No. 270.
Mr. Hoffman to Mr. Frelinghuysen.
Legation of
the United States,
St.
Petersburg, May 22, 1882.
(Received June 6.)
No. 228.]
Sir: Referring to your No. 120 and to my Nos. 211
and 215, I have the honor to forward to you herewith a translation of a note
recently received
[Page 453]
from Mr. de
Giers upon the subject of hunting, fishing, and trading in the Pacific
waters.
I do not see that there is anything in the regulations referred to that
affects our whalers, nor our cod-fisheries either, except that when they go
ashore to catch small fish for bait in the streams, they expose themselves
to interruption from the Russian authorities, who, finding them in
territorial waters, may accuse them of having taken their fish therein.
I will endeavor to procure and forward you a translation of the articles of
the code referred to by Mr. de Giers, that you may have the whole matter
before you. This cannot be done, however, under several days.
I am, sir, &c.,
[Inclosure in No.
228.—Translation.]
Mr. de Giers to Mr.
Hoffman.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Asiatic
Department,
May 8–20,
1882.
Sir: Referring to the exchange of
communications which has taken place between us on the subject of a
notice published by our consul at Yokohama relative to fishing, to
hunting, and to trade in the Russian waters of the Pacific, and in reply
to the note which you addressed to me, dated March 15–27, I am now in a
position to give yon the following information:
A notice of the tenor of that annexed to your note of the 15th March was,
in fact, published by our consul at Yokohama, and our consul-general at
San Francisco is also authorized to publish it.
This measure refers only to prohibited industries and to the trade in
contraband; the restrictions which it establishes extend strictly to the
territorial waters of Russia only. It was required by the numerous
abuses proved in late years, and which fell with all their weight on the
population of our seashore and of our islands, whose only means of
support is by fishing and hunting. These abuses inflicted also a marked
injury on the interests of the company to which the imperial government
had conceded the monopoly of fishing, hunting (“exportation”) in islands
called the “Commodore” and the “Seals.”
Beyond this new regulation, of which the essential point is the
obligation imposed upon captains of vessels who desire to fish and to
hunt in the Russian waters of the Pacific to provide themselves at
Vladivostok with the permission or license of the governor-general of
Oriental Siberia, the right of fishing, hunting, and of trade by
foreigners in our territorial waters is regulated by article 560 and
those following, of vol. 12, part 2, of the Code of Laws.
Informing you of the preceding, I have the honor, &c.,
