■ CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 55 



The instructions which were finally issued to the Russian 

 cruisers on the 9th December, 1853, are to the same effect. 



IXTERPRETATIOX IN THE UNITED STATES. 



TheLegislatureof theTerritory of Washinoton, in 1866, 

 referred to "fishing banks known to navigators to exist see post, p. 99. 

 along the Pacific coast from the Cortes bank to Behring 

 Strait." 



70 It is clear that the Honourable Charles Sumner, 

 when i)rop()sing to the Senate, in the year 1867, the 



adoi)tion of the Treaty of Cession of Alaska, ilnderstood 

 the words "I^orth Pacific" in the sense in which these 

 words are defined by the authorities just cited. lu his 

 speecli on that occasion, INIr. Sumner thus referred to the 

 waters in question: 



Seii-otter seems to belong' exclusively to the Nortli Pacific. . . . See Appendix, 

 Its present zone it between the parallels offiO"^ and 65' north latitude ^'<'l- i.No. 6. 

 on the American and Asiatic coasts, so that its rancje is very limited. 



Mr. H. W. Elliott, who was engaged in the study of the uoport on the 

 seal islands of Alaska for the United States Crovernment ^^^^^^^*^''!^^^gjjf 

 as late as the year 1881, in his official Report on the sealington.'issi! pp. 

 islands of Alaska, remarks concerning the seals : *"' ^" 



Their range in the North Pacific is virtually conhned to four islands 

 in Berinji Sea, namely, St. Paul and St. (ieorjie, of the tiny Pribilof 

 group, and Bering and Copper of the Commander Islands. 



Again, he says: 



In the North Atlantic no suitableterritorj'^for their reception exists, 

 or ever did exist; and really nothing in the Xorth Pacijichejoud what 

 we have designated in Bering Sea. 



He also describes the rookeries in Behring Sea as "ISTorth 

 Pacific rookeries." 

 And writes further: 



Ceographically, as well as in regard to natural history, Iiering n^jj^ „ jjq_ 

 Island is one of the most curious islands iu tlie northern jiart of the 

 I'acijic Ocean. 



The above are, however, only a few from among very 

 many similar instances which might be quoted of the con- 

 tinued usage of the name '^Pacific Ocean" as including 

 Behring Sea. 



In 188-!, 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 the request of the local authorities of Behring and other islands, 50th Cong., 2nd 

 the Undersigned hereby notifies that the Russian Imperial Govern- Sess., Sen. Ex. 

 ment publishes for general knowledge the following: ^^^- ^^- ^*'^' P' 



71 •'I'ACII'TC.'" 



'' 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." 



In the correspondence between the United States and 

 Russia, touching the meaning of this Regulation, the 



