ORAL ARGUMENT OF JAMES C. CARTER, ESQ. 29 



Mr. Bayard now suggests (liat it be made tlio IStli of October, si)lit- 

 tiug the difl'ereiice, altliougii lie says tlie first of November ^Yould be 

 safer. 



Mr. White, in his next note to Mr. Bayard mentions a further stage 

 which the matter had then readied. On the 20th of June, 1888, he 

 thus writes: 



Mr. While to Mr. Bayard. 



No. 78G.] Legation of the United States, 



London, June 20, ISSS. (Received Jiiue 30.) 



Sir: I have the houor to inform you that I availed myself of au early oppoifcunity 

 to acquaiut the Mar(iuis of Salishury and the Russian ambassador oi the receipt of 

 your iustructious numbered 86-i, of May 3, and shortly afterwards (May 16) his 

 excelleiK^y and 1 called together at the foreign office for the purpose of discussing 

 with his lordship the terms of the proposed convention for the protection of seals in 

 Behring Sea. Llnfortunately Lord Salisbury had just received a communication 

 from tlie Canadian Government stating that a memorandum on the subject would 

 shortly be forv^arded to London, and expressing a hope that pomling the arrival of 

 that document no further stej^s would be taken in the matter by Her Majesty's Gov- 

 ernment. Under these circumstances Lord Salisbury felt bound to await the Cana- 

 dian meuiorandum before proceeding to dratt the convention. 



I have inquired several times whether this communication from Canada had been 

 received, but it has not yet come to hand. 1 was informed to-day by Lord Salisbury 

 that an urgent telegram had been sent to Canada a week ago with r< spect to tho 

 delay in its expedition and that a. reply had been received by tlie secretary of state 

 for the colonies stating that the matter would be taken np immediately. I ho])e, 

 therefore, that shortly after Mr. Phelps's return this Government will be in a con- 

 dition to agree upon the terms of the jirojiosed convention. 



I have the honor to inclose for your information the copy of a question asked by 

 Mr. Gourley and answered by Sir James 1- ergusson in behalf of the British Govern- 

 ment with respect to the seal fishing in Behring Sea. 



I have, etc., Henky White. 



(For inclosure see Senate Ex. Doc. No. 106, Fiftieth Congress, second session, 

 p. 103.) 



At this point an obstacle was for the first time interposed in the i)rog- 

 ress of the negotiations which otherwi-se would in all probability have 

 resulted in a final agreement between the two countries for the preser- 

 vation of the seals by establishing a close season over the area men- 

 tioned, from the first of April to the 15th of October. 



Whet her that protection would have been adequate is another question 

 which I do not stop now to discuss; but that the convention would, 

 except ibr the obstacle mentioned, have been concluded substantially 

 securing those terms it seems to me there can be no reasonable doubt. 

 The obstacle to it arose from a protest on the part of Canada. Lord 

 Salisbury had — very properly, undoubtedly, as the Canadian people 

 weie more interested in the prosecution of pelagic sealing than others — 

 sent some communication to the colonial Government m reference to the 

 matter, and had received in response a statement, so far as we can 

 gather from this letter of Mr. White, simply objecting to the final con- 

 clusion of any such proposed arrangement. I think it may be worth 

 while, in noting- this response of Canada, to take a glance at the terms 

 in which Lord Salisbury made the communication to the Canadian 

 Government, which will be found in the Appendix, Vol. 3 of the Brit- 

 ish Case, p. 196: 



The Marquis of Sulishnry to Sir K. Morier. 



No. 121.] Foreign Ofeice, April 16, ISSS. 



Sir: The Russian Ambassador and the United States Chargd d'Atfaires called 

 upon me tliis afternoon to discuss the question of tlie seal fisheries in Behring's Sea, 

 Avliich had been brought into prominence by the recent action of the United Stales. 



The I'nited States Government had expressed a desire that some agreement should 

 be arrived at between the three Goverumenta for the purpose of proliibiting tli© 



