140 DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 



laying before tbe Tribunal any matter which lie may choose to introduce 

 by way of proofs or evidence bearing - upon the question of property, or 

 interest in the nature of property, in the Alaskan fur-seals, or upon the 

 question of concurrent regulations for the protection and preservation 

 of the same; and, inasmuch as the Treaty provides for the submission of 

 evidence only through the Cases and Counter Cases therein mentioned, 

 such view of the British Agent must be that he may incorporate such 

 proof and evidence in the Counter Case to be prepared by him, leaving 

 the United States without any means of contradicting, limiting or quali- 

 fying them, however open they may be to contradiction, limitation, or 

 qualification. 



It must be evident to the Government of Her Britannic Majesty 

 that by the provisions of the Treaty the question whether the United 

 States have any property interest in the seals referred to, and the 

 question what concurrent regulations in the specified contingency may 

 be necessary, are directly submitted to the Tribunal; that the Treaty 

 assumes that each party will or may have allegations to make and evi- 

 dence to produce upon both questions; that the plain contemplation of 

 the Treaty is that each party shall state in his case what his proposi- 

 tions of law are, and the evidence which will be relied upon in support 

 of them, to the end that the other party may have a fair opportunity of 

 showing in his Counter Case that such evidence is untrue, or erroneous, 

 or partial, or subject to qualification or explanation, for which purpose 

 alone the provision for a Counter Case was framed. 



The British Agent and Counsel must well know that the decision of 

 the two questions above referred to must depend upon the evidence 

 produced concerning the nature and habits of the fur-seal, and the 

 methods of capture and killing which are consistent with the preserva- 

 tion of the species ; and that i t is mainly upon these points that collision 

 and contradiction upon matters of fact and differences in respect to 

 matters of opinion are exhibited by the statements of persons likely to 

 be made witnesses; that such witnesses are, in many instances, under 

 the influence of prejudice and bias, and in some, open to the suspicion 

 of insincerity and untruthfulness; and that the only way by whieli 

 either party may protect itself against the consequences of falsehood or 

 error is by having an opportunity to detect and expose it. 



The President can not conceal his astonishment that it should be 

 assumed that the British Government is at liberty to introduce a whole 

 body of testimony of this character for the first time in its Counter 

 Case, and thus shut out the United States from an opportunity of detect- 

 ing and exposing any errors which may be contained in it. The Gov- 

 ernment of the United States can not fail to be aware, from the cor. 

 respondence that has hitherto taken place on this subject between the 

 two Governments, as well as from full information derived from the 

 representatives and agents of Her Majesty's Government and the Cana- 

 dian Government in the course of the proceedings and discussions that 

 have already occurred, not only that it is claimed on the part of those 

 Governments that material evidence exists to contradict the facts as- 

 serted by the Government of the United States, but that a considerable 

 part of it has been already taken and prepared by the British Govern- 

 ment, as to the character, extent, and weight of which, however, the 

 Government of the United States is wholly uninformed. 



The propositions of law and of fact upon which the United States 

 will rely in the Arbitration are precisely stated in its Case now in the 

 hands of Her Majesty's Government, and need not be recapitulated 

 here. In support of these assertions of fact a large amount of evidence, 

 and all the evidence the Government of the United States will offer, 



