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"I told him that we should be disposed to do everything to accommo- 

 date the views of his Government that was in our power, but tliat a 

 modification of the convention could be made no otherwise than by a 

 new convention, and that the construction of the convention as con- 

 cluded belonged to other departments of the Government^ for which 

 the Executive had no authority to stipulate; that i1 on the exchange 

 of the ratifications he should deliver to me a note of the purport of that 

 ichich he now informally gave me. I should give him an answer of that 

 import, namely, that the construction of treaties depending here upon 

 the judiciary tribunals, the Executive Government, even if disposed to 

 acquiesce in that of the Russian Government as announced by him, 

 could not be binding 7ipon the courts nor upon this nation. I added 

 that the convention would be submitted immediately to the Semite; 

 that if anything- affecting its construction, or, still more, modifying its 

 meaning, were to be presented on the part of the Eussian Government 

 before or at the exchange of ratifications, it must be laid before the 

 Senate, and could have no other possible effect than of starting doubts 

 and perhaps hesitation in that body, and of favoring the views of those, 

 if such tliere were, who might wish to defeat the ratification itself of 

 the convention. This was an object of great solicitude to both Govern- 

 ments, not only for the adjustment of a difficult question which had 

 arisen between them, but for the i^romotion of that harmony which was 

 so much in the policy of the two countries, which might emphatically 

 be termed natural friends to each other. If, therefore, he would per- 

 mit me to suggest to him what I thought would be his best course, it 

 would be to wait fortlie exchange of the ratifications andmakeit purely 

 and simply ; that afterwards, if the instructions of his Government were 

 imperative, he might present the note, to tvhich I now informed him 

 tvhat would be in substance my answer. It necessarily could not be 

 otherwise. But if his instructions left it discretionary with him, he 

 would do still better to inform his government of the state of things 

 here, of the purport of our conference, and of what my answer must be 

 if he should present the note. I believed his court would then deem 

 it best that he should not present the note at all. Their apprehensions 

 had been excited by an interest not very friendly to the good under- 

 standing between the United States and Russia. Our merchants 

 would not go to trouble the Russians on the coast of Siberia or north 

 of the fifty-seventh degree of latitude, and it was wisest not to put 



