126 ARGUMENTS ON PRELIMINARY MOTIONS. 



Mr. Carter. — This Article IV, which I am going to read to you, pro- 

 vides for the investigation which those Commissioners made. — '' (4) In 

 order to facilitate such proper inquiries as Her Majesty's Government 

 may desire to make, with a view to tlie presentation of the case of that 

 Government before Arbitrators, and in expectation that an agreement 

 for arbitration may be arrived at, it is agreed that suitable persons 

 designated by Great Britain will be permitted at any time, upon appli- 

 cation, to visit or to remain upon the seal islands during the present 

 sealing season for that purpose." Under the provisions of that Article 

 Her Majesty's Government appointed these two very Commissioners to 

 make those investigations, and api)ointed no other people; and it was 

 for the purpose of enabling them to present their Case i)roperly that 

 this provision was to be inserted; so that the notion that knowledge 

 in respect to the nature and habits of seals and of seal life had no 

 place in the presentation of the Case is a totally erroneous one, con- 

 tradicted by both parties by the Agreement into which they entered. 



And Sir Julian Panncefote writes to Mr. Wharton on the 21st of 

 June: 



Sir: I have the honor to inform yon that I have received a communication from 

 Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign AfTairs to tlie effect tlmt tlie 

 Queen has heen graciously pleased to ap):oint Sir (George Baden-Powell, M. P., and 

 Prof. Dawson Commissioners to proceed to the Pribilof Isliiiuls for the purpose of 

 examining into the fur-seal fishery in Behring sea. In accordance with the instruc- 

 tions of the Marquis of Salishury, I have the honor to request that permission may 

 be granted to these gentlemen to visit and remain on those islands during the cur- 

 rent fishery season. 



And in this communication of Mr. Wharton, then in charge of the 

 Department of State of the United States, to Sir Julian Pauncefote he 

 said — this is dated June 6, 1891 : 



But in view of the fact that the evidence which the respective Governments will 

 present to the Arhitrators (if that happy solution of the pending difficulties shall 

 be attained,) must be collected during the present season, and as the definite agree- 

 ment for arbitration cannot be concluded contemporaneously with this agreement, 

 the President directs me to say that he is quite willing to agree that Her Majesty's 

 Government may send to the Seal Islands, with a view of collecting the facts that 

 may be involved in an arbitration, and especially facts relating to seal life and the 

 results of the methods which have been pursued in the killing of seals, a suitable 

 person or persons to make the necessary ol)servations. The present and the com- 

 parative conditions of the rookeries may become an important consideration before 

 Arbitrators in a certain event, and the President would not ask that the evidence 

 upon this subject should be wholly from one side. 



I am upon the point which our friends on the other side have insisted 

 upon before your Honors, that this evidence in relation to the nature 

 and habits of the seals is pertinent only to tlie question of regulations. 

 I have to say that that is inconsistent with their own views expressed 

 elsewhere; and not only expressed but acted upon, 



I now call the attention of the learned Arbitrators to Chap. 7 of the 

 British (Counter Case, which is to be found upon page 100. They are 

 there dealing with the question of property, and that dealing with the 

 question of property is extended from Chap. 7, p. 100, to Chap. 8, p. 

 154. There are fifty-four pages devoted to the question of .property in 

 fur-seals and to the position taken by the United States in that behalf, 

 and the position taken by Great Britain in that behalf. 



Sir Charles Russell. — Will you kindly read the heading of the 

 chapter? 



Mr. Carter. — Yes : 



Consideration of allegations of fact put forward by the United States in connec- 

 tion with point 5 of Article Li. 



