ART. 3. It is agreed, that any country that may be claimed by either party on the northwest coast of America, westward of the Stony Mountains, shall, together with its harbours, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open, for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the present convention, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of the two powers: it being well understood, that this agree ment is not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high contracting par ties may have to any part of the said country, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of any other power or state to any part of the said country: the only object of the high contracting parties, in that respect, being to prevent disputes and differences amongst themselves." If we revert to the subsequent history of the far greater number of treaties entered into by the United States, the latter part of the above quoted article ought to read " the only fruit of all the foregoing, will be abundant disputes between the parties." The progress of European discovery, claims of so vereignty, and colonization, is a new and illimitable field of political history; and far the most extraordi nary feature in this greatest of all revolutions, is, that the christian nations of Europe, making professions of pre-eminent principles of justice and humanity, have actually invaded and conquered no small share of every other section of the earth. Of these gigantic invaders, the Russians have acted by far the most important part, though, from relative po sition, their progress in eastern Europe, northern Asia, and northwestern America, has attracted comparatively but little attention. Advancing from west to east in a reverse direction to the progress of the more western nations of Europe, Russia in the last two centuries has gained dominion over all northern Asia, and penetrated into America. Her ancient and new dominions presenting another peculiarity, they were constantly in contact, and, with the narrow sea or strait between America and Asia, remain an unbroken zone on the earth, com prising 200 degrees of longitude. The further ex
tension of this belt, encircling already five-ninths of the planet, was at least for the present arrested by another rapidly developing power, the United States, which occupies 62°, out of the 160° of lon gitude left between the two extremes of the Russian empire.
The central regions of both the great sections of America, had, in the early ages of discovery, less fame for the exuberant production of gold and silver, than had in after times the northwest coast of North America for the abundance and richness of its furs. Amid pretensions on all sides, the priority of discovering the approaching extremes and intermediate straits, is accorded to Russia. One of the captains in the employment of that em pire, Behring, a Dane, in 1741, discovered and named the remarkable strait uniting the oceans of the two hemispheres. From that time, in the pro gress of human numbers and action, the entire coasts and islands of both continents were success ively explored, and Russian settlement slowly extended to the eastward. Russia in fact claimed the coast of North America to within five degrees of the mouth of Columbia or Oregon river, and asserted her claim by the following proclamation (Ukase) in September 1821: " Section 1. The pursuits of commerce, whaling and fishery, and of all other industry on all islands, ports, and gulfs, including the whole of the north west coast of America, beginning from Behring's straits to the 51st degree of northern latitude, also from the Alutian islands to the eastern coast of Siberia, as well as along the Kurile islands from I3ehring's straits to the south cape of the island of Urup, viz. to the 45° 50' northern latitude, are exclusively granted to Russian subjects.