Huntsville gazette., 1891-01-10
THE BEHRING SEA.
The Correspond ence on the Beh-
ring Sea Question.
MIR. Blaine Insists Upon the Correctness
and Validity of the Position Assumed
by tho United States in ReIa-
ton to the Matter.

the concluding correspondence between
the United States and Great Britain up
to date touching the fur-seal question
In the Behring Sea. The correspond
ence embraces letter dated August 2,
PaEncefote, the British Minister here,
in reply to Secretary Blaines letter of
last July maintaining that the United
States derived from Russia rights of
| jurisdiction over the waters of Behring
Sea to distance of one hundred miles
from the coast. Lord Salisbury in his
letter contends in brief: That England
refused to admit any part of the
Russian claim asserted by the ukase
OF 1921 of maritime jurisdiction and ex-
elusive right of fishing throughout the
whole extent of Behring Sea as far
north as .Behring Straits; that the treat
les OF 1925 between Great Britain and
Russia and the United States and Rus
sia were regarded on both sides as re-
nunciation on the part of Russia of that
claim in its entirety, and that, though
Behring Straits were known and spe-
cially provided for, Behring Sea was
| hOp IhCNii Wy OhdO do eliO eIllOy
but was regarded as part of the Pa
| cific Ocean
Lord Salisbury in support of this con-
| tention land the United States at that
time took the same view of the Russian
/ claim) quotes from the protest of John
| Quincy Adams in 1928, then Secretary
| of State, to the Russian representative
here, in which he wrote: From the
tenor of the ukase, the pretensions of
| the imperial government extend to an
exclusive territorial jurisdiction from
the 45th degree of north latitude on the
Asiatic coast to the latitude of 81 de-
grees north on the Western coast of the
American continent; and they assume
| the right of interdicting the navigation
and the fishery of all other nations to
the extent of one hundred miles from
the whole of that coast. The United
| States can admit no part of
these claims. Their right of naviga-
ton and of fishing is perfect, and has
been in constant exercise from the earl
lest times after the peace of 1888
| throughout the whole extent of the
Southern ocean, subject only to the
ordinary exceptions and exclusions of
the territorial Jurisdictions which SO
far as Russian rights are concerned, are
| confined to certain islands north of the
| 55th degree of north latitude, and have
no existence on the continent of Amer
ica.'
After quoting further from later cor
respondence on the same question,
Lord Salisbury denies that Great Brit
ain ever admitted, by act or by suffer
ance, the extraordinary claim of mari
| time jurisdiction contained in the ukase
of 1921, and says: THE inclosed copies
of correspondence extracted from arch
ives of this office make it very difficult
to believe that Mr. Blaine has not been
| altogether led into error. 1t re-
suits from them that not only
| did Her Maiesty's Government
formally protest against the ukase
on it's first issue as con-
trary to the acknowledged law Of ma
tions, but that the Russian Government
gave verbal assurance that the claim
| of jurisdiction would not be exercised.
In the subsequent negotiations great
1
more formal disavowal of the claim in
the manner least hurtful to Russian
susceptibilities, but SO as effectually to
preclude its revival. And this security
the British Government undoubtedly
considered that both they and the
United States had obtained by the con-
yentions of 1924 and 1926
Lord Salisbury's letter concludes as
follows:
s'The answer, therefore, to the ques-
| tions with which Mr.. Blaine concludes
his dispatch is that Her Majesty's Gov
ernment have always claimed the free
dom of navigation and fishing in the
waters of Behring Sea outside of the
usual territorial limits of one marine
league from the coast; that 1T is impos-
sible to admit that public right to fish,
catch seals. or pursue any other lawful
! occupation on the high seas can be held
| to be abandoned by nation from the
mere fact that for certain number OF
years it has not suited the subjects
| of that nation to exercise 1T. 1t
must be remembered that British
| Columbia has come into existence
| as a colony at comparatively recent
| date, and that the first considerab BILE IN
flux of population, some thirty years
ago, was due to the discovery OF gold
and did not tend to an immediate de-
| velopment of the shipping interest l
have to request that you will commu-
nicate copy of this dispatch, and OF It's
Enclosures, to Mr.. Blaine. You Will
state that Her Majesty's Government
| have no desire whatever to refuse to the
United States any jurisdiction in Behring
| Sea which was conceded by Great Brit
ain to Russia, and which properly ac-
crues to the present possessors OF
| Alaska in virtue of treaties or the law OF
| nations; and that if the United States
| Government, after examination OF the
evidence and arguments which l have
| produced, still differ from them as to
| the legality of the recent captures IN
| that sea, they are ready to agree that