ORAL ARGUMENT OF SIR RICHARD WEBSTER, Q. C. M. P. 155 



marketable seals and breeding i'euiales found upon the islands during the years 1.SS5, 

 1886 and 1887 were caused by the destruction of female seals in the open sea, either 

 before or after giving birth to the pups. The mother seals go to feeding grounds 

 distant from the islands, and I can only account for the number of starved pups by 

 supposing that their mothers are killed while feeding. 



The next gentleinan O. W. Price, whose evkleuce is uot of much 

 importance, but I will read it 



visited the Pribilof Islands in 1890 and made a careful study of the conditions of seal 

 life in those Islands. I discovered late in the season a large number of dead pups 

 lying upon the rookeries whicli had the appearance of having Ijeen starved to death. 



That was an afQdavit made in 1892. The gentleman is a fur merchant. 



Senator Morgan. — What Island does he speak of? 



Sir EiCHARD Webster. — 1 will look; I think he speaks of St. Paul, 

 if I remember rightly, no he only says the Pribilof Islands. He is a fur- 

 dresser and an examiner of raw fur-skins. 



I have been engaged in the dressing and examining of fur-skins about 20 years, 

 and I am an expert in that business. I have examined and handled largo numl)ers 

 of fur-seal skins both of the American and Russian side, and can easily distinguish 

 one from the appearance of the skins, 



and so on. 

 Then he says : 



I visited the Pribilof Islands in 1890, and made a careful study of the conditions 

 of seal life on those Islands. I discovered late iu the season a large number of dead 

 pups lying upon the Rookeries, which had the appearance of having been starved to 

 death. 



That Affidavit was made in April, 1892. Now, I do hope I can make 

 my meaning clear to the Tribunal in this respect; if this evidence is 

 true, there must have been iu 1890 a very large and abnormal number 

 of dead pups either on the same Eookeries or upon other Eookeries. 

 It is the fact (we have the Reports) that of every Government Agent 

 who was there from 1884 to 1891, not one makes the slightest reference 

 to any increase in the number of dead pups, or to any abnormal number 

 of dead pups; and what is more important perhaps than anything is 

 this; in 1890 Mr. Elliott goes to the Island, and I shall be in a jiosition, 

 when I come to Mr. Elliott's Eeport, to point out to you the position he 

 held, the undoubted authority he possesses, and the obvious weight that 

 must be given to his personal observations; but he was accompanied 

 on that Islaud by four gentlemen, Captain Goff, Captain Lavender, Mr. 

 Murray and Mr. Nettleton, and all four of them make Eeports, and 

 ft-om day to day they were all over that Island. There is not a trace or 

 suggestion in one of their Eeports of there being any abnormal death 

 of pups from any cause. People, who have had no connection with the 

 Island for years, make affidavits in 1892 that they noticed the death of 

 pups in 1885, 1886, 1887 and 1888; bnt people whose duty it was to 

 observe it, or record if anything occurred, noticed nothing of the 

 matter. When I call attention to the extraordinary character of the 

 personal investigations made from day to day and written down from 

 tim.e to time with i eference to each of these Eookeries by Mr. Elliott 

 in 1890 and attended by these very Treasury Agents in the pay of the 

 United States Government, it is impossible to come to the conclusion 

 that this story of there having been an al)normal death of pu]is in the 

 year 1890 can possibly be true. Mr. Goff was the Agent for the Treasury 

 on the Islands in the year 1890; he makes his Eeports in the years 

 1889 and 1890, which are printed in the documents and which are 

 before the Tribunal. 



I will call attention to the 1889 Eeport, whiclj is in the 1st Volume of 

 the Appendix to the British Counter Case, at page 84. It was produced 



