THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 



ocean or some recognized possession of another Power, 

 and, secondly, in virtue of the discoveries and rights 

 of extension of Spain ; and Great Britain claiming in 

 virtue of discovery and possession, and of rights of ex 

 tension of her actual admitted possessions in America.. 



Thus we arrive at the question of what her actual 

 admitted possessions w r ere: which is the key to the 

 Treaty of June 15, 1846, the interpretation of which 

 was referred to the Emperor of Germany. 



On the restoration of Charles II., projects of colo 

 nization and of remote commercial or speculative en 

 terprises, which had been suspended in England dur 

 ing the Civil War, began to be resumed with new 

 zeal, comprehending as well the East as the West 

 Indies. 



Among the great territorial charters of that day, 

 one of the most interesting is that of the Hudson s 

 Bay Company, by which the King granted to sundry 

 persons, including the Prince Rupert, the Duke of 

 Albemarle, the Earl of Craven, Lord Arlington, Lord 

 Ashley, Sir John Robinson, Sir Edward Hungerford, 

 and others [in part, it will be perceived, the same per 

 sons who obtained a grant of the two Carolinas], 



&quot; The sole trade and commerce of all those seas, straits, bays, 

 rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they 

 shall be, that lie within the entrance of the straits commonly 

 called Hudson s Straits, together with all the lands and terri 

 tories upon the countries, coasts, and confines of the seas, bays, 

 lakes, rivers, creeks, and sounds aforesaid, that are not already 

 actually possessed by or granted to any of our subjects, or 

 possessed by the subjects of any other Christian Prince or 

 State, with the fishing of all sorts of fish, whales, sturgeons, and 



