GREAT Britain's willingness to protect seals. 237 



I uuderstood Lord Salisbury to say when I saw him with M. de Staal, and again 

 last week alone, that it is now proposed to give effect to the conventional arrange- 

 ment for the protection of seals by an order in council, not by act of Parliament. 



When Mr. Phelps left the latter was thought necessary, and last week I received a 

 telegram from the Secretary of State asking me to obtain confidentially a copy of 

 the proposed act of Parliament, with a view to assimilating oiir contemplated act 

 of Congress thereto. I replied, after seeing Lord Salisbury last Saturday, that there 

 would be no bill introduced in Parliament, but an order in council. 



May I ask now if this be incorrect, as, in that event, I should particularly like to 

 correct my former statement by this day's mail. 



To this tlie following reply was on the same date addressed to Mr. 

 White: 



Foreign Office, April 28, ISSS. 

 My Dear White: Lord Salisbury is afraid that he did not make himself under- 

 stood when last he spoke to you about the Seal Fisheries Convention. 



An act of Parliament is necessary to give power to our authorities to act on the 

 provisions of the convention when it is signed. The order in council will be merely 

 the machinery which the act will provide for the purpose of bringing its provisions 

 into force. The object of this machinery is to enable the Government to wait till 

 the other two powers are ready. But neither convention nor bill is drafted yet, 

 because we have not got the opinions from Canada, which are necessary to enable 

 us to proceed. 



Yours, etc., 



Eric Barrington. 



It is evident from this correspondence that if the United States Gov- 

 ernment was misled upon the 23d April into the belief that Her Majesty's 

 Government could proceed in the matter without an act of Parliament, 

 or could proceed without previous reference to Canada, it was a mistake 

 which must have been entirely dissix)ated by the correspondence which 

 followed in the ensuing week. 



Mr. Blaine is also under a misconception in imagining that I ever 

 gave any verbal assurance, or any promise of any kind, with respect to 

 the terms of the projected convention. Her Majesty's Government al- 

 ways have been, and are still, anxious for the arrangement of a conven- 

 tion which shall provide whatever close time in whatever localities is 

 necessary for the preservation of the fur-seal species. But I have rep- 

 resented that the details must be the subject of discussion, a discussion 

 to which those who are locally interested must of necessity contribute. 

 I find the record of the following conversation about the date to which 

 Mr. Blaine refers : 



The Marquis of Salisbury to Sir L. West. 



Foreign Office, March 17, 1888. 



Sir: Since forwarding to' you my dispatch No. 23 of the 22d ultimo, I have been in 

 communication with the Russian ambassador at this court, and have invited his ex- 

 cellency to ascertain whether his Government would authorize him to discuss with 

 Mr. Phelps and myself the suggestion made by Mr. Bayard in his dispatch of the 7th 

 February, that concerted action should be taken by the United States, Great Britain, 

 and other interested powers, in order to preserve from extermination the fur-seals 

 which at certain seasons are found in Behring Sea. 



Copies of the correspondence on this question which has passed between M. de Staal 

 and myself is inclosed herewith. 



I request that you will inform Mr. Bayard of the steps which have been taken, with 

 a view to the initiation of negotiations for an agreement between the three powers 

 principally concerned in the maintenance of the seal fisheries. But in doing so you 

 should state that this action on the part of Her Majesty's Government must not be 

 taken as an admission of the rights of jurisdiction in Behring Sea exercised there by 

 the United States authorities during the fishing seasons of 1886-'87 and 1887-'88, nor 

 as affecting the claims which Her Majesty's Government will have to present on ac- 

 count of wrongful seizures which have taken place of British vessels engaged in the 

 seal-fishing industry. 

 I am, etc., 



Salisbury. 



