i3C MANAftEMiENT OF THE SEAL llOOKERlES-. 



T«ims of lease, of Juty 1, 1870,^ aiid far more favorable tliail 

 the lease of the Commander and Robben islands 

 granted by the Russian Government to the same 

 company in 1871."^ 



Amendment of Q^ the 24th of Marcli, 1874, an act amendatory 



1874. ' ' "^ 



of the act of July 1, 1870, Avas passed by Con- 

 gress, by which the Secretary of the Treasury 

 was given authority to designate the months in 

 which seals might be taken on the islands and 

 the number to be taken thereon;^ thus placing 

 the immediate control of the killing in the hands 

 of the Government officials, with power to modify 

 and reduce the quota allowed, at any time when 

 it was deemed necessary for the protection of 

 seal life upon the islands. It is evident, there- 

 fore, that the United States has taken the greatest 

 precautions to limit the number killed in such a 

 way as to preserve the seal herd from depletion. 

 Investigation of The orio'iu and practical working's of the lease 



1876, & 1 & 



of 187o were made the subject of an elaborate 

 investigation in 1876 by the Committee of Ways 

 and Means of the Forty-fourth Congress, who re- 

 ported that in their opinion the terms of the lease 

 were highly favorable to the Government and 



' Reiiort No. 623, House of Eepresentatives, Forty-fourtli Con- 

 gress, first session, p. 8. 



2 Report Xo. 623, House of Representatives, Forty-fourth Con- 

 gress, first session, p. 7. 



»U. S. Stats, at Large, vol. xvii, c. 61, p. 24. 



