ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 319 



It is to be regretted that the late British act for carrying out the 

 award contained no simihir provision, modified, of course, to suit the 

 terms of the award. A-Ithough an amendment bringing it into harmony 

 with the American law would render the task of enforcing the award 

 much easier and the result more efficacious, yet, as stated above, the 

 most satisfactory amendment would consist in common legislation ren- 

 dering a vessel subject to forfeiture if found with firearms in its pos- 

 session in Bering Sea. 



The above suggestions are prompted by certain reports just received 

 from the United States Fish Commission containing statements of 

 officers of the Commission employed last season in Bering Sea that lire- 

 arms were used by sealers fishing in said sea. Although little or no 

 direct evidence was submitted by these officers as a basis of their 

 opinion, yet the opportunity they had of observing the operations of 

 the seaiing fleet and of boarding vessels and inspecting catches renders 

 their opinion of the greatest value and prompts the Department to sug- 

 gest the necessity of an immediate change in the law. 



It should further be provided by legislation that sealing vessels hav- 

 ing implements or seal skins on board, desiring to traverse the area cov- 

 ered by the award during the close season if licensed, and during any 

 season if unlicensed, should have such implements duly sealed and 

 their catch noted on the log book (a privilege now accorded at the 

 option of the master, under the regulations of 1895, Article IV), under 

 penalty of forfeiture for violation of this provision. This privilege, how- 

 ever, as above stated, should not be accorded vessels having firearms in 

 Bering Sea. 



It is further to be noted that under the British act of Parliament the 

 provisions of the merchant shipping act of 1854 with respect to official 

 logs (including the penal provision) are made applicable to sealing 

 vessels. Said penal provisions, however, do not appear in the schedules 

 attached to the copy of the act in the possession of the Department. 

 I have therefore to request that you ascertain of the British Gov- 

 ernment whether such penalties include forfeiture of the vessel and 

 cargo. The United States act, section 8, expressly provides that any 

 violations of the award or regulations will render the vessel and cargo 

 liable to forfeiture. It is feared that because of the specific reference 

 to the j)enal provisions of the merchants' act as to official logs the fail- 

 ure of a vessel to keep log entries might not bring her within the gen- 

 eral liability to forfeiture contained in the British act, unless said mer- 

 chants' act, made a part thereof, contains similar i^rovisions. During 

 the past season log-book entries were duly made by the United States 

 sealing vessels in Bering Sea and were transmitted to Congress. 



The Department is also informed that similar entries were made by 

 British vessels in Bering Sea, which entries have been duly transmitted 

 by the British Government. Many vessels, however, had cleared for 

 the coasts of Japan and Russia as early as January, long before the 

 passage of either the act of Congress of April 6, 1891, or the act of Par- 

 liament of April 18, 1894. 



Inasmuch as the award was not self operative and contained no pen- 

 alties for its violation the Department considered that the penalties 

 provided in the subsequent legislation were not retroactive and could 

 not properly be applied to acts or omissions before the passage of said 

 legislation. Entry was therefore permitted of the catch of seals on 

 receipt of the master's oath that he cleared in ignorance of the pro- 

 visions as to log-book entries. During the coming season collectors 



