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



Mr. Phelps. — We do not refer to it. We do uot understand it is in 

 the Case. AVe luive not seen it. 



Sir Chakles Russell. — Not seen it? Not seen the report of 187-4? 



Mr. Justice Harlan. — Sir Charles is talking? of the Keport of 1874. 



Mr. Phelps. — Elliott's Keport of 1874. It is not in our Case. 



Sir Charles Russell. — I am at a loss to know what the interrup- 

 tion means. 



3Ir. Phelps. — It means that we were suggesting; that the document 

 from which my friend is about to read is not in the Case. It is not in 

 evidence that I know of, and therefore I have not examined it. 



Mr. Justice Harlan. — It is cited either in the British Case or Counter 

 Case. 



Mr. Foster. — That is what I said. It is cited bj^ them — not by vs. 



Sir Charles Russell. — It is cited again and again. Why I should 

 be interrupted I do not know. I do not complain of the interruption, 

 but I do not understand its cause. I think I am well founded also in 

 saying it is referred to by Mr. Blaine in his earlier correspondence. 



Mr. Carter. — We have not referred to it ourselves in our Case. 

 We have carefully avoided everything of Mr. Elliott's. 



Sir Charles Russell. — Well, that is rather an awkward admission, 

 which my learned friend perhaps had been wiser not to make. 



Mr. Carter. — We are willing to admit it. 



Sir Charles Russell. — Because this is the gentleman whom they 

 constituted a special Commissioner by a special Act of Congress in the 

 year 1800. He was the creation of Congress to go out to make a report 

 on the Pribilof Islands. 



The President. — Is there any reason why the scientific authority of 

 Mr. Elliott should be considered as not valuable' 



Mr. Carter. — We totally distrust him, and have carefally avoided 

 him. He is a great favourite on the other side. 



Sir Charles Russell. — As a learned Judge once said, it sometimes 

 happens that a witness who is called for the plaintiff turns out 

 1065 to be a very valuable witness for the defendant; therefore the 

 plaintiff naturally distrusts him. 



Mr. Foster. — We have not called him as a witness. 



The President. — Do you say he was recalled by the Government? 

 Is that your remark? 



Mr. Foster. — I say we have not called him as a witness. 



Sir Charles Russell. — No, you have not; and that induces me to 

 say what I thought was bej^ond dispute. You constituted him a special 

 commissioner by Act of Congress in 1890, and you clothed him with 

 a special authority, as the best person you could select for the purpose 

 of enquiring into this very question, after it had arisen in controversy 

 between Great Britain and America; and because his results do not 

 suit the argument or the purposes of my learned friends, then he 

 is rejected, and his evidence discarded. 



Mr. Carter. — The reason of it is another thing. 



The President. — Is it a reason which you can state? 



Mr. Carter. — Our interruption was founded solely upon this: Sir 

 Charles sought to impute him to us. We reject him. That is all. 



The President. — What I took the liberty of asking you was whether 

 you distrust him as a bad observer, or for another reason, a reason 

 which might make his observations suspicious. 



Mr. Carter. — Oh, we distrust him because we supi)ose that he is an 

 untrustworthy observer — a man who is given to theories, and not to 

 an accurate dealing with facts. It is on this ground that we distrust 



