JURISDICTIONAL RIGHTS IN BERING SEA. 273 



Second. Tliafc wherever tlie summit of tlie moiiiitaiii.s wliicli extend iu a. dirt^ctioii 

 parallel to the coast, from tlu; fifty-sixth degree of uortli latitude to the point of iu- 

 terscctiou of the one liundied and forty-tirst degree of west longitude, shall prove to 

 be at the distance of more than 10 marine leagues from the ocean, the linufc l)et\\e ii 

 the British possessions and tlie^ line of coast which is to belong to Russia, as above 

 mentioned, shall be formiiil liy "a Hue jiarallel to the windings of the coast, aud 

 which shall never exceed the distauce of 10 marine leagues therefrom." 



The evident design of this article was to make certain and definite 

 tlie bonndaiy line aloni*; the line of coast, shonld there be any donbt an 

 to that line as laid down in article 3. It provided that the boundary 

 line, following" the windings of the coast, should never be more than 

 10 nnirine leagues therefrom. 



The fifth article of the treaty between Great Britain and Eussia reads 

 thus: 



It is moreover agreed, that no establishment shall be formed by either of the tAVo 

 l>arties within the limits assigned by the two preceding articles to the possessions 

 of the other. Conse<iuently, llritish subjects shall not form any establishment either 

 upon the coast, or u])on the border of the continent, comprised within the limits of 

 the Russian possessions, as designated in the two preceding articles; and, iu like 

 manner, no establislnnent shall be formed by Russian subjects beyond the said limits. 



The idain meaning of this article is that neither pArty shall make set- 

 tlements within the limits assigned by the third aud fourth articles to 

 the x)ossession of the other. Consequently, the third and fourth arti- 

 cles are of supreme importance as making the actual delimitations be- 

 tween the two countries and forbidding eacli to form any establishments 

 within the limits of the other. 



Tlie sixth article of Russia's treaty with Great Britain is as follows : 



It is understood that the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, from whatever quarter 

 they may arrive, whether from the ocean or from the interior of the continent, shall 

 forever enjoy the right of navigating freely, and without any hindrance whatever, all 

 the rivers and streams which, in their course toAvard the Pacific Ocean, may cross 

 the line of demarcation upon the line of coast described in article 3 of the present 

 convention. 



The meaning of this article is not obscure. The subjects of Great 

 Britain, whether arriving from the interior of the continent or from the 

 ocean, shall enjoy the right of navigating- freely all the rivers and 

 streams which, in their course to the Pacific Ocean, may cross the line 

 of (lemarcation upon the line of coast described in article 3. As is 

 plainly apparent, the coast referred to in article 3 is the coast south (j1 

 the point of junction already described. Nothing is clearer than the 

 reason for this provision. A strii) of land, at no point Avider than 10 

 marine leagues, running along the Pacific Ocean from 54° 40' to 00° 

 (320 miles by geographical line, by tne windings of tlie coast three 

 times that distance) was assigned to Russia by the third article. Di- 

 rectly to the east of this strij) of land, or, as might be said, behind it, 

 lay the British possessions. To shut out the inhabitants of the British 

 possessions from the sea by this strij) of land would have been not only 

 unreasonable, but intolerable, to Great Britain. Russia promptly con- 

 ceded the privilege, and gave to Great Britain the right of navigating 

 all rivers crossing that strip of land from 54° 40' to the point of inter- 

 section with the one hundred and forty-first degree of longitude. With- 

 out this concession the treaty could not have been made. I do not 

 understand that Lord Salisbury dissents from this obvious construc- 

 tion of the sixth article, for, in his dispatch, he says that the articdo 

 has a "restricted bearing," and refers only to "the line of coast described 

 in article 3" (the italics are his own) — and the only line of coast de- 

 scribed in article 3 is the coast from 54° 40' to 60°. There is no descrip- 

 35 



