89 



tliis tribunal shall dcterniine in its award, from acts that are in hostil- 

 ity to seal life and destructive to it, taken as a whole. 



On these questions, I now propose to state my opinion as an arbitra- 

 tor. I will discuss tliis matter further in connection with the right of 

 pelagic hunting" of fur seals, which is the only human agency that wars 

 upon seal life in the wafers of the ocean, and is the right claimed by 

 the British Government as being free and unrestricted, in favor of her 

 subjects. 



The claim of protection of and for seal life set up by the TJnited 

 States is, in its most enlarged sense, simply a question of jurisdiction as 

 to which Cxovernment shall exercise the power to protect the seal herds 

 outside the territorial limits of both countries. The right of the United 

 States to have such protection is not more real or necessary if it is 

 held to be the owner of the property, than it is, as the owner of an 

 industry which can not exist if the seals are destroyed. 



The industry on the islands, as it is conducted by the United States, 

 is, in every sense, legitimate ; it is useful to commerce and to other great 

 industries in other countries; it is luTmane in its methods, and is the 

 only means by which seal propagation can be practiced successfully. 



It is the only method that is in accordance with the avowed purpose 

 of both Governments, expressed in this treaty, and in various other 

 solemn utterances, of protecting and preserving seal life in the North 

 Pacific Ocean. But above all this the industry based on seal life is the 

 only valuable resource of living for the people on the islands and coasts 

 of Bering Sea, and if this is lost they must perish, if they remain in 

 their native country, or else they must be fed and clothed from the 

 Treasury of the United States. The preservation of the seals is, there- 

 fore, a right and duty of government on the part of tlie United States, 

 which it owes to and must exercise in behalf of those citizens and 

 can not abandon. The seal industry also yields a reve»ue to the United 

 States that is valuable and necessary for the sux)port of government 

 in that inhospitable region. 



If that country can enjoy the advantage of its only valuable re- 

 source — its only production of commercial value — without material in- 

 terference with the positive rights of the British or any other people, 

 it is the duty of the United States to protect such means of existence 

 and civilization for the benefit of the people there. In the efforts to 

 do this, which have been crowned with the most honorable success, the 

 United States liave f<uind it necessary as a measure of government, 



