CONCURRENT REGULATIONS. 199 



and administer the law of nature should be instant and decisive that 

 he can not tamper with theui at all. His sole business is to ascertain 

 and obey them, well knowing-, as he does, that any violation of them 

 entails, with the certainty of fate, its corresponding' punishment. 



But, notwithstanding, let the inquiry how noon the destruction would 

 be complete be pursued. And, for this purpose, let it be assumed that 

 the present magnitude of the pelagic catch, and the consequent destruc- 

 tion of females, be continued. That catch amounted in 1891 to G8,000, 

 according to the report of the British Commissioners, 1 and the number 

 of victims dying from wounds and not recovered is not included. Ii 

 we knew what the number of breeding females in the herds was at the 

 same time, some ground for conjecture would be furnished. But of this 

 we are wholly ignorant. We do not know the numbers even of the 

 whole herd at that or any other time, still less the number of breeding 

 females. All conjectures upon these points are wild and untrustworthy. 

 But there are some facts within our knowledge which throw a certain 

 measure of light upon the inquiry. We know something concerning 

 the average drafts made by the Russians during their occupation ol 

 the islands, and which were confined to nonbreeding males. 



According to the Report of the British Commissioners the average 

 annual draft for the eighty-one years of Russian occupation was 31,000. 2 

 But iuasmuch as this includes long periods of abstinence made neces- 

 sary by the depletion of the herd, from exceptional or unknown causes, 

 it would probably be nearer to the truth to place the usual draft un- 

 der the Russian occupancy at from 50,000 to 75,000. And during this 

 period the draft was often made smaller than it might safely have been, 

 by reason of a diminished demand in the market. The smaller num- 

 ber, however, would, obviously, be less favorable to any indulgence oi 

 pelagic sealing. We also know that under the more careful manage- 

 ment of the United States an annual draft of 100,000 was made with- 

 out any observed serious diminution of the herd until after pelagic seal- 

 ing had assumed large proportions. It may, therefore, probably bo 

 assumed as reasonably certain that under normal conditions, the herd 

 contains sueh a number of breeding females as will allow an annual taking 

 of 100,000 nonbreeding males, provided pelagic sealing is prohibited, and 

 that this draft of 100,000 is the limit of nondestructive capture. Taking 

 the pelagic catch of 1891, which was C8,000, there must be added to it 

 the number killed and not recovered; which, as we wish to keep very 



'Pago 207. 9 Page 8. 



