ORAL ARGUMENT OP FREDERICK R. COUDERT, ESQ. 341 



Mr. CouDERT. — Tes, I take it tliat applies to the Nortb-West skins 

 as well as to those of the Pribilof Islands. That is what, you will per- 

 mit me to say, perhaps, in anticipation of the judgment, we call for 

 the sake of convenience and the assertion of i)rinciple, our seals, and 

 that comprises all the Alaska seals and the North-West catch. 



The President. — Are you aware which way the Russian seal skins 

 come to London. Do they intermingle at Victoria with the other seals! 



Mr. CouDERT. — They all go to London. 



The President. — But which way? 



Mr. CouDERT. — Through San Francisco most of them, if not all of 

 them — they all find their way to London; and there they are regularly 

 sorted and dyed and dressed to suit the fashion of the day. 



The President. — Is there not a general market in Victoria? Are 

 not the consignments made from there? 



Sir Richard Webster. — No, they are shipped straight through. 



The President. — Direct? 



Lord Hannen. — Yes. 



The President. — There is no fear of their being mixed? 



Lord Hannen. — No, there is no possibility of that. 



Mr. CouDERT. — No, I was reading from the testimony of Mr. R^vil- 

 Ion, and he is called upon to say that they do not buy by the sex of 

 the animal whose skin is offered. Of course, we do not pretend that 

 they do. That is a question that is not of the slightest consequence. 

 What we say is, that the enormous bulk of skins, except these taken 

 on our soil which contain no female skins, is made up of female skins; 

 therefore the point of this statement in the way of cross-examination, 

 I confess I do not understand. 



But Mr. Revillon is asked his opinion with regard to monopolies. I 

 have no doubt he is a very intelligent gentleman, and possibly his 

 opinion on monopolies, in an abstract way, may be of value. But what 

 it has to do with this case, I do not know. At all events, I will, in 

 justice to him — it is only a few lines, — read the question and answer. 

 It is important as showing the lines upon which the witnesses liave 

 been cross-examined, the idea being to inculcate in them a dread that, 

 if the United States were given a monopoly, their business and daily 

 bread would disappear. Mr. Revillon, however, was not so easily 

 frightened : 



Would not the total suppression of all the pelagic sealing have the effect of giving 

 the Company leasing the islands an absolute monopoly of the business in this class of 

 seals? — [A.] This might be so; I do not know. [2.] Well, assuming that that would 

 be so, do you think that it would be a result that would be beneficial to the fur- 

 eeal business? — [A.] It depends how the monopoly is managed, but speaking gen- 

 erally I am against monopolies, and in favor of a free market. I think mouoijolies 

 injure the progress of business. 



We may all agree to that ; and I should be very sorry to suppose 

 that, because we are arguing the United States have an exclusive right, 

 we are for that reason bound to advocate monopolies. A monopoly, if 

 it be one, is a result inevitable from the nature of things. 



But, as practical men, where would we look for evidence upon this 

 subject, assuming that men differ? There is in fact very little differ- 

 ence; I do not think that this shade of difference in the depositions is 

 worth considering; but where would the Tribunal look, where would a 

 man whose business it was to deal with the finances of a country inter- 

 ested in this busines look to know whether or not there was any, and, 

 if so, what difference in the quality of the seals? He would have at 

 his command a method of determining it which is absolutely certain; 

 to wit, the price; and if it be the fact that, on the market, the United 



