790 



r.\rn:i> - 'i \MI:I:IC\. 



termination of the herd, and proposed a comir. 



.;-:in and KuSSJa 



invited i.. j.,in. asking that x-nli: 



>g Sea should meanwhile be prohibit. -d Mini the 



n,,rtl. -long tin- thirl y- 



fifth |wra .oting 



four months th,. Iln i that 



late to Stop the sealers and that an int. r- 



m mission would n.-l 1. -a -I t.. an\ useful 



more seals wen- killed under the 



MS than U f. r. . the I'.titi-h authori- 



it the M-H; 



iied States 



,t represented. In i -!'' the depletion of 



the I. th. |n-lagic catch, which 



nlf asgna ^irr 



\h< Intattigated the 



..f M-al life, in hi* final report ->t imated 



that t rloff Island* had decreased 



to ah ':h its si/e >" 1*71. and t< less than 



IMH. His in 



Showed that I ii. s|,: mkage "M the r.-.-k. ri.-s n 



was 1 i that the number of killablc 



males had fallen 33 j- r cent, owing to the >' 



sealing. In hi- prelimi- 

 nary n-|H.r lie herd in 1 HUG as <-<>n>M- 

 71 breeding females, or a total number 

 '.000 seals of all grades. l>r. .l.irdan described 

 sealing ns a suicidal industry which can be 

 niied niily under conditions that 

 must bring it to a speedy end. Since it began more 

 than fi(M),(H)it fur seal* have IHM-II taken in the north 

 rhis meat, it 400,000 

 .ni: females, the st a f 300,000 imps, 

 and the destruction of 400,000 pups still BODOra, 

 taking account only of the seals whose skin- 



thf' market, as no record i> availa- 

 I I he animal- l-t af: -i- -ared or 



their nuuioer i- known to be verv irreat. 

 On May in. Is'.C. Mr. Sherman, it: h to 



Ambassador H I'.rit isli (iovern- 



inont had from" the Ijeginning and continuously 

 faile<l to respect the real intent and spirit of tho 

 tribunal or the obli-ration* imposed ly it. Tho 

 consequence was that the British sealers had i 



\ a*'com|>lished the commercial extermination 

 <>f the fur seal and brought to naught the patient 

 labor* and well-meant conclusions of the tribunal 

 of arbitration. The IlritUh (iovernment had op- 

 posed the demand for a conference before the term 

 of five years fixed by the Paris tribunal, but tho 

 American Government urged that to defer the sub- 

 ject until after the termination of the season of 

 1886 would be fatal to the Mil.ject in rtow, 

 should the destruction continue during two more 

 seasons, there would lie no occasion, owing to the 

 disappearance of the seals, for a conference. The 

 evanre polic-rthat the British GorentQMat had fol- 

 lowed was shown by the n-fusjil 

 Iati..i.- -iatic waters; by th- failure i 



iim.-ndati 



of the kill aN f.,r thr<'.-. f.. r \\\ 



for on.- y . , j.ut the r. 



in for.-,- until long after the first sealing had been 

 : by th-- .. , of the pa- 



trol duty : by tip- - ppoitji.n to -.nimble measures 

 for (1 prohibit i- flre- 



neces- 

 sary t 'ion of the guilty : an. I 1 

 refusal to all" ie f,,r an'iii-: 



in t he interest of an honest observance of the 

 regula ? 



These n- Mriti-h 



nment as too undiplomatic to deserve an an- 

 swer except indirectly in n ju-tifu ..'ry men 

 dum from the Colonial office explaining that the 

 British Government had withdrawn from the ar- 



.: up of arms because it did 

 nnrt to M\e hnn-li \. ->, ;. from unneoessari 



ranj 



r.i-ui-ii \, ->, N fi-Min unnecesswry 

 interference, but was actually mai \i for 



mi warraii' il hal n-fu-ed 



for legislation for th n of v| t j n s because i! 



was n 



all\ ll-eflll plir|N)M-. illILT -eaK could 



Dot ! deicrmi! .niiiiiat ion 



of ti ..-n'lal authorities iu this 



'miniinii-alioii averted that the lirili 

 inent had jK-rfonned with fheutnio>t vi^oralltlu 1 

 n-ijuiremeiits <,f the award, but had been compelled 

 to make continual and unavailing i 

 the attempt- of the I'nited Stales to hamper and 

 embarrass the pur- 



r lawful vocation. 



Thompson, the l-'.i iilifi.- 



Pi who ii, Q the 



1 in his reports that t lie 



.nts of the herd's immense d( id tin- 



prophecies of its approaching extinction 



ia\vn and untenable. Nevertheless there Was 

 abundant need for care and for prudent me., 

 of coi . in the interests ,,| all. A birth 



-limatcd at 1 j:;.(KMI per annum wa- not 

 in Comparison With the drain upon the -to. , 



: over '..MUNMI j x -\pi-rii-nceil among the pups 

 ere ti .ile. and the dangers and |o~, they 



eiidun; in their migration are considerable, and 

 when to the measured loss in infancy and the un- 

 ineasured !"-< in youth and age is added the toll 



. ..n the islands, and then the toll taken ,, 

 it is not difficult, to believe that the margin of 

 ty is narmw if it be not already ^<>ii\>- \\hat OTtP> 



stepped A perpetuation of the presenl number^ 



might be hoped; no increase could be counted 

 upon. It was therefore t< be hoped that a recog- 

 nition of mutual interests and a regard for the 

 inon advantage would siigge-t measures ,f pru- 

 ilence that would keep the pursuit and slaughter of 

 the animal within due and definite bounds. 

 Mr. (in-sham, in March. l v : 



Velitioll between the foil r pou eTs pH lici pal ly i lit el- 



. namely, the 1'nited States, (iivat i'.ritain. 



i. and Japan, to embrace a complete scheme 

 of regulations applicable not only to the high 

 but also within the sovereignty, and he coupled it 

 with a proposal that meantime the un,<! 

 established during the arbitration should I,. 



: and extended over the whole area of the 

 award. The British Government expressed a will- 



ss to take part in a conference of the four 

 powers and to renew the ///o /. but ob- 



jected to i- ;. The I'llited States (iiiveni- 



ment had approached the IIu Jan and Jap,: 

 governments, which intimated that the condition 

 of their adhesion to the regulations would be an 

 extension of the limit laid down in the regula' 

 namely. :50 of north latitude, as far as the .Japan- 

 ese coast, so as t n and Japanese 

 rookeries, n,, July 28. ls.7. I.onl Salisbury an- 

 'iiian's undiploiuiiti<- di-pateh in a 

 short note, in which he said that the British (iov- 

 ernment was willing f ex- 

 perts nominate,! by lireat I'.ritain and Canada and 

 by the t'nited Sta't.- in October foil. , wing, when 

 the further investiga- made on the isL 

 during the current season would h com- 



:. the r.bject of the meetii arrive, if 



possible, at correct conclusions respecting the num- 



. and habits of the seal* frc'ju<-nting 



the rMbyloif Islands as oompared with the several 



seasoti 'juent to the I'aris award. 



:ie>eanl IJu-sjan governments accepted 



an invitat, tativcs to a sealing 



conference to be held in Washington in October, 



whereupon the British government, on Sept. 24, 



