80. CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



Section 5. And be it further enacted, that . . . any jierson ■who 

 shall kill any fur seal on eitlier of said islands, or in the waters adjacent 

 thereto . . . without authority of the lessees thereof . . . shall 

 be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour. 



I-EASK (>V ALASKA COMMKHCIAf, COMPANY. 



lu tlie year 1870, a lease was executed ou behalf of the 

 vo!^i, Nrr^'""' United States Government in favour of the Alaska Com- 

 mercial Comi)any, as provided for in this Act. It covered 

 the Islands of St. ( ieorge and St. Panl only. 



INSTItUCTIUXS -I'D UNITP:!) STATKS OFFICIALS. 



The following instructions from the Treasury Depart- 

 ment show that the administration conlined the interfer- 

 ence of their ofiticers to those seal-hunters only who 

 attempted landing upon the islands: 



105 TuEASUUY Department, 



Septemler 10, 1S70. 

 H. R., 44tli The following Executive Order, relating to the importation of arms 

 Coug., 1st Sess., Into the Islands of St. I'aul and St. George, Avithin the district of 

 ?^30 *^ - o. 8. , j^iaska, is published for the infonnation of officers of the Customs: 



Executive Mansion, 

 Washiiinton, D. C, September D, 1S70. 

 So much of Executive Order of the 4th February, 1870, as prohibits 

 the imjtortation and use of fire-arms and aninniuition into and within 

 the Islands of St. Paul and St. George, Alaska, is hereby modified so 

 as to permit the Alaska Commercial Company to take a limited (|uan- 

 tity of fire-arms aud ammunition to said Islands, subject to the clirec- 

 tion of the revenue ofticers there and such regulations as the Secretary 

 of the Treasury may prescribe. 



U. S. GUANT, Prcn'ulent. 



The instructions issued by this Department in its Circular of the 

 8th February, 1870, are accordingly modified so as to adjust them to 

 the above Order. 



Revenue officers will, however, see that the privilege granted to the 

 said Company is not abused ; that no fire-arms of any kind are ever 

 used by said Company in the killing of seals or other fur-bearing 

 animals, on or near said islands, or near the haunts of seals or sea- 

 otters in the district, nor for any purpose whatever, during the months 

 of June, July, August, September, and October of each year, nor 

 after the arrival of seals in the spring or before their departure in the 

 fall, excepting for necessary protection and defence against marauders 

 or public enemies who may unlawfully attempt to land upon the 

 islands. In all other respects, the instructions of the 8th February, 

 1870, will remain in force. 



Wm. a. Richardson, 



Actln<i Secretary. 



p. 30. 



Treasury Department, 

 Washinyton, D. C, Septemher 19, 1870. 

 H. R., 44th Sir: I inclose herewith a copy of a letter, dated the 17th instant, 

 Cong., 1st Sess., from N. L. Jelfries, attorney for the Alaska Commercial Com])any, 

 "^^^-34"^"' ^^' reciting that a notice recently appeared in the " Alta California"^ 

 ^^' ■ newspaper, published in your city, of the intended sailing of the 



schooner "Mary Zejjhyr" for the Islands of St. Paul and St. George. 



By the 4th Section of the Act of the 1st July, 1870, entitled ''An 

 Act to i)revent the Extermination of Fur-bearing Animals in Alaska," 

 it is provided that the Secretary of the Treasury, immediately after 

 the passage of said Act, shall lease to proi)er and responsible jiarties, 

 ifec, ifec, the right to engage in the business of taking fur seals on 

 the Islands of St. Paul and St. George, and to send a vessel or vessels 

 to said islands for the skins of such seals, &.c. 



