150 OKAL ARGUMENT OF SIR RICHARD WEBSTER, Q. C. M. P. 



Jaraes Gandin states that females taken between the 25th July, and the 2oth 

 August in Behriug Sea were nearly all dry, as if they were througli suckling their 

 pups. 



The next three refer to the coast catch, and, therefore, do not liave a 

 bearing npoii what 1 am now dealing with. Tlien the last but two: 



George Dishow: In Behring Sea I never got any cows with youug. A few cow* 

 there would bo in milk. 



Otto Buchholz. In 1890 I sealed in the Behring Sea in .July. I got a few female 

 seals in milk. We sealed 35 to 50 miles from the Pribilof Islands. 



Now, of course, if my learned friends are correct in the contention in 

 respect of whi<;h we are told by Mr. Phelps that we are going again to 

 hear arguments in respect of — that on general principles the whole of 

 this vast area is to be reserved for the United States, this argument 

 bears out their case; but from the point of view of showing you that a 

 large proportion of seals nursing their young are killed outside the 

 radius of 30 or 40 miles, I submit, for the reasons which I hope the 

 Court will be kind enough to take into their consideration, that that 

 evidence offers no satisfactory test or guide. I must remind the Tribu- 

 nal, without repeating it, of the remarkable evidence as to the female 

 seals remaining on the rookeries for a very considerable time, and to 

 the utter absence of the ordinary signs of food, (and I go as far as say- 

 ing, putting it from a naturalist's ])oint of view, it is utterly inconsist- 

 ent with the females taking any substantial amount of food while they 

 are nursing) — you have no excrement of any sort or kind on any of 

 these rookeries; and I put it, after you know from overwhelming testi- 

 mony that, from the beginning of July, or the middle of July, I will 

 put it, down on the east side, the pups are spreading away along these 

 islands, it seems to me strongly to corroborate the view thai; the pups 

 after that time cannot be dependent upon their mothers, and I shall 

 not fail to draw attention incidentally to one or two important facts 

 bearing on that contention. 



The President. — You suppose these seals were taken fishing and 

 feeding, and would not return to the islands. 



Sir EiCHARD Webster. — As I have already called to your attention 

 with regard to those who were examined, a very small proportion only 

 of them had any fish in them, and there is no evidence therefore, or 

 very little evidence — I ought to put it more correctly that there is only 

 evidence that a few of these were actually feeding. With regard to 

 those that are to be found after the 20th of July and through August, 

 my contention is that they are females that have, practically speaking, 

 done with the islands, and that are not going back to them. Again 

 with regard to those taken within short distances, it is possible they 

 have pups dependent on them, but in order to be satisfied of that you 

 must have some satisfactory solution with regard to the other circum- 

 stances, and the condition of the rookeries, M^hich I respectfully pressed 

 upon the attention of the Court yesterday. The piece of evidence to 

 which I refer red, with reference to that which is supposed to be con- 

 clusive, is in the Counter Case only, in Mr. Stanley Brown's evidence, 

 at page 387. 



You will remember that reading yesterday from page 386 I reminded 

 you that qualifying his evidence of the previous year — I had not men- 

 tioned that fact before — Mr. Brown, when he made his affidavit in 1891 

 stated that the fenuiles left within a few days, and I say this as I have 

 said on previous occasions, I am sure Mr. Brown, as far as he observed 

 anything, would tell it accurately, if he thought it material, but at page 

 lo of the second volume of the Appendix to the Case, in his first 

 affidavit, Mr. Brown had stated. 



