332 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



unfortuiiate]y refused by the British Governinent — it might appear that 

 the total slaughter of fur seals on both sides of the North Pacific Ocean 

 has a more intimate connection with the present condition of the 

 American fur-seal herd than is now admitted. 



However this may be, the British Foreign Ofiflce seem to have fallen 

 into the serious error of assuming that the proposition of the United 

 States Government, contained in your letter of January 23 last to the 

 British ambassador, was purely selfish in its character, having applica- 

 tion only to the material interests of the United States Government in 

 the American far-seal herd. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

 It is to be presumed that the President in said letter was actuated by 

 the desire to protect the fur seal fisheries on both sides of the North 

 Pacific Ocean, Asiatic as well as American, for the benefit of mankind. 

 Incidentally this would result in benefit to the interests of the United 

 States; but the i)roposition was founded on broad humanitarian prin- 

 ciples, no especial benefit being sought save what would accrue to all 

 mankind from the proper regulation of these valuable fisheries. A 

 proposition of similar nature, but limited to Bering Sea, was made by 

 Secretary Bayard to our ministers in England, Japan, Eussia, Sweden, 

 and Norway for formal transmission to the respective Governments as 

 far back as 1887. Subsequently, at the request of Lord Salisburj^, the 

 British minister of foreign aflairs, its scope was broadened so as to 

 embrace the whole Northern Pacific Ocean from the Asiatic to the 

 American shores north of the forty-seventh degree of north latitude. 

 Unfortunately the British Government withdrew its approval of this 

 arrangement. (See letter of White to Bayard, June 20, 1888.) 



The closed season established by the Paris award has induced many 

 sealing vessels to go over to Japan and Russian waters, thus causing a 

 startling increase in the pelagic slaughter off these shores. The figures 

 given in said communication include only the slaughter in Japan waters ; 

 adding the seals killed in Russian waters we have a total of over 73,000 

 in 1893 and over 79,000 in 1894. It was to regulate the killing in these 

 waters as well as in American waters that the proi)osition contained in 

 said letter of January 23 was made. 



But even if we assume that the American and Asiatic herds are dis- 

 tinct and have never com mingled, the fact still remains that the slaughter 

 of the American herd during the past season has been greater than any 

 season in the history of pelagic sealing. The communication of the 

 Foreign Oftice states that about 12,500 fewer seals were killed in the 

 award area in 1894 than in 1891. It is suggested, however, that their 

 computation of seals killed in Bering Sea in 1891 (29,146) consisted 

 partly of seals taken on the western side of the sea in the vicinity of 

 the Russian seal islands, while the figures for the catch in said sea in 

 1894 (31,585) included only seals killed on the eastern side of the sea, 

 embraced within the area of the Paris award. 



It is a matter of history that after the promulgation of the modus 

 Vivendi of June 15, 1891, between the dates of June 29 and August 15, 

 41 British vessels were warned out of the American side of Bering Sea 

 by American cruisers (see report of British commissioners in report ol 

 Paris tribunal). Of these vessels so warned it is believed that many 

 went over to the Russian side of Bering Sea and made catches there. 

 From statistics in the possession of this Department it would appear 

 that about 8,432 seals were taken ; of these G,G1G by British vessels and 

 1,816 by American vessels. There should be deducted, therefore, from 

 the British figures 6,616, leaving about 23,000 as the catch of said ves- 

 sels in the award area in Bering Sea during the season of 1891. (A 



