54 THE TREATIES OF 1824 AND 1825. 



posed will probably imply that it is no longer 

 necessary to prohibit the navigation of foreign 

 vessels for the distance mentioned in the edict 

 of September 4, 1821, and that we will not claim 

 jurisdiction over coastwise waters beyond the 

 limits accepted by any other maritime power for 

 the whole of our coast facing the open ocean. 

 Over all interior waters, however, and over all 

 waters inclosed by Russian territory, such as 

 the Sea of Okhotsk, Bering Sea, or the Sea of 

 Kamchatka, as well as in all gulfs, bays, and 

 estuaries within our possessions, the right to the 

 strictest control will always be maintained." ^ 

 Declaration Soon after the conclusion of the treaty of 1 824 



inade immediately ^ 



before treaty with ^.jth tlic United Statcs the directors of the Eus- 



Ureat liritam. 



sian American Company applied to the Imperial 

 Government for a correct interpretation of the 

 same. A special committee, consisting of some 

 of the highest dignitaries of the Empire, was 

 appointed, and July 21, 1824, it issued a report 

 of its proceedings signed by Count Nesselrode 

 and others.'' The seventh paragraph of this 

 report reads as follows: "That since the sover- 

 eignty of Russia over the shores of Siberia and 

 America as well as over the Aleutian Islands and 



» Vol. I, p. 62. 



* Russian Minister of Finance to the board of the Russian 

 American Company, Sept. 4, 1824, and accompanying report, Vol. 

 I, pp. 67-71. 



