Pelly, Chairman of the Hudson's Bay Company, who had informed the Secretary that the most southern establishment of Russia on the northwest coast of America was on a small island, in latitude 57°, that there was no Russian settlement on the mainland, nor any commerce to the eastward of the coast. Mr. Pelly suggested. therefore, "either the channel between the islands and the mainland, as the most desirable line of demarcation to the eastward, which being agreed to, the line to the southward might be drawn so as to comprehend Sitka and all the Russian settlements upon the islands." Sir Charles Bagot was given greater freedom, however, and was informed that, "if necessary, the line must be drawn on the mainland to the northernmost post of the North-West Company from east to west till it strikes the coast, and thence may descend to whatever latitude may be necessary for taking in the island on which Sitka stands." Mr. Canning was doubtful how far to the eastward the claims of Russia might be extended on the mainland, from whatever point might be agreed upon as the southern limit of her possessions. Therefore his advice on this point to his Ambassador is significant: "It is absolutely essential, therefore, to guard against any unfounded pretension or any vague expectation of Russia to the eastward, and for this purpose it is necessary that whatever degree of latitude be assumed, a definite degree of longitude should be also assigned as a limit between the territorial rights of the two Powers. It would, however, in that case, be expedient to assign with respect to the mainland south of that point, a limit, say of 50 or 100 miles from the coast, beyond which the Russian posts should not be extended to the eastward. We must not on any account admit the Russian territory to extend at any point to the Rocky Mountains." . (line With such instructions Sir Charles Bagot made a definite proposition for the demarcation of the boundary line. He proposed that it be drawn through Chatham Straits to the head of Lynn Canal, thence northwest to the 140th degree of longitude A, Map). A written contre-projet was offered in behalf of Russia. In this document Russia claimed the territory as far south as the 55th degree, supporting this contention by the limits assigned to Russian possessions by the Charter granted by the Emperor Paul to the Russian-American Company in 1799. In view of the fact that the 55th degree of north latitude cut through Prince of Wales 1 Fur Seal Arbitration Papers, 1893, Vol. IV. p. 417. 4 Ibid. 424. Island the proposition was made that this island be wholly within Russian territory. The Russian plenipotentiaries expressed the wish to have the line pass up Portland Channel to the mountains which bordered on the coast, thence along the mountains parallel to the sinuosities of the coast as far as the 139th degree west longitude. The following reason was assigned for such a line: "Le motif principal qui force la Russie à insister sur la souveraineté de la lisière indiquée plus haut sur la terre ferme depuis le Portland Canal jusqu'au point d'intersection du 60 avec le 139 longitude, c'est que, privée de ce territoire, la Compagnie Russe-Américaine n'auroit aucun moyen de soutenir les Établissemens qui seroient dès lors sans point d'appui, et qui ne pourroient avoir aucune solidité." 1 In return Russia offered to give to British subjects free navigation of all the rivers "qui aboutissent à l'Océan dans cette même lisière.” The opening of the Russian Port of New Archangel to British subjects was made a further inducement for the acceptance of this proposition. It is clear that the sense of a need of a continuous strip of Russian mainland from Portland Channel to the intersection of the 139th degree of west longitude caused the Russian plenipotentiaries to refuse the British proposition. The Russian contre-projet was unacceptable to Sir Charles Bagot. He stated that a line drawn according to the Russian plan would deprive Great Britain of the sovereignty of all the inlets and small bays between latitudes 56° and 54° 45' the greater portion of which were in direct communication with the establishments of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of peculiar importance to its commerce. He further contended that the Russian-American Company did not possess a single establishment on the mainland between the parallels of latitude mentioned.2 Thereupon Sir Charles Bagot made a second offer. He proposed to draw the line between Admiralty Island to the north and Duke of York and Prince of Wales islands to the south directly to the mainland, "coupled with the concession," as he writes, “of a line of coast extending 10 marine leagues into the interior of the continent " (see line B, Map). His proposal to Russia was expressed in the following language: "La Grande-Bretagne proposeroit de prendre pour ligne de démarcation entre des territoires des deux Puissances une ligne tracée de l'ouest vers l'est, par le milieu du canal qui sépare les Îles du Prince de Galles et du Duc d'York de toutes les îles situées au nord des dites îles jusqu'à ce qu'elle touche la terre ferme. De là se prolongeant dans la même direction sur la terre ferme jusqu'à un point distant de la côte de 10 lieues marines, la ligne remonteroit de ce point vers le nord et le nord-ouest, parallèlement aux sinuosités de la côte, et toujours à la distance de 10 lieues marines du rivage, jusqu'à 140 degré de longitude (de Greenwich) dont elle suivroit alors du prolongement jusqu'à la Mer Polaire." 1 Reference to the map indicates that this second British offer placed the southern boundary of Russia on the continent at a point lower than the 57th degree of north latitude. Sir Charles Bagot's comment on the scope of his proposal is significant: "La Ligne . . . assureroit à la Russie non seulement une lisière sur le continent, vis-à-vis de . . . l'Établissement le plus méridional qu'elle possède sur les îles, mais qui lui assureroit aussi la possession de toutes les îles et les eaux qui l'avoisinent, ou qui se trouvent placées entre cet Établissement et la terre ferme, la possession enfin de tout ce qui pourroit devenir, par la suite, de quelque utilité, ou pour la solidité ou pour sa prosperité." 2 It is apparent that it was the intention of the British ambassador that, if the Russian frontier could be limited on the south by the line suggested by himself, the channels and straits to the north should remain under exclusive Russian control, as well as the strip of mainland which they bounded; that Russian sovereignty over such waters, whether outside straits or fiords penetrating far inland, should include at every point an adjacent strip of the coast; that north of the line agreed upon there should be an unbroken belt of water and mainland. The Russian plenipotentiaries objected to this second proposal on the ground that without a strip of land along the edge of the continent starting from Portland Channel, the Russian establishments on the neighboring islands would be without a base of support, and at the mercy of foreign settlements which might be made on the mainland.3 1 Fur Seal Arbitration Papers, 1893, Vol. IV. p. 428. 2 Ibid. 429. Ibid. 429. "D'autre part, les Plenipotentiaires de Russie ont l'honneur de lu observer itérativenent, que sans une lisière sur la côte du continent à partir du Portland Channel, les Établissemens Russes des îsles du voisinage n'auroient aucum point d'appui; qu'ils seroient à la merci de ceux que des étrangers formeroient sur la terre ferme, et que tout arrangement semblable, loin d'être fondé sur le principe des convenances mutuelles, ne presenteroit que des dangers à l'une des Parties et des avantages exclusifs à l'autre." In his reply Sir Charles Bagot stated that discovery and occupation of islands should not give Russia rights on the mainland south of her actual establishments on the coast; that there were no Russian settlements on the mainland south of the 60th degree of north latitude; that the Hudson's Bay Company was established on the mainland north of the 55th degree north latitude and near the coast; that Great Britain could not renounce the sovereignty of the coast south of 56° 30′ without sacrificing the interests of that corporation; that it was of great importance to his government to retain control over both banks of Portland Channel inasmuch as it was the outlet of a river dividing the territory occupied by the British Company. He thereupon made a third proposal as to the line of demarcation, suggesting that it be drawn from the southernmost extremity of Prince of Wales Island, through the middle of the Duke of Clarence Sound, as far as the middle of the channel separating Prince of Wales and Duke of York islands from those situated to the north, thence eastward in the middle of that channel to the mainland and thence to be prolonged according to his second proposal1 (see line C, Map). This proposal also was unsatisfactory to Russia, for the reason, it was contended, that Prince of Wales Island would be valueless without the support of a portion of the mainland coast situated opposite, and that deprived of such a base the Russian settlements established on that island would be flanked by English settlements on the opposite mainland and wholly at their mercy. The Russian plenipotentiaries further called attention to recent maps showing no English establishments on the northwest coast of America south of 54° 40'.2 Thereupon Sir Charles Bagot broke off negotiations. Shortly thereafter Mr. Canning wrote to Count Lieven, the Russian Ambassador at London, informing him that Sir Charles Bagot's discretion would be enlarged so as to enable him to admit 1 Fur Seal Arbitration Papers, 1893, Vol. IV. p. 429. This line was intended to run north of the small island known as Zarembo Island, rather than between it and Etolin Island, which was formerly known as Duke of York Island. According to Vancouver's map, which was the map used by the negotiators of the treaty of 1825, the words "Duke of York's Island" is attached to the territory comprising both Zarembo and Etolin islands, but which according to the map constitute a single island. Probably it was not known to the explorer that a channel separates what appeared to him to be a single piece of land. The natural channel between Prince of Wales Island, and the islands to the north, passes to the north of Zarembo Island. 2 Ibid. 430. with certain qualifications the last proposals of the Russian government.1 Accordingly, the British Ambassador was given new instructions and furnished with a draft of a treaty. With reference to the easterly boundary Sir Charles Bagot was warned that it would be dangerous to determine the line merely by means of the mountain range along the coast, in view of the fact that mountains were often incorrectly laid down in the maps, and that therefore there should be some other security taken to prevent the line being carried too far inland. To provide for this difficulty, Mr. Canning suggested that the line "should in no case be carried further to the east than a specified number of leagues from the sea." 2 Article III. of his draft provided that the line "shall not, in any case, extend more than marine leagues in breadth from the sea towards the interior at whatever distance the aforesaid mountains may be." The general line of demarcation provided by Mr. Canning conformed to the Russian requirements. It included within Russian territory the Prince of Wales Island, and from the southern extremity thereof, the line was drawn through Portland Channel as far as the coast of the continent at the 56th degree of north latitude, thence along the coast in a direction parallel to its windings and at or within the seaward base of the mountains as far as 139th degree west longitude. Sir Charles Bagot was, however, given discretion to substitute the summit of the mountains for the "seaward base" with the proviso that "the stipulation as to the extreme distance from the coast to which the lisière is in any case to run, be adopted, and provided a stipulation be added that no forts shall be established or fortifications erected by either party on the summit or in the passes of the mountains." 4 Mr. Canning was extremely desirous of securing for British subjects the permanent right to navigate and trade along the line of coast and islands to be assigned to Russia, as well as the right of navigation and commerce to and from rivers passing through the interior of the continent and crossing the lisière in their course to the sea. 1 Fur Seal Arbitration Papers, 1893, Vol. IV. p. 432. "The qualifications will consist chiefly in a more definite description of the limit to which the strip of land required by Russia on the continent is to be restricted; in the selection of a somewhat more western degree of longitude as the boundary to the northward of Mount Elias; in precise and positive stipulations for the free use of all rivers which may be found to empty themselves into the sea within the Russian frontier, and of all seas, straits, and waters which the limits assigned to Russia may comprehend." • Ibid. 435. 4 Ibid. 437. 2 Ibid. 433. |