REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 



251 



ill the seal fishery. Most, if not all, of the vessels engaged in the seal fisheries reg- 

 istHjred liere are Ijiiilt and fitted out in Yokoliaina, and are only registered in Shang- 

 hae Ix'canse it is tlie nearest jiort wliero English registry can be obtained . 



The Imperial Maritime Customs have liindly furnished me with the following 

 figures showing the import of seal-skins: 



The Haikwan tael is, roughly speaking, equivalent to 5s. 



These skins have all been imported from .Japan, and I am unable to say •whether 

 th(\v had their origin in tliat country, or had been previously iiiijxirted to it. 



1 am sending coi)y of your despatch to Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Yokohama, 

 who will doubtless furnish yon with all the information obtainable. 

 I liave, &c. 



(Signed) Nicholas J. Hannf.n. ^ 



4. — Letter from Her Britannic Mdjctitifs Co ni^iil- General, Canton, io ike Bchring Sea 



<'onimin><ioners. 



Canton, December 28, 1891. 



Gexti.kmen: I have the Inniour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 

 10th ultimo, in which you ask for information about the fur-seal trade of this port. 



In reply to your first query, I have to state that, so far as can be ascertained, no 

 vessel sailing from a Chinese port has ever gone on sealing exjieditions. 



As to the second point on which you ask for information, I cannot trace any record 

 of fur seal skins haAing ever been landed at this port. 



On the third point also 1 have been unable to oVitain any information. None of 

 the records accessible here liaA^e even a mention of a "very considerable trade in 

 fur seal skins, both from the North Pacific and the South Seas." 



In a Consular Report on the trade of this port in 1843, Mr. Thoni writes : " Twenty 

 years ago the fur trade (which was almost entirely in tlie hands of the Americans) 

 carried on with China amounted to upwards of 1,000,000 dollars annually, lint, 

 owing to the indiscriminate slaughter of the animals of the chase, it has dwindled 

 away so much as to be no longer worth pursuing, and, indeed, <luring tliese last two 

 or three years no skins or furs whatever have been imported into China." Mr. Thoui 

 gives the names of the furs imported into China, and fur-seals is not among them. 

 Further, in a Return of United States imports into Canton in 184fi, other furs are 

 enumerated, but not fur-seals. In a previous Return (1831) of the United States 

 trade in furs, I find in like manner the names of the furs exported to China, and fur- 

 seals is not among these. But in another account I find it stated that the furs 

 nsuallj' imported into China by United States traders in the early part of this century 

 were rabbit, seal, seaotter, land-otter, beaver, and fox. 



The archives of this Consulate -General do not go back to the period at which the 

 United States trade in furs with China flourished. Consequently, there are no 

 archives to shed light on the subject. The books which I have referred to also fail 

 to give precise information, .'ind it is doubtful whether anything certain and definite 

 aljout it can be learned here. 



I have, &LC. (Signed) T. Watters. 



5. — Behring Sea Commissioners to Senior Naval Officer, EsrjirimaU. 



Ottawa, ./*//// 8, 1891. 

 Sin: As Her Majesty's Commissioners appointed to investigates tlui conditions of 

 seal life in Behring Sea, it ajijiears to us that iiil'ormation on the following points 

 would be of great value to the Commission if gathered by any of Her Majesty's 

 slii))s visiting Behring Sea in 1891. 



We therefore A'enture to append, for your consideration, heads of information oo 

 matters which we hav^e to investigate. 



We have, &c. (Signed) Geokok Baden-Powell. 



Gkouuk M. Dawson. 



