ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 3lJl 



August 1 before any report of said representatives could be sent back 

 and reach the United States or Great Britain. 



The only effective mode would be to agree in advance, as I have 

 su{?gested in another letter of this date, upon a modus vivendi closing 

 Bering Sea, and prohibiting all killing on land and sea during the 

 remainder of this season, except food skins for the natives. If, how- 

 ever, the British representatives were authorized to declare sach a 

 modus, if the result of their investigation warranted su(;h action, it 

 would be possible to notify the sealing vessels at Unalaska, where they 

 rendezvous, prior to going into Bering Sea. It would be impossible, 

 however, to send a report back to the United States and Great Britain 

 in time to receive an answer and to notify said vessels of the conclusion 

 of the resi)ective Governments. 



I have the honor, etc., 

 The Secretary of State, 



S. WiKE, Acting Secretary. 



Department of State, 

 Washington, April 35, 1896. 

 Sir: I have the honor to transmit to you herewith two copies of a 

 report from the Can.adian minister of marine and fisheries respecting 

 the catch of the Canadian sealing fleet during the season of 1895, and 

 of the statistics annexed to the report, which supply the information 

 required by article 5 of the Bering Sea arbitration award. 



The documents in question were received with a note of the 23d 

 instant from the British ambassador at this capital. 

 I have the honor, etc., 



ElCHARD Olney. 

 The Secretary of the Treasury. 



[Inclosures.] 



Report from the minister of marine and fisheries of Canada, with reference to the eatch of 

 the British sealers who operated on the North American coast during the year 1S95. 



Marine and Fisheries, Canada, Ottawa, 



January 4, 1S96. 

 To His Excellency tlie GovERNOU-ftEXKRAL in Council: 



Revertiug to the approved minute of council dated the 25th July last, communi- 

 cating the catch of the British sealM's which operated on the North American coast 

 during the spring of 1895, the undersigned has now the honor to append, for the 

 information of Your Excellency, a conimnnication from the collector of customs at 

 Victoria, dated the 7th ultimo, covering: 



{a) List of the names and masters ofall vessels licensed at Victoria for 1895. 



{h) Statement of the catch of British sealing fleet for 1^95. 



(c) The catch of American schooners landed at Victoria. 



{d) The catch of American schooners landed at Puget Sound. 



(e) The catch of American schooners landed at Astoria, Oreg. 



(/) The catch of American schooners landed at San Francisco. 



{(f) The catch of Pribilof Islands (American). 



(h) The catch of Coi)per Islands (Russian). 



(t) The boardings of British vessc^ls in Bering Sea. 



(.;■) Copies of ofBcial logs of all British vessels sailing from Victoria, giving loca- 

 tion of eiich day's fur seal fishing operations. 



The undersigned would observe that the catch of seals during the past seven years 

 was — 



Niiinber. 



1889 35. 310 



1890 43, 325 



1891 52, 365 



1892 49, 74 3 



representing practically an average of 60,000 skins per annum. 



Number. 



1893 70, 592 



1894 95.048 



1895' 73,614 



