Russia would be always ready to explain the motives which justify the provisions of that document; but for the moment she will confine herself to the following observations:

The Duke of Wellington asserts, in his Confidential Memorandum of the 17th October, that English establishments belonging to two Companies, the Hudson's Bay Company and the North-West Company, have been formed in a country called New Caledonia, which extends along the coast of the Pacific Ocean from the 49th to the 60th degree of north latitude.

Russia will not refer to the establishments which may exist between the 49th and 51st parallel; but, with regard to the others, she does not hesitate to admit that she is, up to the present, ignorant of their existence in so far at least as to their touching the Pacific Ocean.

Even the most recent and most minute English Maps give absolutely no indication of the trading stations, mentioned in the Memorandum of the 17th October, on the coast of America between the 51st and 60th degree of north latitude.

On the other hand, since the expeditions of Behring and Tchirikoff, that is nearly a century ago, Russian establishments have extended progressively from the 60th degree, so that by the year 1799 they had reached the 55th parallel, as is shown by the first Charter of the Russo-American Company, a Charter which received official publicity at the time, and drew forth no protest on the part of England.

This same Charter granted to the Russian Company the right to extend its establishments towards the south beyond the 55th degree of north latitude, provided that such increase of territory could not give rise to objections on the part of any foreign Power.

Nor did England protest against this provision either, nor did she even object to the new establishments which the Russo-American Company was able to form to the south of the 55th degree in virtue of that privilege.

Russia was therefore fully entitled to profit by a consent which, for being tacit, was none the less solemn, and to fix as the boundary of her dominions the degree of latitude up to which the Russian Company had extended its operations since 1799.

Be this as it may, and whatever force these circumstances may give to the titles of Russia, His Imperial Majesty will not deviate at this juncture from the habitual system of his policy.

His first wish will always be to prevent all discussion, and to strengthen more and more the relations of friendship and complete understanding which he is happy to maintain with Great Britain.

Consequently, the Emperor has charged his Cabinet to declare to the Duke of Wellington (such declaration not to prejudice his rights in any way if it be not accepted) that he is ready to fix, by means of friendly negotiation and on the basis of mutual accommodation, the degrees of latitude and longitude which the two Powers shall regard as the utmost limits of their possessions and of their establishments on the north-west coast of America.

His Imperial Majesty is pleased to believe that this negotiation can be completed without difficulty, to the mutual satisfaction of the two States; and the Cabinet of Russia can, from this moment, assure the Duke of Wellington that the measures of precaution and superintendence which will then be taken on the Russian part of the coast of America will be entirely in conformity with the rights derived from sovereignty and with the established customs of nations, and that there will be no possibility of legitimate cause of complaint against them.

Sir,

Inclosure 6 in No. 382.

The Duke of Wellington to Mr. G. Canning.

Verona, November 28, 1822.

I INCLOSE the copy of a Confidential Memorandum which I gave to Count Nesselrode on the 17th October, regarding the Russian Ukase, and the copy of his

answer.

I have had one or two discussions with Count Lieven upon this paper, to which I object, as not enabling His Majesty's Government to found upon it any negotiation to settle the questions arising out of the Ukase, which have not got the better of these difficulties; and I inclose you the copy of a letter which I have written to Count

question, then, stands exactly where it did. upon it.

I have not been able to do anything

I have, &c.

(Signed)

WELLINGTON.

M. le Comte,

Inclosure 7 in No. 382.

The Duke of Wellington to Count Lieven.

Verona, November 28, 1822. HAVING considered the paper which your Excellency gave me last night, on the part of his Excellency Count Nesselrode, on the subject of our discussions on the Russian Ukase, I must inform you that I cannot consent, on the part of my Government, to found on that paper the negotiation for the settlement of the question which has arisen between the two Governments on this subject.

We object to the Ukase on two grounds: (1) that His Imperial Majesty assumes thereby an exclusive sovereignty in North America, of which we are not prepared to acknowledge the existence or the extent; upon this point, however, the Memoir of Count Nesselrode does afford the means of negotiation; and my Government will be ready to discuss it, either in London or St. Petersburgh, whenever the state of the discussions on the other question arising out of the Ukase will allow of the discussion. The second ground on which we object to the Ukase is that His Imperial Majesty thereby excludes from a certain considerable extent of the open sea vessels of other nations. We contend that the assumption of this power is contrary to the law of nations; and we cannot found a negotiation upon a paper in which it is again broadly asserted. We contend that no Power whatever can exclude another from the use of the open sea; a Power can exclude itself from the navigation of a certain coast, sea, &c., by its own act or engagement, but it cannot by right be excluded by another. This we consider as the law of nations; and we cannot negotiate upon a paper in which a right is asserted inconsistent with this principle.

I think, therefore, that the best mode of proceeding would be that you should state your readiness to negotiate upon the whole subject, without restating the objectionable principle of the Ukase which we cannot admit.

I have, &c.

SINCE I wrote to you yesterday I have had another conversation with the Russian Minister regarding the Ukase. It is now settled that both the Memorandums which I inclosed to you should be considered as non avenus, and the Russian Ambassador in London is to address you a note in answer to that of the late Lord Londonderry, assuring you of the desire of the Emperor to negotiate with you upon the whole question of the Emperor's claims in North America, reserving them all if the result of the negotiation should not be satisfactory to both parties.

This note will then put this matter in a train of negotiation, which is what was wished.

A LA suite des déclarations verbales que le Soussigné, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire de Sa Majesté l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, a faites au Ministère de Sa Majesté Britannique, le Cabinet de St. James a dû se convaincre que si des objections s'étaient élevées contre le Règlement publié au nom de Sa

Majesté l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies sous la date du 4 (16) Septembre, 1821, les mesures ultérieures adoptées par Sa Majesté Impériale ne laissent aucun doute sur la pureté de ses vues et sur le désir qu'elle aura toujours de concilier ses droits et ses intérêts avec les intérêts et les droits des Puissances auxquelles l'unissent les liens d'une amitié véritable et d'une bienveillance réciproque.

Avant de quitter Vérone, le Soussigné a reçu l'ordre de donner au Gouvernement de Sa Majesté Britannique une nouvelle preuve des dispositions connues de l'Empereur, en proposant à son Excellence M. Canning, Principal Secrétaire d'État de Sa Majesté Britannique pour les Affaires Étrangères, sans que cette proposition puisse porter atteinte aux droits de Sa Majesté Impériale, si elle n'est pas acceptée, que de part et d'autre la question de droit strict soit provisoirement écartée, et que tous les différends auxquels a donné lieu le Règlement dont il s'agit, s'applanissent par un arrangement amical fondé sur le seul principe des convenances mutuelles et qui serait négocié à St. Pétersbourg.

L'Empereur se flatte que Sir Charles Bagot ne tardera point à recevoir les pouvoirs et les instructions nécessaires à cet effet, et que la proposition du Soussigné achèvera de démontrer au Gouvernement de Sa Majesté Britannique combien Sa Majesté Impériale souhaite qu'aucune divergence d'opinion ne puisse subsister entre la Russie et la Grande-Bretagne, et que le plus parfait accord continue de présider à leurs relations.

Le Soussigné, &c.

Londres, le 19 (31) Janvier, 1823.

(Translation.)

(Signé)

LIEVEN.

BY the verbal declarations made by the Undersigned, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, to Her Britannic Majesty's Government, the Cabinet of St. James' must have been convinced that, though exception had been taken to the Regulation published on the 4th (16th) September, 1821, in the name of His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, the subsequent steps taken by His Imperial Majesty leave no doubt as to the purity of his intentions, and as to the desire which will always animate him to reconcile his own rights and interests with those of the Powers to which he is linked by bonds of true friendship and reciprocal good-will.

Before leaving Verona the Undersigned received instructions to give the Government of Her Britannic Majesty a new proof of the known feelings of the Emperor, by proposing to his Excellency Mr. Canning, Her Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whilst reserving the rights of His Imperial Majesty should the proposal not be accepted, that the question of strict right should be provisionally set aside by both parties, and that all the differences created by the Regulation in question should be smoothed over by a friendly arrangement based solely on the principle of mutual accommodation to be negotiated at St. Petersburgh.

The Emperor flatters himself that Sir Charles Bagot will very shortly receive the necessary powers and instructions in the above sense, and that the proposal of the Undersigned will completely convince the Government of Her Britannic Majesty of the earnest wish of His Imperial Majesty that no difference of opinion should exist between Russia and Great Britain, and that the most perfect agreement should continue to guide their relations.

The Undersigned, &c.

(Signed)

LIEVEN.

London, January 19 (31), 1823.

Inclosure 10 in No. 382.

Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot.

Sir,

Foreign Office, February 5, 1823.

WITH respect to my despatch of the 31st December last, transmitting to your Excellency the copy of an instruction addressed to the Duke of Wellington, as well as a despatch from his Grace dated Verona, the 29th November last, both upon the subject of the Russian Ukase of September 1821, I have now to inclose to your Excellency the copy of a note which has been addressed to me by Count Lieven,

bringing this subject to a satisfactory termination, and requesting that your Excellency may be furnished with the necessary powers to enter into negotiation for that purpose with His Imperial Majesty's Ministers at St. Petersburgh.

I avail myself of the opportunity of a Russian courier (of whose departure Count Lieven has only just apprised me) to send this note to your Excellency, and to desire that your Excellency will proceed to open the discussion with the Russian Minister upon the basis of the instruction to the Duke of Wellington.

I will not fail to transmit to your Excellency full powers for the conclusion of an agreement upon this subject, by a messenger whom I will dispatch to you as soon as I shall have collected any further information which it may be expedient to furnish to your Excellency, or to found any further instruction upon that may be necessary for your guidance in this important negotiation.

Sir,

I am, &c.

Ship-owners' Society, New Broad Street, November 19, 1823. IN the month of June last you were pleased to honour me with an interview on the subject of the Russian Ukase prohibiting foreign vessels from touching at or approaching the Russian establishments along the north-west coast of America therein mentioned, when you had the goodness to inform me that a representation had been made to that Government, and that you had reason to believe that the Ukase would not be acted upon; and very shortly after this communication I was informed, on what I considered undoubted authority, that the Russian Government had consented to withdraw that unfounded pretension.

The Committee of this Society being about to make their annual Report to the ship-owners at large, it would be satisfactory to them to be able to state therein that official advices have been received from St. Petersburgh that the Ukase had been annulled; and should that be the case, I have to express the hope of the Committee to be favoured with a communication from you to that effect.

Sir,

Foreign Office, November 26. 1823. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Canning to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th instant, expressing a hope that the Ukase of September 1821 had been annulled.

Mr. Canning cannot authorize me to state to you in distinct terms that the Ukase has been annulled, because the negotiation to which it gave rise is still pending, embracing as it does many points of great intricacy as well as importance.

But I am directed by Mr. Canning to acquaint you that orders have been sent out by the Court of St. Petersburgh to their Naval Commanders calculated to prevent any collision between Russian ships and those of other nations; and in effect suspending the Tase of September 1821.

I am, &c.

(Extract.)

Foreign Office, January 20, 1824.

A LONG period has elapsed since I gave your Excellency reason to expect additional instructions for your conduct in the negotiation respecting the Russian Ukase of 1821.

That expectation was held out in the belief that I should have to instruct you to combine your proceedings with those of the American Minister, and the framing such instructions was, of necessity, delayed until Mr. Rush should be in possession of the intentions of his Government upon the subject.

It remains, therefore, only for me to direct your Excellency to resume your negotiation with the Court of St. Petersburgh at the point at which it was suspended in consequence of the expected accession of the United States, and to endeavour to bring it as speedily as possible to an amicable and honourable conclusion.

The questions at issue between Great Britain and Russia are short and simple. The Russian Ukase contains two objectionable pretensions: first, an extravagant assumption of maritime supremacy; secondly, an unwarranted claim of territorial dominion.

As to the first, the disavowal of Russia is, in substance, all that we could desire, Nothing remains for negotiation on that head but to clothe that disavowal in precise and satisfactory terms. We would much rather that those terms should be suggested by Russia herself than have the air of pretending to dictate them. You will, therefore, request Count Nesselrode to furnish you with his notion of such a declaration on this point as may be satisfactory to your Government. That declaration may be made the preamble of the Convention of Limits.

(Extract.)

Inclosure 14 in No 382.

Mr. G. Canning to Sir C. Bagot.

Foreign Office, July 24, 1824.

THE "Projet" of a Convention, which is inclosed in my No. 26, having been communicated by me to Count Lieven, with a request that his Excellency would note any points in it upon which he conceived any difficulty likely to arise, or any explanation to be necessary, I have received from his Excellency the Memorandum a copy of which is herewith inclosed.

Your Excellency will observe that there are but two points which have struck Count Lieven as susceptible of any question: the first, the assumption of the base of the mountains, instead of the summit, as the line of boundary; the second, the extension of the right of navigation of the Pacific to the sea beyond Behring's Straits.

As to the second point, it is, perhaps, as Count Lieven remarks, new. But it is to be remarked, in return, that the circumstances under which this additional security is required will be new also.

By the territorial demarcation agreed to in this "Projet," Russia will become possessed, in acknowledged sovereignty, of both sides of Behring's Straits.

The Power which could think of making the Pacific a mare clausum may not unnaturally be supposed capable of a disposition to apply the same character to a strait comprehended between two shores of which it becomes the undisputed owner. But the shutting up of Behring's Straits, or the power to shut them up hereafter, would be a thing not to be tolerated by England.

Nor could we submit to be excluded, either positively or constructively, from a sea in which the skill and science of our seamen has been and is still employed in enterprises interesting, not to this country alone, but the whole civilized world.

The protection given by the Convention to the American coasts of each Power may (if it is thought necessary) be extended in terms to the coasts of the Russian Asiatic territory; but in some way or other, if not in the form now presented, the free navigation of Behring's Straits, and of the seas beyond them, must be secured to us.

Inclosure 15 in No. 382.

Mr. G. Canning to Mr. S. Canning.

(Extract.) Foreign Office, December 8, 1824. HIS Majesty having been graciously pleased to name you his Plenipotentiary for concluding and signing with the Russian Government a Convention, for terminating the discussions which have arisen out of the promulgation of the Russian Ukase