FORTY-NINTH DAY, JULY 4™, 1893. 



Mr. PnELrs. — I neod lianlly say, Sir, that I find it quite as difficult 

 to speak iu weather which is so oppressive, as the Tribunal must to 

 listen; and if you perceive, Sir, as 1 do, that I am taking twice the 

 necessary time to make my propositions half as clear as they ought to 

 be made, I beg you will remember that it is in some measure my mis- 

 fortune and uot altogether my fault. 



The President. — We never perceive that you do not make your 

 propositions quite clear, Mr. Phelps. 



Mr. Phelps. — Yesterday, Sir, I was engaged in discussing this much 

 discussed question of the assertion and occupation of Eussia from the 

 time of the discovery of the Islands down to the time of the cession of 

 them to the United States in 1807, and especially relating to the period 

 of time embraced between the promulgation by Russia of the Ukase of 

 1821 and the conclusion between the three Governments respectively of 

 the Treaties of 1824 and 1825; and I had endeavored to point out that, 

 so far as this case is concerned, the whole enquiry embraced in two or 

 three questions in the Treaty results after all in determining whether 

 in the language of those Treaties, and the language it will be remem- 

 bered is the same in both Treaties, that Behviug Sea was gr was not 

 included under the term "Pacific Ocean"; because as I tried to point 

 out, there is no interruption whatever to the exclusive assertion and 

 occupation of Pussia so far as the fur-seal business is concerned, from 

 the time of the first discovery down to the time of the cession, unless 

 such an interruption is found in the language;, though as it will be 

 seen not in the results — of the Treaties of 1824 and 1825, by which it 

 could be made out that the access to Behring Sea for general purposes 

 was thrown open to these two Governments. I had said that, of course, 

 in determining that question which really determines all there is in 

 disi)ute, the first resort is to the language of the Treaty; what is meant 

 by the term, '' commonly called Pacific Ocean"; and, in reviewing the 

 maps, which are the only sensible resort for the purpose of giving a 

 definition to those words, I had gone through with the consideration of 

 the maps in discussing the American Treaty which i)receded by a year, 

 as you will remember, the conclusion of the British Treaty; and I have 

 one single observation to make in parting with that topic and in 

 approaching the consideration of the British Treaty. Suppose, Sir, 

 that all the distinguished geograi)hers who were then hving had been 

 called at that time as witnesses in a Court of Justice on the question of 

 whether the]5ehringSea was com])rised within what is commonly called 

 the Pacific Ocean, — in other words, sui)pose this controversy had taken 

 place immediately after the conclusion of those Treaties and some Tri- 

 bunal had been charged with determining the very question that is sub 

 mitted here to-day; and sui)pose all those ennnent geographers, then 

 living, whose opinions would have been regarded as entitled to general, 

 and international respect, had been called as witnesses before the Tri- 

 bunal and the question had been put to them as experts in the science 



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