24 ORAL ARGUMENT OF SIR CHARLES RUSSELL, Q. C. M. P. 



ami United States Ships "Mohican", "Yorktown", ^'Adams", "Ranger", "Rnsh", 

 and " Cinwiu", wore engaged in this work. No skins worth taking into acconut 

 were found on the small vessels that were seized, and most of those they had on 

 board were donhtless taken ontside Behring Sea, so that to whatever cause the 

 excessive mortality among these young seals is to be attributed, sealing at sea can 

 have had nothing to do with it in 1892. 



My learned friend reminds me that the United States number for 

 that year is 5(!0. 



Tlie Phesident. — Do you exchide the effect of tlie catches out of 

 Reining Sea, because there were very great catches out of Beliring 

 Sea? 



Sir Charles Russell. — Obviously one must because you recollect, 

 Sir, the argument is, and, we think the well founded argument, that 

 these pn])s are born on the Pribilof Islands. Their case is that during 

 the period of nursing the pups, the mothers go some distance no doubt 

 from the Pribilof Islands, as they suggest. We shall consider that at a 

 later stage in another connection; but I find no suggestion of nursing 

 mothers going outside Behring Sea. You will see that that is an 

 answer, Sir. 



The President. — Yes, that is an answer. 



Sir Charles Kussell. — Now, lastly, I have to dismiss the subject 

 with this observation; whether the decrease is stated to be in 1877, as 

 some say, or in 1879 as others say, or in 1881 as the United States now 

 say, I have to put this to the Tribunal; if this theory of mortality in 

 the pups being caused by the death of the mothers at sea is well- 

 founded, you would expect that opinion to have been expressed some- 

 where or other between 1879 and 1890, or 1891 or 1892 — you would 

 have expected to find that theory put forward somewhere or other by 

 some ofiicial or other. Now, I will call upon the United Stales, when 

 their time comes, through my learned friend, Mr. Phelps, to show any 

 report suggesting that as a cause till the later period when the matter 

 is ]iractically, so to say, in litigation between the parties. 



Nay more, in 1890, when Mr. Elliott is sent to the island for the pur- 

 pose of reporting upon the whole condition of the islands, and of the 

 seal race, is it conceivable that if this had been in the minds of resp(m- 

 sible persons on the islands during his visit in 1890, that depletion was 

 largely caused by the death of pups, and the death of pups was caused 

 by pelagic sealing, that that would not have beeu stated to him, that 

 he would not have tried to find out the cause for himself, and yet we 

 have the fact that from the beginning to the end of this most careful 

 and elaborate report of his, there is not a suggestion of the kind. What 

 makes that the more remarkable is, it is not merely a kind of official 

 rei)ort, but he has appended to his report the observations which, from 

 day to day, and from place to place, he records in his diary, and repro- 

 duces that as an appendix to this report of his, yet there is an entire 

 absence of any suggestion as is now put forward. I submit, therefore, 

 without any hesitation, Mr. President, that it is demonstrable that 

 pelagic sealing could not have accounted for the sudden and great and 

 marked depletion of the seal race which is said to have existed. 



Now what have we against all this argument? Absolutely nothing 

 except the affidavits or depositions or statements of certain Aleut wit- 

 nesses, natives on the islands and others, made in 1892, 1 think — either 

 1891 or 1892, but I think in 1892, and if the opinion had been present 

 to the minds of these persons at that time, it is inconceivable that they 

 would not have made those statements to some of the official represent- 

 atives of the company or of the United States. I am speaking of 

 witnesses on the spot. I am not shutting my eyes to the fact that 



