OPINIONS OF LONDON FURRIERS. 495 



That the continuance of the fur-seal business depends, in deponent's 

 judgment, obviously upon the continued existence 

 of the fur-seal herds from which the skins are de- Geo. Rice, p. 574. 

 rived. 



That the question of the preservation of the fur-seal herd has, of 

 course, engaged deponent's attention and he has kept as close a watch 

 on it as he was able to do without being on the ground. In regard to 

 what might be done to preserve the herd deponent does not feel that he 

 knows all the facts, and in consequence thereof it is difficult for him to 

 express an opinion as to the manner in which the seal herds ought to 

 be preserved or what regulations ought to be imposed for that purpose, 

 but judging from the fact that for many years 100,000 seals were caught 

 upon the Pribilof Islands without injury to the herds resorting to the 

 rookeries on those islands, it is fair to conclude that unless some other 

 cause intervened to diminish those herds killing that number of seals 

 upon the islands would not have been detrimental to the herd. 



The continual existence of the fur-seal business is dependent, in de- 

 ponent's judgment, upon the preservation of the 



seal herds frequenting the Northern Pacific w. c.B. Stamp, p. 576. 

 regions, and it is also a most important element in 



the industry that the supply of seal skins coming to the market each 

 year should be regular and constant. 



Deponent further says that some regulations are necessary for the 

 preservation of the seal herds frequenting the Northern Pacific region, 

 because it is a well-known fact that in the absence of any such regu- 

 lations the seal herds which were formerly found in the South Atlantic 

 and Pacific seas have been practically exterminated. 



Deponent further says that the maintenance of this business, to his 

 mind, obviously depends upon the preservation of 



the seal herds resorting to Bering Sea from the Emil Teichmann,p. 582. 

 destruction which has overtaken the seal herds 



which were formerly found in the southern regions, and that whatever 

 is necessary to be done to preserving the seal herds in Bering Sea 

 ought to be done; but deponent having no knowledge of the business 

 of killing seals, and having no scientific knowledge on the subject as a 

 naturalist, is not in a position to relate what laws or regulations, in 

 addition to those already existing, are necessary, if any such are nec- 

 essary, in order to accomplish this desirable result. 



Opinions of French Furriers. 



Page 244 of The Case. 



That the total production of seal-skins, which during the existence 

 of the concession of the Alaska Company (which 

 concession has now expired) amounted annually Emin Hertz, p. 587. 

 to 150,000 skins, is now hardly more than 70,000, 



coming from Alaska and the Copper Islands; that the consequence is 

 a loss for everyone connected with the trade, for while there was an 

 annual production of 150,000 skins there were, the deponent estimates, 

 at least from two to three thousand persons engaged in this industry 

 in Europe, and the natural consequence of the production having di- 

 minished by about one-half is that only about one-half the number of 

 persons are required in the industry. 



