450 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That immediately after the passage of this act the 

 Secretary of the Treasury shall lease, for the rental mentioned in section 6 of this 

 act, to proper and responsible parties, to the best advantage of the United States, 

 having due regard to the interests of the Government, the native inhabitants, the 

 parties heretofore engaged in the trade, and the protection of the seal fisheries, for 

 a term of twenty years from the tirst day of May, eighteen hundred and seventy, 

 the right to engage in the business of taking fur seals on the islands of St. Paul and 

 St. George, and to send a vessel or vessels to said islands for the skins of such seals, 

 giving to the lessee or lessees of said islands a lease duly executed, in duplicate, not 

 transferable, aud taking from the lessee or lessees of said islands a bond, with suf- 

 ficient sureties, in a sum not less than live hundred thousand dollars, conditioned for 

 the faithful observance of all the laws and requirements of Congress and of the 

 regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury touching the subject-matter of taking 

 fur seals and disposing of the same and for the payment of all taxes and dues accru- 

 ing to the United States connected therewith. And in making said lease the Secre- 

 tary of the Treasury shall have due regard to the preservation of the seal-fur trade 

 of the islands and the comfort, maintenance, and education of the natives thereof. 

 The said lessees shall furnish to the several masters of vessels employed by them 

 certified copies of the lease held by them, respectively, which shall be presented to 

 the Government revenue olficer for the time being who may be in charge at the said 

 islands as the authority of the party for landing and taking skins. 



Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That at the expiration of said term of twenty 

 years, or on surrender or forfeiture of any lease, other leases may be made in manner 

 as aforesaid for other terms of twenty years ; but no person other than American citi- 

 zens shall be permitted, by lease or otherwise, to occupy said islands, or either of 

 them, for the purpose of taking the skins of fur seals therefrom, nor shall any foreign 

 vessel be engaged in taking such skins; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

 vacate and declare any lease forfeited if the same be held or operated for the use, 

 benefit, or advantage, directly or indirectly, of any person or persons other than 

 American citizens. Every lease shall contain a covenant on the part of the lessee 

 that he will not keep, sell, furnish, give, or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirit- 

 uous liquors on either of said islands to any of the natives thereof, such person not 

 being a physician and furnishing the same for use as medicine; and any person who 

 shall kill any fur seal on either of said islands, or in the waters adjacent thereto 

 (excepting natives as provided by this act), without authority of the lessees thereof, 

 and any person who shall molest, disturb, or interfere with said lessees, or either of 

 them, or their agents or employees, in the lawful prosecution of their business under 

 the provisions of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall for 

 each off"ense, on conviction thereof, be punished in the same way and by like penal- 

 ties as prescribed in the second section of tliis act; and all vessels, their tackle, 

 apparel, appurtenances, and cargo, whose crews shall be found engaged in any vio- 

 lation of either of the provisions of this section, shall be forfeited to the United 

 States; and if any person or company, under any lease herein authorized, shall 

 knowingly kill, or permit to be killed, any number of seals exceeding the number 

 for each island in this act prescribed, such person or company shall, in addition to 

 the penalties and forfeitures aforesaid, also forfeit the whole number of skins of 

 seals killed in that year, or, in case the same have been disposed of, then said person 

 or company shall forfeit the value of the same. And it shall be the duty of any 

 revenue officer, officially acting as such on either of .said islands, to seize and destroy 

 any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors found thereon : Provided, That such officer 

 shall make detailed report of his doings to the collector of the port. 



Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the annual rental to be reserved by said lease 

 shall be not less than fifty thousand dollars per annum, to be secured by deposit of 

 United States bonds to that amount, and in addition thereto a revenue tax or duty 

 of two dollars is hereby laid upon each fur seal skin taken aud shipped from said 

 islands during the continuance of such lease, to be paid into the Treasury of the 

 United States; and the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby empowered and author 

 ized to make all needful rules and regulations for the collection and payment of the 

 same; and to secure the comfort, maintenance, education, and protection of the 

 natives of said islands, and also for carrjnng into full effect all the provisions of this 

 act: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury may terminate any lease given to 

 any person, company, or corporation, on full aud satisfactory proof of the violation 

 of any of the provisions of this act, or rules and regulations established by him. 



Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the seventh and eighth 

 sections of an act entitled "An act to extend the laws of the United States relating 

 to customs, commerce, and navigation over the territory ceded to the United States 

 by Russia, to establish a collection district therein, and for other purposes," approved 

 July 27, 1868, shall be deemed to apply to this act; and all prosecution for offenses 

 committed against the provisions of this act, and all other proceedings had because 

 of the violations of the provisiona of this act, and which are authorized by said act 



