Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/257

JAMES MONROE 209 venience of reference the two passages of the message are here quoted: "At the proposal of the Russian imperial gov ernment, made through the minister of the emperor residing here, full power and instructions have been transmitted to the minister of the United States at St. Petersburg to arrange, by amicable negotia tion, the respective rights and interests of the two nations on the northwest coast of this continent. A similar proposal has been made by his imperial majesty to the government of Great Britain, which has likewise been acceded to. The government of the United States has been desirous, by this friendly proceeding, of manifesting the great value which they have invariably attached to the friendship of the emperor, and their solicitude to cultivate the best understanding with his government. In the discussions to which this interest has given rise, and in the arrangements by which they may terminate, the occasion has been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are hence forth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power. . . . We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers, to declare that we should consider