COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 43 



TREATY OF 1824 SUMMARIZED, 



The first is that between tlie United States and linssia. British case, p. 

 By Article I, it is agreed that in any part of the Pacific text is'lnTppen- 

 Ocean the citizens or subjects of the two Powers are not'^i^' T12"' ^*'^' 



to be disturbed in navigation or fishing, or in resort- ' ^'' 

 48 ing to the coasts, on unoccupied points, for the pur- 

 pose of trading with the natives. By Article II, 

 United States citizens are not to resort to any point where 

 there is a Russian establishment, without permission ; nor 

 are Russian subjects to resort without permission to any 

 establishment of the United States on the northwest coast. 

 By Article III, establishments are not to be formed on the 

 north-west coast of America, by United States citizens to 

 the north, or by Russian subjects to the south, of latitude 

 54° 40'. By Article IV, during a term of ten years, the 

 ships of both countries may reciprocally frequent the inte- 

 rior seas, gulfs, harbours, and creeks upon the coast men- 

 tioned in the preceding Article, for fishing and trading with 

 the natives. 



IF "NORTH-WEST COAST" INCLUDES BEHRING SEA COAST, 

 BEHRING SEA IS IN PACIFIC OCEAN. 



The effect of Article IV, as far as United States citizens 

 are concerned, is that they may for ten years frequent the 

 interior seas, &c., on that })art of the north-west coast 

 assigned to Russia. The liberty to do this assumes that 

 the outer seas, which afford access to the interior seas, are 

 not closed. If, then, the north-west coast includes the coast 

 of Behring Sea, neither that sea, as a whole, nor a margin 

 of 100 miles, was closed. The supposition that it was 

 closed necessitates a restricted interpretation of the term 

 " north-M^est coast " : a necessity to which the United States 

 Government and their advisers have shown themselves 

 fully alive. ' 



"NORTH-WEST COAST" WAS USED THROUGHOUT PRELIM- 

 INARY NEGOTIATIONS TO INCLUDE COAST FROM BEH- 

 RING STRAIT TO LATITUDE 51° NORTH. 



It is proved in the British Case, by numerous extracts British case, 

 from the correspondence which j)receded the Treaties, that ^' ' ' 

 the words "north-west coast" were used, throughout the 

 negotiations, to include not less than the whole of the North 

 American coast from Behring Strait to latitude 51° north. 



DEFINITION IN CONTENTION (1.) PROPOUNDED AFTER 

 THREE OTHERS HAD BEEN ANSMERED IN CORRE- 

 SPONDENCE. 



On what the definition of "northwest coast" in Conten- 

 tion (1.) is founded, the United States Case does not explain. 

 If the framers of the Treaty of 18li4 had meant to limit this 

 very general term to the coast between Prince William 

 Sound and the Columbia River, an interpretation clause 

 might have been expected. Perhaps more need not be said 



