ORAL AKGUMENT OF SIR RICHARD WEBSTER, Q. C. M. P. 461 



where it had stood before the treaties, except that the exercise of these rights by 

 Russia had now, through these treaties, received the implied recognition of two 

 great nations; for while, by the Ukase of 1821 Russia had ])ublicly claimed certain 

 nnusival jurisdiction both over Behring Sea and over a i)ortion of the Pacific Ocean, 

 yet in the resulting treaties which constituted a complete settlement of all diflerences 

 growing out of this Ukase, no reference is made to this jurisdiction so far as it 

 related to Behring Sea although it is expressly and conspicuously renounced as to 

 the Pacific Ocean. 



Will you for a moment consider what that case means? I must 

 assume that I have demonstrated to this Tribunal that the suggestion 

 that there was no reference made to Behring Sea in the negotiations or 

 the treaties is unfounded, but the fact that they have distinctly stated 

 in their case that in regard to what they are pleased to call the Pacific 

 Ocean there was an express withdrawal by Eussia of her attempt to 

 limit the rights of navigation and fishing, points and certainly accentu- 

 ates the observations I have ventured to make as to what was going on, 

 after 1824 and 1825, in this part of the sea referred to by them as being 

 part of the Great Ocean which separates the Eastern Coast of Siberia 

 from the north western i)art of America, Irom which they had no right 

 to exclude navigation or fishing vessels of the United States and Great 

 Britain. 



If the Tribunal will be good enough to look at page 51 of the British 

 Counter Case you will find certain contemporaneous uses of the word 

 north-west, in the face of which I submit, it is impossible for my learned 

 friends effectively to maintain their contention. 



Let me remind the Tribunal of what their contention is. 



That although the coast of which we are speaking is in fact the 

 Northwest Coast, yet the term ^Xorthwest Coast had such a technical 

 meaning that it is to be confined to the space between latitude 60° and 

 latitude 54° 40', or south of it — nothing north of latitude (50°. 



At page 51 the Tribunal will see that by Treaty of 20th December 

 1841 (the reference to Hertslet is given and we have Hertslet here) — 

 Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia and Russia entered into a Treaty 

 for the suppression of the Slave trade and in no case was the mutual 

 right of search to be exercised upon the ships of war of the High Con- 

 tracting Parties. It is sufficient for my purpose that one of the con- 

 tracting parties was Eussia. By section 8 of the annex to that treaty 

 this exemption was extended to vessels of the Eussian American Com- 

 pany, such vessels to have a patent and j)rove their place of origin and 

 of destination. 



Perhaps it would not be out of place if I reminded you here of a most 

 extraordinary contention that appears in the argument of the United 

 States for the first time — that the Eussian American Company had no 

 monopoly after 1824 and 1825 of the eastern shore of Amei'ica. It is one 

 of the instances in which the United States have thought it necessary 

 to suggest that an important official document is wrongly worded, and 

 have without justification, as we shall submit, altered the wording to 

 support their meaning. But at present, to make my point clear, I call 

 attention to the fact that the Eussian American Company had at this 

 time, as I shall show you, the monopoly from Behring Straits on one side 

 down to latitude 54° 40' on the other, and from Behring Straits on one 

 side down to the Island of Urnp on the Asiatic Coast — their vessels 

 were to be exempted from search and each vessel was to have a patent; 

 a form of this patent is set out at page 51 of the British Counter-Case: 



Upon this ground the Administration of the Russian American Company, being 

 about to dispatch their ship blank named blank built in the year blank of blank ton- 

 nage and commanded by blank to the north-western coast of America to the colonies 

 settled there, with the right to enter all jiorts and harbours, which necessity may 



