124 ORAL ARGUMENT OF JAMES C. CARTER, ESQ. 



of Spain north of Lititiule 42^; and by the third article of tlie convention between 

 the llnited States and Great Britain of the 20th of October, ISIS, it was agreed that 

 any country that might be chiinied by either party on the northwest coast of America, 

 W'cstward of the Stony Mountains, should, together with its harbors, bays, and creeks, 

 and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open for the term of 

 ten years from that date to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two powers, 

 without prejudice to the claims of either party or of any other State. 



You are authorized to proi)ose an article of the same import lor a term often years 

 from the signature of a joint convention between the United States, Great Britain, 

 and Russia. 



The right of the United States from the forty-second to the forty-ninth parallel of 

 latitude on the Pacific Ocean we consider as unc[uestiona))le, being founded, iirst, 

 on the ac(iuisition, by the treaty of February 22, 1819, of all the rights of Spain; 

 second, by the discovery of the Columbia River, iirst from sea, at its mouth, and 

 then by land, by Lewis and CUarke; and third, by the settlement at its mouth in 

 1811. This territory is to the United States of an importance which no possession 

 in North America can be to any Euro]iean nation, not only as it is but the con- 

 tinuity of their possessions from the Atlantic to the Patufic Ocean, but as it offers 

 their inhabitants the means of establishiug 'hereafter water ci>v Municatious from 

 the one to the other. 



It is not conceivable that any possession upon the continent of North America 

 should be of use or importance to Russia for any other ])urpose than that of tratlic 

 with the natives. This was, in fact, the inducement to the formation of the Russian- 

 American Company and to the charter granted them by the Em]>eror Paul. It was 

 the inducement to the ukase of the Emperor Alexander. By offering free and equal 

 access for a term of years to navigation and intercourse with the natives to Russia, 

 within the limits to which our claims are indisputable, wo concede much more than 

 we obtain. It is not to be doubted that, long before the expiration of that time, 

 onr settlement at the mouth of the Columbia River will become so considerable as to 

 offer means of useful commercial intercourse with the Russian settlements on the 

 islands of the northwest coast. 



With regard to the territorial claim, separate from the right of trafQc with the 

 natives and from any system of colonial exclusions, we are willing to agree to the 

 boundary line within which the Emperor Paul had granted exclusive jirivileges to 

 the Russian American Company, that is to say, latitude 55'-^. 



If the Russian Government apprehend serious inconvenience from the illicit traffic 

 of foreigners with their settlements on the northwest coast, it may be efi'ectually 

 guarded against by stipulations similar to those, a draft of which is herewith sub- 

 joined, and. to which you are authorized, on tlie part of the United States, to agree. 



As the British ambassador at St. Petersl)urg is authorized and instructed to nego- 

 tiate likewise upon this subject, it may be i)roper to adjust the interests and claims 

 of the three powers by a joint convention. Your full power is ]>repared accordingly. 



Instructions conformable to these will Ite forwarded to Mr. Rush, at London, with 

 authority to communicate wath the British Government in relation to this interest 

 and to correspond with you concerning it, with a view to the maintenance of the 

 rights of the United States. 



I am, etc., John Quincy Adams. 



Henky Middleton, 



Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 



of the United States, St. Petcrshnrg. 



[Inclosure.] 

 Draft of treaty between the United States and Russia. 



Art. I. In order to strengthen the bonds of friendship and to pre'<crvo in future a 

 perfect harmony and good understanding between the contracting parties, it is agreed 

 that their respective citizens and subjec^ts shall not be distur))ed or molested, either 

 in navigating or in carrying on their fisheries in the Pacific Ocean or in the South 

 Seas, or in landing on the coasts of those seas, in places not already occupied, for 

 the pur]iose of carrying on their commerce with the natives of the country; subject, 

 nevertheless to the restrictions and provisions specified in the two following articles. 



Akt. 11. To the end that the navigation and fishery of the citizens and subjects or 

 the contracting parties, respectively, in the Pacific Ocean or in the South Seas, may 

 not be made a pretext for illicit trade with their respective settlements, it is agreed 

 that the citizens of the United States shall not land on any part of the coast actually 

 occupied by Russian settlements, unless by permission of the governor or commander 

 thereof, and that Russian subjects shall, in like manner, be interdicted from landing 

 without permission at any settlement of the United States on the said northwest coast. 



