Legation of the United States, under date of the I6th (28th) April.' In informing you of the foregoing circumstances, which demonstrate the entire legitimacy of the seizure of the "Eliza," I have no doubt, Mr. Envoy, that you will be led to conclude that the claim brought by the proprietor of that ship is without foundation. And I avail myself, &c. (Signed) A. Ylangaly. Jt?J± H T 3. TREATIES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA, AND GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA: 1824,1825, AND 1867. TABLE OF CONTENTS. No. Page. 1. Convention between the United States and Russia, relative to the Pacific Ocean, and the North-Western Coast of America. Signed at St. Petersburgh, April 5 (17), 1824 1 2. Convention between Great Britain and Russia. Signed at St. Petersburgh, February 16 (28), 1825 2 3. Treaty between the United States and Russia. Signed at Washington, March 30,1867 (English version) 4 S. Ex. 177, pt. 4 32 TREATIES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA, AND GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA: 1824,1825, AND 1867. CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA, RELATIVE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, AND THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST OF AMERICA. Le President des Etats-Unis d'Amenque, et Sa Majeste" l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, voulant cimenter les liens d'amiti6 qui les unissent, et assurer entre eux le maintien invariable d'un parfait accord, moyennant la presente Convention, ont nomme pour leurs Plenipotentiaires a cet effet, savoir: Le President des Etats-Unis d'Amerique, le Sieur Henry Middleton, Citoyen des dits Etats, et leur Envoy6 Extraordinaire et Ministre Plenipotentiaire pies Sa Majeste Imperiale; Et Sa Majest6 l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, ses aim£s et feaux les Sieurs Charles Robert Comte de Nesselrode, Conseiller Priv6 actuel, Membre du Conseil d'Etat, Secretaire d'Etat dirigeant le Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres, Ohambellan actuel, Cbevalier de l'Ordre de Saint- Alexandre Newsky, Grand-Croix de l'Ordre de Saint-Wladimir de la premiere classe, Cbevalier de celui de l'Aigle Blanc de Pologne, Grand- Croix de l'Ordre de Saint-Etienne de Hongrie, Cbevalier des Ordres du Saiut-Esprit et de Saint-Michel, et Grand-Croix de celui de la Legion d'Honneur de France, Chevalier Grand-Croix des Ordres de l'Aigle Noir et de l'Aigle Rouge de Prusse, de l'Annonciade de Sardaigne, de Charles III d'Espagne, de Saint-Ferdinand et du Merite de Naples, de l'Elepbant de Danemarc, de l'Etoile Polaire de Suede, de la Couronne de Wurtembourg, des Guelphes de Hanovre, du Lion Beige, de la Fidelity de Bade, et de Saint-Constantin de Parme: et Pierre de Poletica, Conseiller d'Etat actuel, Chevalier de l'Ordre de Sainte-Anne de la premiere classe, et Grand-Croix de l'Ordre de Saint-Wladimir de la seconde; Lesquelles, apres avoir echange" leurs Pleins Pouvoirs, trouv£s eu bonne et due forme, out arrete et sign6 les stipulations suivantes: 11 est conven l que dans aucune partie du Grand Ocean, appeles Ocean Pacifique ou Mer du Sud, les citoyens ou sujets respectifs des Ha ploitation, de la peche, soit dans la faculte" d'aborder aux cfites sur de seroient pas deja les restrictions e t conditions de'termine'es par les Articles qui suivent APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN, Art 3 II. Dans la vue d'empecher que les droits t Ocean par les citoyens et sujets des Hautes Puissances Conti le pretexte d'un commerce illicite, il est convenn que les n'aborderont a aucnu point ou il se trouvo un etablissement 1 du Gouverueur ou Commandant; et quo r^ciproquement les s aborder sans permission a aucun etablissement desEtats-Uni ] III. II est convenn en outre, qui 2 cote nord-ouest d'Ameni etablissement sur la 3entes au nord du 54e pa que les deux Puissance trouveroit sous leur autc lie dise, soit, enfin, des mesures quelconques de contrainte envers les armateurs ou les equipages qui feroient ce commerce; les Hautes Puissances Contractantes s'etant reciproquement reserve de statuer sur les peines a encourir, et d'infliger les amendes encourues en cas de contravention a cet Article, par leurs citoyens ou sujets respectifs. Article VI. Lorsque cette Convention aura ete duement ratifiee par le Pi Unis, de l'avis et du consentement du Senat, d'une part, et de Par l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, les ratifications en seront echan dans le deiai de dix mois de la date ci-dessous, ou plus tdt si fai: de quoi les Plenipotentiaires respectifs Font signee, et y ont fait de leurs armes. Fait a Saint-Petersbourg, le 5 (17) Avril, de l'an de Grace 1824. (Signe) Henry Middleton. Le Comte Ce fsident des Etate- ;re par Sa Majeste ees a Washington Pn s Pole CONVENTION BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA. tSigned at St. Petersburgh, February 16 (28), 1825.] [Original French Text.] Sa Majeste le Roi du Royaume Uni de la Grande-Bretagne et de l'lrlande, et Sa Majest6 l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, desirant resserrer les liens de bonne intelligence et d'amitie qui les unissent, au moyen d'un accord qui regleroit, d'apres le principe des convenances APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 501 • reciproques, divers points relatifs au commerce, a la navigation et aux pechenes de leurs sujets sur l'Ocean Pacifique, ainsi que les limites de leurs possessions respectives sur la cote nord-ouest de l'Amerique, out nomme des Plenipotentiaires pour conclure une Convention a cet effet savoir: Sa Majeste le Roi du Royaume-Uni de la Grande-Bretagne et de l'Irlande, le Tres Honorable Stratford Canning, Conseiller de Sa dite Majesty en son Conseil Priv6, &c.; Et Sa Majesty l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, le Sieur Charles Robert Comte de Nesselrode, son Conseiller Priv6 actuel, Membre du Conseil del'Empire, Secretaire d'Etat dirigeant le Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres, &c, et le Sieur Pierre de Poletica, son Conseiller d'Etat actuel, &c.; Lesquels Plenipotentiaries, apres s'etre communique leurs Pleius Pouvoirs respectifs, trouv^s en bonne et due forme, ont arrete et sign6 les Articles suivans: Article I. II est convenu que dans aucune partie du Grand Ocean, appeie commonement Ocean Pacifique, les sujets respectifs des Hautes Puissances Contractantes ne 3 seront ni troubles, ni genes, soit dans la navigation, soit dans l'exploitation de la peche, soit dans la faculte d'aborder aux c6tes, sur des points qui ne seroient pas deja occupes, afin d'y faire le commerce avec les indigenes, sauf toutefois les restrictions et conditions determinees par les Articles qui suivent. La ligne de demarcation eutre les possessions des Hautes Parties Contractantes A partir dn point le plus meridional do l'lle dite Prince of Wales, lequel point se trouve sous la parallele du 54e degre 40 minutes de latitude nord, et entre le 131e et le 133e degre de longitude ouest (meridien de Greenwich), la dite ligne remontera au nord le long de la passe dite Portland Channel, jusqu'au point de la terre ferme oil elle atteint le 56e degre de latitude nord; de ce dernier point la ligne de demarcation suivra la crete des montagnes situees parallelement a la c6te, jusqu'au point d'intersection du 141e degre de longitude ouest (meme meridien); et, finalement, du dit point d'intersection, la meme ligne meridienne du 141e degre formera, dans son prolongement jusqu'a la Mer Glaciale, la limite entre les possessions Russes et Britanniques sur le continent de l'Amerique nord-ouest. Article IV. II est entendu, par rapport a la ligne de demarcation determinee dans 1'Article 1. Que Pile dite Prince of Wales appartiendra toute entiere a la Russie. 2. Que partout oil la crete des montagnes qui s'etendent dans une direction parallele a la c6te depuis le 56e degre de latitude nord au point d'intersection du 141" degre de longitude ouest, se trouveroit a la distance de plus de 10lieues marines de l'ocean, la limite entre les possessions Britanniques et la lisifere de cdte mentionnee ci-dessus comme devant appartenir a la Russie, sera formee par une ligne parallele aux sinuosites de la c6te, et qui ne pourra jamais eu etre eioignee que de 10 lieues marines. Article V. II est convenu en outre, que mil etablissement ne sera forme par l'une des deux Parties dans les limites que les deux Articles precedens assignent aux possessions de l'autre. En consequence, les sujets Britanniques ne formeront aucun etablissement } APPENDIX TO" CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. sur la cdte, soit sur la lisifere de terre ferme comprise dans les limites des posses- s Russes, telles qu'elles sont designees dans les deux Articles precedens; et, de le, nul etablissement ne sera forin6 par des sujets Russes au dela des dites limites. II est entendu que les arrivent, soit de l'ocdan, s< droit de naviguer libremei viferes qui, dans leurs cour tion sur la lisifere de la oot > dans PArticle III d msdito liberte de comm is, des armes a feu, des i le guerre; les Hautes I Tout vaisseau Britai force par des tempetes, parties respectives, aur: dres dans l'espace do six En foi de quoi les Pieni de leurs armes. Fait a Saint-Petersbou [l. s.] [l. s.] [L. B.] APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 503 No. 3. TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA. By the President op the United States of America. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas a Treaty between the United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias was concluded and signed by their respective Plenipotentiaries at the city of Washington, on the 30th day of March last, which Treaty, being in the English and French languages, is word for word as follows: The United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, being desirous of strengthening, if possible, tho good understanding which exists between them, have, for that purpose, appointed as their Plenipotentiaries: The President of the United States, William H. Seward, Secretary of State; And His Majesty the Emperor of All tbe Russias, tho Privy Councillor Edward de Stoeckl, his Envoy Extraordiuai y and Minister Plenipotentiary to tho United rhich were is to cede to the United States, of the ratifications thereof, all id Majesty on the continent of cica and in the adjacent islands, the same being contained within the geograph- limite herein set forth, to wit: The eastern limit is the line of demarcation een the Russian and the British possessions in North America, as established by Convention between Russia and Great Britain, of the 16th (28th) February, and described in Articles III and IV of said Convention, in the following- !ommencing from the southernmost point of the island, called Prince of Wales Island, which point lies in the parallel of 54° 40' north latitude, and betweei the 131st and the 133rd degree of west longitude (meridian of Greenwich), the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called Portland Channel, r as the point of the continent where it strikes the 56th degree of north lati- ; from this last-mentioned point, the line of demarcation shall follow the suin- )f the mountains situated parallel to the coast as far as the point of intersection le 141st degree of west longitude (of the same meridian); and finallv, from the point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st degree, in its prolonga- as far as the Frozen Ocean. V. With reference to the line of demarcation laid down in the preceding Artist. That the island called Prince of Wales Island shall belong wholly to Russia " Island of Atton and-the Copper Island'of the Kormandorski couplet or gr< the North Pacific Ocean, to the meridian of 193° west longitude, so as to incii the territory conveyed the whole of the Aleutian Islands east of that mendiai 1 APPENDIX TO CASE OP GREAT BRITAIN. the right of property n buildings, fortifications, vidual property. It is, copy of fuch of them as may be States to the Russian Governmen apply for. rch resident in the tei rchives, papers, and d ich may be now existi BdStates; butanauth nities'of c: lis Majesty the Emperor of All ■ When this Convention shall hav< States, by and with the advice and other by His Majesty the Empen exchanged at Washington within In faith whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries and thereto affixed the seals of their arms. Done at Washington, the 30th day of March, in th [L.S.] [L.S.] hree months from the date hereof, or Plenipotentiaries have signed this Co: r Lord 1867. \m H. Seward.
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Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. JX238 .F8 1895
Bering Sea controversy
Sealing
Fur seal arbitration. Proceedings of the Tribunal of Arbitration, convened at Paris under the treaty between the United States of America and Great Britain concluded at Washington February 29, 1892, for the determination of questions between the two governments concerning the jurisdictional rights of the United States in the waters of Bering Sea. Volume IV
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