ARTICLE VI. Denunciation. This Convention may be denounced by either of the High Contracting Parties at any time after the thirty-first day of October, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, on giving to the other Party two months notice of its termination; and at the expiration of such notice the Convention shall cease to be in force. Ratification. ARTICLE VII. The present Convention shall be duly ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by Her Britannic Majesty; and the ratifications shall be exchanged either at Washington or at London as early as possible. In faith whereof, we, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed this Convention and have hereunto affixed our Seals. Done in duplicate at Washington, this eighteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-two. JAMES G. BLAINE, JULIAN PAUNCEFOTE. [SEAL] [SEAL] ADDITIONAL FACTS RELATING TO THE RUSSIAN AMERICAN COMPANY. The Russian American Company was the outgrowth of the numerous trading associations which, soon after the discovery of Bering Island in 1741, began to develop the fur trade of the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea.1 It was largely through the efforts of Grigor Ivanovitch Shelikof that these associations with their conflicting interests were eventually united; he did not, however, live to see the result of his work. He appears first on the scene as a trader on the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. Later he formed a partnership with one Golikof, and for several years this firm figured prominently in the prosecution of the fur trade of those regions and on the coast of the American continent. In 1784 he reached the island of Kadiak, which he proceeded to explore with reference to its hunting grounds. Notwithstanding numerous conflicts with the natives, preparations were rapidly made for occupying the island, houses and fortifications being erected. Later, cruises were undertaken to Prince William Sound (Chugatsh Bay), Cook's Inlet (Kenai Bay), and Yakutat Bay.2 Of one of these cruises Coxe says: "The voyage of Ismaelof and Betsharof from Kadiak to the coast of America, an account of which was digested by Shelikof, is by far the most interesting yet made by the Russians. They reached that continent near Prince William Sound, coasted it beyond latitude 50°, and give a particular description of the aspect of the country, the inhabitants, and productions. By comparing their accounts with the narratives of Cook, Portlock, Meares, and Vancouver, we have been able to ascertain most of the harbours and places at which they touched, and the general agreement with the accounts given by the English navigators proves the accuracy of their description."3 At Yakutat a friendly traffic was carried on with the natives and they were received under the protection of the Russian Empire, to which they acknowledged their allegiance. The expedition then continued south as far as Ltoua Bay, returning to Okhotsk in the summer of 1787.1 The rapid expansion of the Russians beyond Kadiak is best told in the words of the same author: "The settlement formed by Shelikof in the isle of Kadiak has more contributed to spread the extent of the Russian trade and power in the North Pacific Ocean than any preceding expeditions. He sent out detached parties, who formed establishments on various parts of the American continent and kept the natives in due order and subjugation. Berg, p. 1 et seq. * Coxe, p. 207 et seq., p. 232 et seq. 3 Coxe, p. 232. 4 Coxe, p. 247 et seq. 9 "During his survey of the American coast Vancouver1 met with many considerable hunting parties, under the command of Russians; one in particular, which he saw in Portlock's Harbour, consisting of not less than 900 natives of Kadiak and of the adjacent regions. He likewise mentions their settlement at Port Etches or Nootcheck, and gives a particular detail of the factory which they had established in Cook's Inlet. In 1787 Shelikof journeyed to Irkutsk to obtain for his company exclusive control of the fur trade, for at that time there was danger that this trade would come to an end unless carried on under proper restrictions. He met, however, only with partial success. Soon after the Russians had settled upon the coast of America they began fighting amongst themselves, the Lebedef Company making its appearance at Kadiak in 1786, and shortly afterwards moving on to Cooks Inlet and Prince William Sound, at both of which spots the Shelikof company had already established itself.3 In 1795 Shelikof died, but his company continued in existence. Two years later a merchant named Milinkof organized a large company, which company, however, shortly afterwards united with the Shelikof and other companies, forming together an association known as the United American Company, with a capital of 724,000 rubles, and this company became in the year 1799, by an imperial ukase, which contained its charter, the Russian American Company. All hunters or small traders in Russian America were invited to join it. The rights, obligations, and mode of government of this Company, as well as the character and extent of its fur industry, of which the fur-seal catch formed at an early date the chief item, are referred to elsewhere.+ It was the constant policy of the Russian Government and of the Company to prevent foreigners from deriving profit from intercourse with the Colonies, and toward the end of 1822 a Russian sloop of war reached Sitka with instructions that all trade with them should cease. The shareholders of the company, however, soon realized that a total suspension of all trade with foreigners was detrimental to their interests, and in 1824 they successfully petitioned the Government that the port of Sitka be opened to such trade." The Company's charter was renewed in 1821. During the second term of its existence a tour of inspection was made through the Colonies by the chief manager and they were divided into five districts. Further important expeditions were undertaken to Bering Sea and its eastern coast, and many valuable surveys of these regions were made. Expeditions were also directed to the interior of the territory of Alaska, and to the Arctic coast east from Kotzebue Sound." In the year 1833 an event of some importance took place on the Stikeen River, upon which the Hudson's Bay Company had determined to establish a station. To accomplish this purpose the brig Dryad was to ascend this river from its mouth, under the privilege conferred by Article VI of the treaty of 1825. The Russians, hearing of this, dispatched two armed vessels to the mouth of the Stikeen, and these drove off the Dryad when she approached. A serious dispute threatened for some time to arise out of this affair, but it was settled in 1839 in this way: The Hudson's Bay Company waived its claim for damages on condition that the Russian American Company execute to the former 1 Vancouver visited these regions in 1794. (See vol. III of his voyages, p. 83 et seq.) * Coxe, p. 264. Tikhmenief, vol. 1, p. 57, 4 See Case, pp. 35-37. 5 Letter from the Minister of Finance to a lease for ten years of all its continental territory lying between the southern boundary of the Russian possessions in latitude 54° 40′ and Cape Spencer, upon an annual rental of 2,000 land-otter skins. At its expiry the lease was renewed for another period of ten years.' After executing this lease the Ross colony, established in about 1812 on the coast of California, became of less and less value to the Russians, and in the year 1841 it was given up entirely.2 In the month of March, 1841, the Russian Government renewed the charter of the Russian American Company for a further period of twenty years. During this period numerous exploring expeditions continued to be sent out. Furthermore, the Company embarked in some new enterprises. In conjunction with the American Russian Commercial Company it engaged extensively in the business of shipping ice from Kadiak and Sitka to California, much capitial being invested in plant of all description. In 1856 the same parties undertook the working of a coal mine at the mouth of Cooks Inlet. This proved very unprofitable, and for many years was a constant drain on the resources of the Russian American Company. Its third charter expired in 1862 and was not renewed, though it continued to operate under it until 1867, when the Territory of Alaska was ceded to the United States. 1Tikhmenief, vol. 1, p. 267. *See Case, p. 28, note 4. RUSSIA'S EARLY TITLE TO PARTS OF THE AMERICAN COAST. From a summary of what has been said in the Case' on the subject of early discovery and ownership of the territory surrounding Bering Sea, it appears that prior to 1821 the Russians were without question both the first discoverers and settlers of all territory on its western and southern boundary. As to its eastern boundary, they were the first to visit a portion of it, and the subsequent discoveries of Cook were followed up by Russian expeditions. No nation save Russia ever claimed this territory as its own. This she did as early as the year 1799, when she conferred upon the Russian American Company exclusive privileges throughout its whole length; and it is not known that any protest was ever raised to this grant, which, furthermore, included the coast, already largely settled by Russians, down to latitude 55° N. If further proof is required as to Russia's ownership not only of this shore but also of the coast of the continent, at least as far west as Prince William Sound or Yakutat Bay, it is furnished by what follows. In a number of the London Quarterly Review of 18222 it is said in ref erence to the famous ukase of 1821: "Let us examine, however, what claim Russia can reasonably set up to the territory in question. To the two shores of Bering Sea we admit she would have an undoubted claim, on the scope of priority of discovery, that on the side of Asia having been visited by Deshnew in 1648, and that of America visited by Bering in 1741, as far down as the latitude 51° and the peaked mountain, since generally known by the name of Cape Fairweather; to the southward of this point, however, Russia has not the slightest claim." In the North American Review for October, 1822, we find the following: "We have no doubt but Russian fur-hunters formed establishments, at an early period, on the Aleutian Islands and neighboring coast of the continent; but we are equally certain that it can be clearly demonstrated that no settlement was made eastward of Bering Bay till the one at Norfolk Sound (Sitka), in 1799. The statements of Cook, Vancouver, Mears (Mirs), Portlock, and La Perouse prove, what we readily admit, that previous to 1786 the Russians had settlements on the island of Kadiak and in Cook's River; but we shall take leave to use the same authorities to establish the fact that none of these settlements extended so far east as Bering Bay.* Claret Fleurieu, in his introduction to the Voyage of Marchand, pub 1 Pp. 20-25. 2 Vol. XXVI, p. 344. See also, to the same effect, article in Quartely Review for 1814, p. 285. See also North American Review, March, 1816, p. 302: "At the settlement of Norfolk Sound, in latitude 57° N., there are about 600 Russians." |