ORAL ARGUMENT OF JAMES C. CARTER, ESQ. 275 



15tli of September to tlie 1st of May in each year, duriug wliicli all kill- 

 ing- of seals ill Bering Sea, or any where else, shall be prohibited; aud 

 a prohibition against entering Bering Sea before the 1st of July. 



'Now, I have several observations to make on that scheme. The tirst 

 is that it begins by a restriction of the killing of seals on the islands 

 from 100,000 to 50,000. But that, these Arbitrators have no power to 

 malce. The regulations tliey are permitted to frame must be operative 

 outside the jurisdictional limits of the two Governments, They have 

 no authority to make any Eegulation restricting the United States 

 u])on its own soil; that was never thought of by either of the Govern- 

 ments when they were engaged in framing the Treaty. But the pro- 

 posed llegulations require that the number to be killed on the islands 

 should be cut down to 5(>,000. That being inadmissible, the whole 

 thing is inadmissible. But let that pass, and let us consider this 

 nietliod upon its own merits as a scheme for the preservation of the 

 seals, and assume that no objection is taken to the proposed reduction 

 in the killing of seals upon the islands. How will tlie matter stand 

 then? At present, there are at least 100,000 seals taken every year 

 from this herd, probably more — 100,000 on the islands and 00,000 to 

 70,000 in pelagic sealing, besides what are lost. That, it is admitted, 

 is ruinous. It is admitted that it involves the destruction, and probably 

 the speedy destruction of the herd. The proposed limitation is sup- 

 posed to prevent that destructive result, that is to say, it is supposed 

 that it would inflict less destruction than would be effected by the taking' 

 of 100,000 young males on the Islands and 60,000 or 70,000, mostly 

 females, upon the sea. Well, now, how many females, can safely be 

 taken without destroying the herd"? That is the question : how many? 

 Pelagic slaughter is levelled mainly at females; the great bulk of the 

 pelagic catch is comjiosed of females, as we know. How many can you 

 safely take without destroying the herd? That is a problem to which 

 these Commissioners have not given their attention; but that was the 

 main thing for them to consider. They could not construct any effective 

 scheme or regulation for the preservation of this herd witliout knowing 

 how many females could be safely taken. But they have given us, in 

 another part of their Keport, a starting point upon which to oi^erate. 

 They have said, in Section 00 of their Keport, which is to be found on 

 page 11 : 



From the circumstances above noted, the maintenance of seal life in the North 

 Pacific was threatened and reduced to a critical state in consequence of the methods 

 adopted on the breeding islands, where the seals were drawn upon annually to, and 

 even beyond, the utmost limits iiossible apart from depletion, and where, in conse- 

 quence of the enlarged season of commercial killing and the allowance of" food kill- 

 ing" during the entire time in which any seals resorted to the islands, these animals 

 had practically no undisturbed season of res]iite. At this time a now factor also 

 tending towards decrease appeared in the form of "pelagic sealing." 



That is to say, tlieir position is that, prior to the introduction of 

 pelagic sealing-, and when the lieid was subject to no destruction, 

 except such as proceeded from its natural enemies, and the killing upon 

 the Islands, the killing of 100,000 non-breeding males was more than 

 the herd could stand, and that that killing had brought the herd i)itoa 

 critical c<m(lition. Of course there is a](oint beyond wliicli you cannot 

 go in the taking of young males. You must leave enough for the pur- 

 poses of reproduction. What is the limit? The British Commissioners 

 say that 100,000 is too many; the United States say that they do not 

 think so. At the same time, it is conceded by the latter that you prob- 

 ably could not carry it much beyond that. IS^ow take the British Com- 

 missioners' own view, If the herd cannot stand a draft of 100,000 



