66 CASK OF GREAT liRrTAIN. 



Ill 1840 the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia asked 

 that foreign whalers should not be allowed to come within 

 40 Italian miles of the Eussiaii shores. 



Tikhmenietf thus describes the result of these represen- 

 tations: 



The exact words of the letter from the Foreisn Office are as follows: 



" The fixing of a line at sea within which foreign vessels should be 

 prohibited from whaling off onr shores wonld not be in accordance 

 with the spirit of the Convention of 1824, and wonld he contrary to 

 the provisions of onr Couveutiou of 1825 with Great Britain. More- 

 over the adoption of such a measure, withont preliminary negotiation 

 and arrangement with the other Powers, might lead to protests, since 

 no clear and uniform agreement has yet been arrived at among 



n'ations in regard to the limit of jurisdiction at sea." 

 85 In 1847 a re])resentation from Governor Tebeukof in regard 



to new aggressions on the part of the Avhalers gave rise to fnr- 

 ther correspondence. Some time before, in June 1846, the Governor- 

 General of Eastern Siberia had expressed his opinion that, in order 

 to limit the whaling operations of foreigners, it Avonld be fair to for- 

 bid them to come within 40 Italian miles of onr shores, the ])orts of 

 Petropanlovsk and Okhotsk to be excluded, and a payment of 100 

 silver roubles to be demanded at those ports from everj^ vessel for the 

 right of whaling. He reccnnmended that a ship of war should be 

 employed as a crnizer to watch foreign vessels. The Foreign Oftice 

 expressly stated as follows, in reply : 



" AVe have no right to exclude foreign ships from that i>art of the 

 Great Ocean which separates the eastern shore of Siberia I'rom the 

 north-western shore of America, or to make the payment of a sum of 

 money a condition to allowing them to take whales." 



The Foreign Office were of opinion that the fixing of the line referred 

 to above would reopen the discussions formerly carried on between 

 England and France on the subject. The limit of a cannon shot, that 

 is about 3 Italian miles, would alone give rise to no dispute. The 

 Foreign Office observed, in conclusion, that no Power had yet suc- 

 ceeded in limiting the freedom of iishiug in open seas, and that such 

 pretensions hail never been recognised by the >ther Powers. They 

 were confident that the fitting out of colonial crnizers would put an 

 end to all difficulties; there had not yet been time to test the efficacy 

 of this measure. 



Tikiniieineff.^ j^ 1847, traffic ill furscal skins was carried on by a United 

 vol. i, No. 5. ' ' States whaler at Behring Island. 



Ill 1848, foreign whaling vessels entered the Arctic Ocean 

 by way of Behring Straits for the first time. 



Alaska, p. 584. j^ 1849, the wluxliug fleet in the Arctic and northern part 

 of the North Pacific numbered 1*99 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 Eussiaii Whaling Company for the North 

 Pacific was formed at Abo, in Emlaud, with s])ecial iirivi- 

 leges. This Ooini)any sent out six vessels in all. 



ibid.,1.. r,7i;. in 1850, the British vessels "Herald," "Plover," and 

 "Investigator," all despatched in search of Sir John Frank- 

 lin's expedition, met in Kotzebue Sound, after passing 

 through Behring Strait. 



Ibid., p. 584. Ill tlie same year an armed Russian corvette was ordered 



to cruize in the Pacific, and in this year it is esti- 



80 mated that oOO, and in later years as many as 500 



foreign whalers visited the Arctic and neighbouring 



waters. 



Alaska, p. 585. Tebeiikof's administration came to an end in this year. 



ibid.,p.572. jii 1851, Nulato, a fort on the Yukon some way inland, 

 was surprised by Indians and the inmates butchered, 



