103 



Governments tliat they will sustain tlie rights of all nations, both in a 

 moral and national sense, in like invasions of the herds of liussia and 

 Japan. 



The flag of the most insignificant power in the world will have the 

 pledge, through such an award, of perfect immunity and protection 

 while raiding the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea with all imple- 

 ments of destruction, not excei)ting any, and in such number of ves- 

 sels and of such tonnage and descrix>tion as they choose, not excluding 

 steamers, and without having a license or a distinctive flag. 



A recent event has demonstrated the fact, if it needed any demon- 

 stration (as it does not), that the little kingdom of Hawaii will, through 

 the help of renegades ot the United States and Canada, grow rich in 

 renting her flag to them in order to take advantage of the scheme 

 liresented here by Great Britain as her project of regulations. Why 

 these two Governments should thus create such a destructive fatality 

 to seal life through the award of this Tribunal while j)rofessing the wish 

 and purpose of i)rotccting it is quite beyond my ability to comprehend. 



The regulations submitted by the respective Governments for the 

 consideration of this Tribunal must be regarded as their official state- 

 ments of the basis and ])lan of settlement proposed by each, and not as 

 the ultimatum of each Government, between which we are to choose by 

 accepting the one and rejecting the other. And, as no plan or formula- 

 tion of regulations is stated in the treaty or alluded to, this subject is left 

 to the judgment of this Tribunal, which is at liberty to discard both 

 schemes or to adopt regulations that neither Government has sug- 

 gested. The only limitations on the power of the Tribunal in this 

 regard is, that the regulations shall be concurrent and, therefore, 

 uniform as to both Governments, that they shall relate to waters 

 that are outside the jurisdictional limits of either Government, and 

 that they shall be "necessary * * * for the proper protection and 

 preservfition of the fur-seal in or habitually resorting to Behring Sea." 



The treaty also furnishes a guide as to the general nature of the reg- 

 ulations, that they should be such as to claim, for their international 

 supi)ort,the adhesion of other powers to such regulations. 



It will be observed that the invitation of the two Governments to 

 other powers, that they will give their adhesion to this treaty, relates 

 only to the regulations we are to provide. It has no relation to any other 

 part of the treaty. The object of this invitation was not so much to 

 I)revent other powers from encouraging pelagic sealing in Bering Sea, 



