60 ORAL ARGUMENT OF SIR CHARLES RUSSELL, Q C. M. P. 



According to information given in tlio "Alaskan," a newspaper piiblished at Sitka 

 in the Territory of Alaska, and dated the 4th September, 1886, it is reported: 



1. That the master and mate of the schooner "Thornton" were brought for trial 

 before Judge Dawson in the United States District Court at Sitka on the 30th August 

 last. 



2. That the evidence given by the officers of the United States Revenue cutter 

 "Corwiu" went to show that the "Thornton" was seized while in Behring's Sea, 

 about 60 or 70 miles south-south-east of St. George Island, for the oft'euce of hunting 

 and killing seals within that part of Behring's Sea which (it was alleged by the 

 "Alaskan" newspaper) was ceded to the United States by Russia in 1867. 



3. That the Judge in his charge to the jury, after quoting the 1st Article of the 

 Treaty of the 30th March, 1867, between Russia and the United States, in which the 

 western boundary of Alas'ka is defined, went on to say: "All the waters within the 

 boundary set forth in this Treaty to the western end of the Aleutian Archipelago 

 and chain of islands are to be considered as comprised within the waters of Alaska, 

 and all the penalties prescribed by law against the killing of fur-bearing animals 

 must therefore attach against any violation of law within the limits heretofore 

 described. If, therefore, the jury believe from the evi<lence that the defendants, by 

 themselves or in conjunction with others, did, on or about the time charged in the 

 information, kill any otter, mink, marten, sable, or fur-seal, or other fur-bearing 

 animal or animals, on the shores of Alaska or in the Behring's Sea east of 193° of 

 west longitude, the jury should find the defendants guilty, and assess their punish- 

 ment separately, at a fine of not less than 200 dollars nor more than 1,000 dollars, or 

 imprisonment not more than six months, or by both such fine, within the limits herein 

 set forth, and imprisonment. 



4. That the jury brought in a verdict of guilty against the prisoners, in accordance 

 with which the master of the "Thornton," Hans Guttounsen, was sentenced to impris- 

 onment for thirty days and to pay a fine of 500 dollars, and the mate of the 



791 " Thornton," Norman, was sentenced to imprisonment for thirty days and to pay 

 a tine of 300 dollars, which, terms of imprisonment are presumably now being 

 carried into efifect. 



There is also reason to believe that the masters and mates of the "Onward" and 

 "Carolina" have since been tried, and sentenced to undergo penalties similar to 

 those now being inflicted on the master and mate of the "Thornton." 



You will observe, from the facts given above, that the authorities of the United 

 States appear to lay claim to the sole sovereignty of that part of Behring's Sea lying 

 east of the westerly boundary of Alaska, as defined in the 1st Article of the Treaty 

 concluded between the United States and Russia in 1867, by which Alaska was ceded, 

 to the United States, and which includes a stretch of sea extending in its widest part 

 some 600 or 700 miles easterly. . . 



That should, of course, be "westerly" from the mainland of Alaska. 



In support of this claim, those authorities are alleged to have interfered with the 

 peaceable and lawful occupation of Canadian citizens on the high seas, to have taken 

 possession of their ships, to have subjected their property to forfeiture, and to have 

 visited upon their persons the indignity of imprisonment. 



Such proceedings, if correctly reported, would appear to have been in violation of 

 the admitted principles of international law. 



I request that you will, on the receipt of this despatch, seek an interview with Mr. 

 Bayard and make him acquainted with the nature of the information with which 

 Her Majesty's Government have been furnished respecting this matter, and state to 

 him that they do not doubt that, if on inquiry it sh(»uld prove to be correct, the 

 Government of the United States will, with their well known sense of justice, at 

 once admit the illegality of the proceedings resorted to against the British vessels 

 and the British subjects above mentioned, and will cause reasonable reparation to be 

 made for the wrongs to which they have been subjected, and for the losses which 

 they have sustained. 



Should Mr. Bayard desire it, you are authorized to leave with him a copy of this 

 despatch. 



I am, etc, Iddesleigh. 



The President. — I suppose there is a mistake in the print as regards 

 the latitude where the " Onward" and the " Thornton" were seized. In 

 this despatch it is marked 50^° north, and that would be out of Behring 

 Sea. I suppose that must be a mistake, because nobody alleges tbe 

 ships were seized out of Behring Sea. 



Sir EiCHARD Webster. — I did not read those latitudes because I 

 knew they were not geographically correct. It appears from other 

 papers that they were all seized in Behring Sea. 



