Page:Alaskan boundary tribunal (IA alaskanboundaryt01unit).pdf/58

 te hutitode 4° 40" and to make it alt epon the continent at the Portland Canal, of which the opening into the ovean is at the same latitude at Prince of Wales Island, und which hax ite origin inkun! between 45° and 40° of latitude. * * © Lf Prince of Wales Island remains to as, it is neeersary that it can be of some utility te ns, Now, according to the plan of the British ambassador, it would be for a only a Darden, dil perhaps an inconvenient one. That ishind, in fact, and the extablish- nient= which we might set ap thereon, workl find themselves entirely isolated, deprived of all support, sarrouncded by the domatns of (ireat Britain, and at the merey of the Enylish establishments of the coast. We wonkl exhaust ourselves in the cost of wiring and watebing our part without any compensation to alleviate tie burden, Wonkt stich an arrangement be formded on the principle of mutaal expedicney?

We have all the more right te appeal to this principle, since England lerself hits provel by an authentiv act that she regarded her rights to the territury, the sur- render of which she demands, as doubtfal. The conyention of October 20, 1818, between the Court of London and the United States, dechires that all the extent of commtry between the Rovky Monntains, the Pacilie Ocean, and the Russian posses- sions shall be the common property of the two powers for ten veurs. The titles of the United States to the possession of this territory are, therefore, as valid az those of England. Nevertheless, the Cabinet of Washington has admitted that our honndary shonld come down as faras 64° 40%. This bas been admitted in a formal aereement that we have just signed with its plenipotentiary, and the strengthening of our arguments fs far from being the only result of this admission; it has other conse ynences to whieh we rightly attach the greatest importance,"

On August 31. 1824. Count Nesselrode, in writing to Count Lieven to the effect that there were three of the then pending proposals of Grent Britain which it was lipossible to accept, said: “1 reserve to myself the duty of making, in this dispateh, the ost important ohser- vations, those concerning clauses which it is utterly impossible for ns toacvept. ‘They are three in number: 1. Liberty to English subjects to hunt. to fish, and to teade with the natives of the country, perpet- urtly., on the whole of that part of the coast which constitutes the sttbject of the discussion, and which extends from 4! of north latitude to 54° 40°" Te thus appears that no matter whether Count Nessel- rode was negotiating with the United States or Great Britain his one idea was that Russia's southern boundary. on the coust, as to each, wis to be 54° 4,

There is therefore no warrant for the following statement in the British Case (p. 56): “This shows that the British understanding, communicated to and not questioned by Russia, was that Portlind


 * 1) UlS8, C., App.. pp. 173-174, MU. C., App, p. 201.