34 REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 



17 II. — Considerations Eelating to the Basis 

 UPON WHICH Precautions may be devised 

 FOR the Preservation of the Fur-seal. 



je case to be iQl. The case to be met in the North Pacific is outlined 

 in the foregoing i^aragraphs, and is treated in greater de- 

 tail in Part II of this Report. Broadly stated, it is that 

 too many seals are or may be killed, that there are too few 

 males on the breeding islands; and that the seals, being 

 so continnally harassed and disturbed, may take to other 

 breeding and feeding places, or largely diminish in num- 

 bers, and in either case endanger and damage the existing 

 sealing industries. 



(A.) — Interests involved. 



seiand^shore** ^^^' ^^^ regard to iuterests, the sealing industry is nat- 

 urally divided into Avhat may, for the sake of brevity, be 

 termed the shore and ocean interests respectively. The 

 rights in either case are indisputable, and the possessors of 

 one class of these rights will not willingly allow them to 

 be curtailed or done away with for the mere purpose of 

 enhancing the value of the rights of their commercial rivals. 

 Thus the only basis of settlement which is likely to be sat- 

 isfactory or permanent is that of mutual concession, by 

 means of reciprocal and equivalent curtailments of right, 

 in so far as may be necessary for the preservation of the 

 fur-seal. 



103. It may be added, that the line of division between 

 the shore and ocean interests is not an international one, 

 and that the question of compromise as between the two 

 industries cannot, in consequence, be regarded strictly from 

 an international point of view. If Ave may judge from the 

 respective number of vessels employed, the interest of citi- 

 zens of the United States in pelagic sealing is at the pres- 

 ent time approaching to an equality with that of Canada; 

 while Germany and Japan have been or are represented 

 in sealing at sea, and other Hags may at any time appear. 

 The shore rights, again, are at ))resent chiefly divided 

 between the United States and Russia, although Japan 

 owns some smaller resorts of the fur-seal. 

 inl?J ' * '^^ ''^' ^^^- Confining ourselves more strictly to the eastern part 

 of the North Pacific, to which the present discussion directly 

 relates, a comparison may be instituted between the amount 

 of capital emi^loyed in the prosecution of sealing on shore 

 and at sea, and of the other interests involved. 



I ff*! P^ ^''^'-^ ■ 10^- ^t tlie present time the actual value of the buildings, 

 plant, and equipment of the North American Commercial 

 Company, on the Islands of St. Paul and St. George, is esti- 

 mated not to exceed 130,000 dollars (20,000/.). Adding to 

 this a further sum to cover other items of capital less directly 

 connected with the islands themselves, the entire invested 

 capital would probably be over-stated at 200,000 dollars 

 (40,000?.) ; and it is not to be forgotten that the Companies 

 leasing the seal islands habitually do a profitable retail trade 

 in supplies, &c., with the natives and others in addition to 

 acquiring the seal-skins. 



ployed. 



