POINTS IN REPLY TO THE BRITISH COUNTER CASE. 325 



to keep one. What self-interest will not move men to do, they 

 will not do from any other motive ? But whence do these raids come ! 

 From the very sealing' vessels engaged in pelagic sealing. That is 

 one of the mischiefs of that pursuit. 



(4) Touching the allegations of mismanagement upon the islands, 

 embracing the three forms of possible injury to the seals which 

 have been mentioned, there is this to be said : they may possibly 

 occur in consequence of carelessness or neglect; but every motive 

 and every interest stimulates the United States as well as their 

 lessees, to make the evils as small as possible. 



And concerning the extent to which these evils exist, the con- 

 clusion must be formed upon the statements of actual witnesses, 

 and not upon lectures or articles in newspapers based by the 

 writers we do not know upon what evidence or whether upon any 

 evidence at all. 



(5) But what is the point supposed to be established or sup- 

 ported by this matter concerning mismanagement upon the islands? 

 What is the object for which it was introduced'? What conclusion 

 would it justify if the assertions were proved to their fullest extent? 

 Do they show that pelagic sealing is any less mischievous? Do 

 they show that in that form of sealing males are taken and not 

 females? Do they show that in that form of sealing a great many 

 are not wounded and crippled that are never recovered? Do they 

 show that in administering a herd of such animals on the land 

 females should be slaughtered and not males? Do they show, or 

 are they intended to show, that the United States has not adopted 

 methods grounded upon the right principles? Do they show or 

 are they intended to show, that a different set of proprietors than 

 the United States would attend to the business in a better and 

 more economical manner and with better methods? If so, what 

 sort of proprietors should they be? What scheme of administra- 

 tion should be followed? How should the selections for slaughter 

 be made? Answers to these questions would be extremely perti- 

 nent, but none seem to have been suggested. 



(G) The report of the British Commissioners more than intimated, 

 although quite inconsistently with admissions made by them, that 

 the capture of seals upon the land was an error, and that the ideal 

 mode of dealing with this animal was to confine the pursuit to the 

 sea. The Counter Case on the part of Great Britain does not avow 



