of the coast opposite Prince of Wales Island in vregiurd to whieh the dispute was then binging. It is said in Ruesin’s final decision:
That the possession of Mrince of Wales [sland without a slice (portion) af terri- tory npen the coast sitnated in front of that island vonld be of ne utility whatever to Russia, That any establishment formed upon said islaml or npon the sur- rowiding ixhids wonld find iteelf, a= it were, fanked dy the Paiglish vstablish- ments on the mainkand ane completely at the mnerey of these latter, ¢
The sane argument broueht forward eve. in respect to the portion of the coast then in dispute, was equally applicable to that portion north of it, ubout which there was no dispute, and it is manifest from What Was said in regard to the coust opposite Prince of Wales Islind, that Russia would not have for a moment tolerated any discussion of such a broken (sere as is now contended for hy Creat Dritain. oppo- site any of the isliuids north of Prince of Wales Ishind.
As expressed Dy Mr. Canning in his draft convention, it was to determine ‘les limites de leurs possessions et ¢tablissemens sur la edte nord-onest de FT Amérique.” ?
Mr. Canning. whe knew full well that Russin had ehimed the entire coast down to parallel 51 degrees worth, and that the expres- sion “hi céte nord-onest de PAmérique” was never understood hy the parties as meaning merely the mainiund coust, or to exclude the const bounding interior witters, could not possibly have answered the question in the affirmative, if he had then been asked, if he meant by the use of this tern to exclude from consideration all of the land hordering interior waiters, inlets and hays, which were not more than ten niles wide from headhind to headland. And vet that is what this tribunal is now asked to say that he and the other parties meant when they sclemnly introduced this expression inte the treaty. It is not to be imputed to him that he used the word with a covert meaning. ‘Therefore the purpose was, as he expressed it, to determine thei respective possessions along the coast. meaning by coast. the entire shores of all the days and inlets. whieh Russit claimed in the Ukase of Is2l. without any moditication, except that in this adjustment she proposed to recede to the foot of Prince of Wales Ishind.
That he meant all the voast ix conclusively demonstrated by his use of the word *cdte,” in Article two of his draft:
oT. S.C. App, 164. WTS. CL App., 182,
