164 DIPLOMATIC CORKESPONDENCE. 



Tlio jlaim tlins set up ajipears to be founded on the exceptional title 

 said to have been conveyed to the United States by Eussia at the time 

 of the cession of the Alaska Territory. 



The pretention wldch the Russian Government at one time put forward 

 to exclusive jurisdiction over the whole of liehring Sea was, however, 

 never admitted either by this country or the United States of America. 

 On the contrary, it was strenuously resisted, as I shall presently show, 

 and the American Government can hardly claim to have received Irom 

 Eussia rights which they declared tobeinadmissable when asserted by 

 the Eussian Government, i^or does it appear from the text of the 

 treaty of 18G7 that Eussia either intended or purported to make any 

 such grant, for by Article I of that instrument Eusssia agreed to cede 

 to the United States all the territory and dominion then possessed by 

 Eussia ''on the continent of America and in the adjacent islands" 

 within certain geographical limits described, and no mention was made 

 of any exclusive right over the waters of Behring Sea. 



Moreover, whatever rights as regards their respective subjects and 

 citizens may be reciprocally conferred on the Eussian and American 

 Governments by treaty stipulation, the subjects of Ilcr Majesty can not 

 be thereby affected, except by special arrangement with this country. 



With regard to the exclusive claims advanced in times jiast by Eus- 

 sia, I transmit to you documents comnumicated to the United States 

 C(tngress in lS-!2, which show the yifiw taken by the American Govern- 

 ment of these pretentions. 



In 1821 the Emi)eror of Eussia had issued an edict establishing "rules 

 for the limits of navigation aiul order of communication along the coast 

 of the eastern Siberia, tlie northwestern coast of America, and the Aleu- 

 tian, Kurile, and other islands." 



The first section of the edict said : 



The pursuit of commerce, whaling, and fishiuo-, and of all other industry on all 

 islands, ports, and gulfs, including the whole of the northwest coast of America, be- 

 ginning from Behring Straits to the 51st degree of northern latitude; also from the 

 Ah'utiau Islands to the eastern coast of Siberia, as well as along the Kurile Islands 

 from Behring Straits to the south cape of the Island of Urup, viz, to the 45*^ 50' of 

 northern latitude, is exclusively granted to Kussiau subjects. 



And section 2 stated : 



It is, therefore, prohibited to all foreign vessels, not only to land on the coast and 

 islands belonging to Russia, as stated above, but also to approach them within less 

 than 100 Italian miles. The transgressor's vessel is subject to eonliscation, along 

 with the whole cargo. 



A copy of these regulations was officially comnumicated to the Amer- 

 ican Secretary of State by the Eussiau minister at Washington on the 

 11th February, 1822, whereupon Mr. Quincy Adams, on the 2oth of that 

 mouth, after informing him that the President of the United States had 

 seen with surprise tiie assertion of a territorial claim on the ])ar't of 

 Eussia extending to the fifty-first degree of north latitude on the Amer- 

 ican continent, and a regulation interdicting to all commercial vessels 

 other than Eussian upon the penalty of seizure and confiscation the 

 approach ux)on the high seas within 100 Italian miles of the shores to 

 which that claim was made to apply, went on to say tlmt it was ex- 

 pected, before any act which should define the bouudary between the 

 territories of the United States and Eussia, that the same would have 

 been arranged by treaty between the i)arties, and that "to exclude the 

 vessels of American citizens from the shore beyond the ordinary dis- 

 tance to which territorial jurisdiction extended has excited still greater 

 surprise;"' and Mr. Adams asked whether the Eussian minister was au- 

 thorized to give explanations of the " ground of right ui^ou principles 



