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sense.

The adjustments suggested ought to be made, or at least considered, when they are important. But a good trustee is not necessarily either a skilled professional accountant or a trust lawyer, and the writer has no intention to assert that he should be. The object of this article is to show that the question of apportionment is one upon which a trustee ought to be alert. It should never escape his mind, and he should use common sense about it.

BOSTON, MASS.

Richard W. Hale.

CONCERNING THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY.

THE

'HE geographical limits of the dominions of the Emperor of all the Russias on the continent of America, ceded by him to the United States according to the terms of the treaty of March 30, 1867, were set forth in that convention in the following words: The eastern limit is the line of demarcation between the Russian and the British possessions in North America, as established by the convention between Russia and Great Britain of February 28 = 16, 1825, and described in articles III. and IV. of said convention, in the following terms: —

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"III. 'Commencing from the southernmost point of the island called Prince of Wales Island, which point lies in a parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude, and between 131st and 133d degree of west longitude (meridian of Greenwich), the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called Portland Channel as far as the point of the continent where it strikes the 56th degree of north latitude; from this last mentioned point, the line of demarcation shall follow the summit of the mountains parallel to the coast as far as the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude (of the same meridian); and finally, from the said point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st degree, in its prolongation, as far as the frozen ocean.'

"IV. With reference to the line of demarcation laid down in the preceding article, it is understood First That the island called Prince of Wales Island shall belong wholly to Russia (now, by this cession to the United States).

"Second -That whenever the summit of the mountains which extend in a direction parallel to the coast from the 56th degree of north latitude to the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude shall prove to be at the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between the British possessions and the line of coast which is to belong to Russia as above mentioned (that is to say, the limit to the possessions ceded by this convention,) shall be formed by a line parallel to the winding of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues therefrom."

"1

According to the terms of the convention recently negotiated by Mr. Hay and Sir Michael Herbert, and ratified by the Senate,

1 Treaties and Conventions Concluded between the United States and other Powers, p. 939. Washington: 1889.

February 11, 1903, a tribunal consisting of six impartial jurors, three appointed by the President, and three appointed by the King, shall endeavor to determine the Alaskan boundary and shall consider in making its decision the articles quoted above from the Russian-American treaty, and particularly articles III., IV. and V. of the earlier treaty of 1825.1 With reference to these articles it is provided that the tribunal shall answer and decide the following questions:

"1. What is intended as the point of commencement of the line?

66 2. What channel is the Portland Channel?

"3. What course should the line take from the point of commencement to the entrance to Portland Channel?

"4. To what point on the fifty-sixth parallel is the line to be drawn from the head of the Portland Channel, and what course should it follow between these points?

"5. In extending the line of demarcation northward from said Point on the parallel of the 56th degree of north latitude, following the crest of the mountains situated parallel to the coast until its intersection with the 141st degree of longitude west from Greenwich, subject to the condition that if such line should anywhere exceed the distance of ten marine leagues from

1 "III. A partir du Point le plus méridional de l'île dite Prince of Wales, lequel Point se trouve sous la parallèle du 54me degré 40 minutes de latitude Nord, et entre le 131mė et le 133me degré de longitude Ouest (Méridien de Greenwich), la dite ligne remontera au Nord le long de la passe dite Portland Channel, jusqu'au Point de la terre ferme où elle atteint le 56me degré de latitude Nord: de ce dernier point la ligne de démarcation suivra la crête des montagnes situées parallèlement à la Côte, jusqu'au point d'intersection du 141me degré de longitude Ouest (même Méridien); et finalement du dit point d'intersection, la même ligne méridienne du 141me degré formera, dans son prolongement jusqu'à la mer Glaciale, la limite entre les Possessions Russes et Britanniques sur le Continent de l'Amérique Nord-Ouest.

IV. Il est entendu, par rapport a la ligne de démarcation déterminée dans l'Article précédent :

1°. Que l'île dite Prince of Wales appartiendra toute entière a La Russie:

2o. Que partout ou la crête des montagnes qui s'étendent dans une direction parallèle à la Côte depuis le 56me degré de latitude Nord au point d'intersection du 141me degré de longitude Ouest, se trouveroit à la distance de plus de dix lieues marines de l'Océan, la limite entre les Possessions Britanniques et la lisière de Côte mentionnée ci-dessus comme devant appartenir à la Russie, sera formée par une ligne parallèle aux sinuosités de la Côte, et qui ne pourra jamais en être éloignée que de dix lieues marines.

V. Il est convenu en outre, que nul Établissement ne sera formé par l'une des deux Parties dans les limites que les deux Articles précédens assignent aux Possessions de l'Autre. En conséquence, les Sujets Britanniques ne formeront aucun Établissement soit sur la côte, soit sur la lisière de terre ferme comprise dans les limites des Possessions Russes, telles qu'elles sont désignées dans les deux Articles précédens; et, de même, nul Établissement ne sera formé par des Sujets Russes au delà des dites limites. XII. Brit. and For. St. P. 40.

the ocean, then the boundary between the British and the Russian territory should be formed by a line parallel to the sinuosities of the coast and distant therefrom not more than ten marine leagues, was it the intention of said convention of 1825 that there should remain in the exclusive possession of Russia a continuous fringe or strip of coast on the mainland, not exceeding ten marine leagues in width, separating the British possessions from the bays, ports, inlets, havens, and waters of the ocean, and extending from the said point on the 56th degree of latitude North, to a point where such line of demarcation should intersect the 141st degree of longitude west of the meridian of Greenwich?

"6. If the foregoing question should be answered in the negative, and in the event of the summit of such mountains proving to be in places more than ten marine leagues from the coast, should the width of the lisière, which was to belong to Russia be measured 1) from the mainland coast to the ocean, strictly so-called, along a line perpendicular thereto; or (2) was it the intention and meaning of the said convention, that where the mainland coast is indented by deep inlets, forming part of the territorial waters of Russia, the width of the lisière was to be measured (a) from the line of the general direction of the mainland coast, or (b) from the line separating the waters of the ocean from the territorial waters of Russia, or (c) from the heads of the aforesaid inlets?

"7. What, if any, are the mountains referred to as situated parallel to the coast, which mountains, when within ten marine leagues from the coast, are declared to form the eastern boundary?"

The purpose of this paper is solely to consider the problem indicated in the fifth question, concerning the intention of the convention of 1825 with reference to the boundary from the point on the 56th degree of north latitude to the intersection of the 141st degree west longitude, the nature of the line between these points, and the method of its demarcation. It is, therefore, necessary to examine with care the several negotiations preliminary to the Anglo-American treaty in the light of the published correspondence relating thereto.1

1 A lucid and authoritative article concerning this correspondence, by Hon. John W. Foster, Ex-Secretary of State, appeared in National Geographic Magazine, Vol. X. P. 425. See also paper by Thomas Hodgins on The Canada-Alaska Boundary Dispute, The Contemporary Review, August, 1902, p. 190; The Alaskan Boundary, by Professor J. B. Moore, North American Review, Vol. 169, p. 501; The Alaskan Boundary, by Horace Townsend, Fortnightly Review, Vol. 72, p. 490; The Alaskan Boundary Dispute, by Professor Chas. N. Gregory, No. 315, Law Magazine and Review, February, 1900; unsigned leading article, No. 392, Edinburgh Review, April, 1900, p. 279; Statement of Facts regarding the Alaska Boundary Question, compiled for the Government of British Columbia by Alexander Begg, Victoria, B. C., 1902; The Alaska Frontier, by Thomas W. Balch, Philadelphia, 1903.

In order to do this intelligently, it is well to note the contour of the northwest coast of America between Mount St. Elias at the north and Dixon Entrance at the south, as shown on the accompanying map. It will be observed that the coast between these points is indented irregularly by long arms of the sea, continuous in width, of great depth, and forming a connecting line of straits between the mainland and the large islands which breast the ocean. These fiords taken with the peninsulas and islands which separate them from the sea constitute a well-defined parallelogram, cutting into the northwest coast.

It is well known that the negotiations leading up to the treaty of 1825 grew out of the desire on the part of Great Britain to secure the renunciation by the Emperor of Russia of the pretensions made by him in his Ukase of 1821, by the terms of which that monarch claimed exclusive right of jurisdiction for a distance of one hundred Italian miles over the ocean from 45° 50' north latitude on the Asiatic coast to the northward, and southeasterly on the northwest coast of America to 51° north latitude. This decree prohibited foreign vessels from approaching Russian territory within these limits, while the pursuit of all commerce was exclusively granted to Russian subjects. It was also desired by Great Britain to fix the limits between the English and Russian possessions on the northwest coast of America; but the determination of the boundary was a matter of secondary importance to the British Foreign Office.1

The negotiations were carried on at St. Petersburg by Count Nesselrode and M. Poletica in behalf of Russia, and by Sir Charles Bagot, the British Ambassador, under the instructions of Mr. George Canning, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. These instructions were prepared under the guidance of Mr.

1 Fur Seal Arbitration Papers, 1893, Vol. IV. p. 446. Mr. George Canning said, in writing to Mr. Stratford Canning: "The whole negotiation grows out of the Ukase of 1821. So entirely and absolutely true is this proposition that the settlement of the limits of the respective possessions of Great Britain and Russia on the northwest coast of America was proposed by us only as a mode of facilitating the adjustment of the difference arising from the Ukase by enabling the Court of Russia, under cover of the more comprehensive arrangement, to withdraw, with less appearance of concession, the offensive pretensions of that Edict.

"It is comparatively indifferent to us whether we hasten or postpone all question respecting the limits of territorial possession on the Continent of America, but the pretensions of the Russian Ukase of 1821 to exclusive dominion over the Pacific could not continue longer unrepealed without compelling us to take some measure of public and effectual remonstrance against it."

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