CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 45 



Article which I offered in obeflience to your iustructious, I thought it 

 unadvisable to raise a discussion on tlie question; and the distance 

 from tlie coast at which tlie ri,i;ht of iisliingisto be exercised in com- 

 mon passed without specihcatiou, and conse(iuently 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 ostciisible shape, I broached the matter anew to Count 

 Nesselrode, anil suggested that he should authorize. Count Lieven, on 

 your invitation, to exchange notes with you declaratory of the law 

 as tixing the distance at 1 marine league from the shore. 



57 Count Nesselrode replied that he should feel emliarrassed 

 in submitting this suggestion 1o the Emperor just at the 



moment when llie ratitications of the Convention Avero on the point 

 of being disjiatched to London; and he seemed exceedingly desirous 

 that nothing should happen to retard the acconi])lishment of that 

 essential formality Reassured me at the sann^ time that his Govern- 

 ment would !)(' content, in executing the Convention, to abide by the 

 recognized law of nations; iind that, if any <|uestion should hereafter 

 be raised upon the subject, he should not refuse to join in nuiking the 

 suggested declaration, on being satisfied that the general rule under 

 the law of nations W'as such as we supposed. 



Having no authority to jtress the point in (|uestion, I took the assur- 

 ance thus given by Count Jsesselrode as sufiicient, in all probability, 

 to answer every national purpose. . . . 



The claini of IJussia attracted iinieli attention at the time. 



UNITEI' i^TATKS INTEKl'in: lA I K>X OK UrS.SO-AMEHlCAN TUKATV. 



President JNIonroe wrote to ]\Ir. Madison on the 2nd 

 August, 1824, with reference to the Convention of that 

 year, to the etfect that — 



Ey this Conv<^ntioii the claim to the mare clausnm is given up, a Wharton, I)i- 



verv high nortliern latitude is established tor our boundarv w'ith Rtis- '^''^^' f^K ^''toma- 



• " 1 i 1 -ii ^1 T T 1 1 <■ * * i- »i tional Law, .seo- 



sia, and our trade with the Indians ))Iaced for ten years on a perfectly tion 159 vol. ii 



free footing, and after that term left ojK'ii for negotiation. . . . Eng-p.226. 

 land will, of conrst', have a similar stipuhition in favour of the free 

 navigation of the I'acific, but we shall have the credit of having taken 

 the lead in the affair. 



In answer to the above, Mr. Ma<lison wrote to President 

 Monroe on the 5th August, 1824: 



The Convention with Russia is a propitious event, as substituting Letters and 

 amicable adjustment for tiie risk of hostile collision. But 1 give the Writ iugs of 

 Emperor, however, little credit for his assent to the ])rincii»leof ''7)U(re'J,'j"r^ "'^'"'l'''.""' 

 Libcrafer'' [s/c] in the North Pacific. His ])reiensions were so absurd, i805,'V-446. '^' 

 and so disgusting to tlu' maritime world, that he could not do Ijetter 

 than letreat from them through the forms of negotiation, it is well 

 that the cautious, if not courteous, iiolicy of England towards Russia 

 has had the effect of making us, in the public eye, the leading Power in 

 arresting her exi)ansi\'e ambition. 



IIIK 1 KASE NEVEK ENFOKCEt). 



In the year 1822 the Kussian authorities attempted to •'^fe letter of s. 



enforce tlie provisions of the Ukase of 1821 and seized thecanninf, A])ri'i 



United States brig "Pearl," wlien on a voyage from Boston -^^^^j^j^-''- ^.^^i^ '?: 



to Sitka. Tlie circumstances of this case are stated in theParti,'No.24. 



next Chai)ter. seo post, p. 78. 



58 It is siilticient for the presen-t purpose to note that 

 the United States at once ])rotested, the "Pearl" 



was released, and comjiejisation iiaid for her arrest and 

 detention. 



This is believed to be the only case in which any attempt 

 was, in practice, made by Pussia to interfere with any ship 



