CONFERENCE ON FRIDAY, JULY 6TH, 1883. 



The Chair was taken by SIR JOHN ROSE, G.C.M.G. 



The CHAIRMAN said the subject of the paper to-day was 

 seals and seal fisheries, an industry which was not confined 

 to any special part of the world. He would not attempt to 

 anticipate the interesting paper about to be read by Cap- 

 tain Temple, but he might be permitted to refer to one 

 circumstance connected with the subject in a word or two. 

 They had all read lately with deep interest a report that 

 a portion of the Newfoundland fishery fleet had been 

 imbedded in the ice off Labrador, which, of course, excited 

 painful interest in the minds of everyone connected with 

 that branch of industry, and profound sympathy with the 

 men engaged in it From what he heard, he believed there 

 was not only a hope, but very strong expectation that 

 these men would pull through, and that in a few days they 

 would receive good news that the fleet had escaped from 

 the ice. The ice-packs on that coast disappeared as rapidly 

 as they formed. A change of wind or a current would 

 give them clear weather almost immediately, and he hoped 

 they would not only come back in safety, but with a 

 bounteous reward for their energy and perseverance. 



