The La Jara chronicle., 1909-10-15
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and independence We're to be found the bars
of the Forty Mile the Stewart, and Circle
City.
With the increase of population came the rep
resentatives of the American and Canadian gov
ernments custom-houses were established and
court decisions took the place of the rude JUS
tice dispensed by miners meetings. With the
new order of things came also the necessity of
q determined line between the two countries.
The United States claimed, under the old Rus
sian treaty line running up Portland canal to
the seth parallel of north latitude. thence to fol-
low the summit of the coast range to its inter-
section with the 141st meridian. In the absence
of a definite mountain range near the coast. the
line was to be not more than ten marine leagues
distant from tide water.
Canada claimed that the line should follow the
coast range paralleling the general contour of
the coast and cutting across all inlets and fiords
There were other contentious of minor impor-
tance. but the real trouble that Canada
thought she entitled to a seaport which
would allow of shipments through Canadian ter
ritory to the now valuable Klondike
AS to the 141st meridian being the rest of the
boundary, there was no dispute This line starts
at ridge of Mount Saint Elias and through
to Demarcation Point on the Arctic ocean.
Maps showing strip of land along the coast
were made. archives were rummaged every avail
able bits of history and tradition were searched
and the whole mass submitted evidence to a
tribunal of three Americans two Canadians and
one Englishman, which met in London In 1903
The sitting of the evidence required three months
The opposing counsel helped by the geographic
experts put forth their best arguments a vote
was taken. and the result showed four to two for
the United States. the lord chief justice of Eng
land, Lord Alverstone. casting his vote with the
Americans
Naturally the Canadian representatives felt
greatly disappointed. but the evidence was too
conclusive to allow of any other outcome.
Then came the question of what mountains con-
stituted the coast range. In places a compro-
mise effected departing slightly from the
claims of the United States.
1t decided that certain welldeined peaks
on the mountains fringing the coast should con-
stitute the main points the boundary Lord
Alverstone welding a blue pencil marked on the
maps what appeared to the tribunal to be the
proper mountains. The members of the tribunal
were all eminent jurists but this did not make
them proficient in the intricacies of contour maps
and the advice of the experts was constantly re-
quested.
The location of the boundary was left to two
commissioners, Mr.. o. II. Tittmann, superintend.
ent of the coast and geodetc survey, for the
United States, and DIR. W. F. King, chief Domin-
ion astronomer. for Canada.
Wherever the blue-penc mark appears on the
map this point without any recourse is boun-
Diary point, though higher and better point
may be but short distance away.
To follow the sinuosities of the mountain
ranges in this country would be hopeless, so the
commissioners will probably decide that a
straight line connecting the various bluepenciled
points shall constitute the boundary.
The actual dcmarcaton of the boundary to be
satisfactory to both governments. must be done
jointly. sy this it is not meant that there is d.