CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 2d' 



Rnssiau Colonies oommnnicate with each other only hy sea, and the 

 uevr denomiiKitions of Rnssian-Aruerica or Rnssiau possessions in the 

 new continent, mnst not lead ns to believe tliat the coast of Bering 

 Bay, the I'eninsnla of Alaska, or tbe conntry of the Ischugatschi, have 

 become Rnssiau provinces iu the same sense given to the word when 

 speakingof the Spanish Provinces of Sonora, or New Biscay." (Hum- 

 boldt'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 Raul 1 granted to tlio present American Company 

 its lirst Charter iu 1799, he gave it i\\& cj-dush-e possession oi tha north- 

 west coast of America, whicli belonged to Russia, from the .55th degree 

 of north latitude, to Bering Strait. 



In his letter of 2nd of A])ril, 1822, he says that the Charter to the 

 Rassiau-American Company in 1799, was merely conceding to them a 

 ])art of tbe sovereignty, or raflier certain erclusive pririlenes of commerce. 



Tliis IS the most correct view of tlie subject. The Emperor Paul 

 granted to the Russian-American Company certain exclusive privi- 

 leges of commerce — exclusive with reference to other Russian sub- 

 jects; but Russia had never before asserted a right of sovereignty over 

 any part of the North American continent; and in 1799 tlie ])eo]ile of 

 the Fnitcd States had been at least for twelve years iu tlie.constant and 

 uuiuterrn))tcd eujoyment of a jirotitable tra(b' with tlie natives of that 

 very coast, of which the L'kase of the Emperor I'aul could not deprive 

 them. 



The Honourable Charles SuniDer, speaking in the United 

 States Senate on the occasion of the cession of Alaska to 

 the United States, in 1807, said: 



It seems that there were various small Companies, of wliicli that at n7 ^'ml SesT' 

 Kadiak was the most considerable, all of wliich were linally fused iuto 40tiiCoii{r., p.l49^ 

 oue large trading Company, known as the Russiaii-Auierican Coni])any, 1867-68. 

 which was organized iu 1799. under a C^hartcr from tbe Eiujieror Paul, Sfo Appondix, 

 with the power of ad nnnigtrat ion throughout tbe whole region, includ- '^ *''•'• ^"•''• 



mg-the coasts and the islands. In this r('S])ect it was not unlike 

 35 the East India Company, which has jilaycd such a ])art in I^ngiish 



history; but it may be more properly compared with the Ihid- 

 sou Bay Company, of which it was a Russian coimterpart. 'I'he Char- 

 ter was for a term of years, but it has been from time to time extended, 

 and. MS I understand, is now on the point of expiring. The j)owersof 

 the ( 'ompany aresententiously desci'ibed by the ''Aluninacb de Cotha" 

 for 18()7, wluTo, under the head of Russia, it says that "to the present 

 time Russian America has been the> jiroj)ert!i of a ('oinpinuj." 



And, referring to as late a period as 1807, he remarked: 



EXTKXT OF IcrSSIA.V SETTLEMENTS. 



It is evident that these Russian Settlements, distributed through 

 an immense region and far from any civilized neighbourhood, have lit- 

 tle in conunou with those of European nations elsewhere, unless we 

 except those of Denmark, on the west coast of (freenland. Nearly 

 all are on the coast or the islands. They are nothing but " villages" 

 or "factories" under the protection of palisades. Sitka is an excep- 

 tion, due uu(iuestionably to its selection as the head-quarters of the 

 Government, and also to the emiuent character of the Governors Avho 

 have made it their home. 



Touching Eussia's claims to exclusive jurisdiction over 

 more than certain i.slands in the Pacific Ocean on the x^th^'AmeTSn 

 American coast, Mr. Adams, moreover, iu 1823 brought J^eview, yoi. xv, 

 lor\vard with api)roval, articles which appeared in "The view!'^H82i-22,' 

 North American Review/' published in the United States, \"i- Y-^'- Se« 



1 • 11 , ,- i^ . 1 ' T^ • 1. 1 ,. n 1 . ri , ,'Ai)peuaix, vol. 



and in tlie "Quarterly Keview," published m England, i, Nos. 3aud4. 



The facts stated in these articles show the grounds upon 



which the (Tovernment of the United States considered 



themselves Justified in the contention advanced by Mr. 



Adams, that "the rights of discovery, of occupancy, of^^^torJuiy^S 



uncontested possession," alleged by Rus.sia, were "alli823. seeAppen'- 



without foundation iu fact," as^late as the year 1823. il'no?^"' 



