Great Britain, in pursuance of the authority conferred by the act of
March 3, 1885.

The inadequacy of the existing engagements for extradition between
the United States and Great Britain has been long apparent. The tenth
article of the treaty of 1842, one of the earliest compacts in this
regard entered into by us, stipulated for surrender in respect of a
limited number of offenses. Other crimes no less inimical to the social
welfare should be embraced and the procedure of extradition brought in
harmony with present international practice. Negotiations with Her
Majesty's Government for an enlarged treaty of extradition have been
pending since 1870, and I entertain strong hopes that a satisfactory
result may be soon attained.

The frontier line between Alaska and British Columbia, as defined by
the treaty of cession with Russia, follows the demarcation assigned
in a prior treaty between Great Britain and Russia. Modern exploration
discloses that this ancient boundary is impracticable as a geographical
fact. In the unsettled condition of that region the question has lacked
importance, but the discovery of mineral wealth in the territory the
line is supposed to traverse admonishes that the time has come when an
accurate knowledge of the boundary is needful to avert jurisdictional
complications. I recommend, therefore, that provision be made for a
preliminary reconnoissance by officers of the United States, to the end
of acquiring more precise information on the subject. I have invited
Her Majesty's Government to consider with us the adoption of a more
convenient line, to be established by meridian observations or by known
geographical features without the necessity of an expensive survey of
the whole.