m:uiN<; si:\ TKIIU'NAL OF ARHITRATION. 



79 



cut. The Englishmen who favored the amend- 

 ment objected to allowing the German arid 

 It.'hemian members t () vote because the miners 

 who -em tin-in \\i-m not organized in trade 

 union-, and the matter was compromised by 

 granting to the British delegates votes propor- 

 tionate to the number of miners in their dis- 

 tricts, irrespective of the strength of the unions 

 that they represented. The congress, by this 

 mode of reckoning, represented 1,004.000 miners, 

 of whom 100,000, through the delegates of 

 the iMirh.-.m and North iimberland union, voted 

 against making eight hours a working day by 

 legal enactment, and 994,000 voted in favor of 

 it. On the motion of Weir, a Scotch delegate, 

 the congress voted in favor of organizing a gen- 

 eral strike, if necessary, as a means of constrain- 

 ing reluctant legislatures to grant their demand. 

 The Welsh delegates joined those of Durham 

 and Northumberland in opposing this, reducing 

 the majority to 854,000. A resolution that fe- 

 male labor should be prohibited in and about 

 mines in all countries was carried unanimously, 

 and during the discussion the fact was pointed 

 out that in Belgium 3,500 women still work 

 under ground twelve or fourteen hours a day. 

 A proposition that workers above ground about 

 mines should benefit in the reduction of hours 

 was approved by a majority of 299,000. Another 

 resolution declares 



That it is the opinion of this congress that mines 

 inspection is insufficient ; that a larger number of 

 inspectors is required in order that the work may be 

 done satisfactorily, and that men who are working or 

 who have worked in mines should be appointed as 

 inspectors of mines. 



The congress closed its sessions on May 26, 

 after deciding to hold the next conference in 

 Germany, or, if the German authorities should 

 forbid the meeting in that country, to hold it in 

 England. 



BERING SEA TRIBUNAL OF ARBI- 

 TRATION. After the cession of Alaska to the 

 United States by the Russian Government was 

 consummated, in pursuance of the treaty of 

 March 30, 1867, laws were enacted, July 1, 1870, 

 extending to the mainland, islands, and waters 

 of the territory ceded the laws of the Ujiited 

 States relating to customs, commerce, and navi- 

 gation ; forbidding the killing of any otter, 

 mink, martin, sable, fur seal, or other fur-bear- 

 ing animal within the limits of the territory 

 or in the waters thereof; and giving power to 

 the collector or other officers of the Treasury to 

 arrest persons and seize vessels and merchandise 

 for contravention of the laws extended over the 

 territory. Although in 1872 Secretary Bout- 

 well could not see that the United States had 

 jurisdiction or power to prevent the capture of 

 seals on their annual migration to the seal 

 islands by sealers from Australia and Hawaii 

 unless they carried on their operations within a 

 marine league of the shore, the Treasury Depart- 

 ment in 1881, when Canadian sealers had l>e-mi 

 to make inroads on the herd, ruled that all 

 the waters within the boundary defined in the 

 Russian treaty of cession "to the western limit 

 of the Aleutian Archipelago and chain of 

 islands" are comprised within the waters of 

 Alaska Territory. The western limit of the ter- 

 ritories and dominion conveyed to the United 



States is defined in the treaty as running from 

 a point midway between the islands of Krusen- 

 stern and Ratmanoff, in Bering Strait, nearly 

 southwest, so as to pass midway Ix-twi-en the 

 northwest point of the island of St. Lawrence and 

 the southeast point of Cape Chukotski to 172 of 

 west longitude, and thence in a southwesterly 

 direction, so as to pass midway between the 

 island of Attu and Copper island of the Kor- 

 mandorski group, to 193 of west longitude, FO 

 as to include the whole of the Aleutian Islands 

 east of that meridian. The right to exercise 

 jurisdiction in these waters beyond the three-mile 

 limit was not put in force, though poaching ves- 

 sels were spoken to by revenue cutters, till 1886, 

 when an unusually large fleet having been fitted 

 out in British Columbia for the coming sealing 

 season, Secretary Manning affirmed the previous 

 ruling, and in August the " Corwin " seized the 

 " Onward," 115 miles from land, the " Carolena," 

 75 miles out, and the " Thornton," 70 miles out. 

 These schooners were taken into Sitka, confis- 

 cated, and condemned to be sold, Judge Dawson 

 instructing the jury to find the defendants 

 guilty if they were proved by the evidence to 

 have killed seal or other fur-bearing animals on 

 the shores of Alaska or in Bering Sea east of 

 193 of west longitude. The British minister at 

 Washington, Sir L. S. Sackville West, protested 

 against the seizures, and the President instruct- 

 ed the authorities at Sitka to discontinue pro- 

 ceedings and release the captured vessels, Secre- 

 tary Bayard at the same time explaining that 

 the action was taken without conclusion of the 

 questions involved, and refusing to give any as- 

 surance that the seizures would be discontinued. 

 In the summer of 1887 the "Richard Rush " seized 

 the "W. P. Sayward," "Dolphin," "Grace," 

 " Anna Beck," Ada," and " Alfred Adams," 

 which were condemned ; but the sale was post- 

 poned at the request of the British Government 

 pending an investigation of the legaliy of the 

 proceedings, until in November, 1888, the 

 ' Grace " and " Dolphin " were ordered to be 

 sold at the desire of their owners. 



Meanwhile, Secretary Bayard, on Aug. 19, 

 1887. sent circular letters to the United States 

 ministers in England, France. Germany, Japan, 

 Russia, and Sweden, instructing them to draw 

 the attention of the governments to which they 

 were accredited to the necessity of taking steps 

 for the better protection of the fur-seal fisheries 

 in Bering Sea, and to the desirability of attain- 

 ing this end by international co-operation, 

 " without raising any question as to the excep- 

 tional measures which the peculiar character of 

 the property in question might justify this Gov- 

 ernment in taking, and without reference to any 

 marine jurisdiction that might properly be 

 claimed for that end." The several govern- 

 ments were invited "to enter into such an 

 arrangement with the Government of the United 

 States as will prevent the citizens of either coun- 

 try from killing seal in Bering Sea at such times 

 and places and by such methods as at present 

 are pursued, and which threaten the speedy 

 extermination of those animals and consequent 

 serious loss to mankind." Great Britain, as well 

 as France, Japan, Russia, and Sweden and Nor- 

 way, returned favorable replies to the proposi- 

 tion, although the Swedish Government declined 



