CORRESPONDENCE OF 1822-1825. 141 



to tliose seutimeuts, the adjustment of the interests and liglits which 

 have been brought into collision upon the northwest coast of America, 

 and which have heretofore formed a subject of correspondence between 

 the two Governments, as well at Washington as at St. Petersburg. 



The undersigned is further commanded to add that, in pursuing, for 

 the adjustment of the interests in question, tliis course, equally congenial 

 to the friendly feelings of this nation towards Eussia and to their reliance 

 ui)on the justice and magnanimity of his Imperial Majesty, the President 

 of the United States confides that the arrangements of the cabinet of 

 St. Petersburg will have suspended the possibility of any consequences 

 resulting from the ukase to which the Baron de Tuyll's note refers which 

 could affect the just rights and the lawful commerce of the United States 

 during the amicable discussion of the subject between the Governments 

 respectively interested in it. 

 The undersigned, etc., 



John Quincy Adams. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Middleton. 



No. 16.] Department of State, 



Washington, July 22, 1823. 



Sir : I have the honor of inclosing herewith copies of a note from 

 Baron de Tuyll, the Kussian minister, recently arrived, proposing, on 

 the part of His Majesty the Emperor of Bussia, that a power should be 

 transmitted to you to enter upon a negotiation with the ministers of his 

 Government concerning the diiferences which have arisen fi'om the 

 Imperial ukase of 4th (16th) September, 1821, relative to the northwest 

 coast of America, and of the answer from this Department acceding to 

 this proposal. A fuU power is accordingly inclosed, and you will con- 

 sider this letter as communicating to you the President's instructions 

 for the conduct of the negotiaition. 



From the tenor of the ukase, the pretentions of the Imperial Govern- 

 ment extend to an exclusive territorial jurisdiction from the forty-fifth 

 degree of north latitude, on the Asiatic coast, to the latitude of fifty-one 

 north on the western coast of the American continent; and they as- 

 sume the right of interdicting the navigation and the fishery of all 

 other nations to the extent of 100 miles from the whole of that coast. 



The United States can admit no i)art of these claims. Their right of 

 navigation and of fishing is perfect, and has been in constant exercise 

 from the earliest times, after the iieace of 1783, throughout the whole 

 extent of the Southern Ocean, subject only to the ordinary exceptions 

 and exclusions of the territorial jurisdictions, which, so far as Eussian 

 rights are concerned, are confined to certain islands north of the fifty- 

 fifth degree of latitude, and have no existence on the continent of 

 America. 



The correspondence between Mr. Poletica and this Department con- 

 tained no discussion of the principles or of the facts upon which he at- 

 tempted the justification of the Imperial ukase. This was purposely 

 avoided on our part, under the expectation that the Imperial Govern- 

 ment could not fail, ui)on a review of the measure, to revoke it alto- 

 gether. It did, however, excite much public animadversion in this 

 country, as the ukase itself had already done in England. I inclose 

 herewith the North American Eeview for October, 18li-J, No. 37, which 



