DESPATCHES, EEPOETS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 811 



coast of America, beginning from Bering's Straits to the 51 of northern lati- 

 tude, also from the Aleutian Islands to the eastern coast of Siberia, as well as 

 along the Kurile Islands from Bering's Straits to the South Cape of the Island 

 of Urup, viz., to the 45 50' northern latitude, is exclusively granted to Russian 

 subjects. 



That was a grant of colonial trade, and of colonial trade alone; 

 that is all. And that is what Kussia, according to the doctrine of 

 that age, had a perfect right to do. Nothing was more clearly ad- 

 mitted at that time, than that every nation had a right to arrogate 

 to itself the exclusive benefits of trade with its colonies, and to pro- 

 hibit every other nation from engaging in such trade, and to 

 488 take such measures as might be necessary to enforce the ex- 

 clusion of other nations. What did Kussia next do? Did 

 she assert anything of the nature of Sovereign dominion over the 

 sea? Nothing of the kind. 



SEC. 2. It is therefore prohibited to all foreign vessels not only to land on 

 the coasts and islands belonging to Russia as stated above, but also to approach 

 them within less than a hundred Italian miles. The transgressor's vessel is 

 subject to confiscation along with the whole cargo. 



Mr. Justice HARLAN. That is not an absolute doctrine now. 



Mr. CARTER. It is an admitted doctrine now. Every nation has a 

 right to claim for itself the benefits of its colonial trade. Now all 

 that Russia undertook to do was to protect an exclusive grant of 

 its colonial trade; and it adopted the measure a familiar one in 

 that age of interdicting the approach of a foreign vessel within a 

 certain line of the coast. * * * 



[Extract from the reasons for his opinion given by the Hon. Senator Morgan, one of the 

 Arbitrators named by the United States.] 



The right of dominion in a sea like Bering Sea or the sea of 

 Okhotsk does not depend on its being separated from water communi- 

 cation with the ocean. If the configuration of the land surrounding 

 it is such as to make it necessary to the peculiar commerce of the 

 country within which it is embayed, or to the defence of such country, 

 or to the proper administration of its powers of government over 

 its own people, it is a right ex debito justitiw that there should be 

 dominion over such sea. 



This is the right that is now the foundation of the exclusive right 

 of several nations to dominion over seas that are not inclosed by the 

 land on their shores, as stated by Sir Robert Phillimore, page 225, 

 as follows: 



The exclusive right of the British Crown to the Bristol Channel, to the 

 Channel between Ireland and Great Britain (Mare Hibernicum, Canal de St. 

 George), and to the Channel between Scotland and Ireland is uncontested. 

 Pretty much on the same category are the three straits forming the entrance 

 to the Baltic, the Great and Little Belt, and the Sound, which belong to the 

 Crown of Denmark; the straits of Messina (il faro di Messina, f return Sicu- 

 lum), once belonging to the Kingdom of the Sicilies; the straits leading to the 

 Black Sea, the Dardanelles and Hellespont; the Thracian Bosphorus, belonging 

 to the Turkish Empire. The narrow sea which flow between separate portions 

 of the same kingdom, like the Danish and Turkish straits, as to other seas 

 common to all nations, like the straits of Messina and, perhaps the St. George's 

 Channel, the doctrine of innocent use is, according to Vattel, strictly applicable. 



