84 ORAL ARGUMENT OF SIR RICHARD WEBSTER, Q. C. M. P. 



You will find that means seen from the Islands. 



The barbarous and illicit proceedings of these sealers are also proved by the fact, 

 established by seizures, that more than 90 per cent, of the seal skins carried away by 

 them are those of female seals, who are hardly, if ever, found far from the shore 

 during the sealing season, and whose destruction entails that of all the young which 

 they are suckling. 



The destructive character of the fishery is also shown by the number of seals 

 wounded or abandoned on the shore or within territorial waters, and afterwards 

 found by the local authorities. 



Language could not be stronger, Mr, President, to point that which I 

 desire to bring prominently to the mind of the Tribunal after the fullest 

 investigation and postponing this matter till there had been complete 

 investigation, the considered opinion of the Russian authorities, who 

 had managed the Commander and Robben Islands at any rate not worse 

 than the United States authorities have managed the Prybilof Islands 

 is that the female seals are hardly if ever found far from the shore dur- 

 ing the sealing season, and further they were complaining of the seals 

 injured in territorial waters, and they gave as evidence the fact that 

 nuinbers of them have been found on the shore actually abandoned 

 within the territorial waters. — Then: 



The Imperial Gov-ernment on their side do not hesitate to recognize the fact that 

 protection cannot be carried out in a really satisfactory manner unless it is pre- 

 ceded by some such agreement, 



I need not point out that this is absolutely inconsistent with any 

 suggestion that Russia themselves meant to take the law into their 

 own hands. 



Accordingly they are disi>osed to enter into negociations at once with the Govern- 

 ments of Great Britain, and of the United States of America; but they recognise at 

 the same time the absolute necessity of immediate provisional measures, both on 

 account of the near approach of the sealing season and in order to be in a position 

 to reply in good time to the question contained in your Excellency's note of the Uth 

 (23rd) January, 



With this object, and after thorough investigation, the Imperial Government has 

 thought it necessary to decide on the following measures to be in force during the 

 year 1893: 



I. No Ship unprovided with a special authorization shall be permitted to hunt for 

 seals within a distance of 10 miles along all the coast belonging to Russia. 2. This 

 prohibited zone shall be 30 miles wide around tlie Commander Islands and Inlenew 

 (Robben) Island according to the Russian official maps, which implies that tlie pas- 

 sage between the Commander Islands will be closed to vessels engaged in sealing. 



With regard to the 10 mile zone along the coast, these measures will be justified 

 by the fact that vessels engaged in the seal fishery generally take up positions at a dis- 

 tance of from 7 to 9 miles from the coast, while their boats and crews engage, in seal- 

 ing both on the coast itself and in territorial waters. As soon as a cruizer is sighted 

 the ships take to the open sea and try to recall their boats from territorial waters 

 with regard to the 30-mile zone round the islands, this measure is taken with a view 

 to protect the banks, known by the sealers as "sealing grounds" which extend 

 round the islands, and are not shown with sufficient accuracy on maps. These 

 banks are frequented during certain seasons by the female seals, tho killing of 

 which is particularly destructive to the seal species at the time of the year when 

 the females are suckling their young, or go to seek food on the banks known as 

 "sealing grounds". While requesting you Mr. I'Ambassadenr, to bring the forego- 

 ing considerations to the knowledge of Her Majesty's Government, I think it impor- 

 tant to insist on the essentially provisional character of the above measures adopted 

 underpressure of exceptional circumstances which maybe regarded as a case of 

 force majeure and analogous to cases of legitimate self-defence. 



It does not, of course, enter at all into the intention of the Imperial Government 

 to dispute the generally recognized rules witli respect to territorial waters. In their 

 opinion, far from attacking these general principles of international law, the meas- 

 ures which they think necessary to take must be regarded as confirming them, as 

 the exception proves the rule. 



Then occurs a statement which I need not read — I am willing to if my 

 learned friends wish it — but it is a repetition of the reason why they 



