■256 ORAL ARGUMENT OF HON. EDWARD J. PHELPS. 



givon considornble attention to this subject, wlio has written much and 

 said more, and who undoubtedly knows a good deal about the subject 

 and has been regarded as an authority. 



IJut before I come to consider tlie only point on which we have any 

 criticism to nmke upon Mr. Elliott's deliverances upon this subject, 

 which are all in favor of our contention, except on this one topic, let 

 me say that we can well afford to accept this gentleman at the estimate 

 put upon him by my learned friends on every point but tliis; we do not 

 need his corroboration, but we have it very emphatically, for all it is 

 worth, on every point almost, connected with seal life which we are 

 contending for, except this. 



Now, as to the number, my friends have endeavored to show that the 

 American average on the Pribilof Islands, of 1()0,()()0, was a great deal 

 larger than the Eussian authorities had deemed safe. To begin with, 

 what if it was ? What constitutes the Kussians a particular authority 1 

 The reference to the average which Eussia, in the early period, before 

 they began to discriminate, when they were killing in an exterminating 

 way, that is to say killing without any reference to whether they were 

 males or females — does not prove anything. It was not until 1847, as 

 the British Commissioners admit, that the present system of discrimi- 

 nation was begun. It has been followed ever since. 



After that, between 1850 and 18G7, it will be found from the evidence 

 that the number of skins they took, depended on the markets of the 

 world. Of course they could not overstock the market without depre- 

 ciating the returns, instead of increasing them. Bancroft, the historian 

 that is referred to in the British Case so frequently, — I read from the 

 footnote to the United States Counter Case page 73 — says : 



In 1851, 30,000 could be killed annually at St. Paul Island alone, and in 1861 as 

 imany as 70,000, without fear of exhausting the supply. 



The figures from 1800 to 1807, given in the British Case, are shewn 

 fin the United States Counter Case at pages 71 to 73, to be incorrect. 

 What are they? They say lor 1801, 1802,^803, 1801, 1805, 1800, 1807,— 

 so many; the last five being estimates — round numbers, and as to 4 

 of them an interrogation mark is put against them by the Commission- 

 ers, which indicates that they are open to question — they are rather 

 suggested. Then in Sections 777 to 779 of the British Commissioners 

 Report, you see how these figures are reached. To get those of 1801, 

 they took Elliott's totals for the years 1812 to 1802 and subtracted 

 Bancroft's totals from 1842 to 1801, and the difference they call the 

 figures of 1801. But what does Elliott himself say about those totals 

 of his? At page 105 of the Census Keport he says: 



I now append a brief but significant extract from Tochnineniov — significant sim- 

 ply because it demonstrates that all Russian testimony, other than A'eniaminov's, 

 is uderli/ self conlradiotorii in regard to the number of seals taken from the Pribylof 

 Islands. Techmneniov first gives a series of tables which he declares are a true 

 transcript and exhibit of the skins sold out of Alaska by the Russian-American 

 Company. The latest table presented, and up to the date of his writing, 1862, shows 

 that 372J894 fur-seal skins were taken from the Pribilof Islands, via Sitka, to the 

 Russian markets of the world, in the years 1812-1862, inclusive; or giving an average 

 catch of 18,644 per annum (p. 221). Then further on as he writes (nearly one hun- 

 dred pages), he stultifies his record above quoted by using the language and figures aa 

 follows: " In earlier times more were taken than in the later; at present (1862) there 

 are taken from the island of St. Paul 70,000 annually without diminishing the num- 

 ber for future killing". Further connneut is unnecessary upon this author, who 

 thus writes a history of the doings of the Russian-American Company. 



The bottom, therefore, of the British Commissioners computation 

 derived from Mr. Elliott, falls out upon the testimony of Mr. Elliott, 

 who says that it is not in the least reliable, TUo United States sho\5C 



