§ MR. H. SETON-KARR (St. Helens)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether his attention has been called to the result of the investigations of Mr. Alexander Begg, historiographer of British Columbia, regarding the boundary line between Alaska and British Columbia, south of the 56th parallel of latitude, as detailed in the Canadian Gazette of 16th April; whether it is a fact, as contended by the British Columbia Government, that 3,000,000 acres of land of high strategic and commercial importance, on the Pacific coast, opposite Prince of Wales' Island, which was assigned to Great Britain by the Anglo-Russian Treaty of 1825, is now marked upon United States official maps and charts as United States territory; and, whether, seeing that this Alaskan boundary south of the 56th parallel was not reported upon by the recent Alaskan Boundary Commission, he will suggest to the Canadian Government that an early and independent investigation be made upon the subject?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. J. CHAMBERLAIN, Birmingham, W)Mr. Begg has communicated to this Department from time to time various memoranda, all of which have been duly transmitted to the Dominion Government. The Boundary Commission to which my hon. Friend refers was appointed under Article 1 of the Treaty of 22nd July, 1892, to make a coincident or joint survey of the territory adjacent to the boundary, with a view to the ascertainment of the facts and data necessary to the permanent delimitation of the line, which the two Governments will proceed to consider as soon as the final Reports of the Survey Commission have been received. When the question is ripe for this diplomatic discussion the points raised by Mr. Begg will, no doubt, receive due consideration for what they may be worth. The area which Mr. Begg maintains was assigned to Great Britain by the Treaty of 1825 is marked on all United States maps as United States territory.