72 RUSSIAN CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO 



No. IG. 



Letter from the Board of AdiDi'iiisiratiou of the Russian American Com- 

 pany to Captain of the Imperial Kavy of the second rani: Alexander 

 Hitch BiidaJcof, Acting Chief Manager. Written from JSt. l^etershurg, 

 March 20, 1S53. 



From tlie dispiitclies of tlic board of adiiiinistratioii dated April 12 

 and November l(i, 1851, and April li, May 13, and tSei^teiiiher 23, 1852, 

 your Excellency must have ])erceiv'ed that one of the principal objects 

 on the \)i\\t of the board of administration has been to make tlie best 

 possible arran.c,ements for re.u'ulatini;' the navij^ation of the vessels be- 

 longing" to our colonial fleet. During tlie last few years this i)art of our 

 manifold duties has not always been attended to with due regard to the 

 best interests of the Company, and consecpiently a few of the vessels 

 have been detained in harbors for prolonged periods, while others have 

 been constantly employed and intrusted with duties ibr wliich they were 

 but ill-fitted, returning to New Archangel late in the season and at the 

 most dangerous time of the yeai'. 



With a view to remedy this defect, the board of administration has 

 now agreed upon a system of emi)loyment for our various vessels which 

 is to be strictly followed in dispatcliing our colonial vessels upon their 

 annual or semiannual voyages in the summer and winter season under 

 normal circumstances. This system will be strictly adhered to by the 

 chief managers of the Colonies, unless unforeseen circumstances arise 

 ■which would make this observance inconsistent with the Company's 

 interests. 



For the season of 1853 the colonial fleet will consist of eight sailing- 

 vessels, of which nund)er the larger ones are: The C.:areriteh, the 

 Nikolai J, the Kaditd:, and the tShcUkof; and the smaller ones: Men- 

 shilcof Konstantin, Okhotsk, and Tunguss; and since the Czarevitch, 

 which is to leave the Colonies in the autnmn of 1853 will be relieved by 

 the Sitka, of 700 tons, now in course of constiuction, and which is to 

 sail for New Archangel in 1853, the numbei" of the Company's ships in 

 colonial waters vrill remain the same. Consequently the summer season, 

 comprising the months from Aprd to October, Avill give emidoyment to 

 8 ships, while in the winter season, from October to April, we can keep 

 7 vessels running, Vv'ithout counting the whale ships of our Company, 

 the number of which will probably reach four. 



For the summer season of 1854, the voyages of our vessels should be 

 arranged in the following manner: 



1. One of the smaller vessels, perhaps the brig Ko)ista)itin, i^}um\d 

 sail from Sitka about the middle of April with supplies for the islands 

 of Atka and Attn, and for the Kurile district, taking the furs from 

 these islands to the port of Ayan, where the brig should arrive not 

 later than the middle of July. On this vessel there should be an 

 official of the Company intrusted with the inspection of the Ccmipany's 

 stations in the districts of Atka, the Kiirile Islands, ami Kanu-liatka. 

 This agent must observe and keep a record of all foreign ships seen 

 during the voyage, and of the position of the same when observed, for 

 the information of commanders of our armed cruisers and of the colonial 

 authorities in Sitka, Kamchatka, and Ayan.^ This vessel should set 



' By observinn; tlioso, rules tlio furs from the Atka and Kiirile districts will always 

 reach Ayan in time for transjtortation to Yakutsk, and will not have to be carried 

 to New Archanj^el, as has been done in late years, for shijnncnt to the port of Ayan 

 in the following: year. Under the old system the furs needlessly incur twice the 

 risk of carriage by sea. 



