ORAL ARGUMENT OF CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON, Q. C. 615 



Mr. EoBiNSON. — I cannot say — I do not know whether it was- or was 

 not; but it was a vessel in the employment of the Company. 

 Then the British Commissioners say this in paragraph 514: 



We were also informed that Captain Hansen, afterwards master of tlie German 

 Bchooner "Adele," was present on this occasion. Captain Miner, an experienced 

 sealing-master of Seattle, also visited the island in the same year, and described to 

 us the great heap of carcasses which he found on the island, and the manner in which 

 the skins had been slashed in order to render them useless. 



In other words, lest they should get into the hands of rival traders — 

 into the hands of the Japanese — 10,000 animals were slaughtered and 

 their skins were destroyed. 



I have also another extract here which carries out what I say as to 

 the diflQcuIty of securing anything like humanity to these poor beasts 

 when in charge of such people as it is necessary to employ. In the 

 Eeport upon the Fur-Seal Fisheries of Alaska (which has been referred 

 to several times in the case here on other points), I find this sentence 

 at page 32. It is evidence taken before Congress on the Fur-Seal 

 Fisheries : 



Q. Did the Company, in its administration of affairs there, seem to take care for 

 the preservation of seal life as well as care over the natives? — A. Yes, Sir. We 

 could not get the natives to try to preserve the seal life. Boys of twelve and four- 

 teen years old would kill the seal pups. They say they are mild sort of people, but 

 they never have a chance to abuse a dumb creature but what they do it. The only 

 time I had any person incarcerated was a boy about eighteen years old. I took hira 

 and put him in the cellar of the store and kept hira there two days for killing pup 

 seals. 



And so on. That is a small illustration of the difficulty which is 

 found in securing humane treatment with the appliances at hand. 



The iilace is far off; the climate is inhosi^itable; the drives take place 

 at two o'clock in the morning in charge of people of this description, 

 who, as Mr. Palmer has said, much prefer their beds to a cold wet 

 foggy place at that time of the morning, and the Seals are hurried on 

 with the result which is described. 



Senator Morgan. — What is the object of driving them so early in 

 the morning. 



Mr. Robinson. — Because they are killed at 7. 



Senator Morgan. — Why not at 12, or 1 o'clock? 



Mr. Kobinson. — Because of the heat, I fancy — I should think so; I 

 cannot say I know. 



Now my friend Mr. Coudert has talked about tampering with the law 

 of nature, and he has told us that the law of nature can never be tam- 

 pered with impunity; that the punishment is inexorable. I venture to 

 say the greatest defiance of the law of nature we have heard of is to 

 drive poor beasts not intended for progress on land for two or three 

 miles over ground of the description which is given there — over stones 

 so sharp and so pointed that even the natives themselves avoid them and 

 take another path. That is tampering with the law of nature, and tam- 

 pering with the law of nature in the very worst possible manner. It 

 cannot be done with impunity, but the difficulty is that the punishment 

 does not come to those who practice it, but to the animals themselves, 

 and thousands of the race have been wasted simply by the methods 

 adopted there. 



Now pelagic sealing may have its objections — I think it has. There 

 is some cruelty about the pursuit of all dumb animals. I only call 

 attention to this because it is right to say that these charges are 

 unjust and unreasonable when you charge pelagic sealers, many of 

 whom are most resx)ectable men — many of whom are supporting their 



