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The letter of Columbus to Luis de Sant Angel
The letter of Columbus to Luis de Sant Angel Author:Christopher Columbus Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: beyond a marine league from its coast.—Wharton, Digest of the International Law of the U. S., § 32, p. 105. 1875, Dec. 1. Secretary Fish To Mr. Boker. Ther... more »e was reason to hope that the practice which formerly prevailed with powerful nations regarding seas and bays usually of large extent near their coast as closed to any foreign commerce or fishery not specially licensed by them, was, without exception, a pretension of the past, and that no nation would claim exemption from the general rule of public law which limits its maritime jurisdiction to a marine league from its coast. We should particularly regret if Russia should insist on any such pretension.—Wharton, Digest of the International Law of the U. S., I. § 32, p. 106. 1881, Mar. 12. Acting Secretary French To Mr. D'ANCONA. You inquire into the interpretation of the terms " waters thereof" and " waters adjacent thereto," as used in the law, and how far the jurisdiction of the United States is to be understood as extending. Presuming your inquiry to relate more especially to the waters of western Alaska, you are informed that the treaty with Russia of March 30, 1870, by which the Territory of Alaska was c'eded to the United States, defines the boundary of the Territory so ceded. This treaty is found on pages 671 to 673 of the volume of treaties of the Revised Statutes. It will be seen therefrom that the limit of the cession extends from a line starting from the Arctic Ocean and running through Behring Strait to the north of St. Lawrence Islands. The line runs thence in a southwesterly direction, so as to pass midway between the island of Attou and Copper Island of the Kroman- boski couplet or group in the North Pacific Ocean, to meridian of 193 of west longitude. All the waters within that boundary to the wes...« less