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



witness, there are tliat number of witnesses to whicli I have referred, 

 and many of them (some 15 or 20) state the actual percentage or extent 

 to which they think those skins occur. 



Now, Sir, there is another botly of testimony to which I desire, for a 

 few moments, to direct the attention of the Tribunal — that is the evi- 

 dence of no less than 57 witnesses who having sailed across Behring 

 Sea, and liaving sailed across the Pacific Ocean south of the Aleutian 

 Islands, state they have seen on a variety of voyages, at a variety of 

 latitudes, and a variety of positions, practically continuously scattered 

 seals across the sea. Well, Sir, of course it maybe true that this kind 

 of evidence is to be wholly disregarded, but I would ask the Tribunal 

 first to consider for a moment what the probabilities of the matter are. 

 That large masses of seals do go to the Commander Islands, do go to 

 the Pribilof Islands, is of course plain. It is stated in the first instance 

 by the British Commissioners, and recognized by every one who has 

 investigated this matter; but when they are on the sea they must, to a 

 large extent, be influenced by what is the actual j)osition of the shoals 

 of fish upon which they feed. 



It is now plain from the evidence of the United States witnesses, as 

 well as ours, that the seals feed largely on herrings cod salmon and on 

 other fish — that it is not a fact that they feed solely upon squid or 

 solely upon those animals or fish which would be found on the surface. 

 Therefore that these shoals of fish do shift, is spoken to by many wit- 

 nesses, and as one would expect from one's general knowledge of natural 

 history; you have therefore the testimony to be found summarized in 

 pages 23 to 27 of the 2nd volume of the Appendix to the British 

 Counter Case. You will find the evidence of 57 witnesses who, sailing 

 across Behring Sea at all times of the summer — after May — sailing across 

 the Korth Pacific Ocean, even in months which range over a longer 

 period, have found these seals in thin scattered numbers going one or 

 two at a time, or three or four at a time, practically the whole way over. 

 But Mr. President let us for a moment consider what the United States 

 evidence shows upon this matter, because really looked at fairly, and with- 

 out an attempt to contradict what may be said in support of this theory, I 

 shall submit to this Tribunal that it disproves altogether the theory 

 of nonintermingling. There is the testimony of a witness at page 

 215 of the 2nd volume of Appendix to the United States Case. His 

 name is Prokopief, and I will just tell you what he proves. Would it 

 be troubling the Tribunal too much to ask them just to open map n° 1 

 of the United States — I mean the map of Behring Sea and the North 

 Pacific. Just a little to the south-east of the end of the line of demar- 

 cation, you will see the Island of Attn. Just to the right of that, you 

 will see the Island of Semichi, and then, a little further about an inch 

 on the map which represents 150 miles to the right, you will see 

 Amchitka. Now this witness says he has seen seals constantly as 

 far as Amchitka and that he has seen them in batches between Attn 

 and Agattu; that he has seen them 30 miles east of the Semichi Isl- 

 ands; so that, if you took the evidence of this gentleman Prokopief, 

 and assume it to be (as I will assume it to be) perfectly honest, the 

 limit to which he reduces the zone where no scattered seals are to be 

 seen is 140 miles. 



The zone or the space between which he says he finds there are seals 

 is 140 miles. Now will the Tribunal consider for a moment what the 

 problem is — and bring to bear their general knowledge on the 

 evidence 1 



