310 ORAL ARGUMENT OF CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON, Q. C. 



General Foster.— In 1893? 



Mr. Robinson. — Yes. 



Mr. Carter. — Where is the evidence of that? 



Mr. Robinson. — If you ask me how it is ascertained I cannot tell 

 you, but I can ascertain for you. 



The President. — Do you consider that that is not evidence Mr. 

 Carter? 



Mr. Carter. — We want to see where it appears and what papers 

 show it. 



General Foster, — Because it is not possible yet to tell what it is. 



Mr. Robinson. — They tell me that 



55 sealers cleared from British Colnnibia, 25 British, to Asiatic side, all sailed, 24 

 from American i^orts half to Asiatic Milne. 



That is the gentleman from whom the information comes. 



Mr. Carter. — Well we object to that as evidence of the sealing fleet 

 of 1893. 



Mr. Robinson. — Then let it be withdrawn, because I do not care 

 about it. 



Mr. Carter. — Then I wish that Mr. Robinson would not read what 

 he docs not intend to be evidence. 



Mr. Robinson. — I thought I was giving Mr. Senator Morgan some 

 information that he asked for. If there is any sort of objection to it 

 let it be withdrawn. 



General Foster. — The objection is that we cannot tell at this time 

 what the sealing fleet will be for this year. 



Mr. Robinson. — I can tell you no more. I was not giving it with 

 any view of that sort one way or the other. It had better be consid- 

 ered not to have been mentioned. 



The President. — It has no bearing upon the question. 



Mr. Robinson. — Ko. 



Then I have spoken of the question of area of these Regulations. I 

 have only to add to that what you will all remember, and what must 

 not be lost sight of in considering any such question as this, that the 

 Treaty only relates to and is concerned with the questions that have 

 arisen^ and no questions had arisen except with regard to Behring 

 Sea. All that has a strong bearing on the construction of the Treaty. 

 Further, with regard to the construction which I have put upon it, that 

 it relates only to seals while they are frequenting Behring Sea, and to 

 the protection of seals while so frequenting that water, I can quite 

 fancy that, if it were necessary, it might be right and within the power 

 of the Tribunal to give a certain zone around Behring Sea itself, if you 

 understand what I mean, and the passes. Suppose it was a question 

 of making regulations to protect wild animals in a certain field, if it 

 were necessary for their protection while in the field that persons should 

 not come within a certain distance of the field — I do not care what — 

 I should think that that was included in the power to make regulations 

 for i)rotecting the animals while in the field, nanu^ly, you must not dis- 

 turb them or annoy them, and they may stray and be killed outside the 

 limits; and therefore you may give a zone outside that aiea; but my 

 contention is, that the subject matter, the protection with which the 

 Regulations are to be concerned, is the seal race while they are fre- 

 quenting Behring Sea. That is the essential purport of it. Then, if 

 so, there are these three circumstances, at least, which, in our point of 

 view, are most material circumstances, which are all presented as diffi- 

 culties to the oj)posite construction. In the first ])lace, we say, that 



