With respect to navigable rivers, flowing to the sea through the territory of more than one nation, the Roman principle, *men publica sent, has obtained partial recognition. The Rhine was opened to all nations by the Congress of Vienna; the Danube is open, but under con trol of the International Danubian Commis sion. Secretary Marcy, in his instructions of 8 Aug. 1853, to Trousdale, United States Minis ter to Brazil, declared: °The right to peace fully navigate the Amazon River belongs, in international law, to all maritime states.* In a 'report of 18 March 1792, Jefferson insisted that, "where rivers enter the limits Of another society and the rights of the upper inhabitants to descend (or ascend) is obstructed, it is an act of force by a stronger against a weaker nation and condemned by the judgment of man kind.'" So far as the Mississippi is concerned, controversy has been closed by the inclusion of the entire stream within the territorial limits of the United States. Access to the sea from the Great Lakes has been subjected at various times to various policies; but the Treaty of Washington (8 May 1871) finally declared that "navigation of the Saint Lawrence, ascending or descending, from the 45th parallel of North latitude, shall forever remain free and open for the purpose of commerce to citizens of the United States.* Reciprocally, Lake Michigan, which is enclosed entirely by territory of the United States, was made free to British sub jects. No laws or police regulations incon sistent with such freedom may be made or en forced in either case; and, by later arrangement, there has been established a perfect equality in the use of all canals and rivers traversed by or contiguous to the boundary and communi cating with navigation on the Lakes. Straits
giving access to enclosed seas are considered parts of the high sea. The imposition by Den mark of Sound dues at the entrance to the Baltic had been submitted to by commercial nations, because of their antiquity and because of an unwillingness of the great powers to coerce a weak state (see DANISH SOUND Doss). Secretary Buchanan (manuscript instruction of 14 Oct. 1848) pronounced these exactions to be "inconsistent with just principles of inter national and President Pierce (3d annual message, 1855) insisted upon the right of free transit into and from the Baltic. A convention making the Belts and the Sound free to naviga tion by American vessels was ultimately signed 11 April 1857, and this extended, of course, to the citizens or subjects of all states entitled to the treatment of "most favored nations?* The Dardanelles were opened to the free tran sit by commercial shipping of all nations by the Treaty of Paris, 1856. The great inter oceanic canals of Suez and Panama have been declared open on terms of equality to the ves sels of war and of commerce of all nations. "The government of the United States will not tolerate exclusive claims by any nation what soever to the use of the Straits of Magellan and will hold any government responsible that undertakes to obstruct the same by imposts on commerce— Secretary Evarts, manuscript in structions, Chile, 18 Jan. 1879. Crimes commit ted on the high sea are under the jurisdiction of the nation whose flag is flown by the vessel on which they occur. Collisions of vessels of different nationality are properly subject to in quiry in any admiralty court which first obtains jurisdiction.