APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 301 



must obey tlie iron rule of the a^ent of the American Company; nor 

 can there be either personal property or individual security where there 

 are no laws. The chief aj;ent of the Americiin Company is the bound- 

 less despot over^xn extent of country which, comprising- the Aleutian 

 Islands, stretches from 57° to 60° of latitude, and from 130^ to I'JQo of 

 east longitude; " and he adds, in a note, "there are no Courts of Justice 

 in Kodiak, nor any of the Company's possessions." (" Voyages," vol. 

 ii, p. 107.) Kotzebue, who came later, while confessing his incompe- 

 tency to speak on the treatment of the nati\es by the C()m])aiiy, 

 declares his "wounded feelings and commiseration." (" Voyage," vol. 

 iii, p. 314.) It is too i)robable that the melancholy story of our own abo- 

 rigines has been repeated here. As these criticisms were by Russian 

 ofticers they must have had a certain efiect. I cannot believe 

 04: that the recent government, administered by the enlightened 

 Magistrates of whom we have heard, has been obnoxious to such 

 terrible accusations; nor must it be forgotten that the report of Lisian- 

 slvy, the other Eussian ofticer who \vas there at the same time, is much 

 less })ainful. 



Baranow, who had been so long' Superintendent, retired in 1818. lie 

 is praised much by Langsdorf, who saw him in 180(J, and by Liitke, who 

 was at Sitka in 1828. Both attribute to him a genius for his place and 

 11 disinterested devotion to the interests of the Company, whose conti- 

 dence he enjoyed to the end. Although administerinf;^ attairs here for 

 more than a generation without rendering any accounts, he died poor. 

 He was succeeded by Captain Haguemeister. Since then, according to 

 Liitke, an intinity of reforms has taken phice by which order and system 

 have been introduced into the Government. 



The Kussian otlicer. Captain Golowin, who visited these possessions 

 in 1860, has recommended certain institutional reforms, whicli are not 

 without interest to us at this time. His recommendations concern the 

 Governor and the peojjle. According to him the Governor should be 

 appointed by the Crown with the concurrence of the Company, remova- 

 ble only when his continuance is i)lainly injurious to the Colony; he 

 .should be subject only to the Crown, and his powers should be limited, 

 especially in regard to the natives; he should provide protection for the 

 colonists by iueaiis of cruizers, and should personally visit every district 

 annually; the colonists, Creoles, and subject natives, such as the Aleu- 

 tians, should be governed by Magistrates of their own selection; the 

 name of "free Creole" should cease; all disputes should be settled by 

 the local Magistrates unless the parties desire an appeal to tlie Gov- 

 <irnor; schools should be encouraged, and, if necessary, provided at the 

 public expense. Surely these suggestions, which are in the nature of 

 a Keform Bill, foreshadow a condition of self-government in harmony 

 with Ilepublican institutions. 



It is evident tliat these liussian Settlements, distributed through an 

 immense region and far from any civilized neighbourhood, have little in 

 common with those of European nations elsewhere, unless we exce[)t 

 those of Denmark on the west coast of Greenland. Nearly all are on the 

 coast or the islands. They are nothing but " villages" or " factories," 

 under the protection of palisades. Sitka is an exception, due unques- 

 tionably to its selection as the head-quarters of the Government, and 

 also to the eminent character of the Governors who have made it their 

 home. The Executive Mansion and the social life there have been 

 described by recent visitors, who acknowledged the charms of politeness 

 on this distant north-western coast. Liitke describes life among its fogs, 

 and especially the attractions of the Governor's house. This was iu the 



