Arizona silver belt., 1896-01-04
THE MINERAL MARKET.
THE INEVITABLE CONFLICT.

While the Venezuelan question is for the nonce absorbing public interest in the United States, very much more important matter involving title to part of our own territory, claimed by England, demands the immediate at tention of our Government. This ques- ton of dispute between the United States and Great Britain is the boun- diary line of the United States and the Dominion of Canada, dividing the Territory of Alaska from the province of British Columbia and the Northwest Territory.
 The dispute dates from our purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. By that treaty Russia ceded to the United States all the territory it possessed on the American continent and the adja- cent islands. The eastern limit was declared to be the line of demarcatiop between the Russian and British pos Sessions in North America as established by the convention between Russia and Great Britain of February 20, 1925, The boundary line, as fixed by that treaty, begins at the southernmost limit of the Prince of Wales Island, 54 deg. Al ,,,,p ,,Arth lottt,,IA aud fnllAvr. tl,s Portland channel in northerly direc- tion to point where the 56th degree of latitude intersects the coast line. From this point the line of demarcation is described as following the summit of the coast range of mountains as far as the intersection of the Hist degree of west longitude, immediately south of Mt. St. Elias, and thence directly north along said meridian in its pro longation as far as the frozen ocean.
 The treaty of 1895 distinctly states that the boundary line from the Port land channel to Mt. St. Elias shall run parallel to the winding coast and shall never exceed ten marine leagues (35 miles) therefrom. Hence, it would seem as though there was no ground for dispute over the boundary line as described in the Russian British treaty, and reaffirmed by the Russian-Amerl- can treaty. But England is fertile in expedients, especially where she sees 8 chance of acquiring valuable terri ritory, and she has set up pretentious claim to suit her purpose.
 The Alaskan coast, from Cape Spen- cer south, is bordered by numerous islands, forming an archipelago, and the outer, or western, line of these islands is 80 to 100 miles from the main coast. Now, England has ad- vanced the claim that the line of coast mentioned in the cession treaty of Russia is the westernmost points of these various islands, and that the United States is entitled only to those islands or portions of islands included in strip ten marine leagues wide and that the islands and navigable channels between that strip and the coast, as we'll as all the mainland, belongs to British Columbia.
 The effect of this construction of the words of the treaty would certainly not be in accord with it's spirit and intent The change would throw Juneau City, the head of navigation for sea-going vessels, Dyca, Chilcut, and the other points at the head of Lynn channel, as we'll as the several passes leading to the Yukon, mining districts, into Canadian territory. That would mean the diver sion of the trade of that section, which is now supplied by San Francisco, Seattle and Victoria.
 Juneau is the port of entry, as it were, for the Yukon mining regiopJ from there by small steamer to Dyca, at the head of Chilcoot inlet; then over Chilcoot pass, some twenty miles, the head waters of the Yukon are reached The distance by this route is some 2500 miles less than around and up the Yu- kon by steamer, and Forty-mile Creek can be made two months earlier over land than up the river, as the start is made in early April, while the Yukon is not open from the sea until June. The control of Juneau and this route is what Canada has in view in the pro- posed change of the boundary line.
 In 1892 convention was entered into between the United States and Great Britain for joint survey of the terri tory adjacent to that part of the boun- dary line in dispute, and it was agreed that as soon as practicable after the report of the commissioners was re- ceived, the two governments should sroceed to consider and establish the