228 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 



SIXTH. 



SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 



To the end that the High Contracting Parties should become fully in- 

 formed of all the facts bearing upon the differences between them, and 

 as a right method of securing evidence as to those points touching which 

 a dispute might exist, it was stipulated by Article IX of the Treaty that 

 two Commissioners on the part of each Government should be appointed 

 to make a joint investigation and to report, in order that such reports and 

 recommendations might in due form be submitted to the Arbitrators, 

 should the contingency therefor arise. 



The Commissioners were duly appointed in compliance with this pro- 

 vision of the Treaty, and so far as they were able to agree, they made 

 a joint report, -which is to be found at page 307 of the. Case of the 

 United States. It will be seen from this joint report that the Commis- 

 sioners were in thorough agreement that, for industrial as well as for 

 other obvious reasons, it was incumbent upon all nations, and particu- 

 larly upon those having direct commercial interests in far seals, to pro- 

 vide for their proper protection and preservation. They were also in 

 accord as to the fact that since the Alaska purchase a. marked diminu- 

 tion of the number of seals on and habitual!// resorting to the Pribilof 

 Islands had taken place; that this diminution was cumulative in effect 

 and was the result of excessive killing by man. Beyond this the Com- 

 missioners were unable, by reason of considerable difference of opinion 

 on certain fundamental propositions, to join in a report, and they there- 

 fore agreed that their respective conclusions should be stated in sev- 

 eral reports which, under the terms of the Treaty, might be submitted 

 to their respective Governments. 



The United States have submitted, with the report of their Commis- 

 sioners, a voluminous mass of testimony which appears to have been 

 elicited from all classes of persons who, by their education, residence, 

 training, etc., might be enabled to give information of practical value 

 and of a reliable character to the contracting governments. It has 



