FOE DAMAGES. 287 



I. Tlie Claim of tlie Government. — By the lease Government 



^ -^ ^ claim. 



made in 1890, the North American Commercial 

 Company agreed to pay to the Government for - 

 the exclusive right to catch seals in the Pribilof 

 Islands an annual rent of $60,000, the legal tax 

 of $2 for each seal caught, and a bonus on each 

 seal of $7.62 J. Owing to the fact that the catch 

 during 1891 was so restricted by Treasury Reg- 

 ulations, connected with the Modus Vivendi of 

 last year, as to amount to only 13,482 seals in- 

 stead of the 100,000 seals prescribed by statute, 

 the Secretary of the Treasury agreed on June 

 27, 1892,^ to accept from the lessees for the year 

 ending April 1, 1892, in lieu of the above rents 

 and taxes, the following sums, viz : 



Tax on 13,482 seals, at $2 $26, 964. 00 



r00,000 X$60,000j 8,089.20 



/ 12,251 N 



Bonus on 12,251 good skins (foo qoo ^ $'^-62i) X 12,251 11, 444. 13 



Total 46, 497. 33 



It will be observed that in the above computa- 

 tion, the first item, viz, the tax, remains the same 

 as before. The second item, viz, the rental, 

 which in the lease is $60,000, is reduced in the 

 proportion which the actual catch of 13,482 bears 

 to the maxhnum catch of 100,000. The third, 



' Letter, Vol. I, p. 521. 



