. ORAL ARGUMENT OF FREDERICK R. COUDERT, ESQ. 365 



Lord Hannen. — Pray do not suppose it to show any leaning of my 

 mind at all. I only want you to touch ujion this question : Do you 

 think that we could not make conditional Eegulations? 



Mr. OouDERT. — I do. 



Lord Hannen. — Conditional upon something done or not done upon 

 the other side? 



Mr. CouDERT. — I do. 



Lord Hannen. — Very well, that is all I wanted to know. 



Mr. CouDERT. — I do. I think that is entirely outside. I think that 

 this Tribunal should assume that, dealing with our own x>roperty, we 

 will deal with it under the best conditions. What sort of Eegulations 

 would conditional ones be? We should have to go into making another 

 Treaty about them. This is a recommendation made hy Lord Salisbury 

 to the Commissioners — it is on page vii of the British Commissioners' 

 Eeport. It is fair to say the British Commissioners very properly 

 looked into our methods of doing business, and I find no fault with 

 them ; I think they will concede that every possible facility and courtesy 

 was shown thein, and everything was done that could be done to facili- 

 tate their task, because they must, as this Tribunal must, know all about 

 the subject, and we are trying so to present the case that the Tribunal 

 may be furnished with the fullest knowledge of the facts. 



You will observ^e says Lord Salisbury to the Commissioners, that it is iuteuded that 

 the Report of the Joint ('ommissiouers shall embrace recommendations as to all 

 measures that should be adopted for the preservation of seal life. For this purpose, 

 it will be necessary to consider wliat Regulations may seem advisable, whether 

 Avithin the jurisdictional limits of the United States and Canada, or outside those 

 limits. The Regulations which the Commissioners may recommend for adoption 

 within the respective jurisdictions of the two countries will, of course, be matter 

 for the consideration of the respective Governments, while the Regulations affecting 

 waters outside the territorial limits will have to be considered under clause 6 of the 

 Arbitration Agreement in the event of a decision being given by the Arbitrators 

 against the claim of exclusive jurisdiction put forward on behalf of the United 

 States. 



There you see the intention very plainly indicated. Diplomacy 

 might still have goneon between the Governments. The Government of 

 Her Majesty desired to know precisely what all tlie circumstances con- 

 nected with seal life were and what the elements of this destruction 

 were, and therefore it says: "Study the subject." So far as the juris- 

 diction is concerned on the hifih sea.s, that is a matter for the Arbitration, 

 but where it is inside the jurisdictional limits that will, of course, be 

 matter of consideration for the respective Goveruments, and it pro- 

 ceeds : 



The Report is to be presented in the first instance to the two CTOvernments for their 

 consideration, and is subsequently to be laid by those Governments lielbrethe Arbi- 

 trators to assist them in determining the more restricted question as to what, if any, 

 Regulations are essential for the protection of the fur-bearing seals outside the ter- 

 ritorial jurisdiction of the two countries. 



In other words, outside the territorial jurisdiction of the countries 

 we stand on the same footing as Great Britain ; we have the same rights 

 as Great Britain to make Regulations to protect this animal outside, 

 and if the United States are incompetent at home to take car^ of their 

 own so much the worse for the United States. They never meant that 

 their right to make laws for their own country should be given up to 

 anyone. 



S"ow, with this preface, I go on to examine the question of the man- 

 agement on the Islands. It may be well, in advance, to say what we 

 consider to be the prime conditions of diftereuce between the systems 



