SEALSKIN INDUSTRY IN GREAT BRITAIN. 577 



1873 to 1880 he was a member of the firm of Martin & Teichmauii, who 

 were then, and its successors 0. W. Martin & Sons still are, the largest 

 dressers and dyers of seal skins in the Avorld. 



That the firm of C M. Lampson & Co., of which deponent has been 

 as aforesaid for the last twelve years a member, are what is known as 

 commission merchants engaged in the business of selling furs of various 

 kinds and also in buying furs upon commission. 



That the said firm of C. M. Lampson & Co. has, during the time that 

 deponent has been a member thereof, handled a larger number of skins 

 of the fur seal than all the other firms in the world together, and depo- 

 nent knows from inspection of the books of his said firm that for many 

 years prior to the date when he became a member of the same they also 

 handled during many years previously thereto a larger number of fur 

 seal skins than all the other firms in the world together. 



That during the time deponent has been a member of tlie said firm 

 he has personally handled many hundreds of thousands of fur-seal skins, 

 and he has a detailed and expert knowledge of the various kinds of 

 seal skins, and the several differences between them which enable the 

 several sorts of seal skins to be distinguished from each other. 



Second. Deponent says from his general knowledge of the business 

 inspection of the catalogues of sales of C. M. Lampson & Co., and from 

 the information derived from his predecessors in the firm, the chief of 

 whom was the late Sir Curtis Lampson, who founded the house about sixty 

 years ago, that fur-seal skins were formerly obtained 

 in large numbers in the South Pacific and Atlantic seas ^""^^ ®'^ ''^^'"°' 

 upon the San Juan Fernandez and Falkland Islands, upon Sandwich 

 Island, South Shetland Island, Desolation Island, Coughs Island, and 

 Kerguelan and Massafuero Islands, and at Cape Horn. 



There were also in former years a considerable num- 

 ber of skins obtained from Kusshxn possessions in the ^^''''''^ sealskins. 

 North Pacific Ocean through the medium of a Kussiau company, as 

 hereinafter stated. 



The history of the Southern Atlantic and Pacific seal business shows 

 that at the localities above enumerated, and principally on South 

 Shetland and the Kerguelan Islands, there must have been very large 

 numbers of seals. The principal market for the skins of such South- 

 ern Pacific and Atlantic seals was, as deponent is informed, found 

 in the Chinese ports, and deponent has been inforjned and understands 

 that in consequence of the indiscriminate and universal killing of seals 

 in the localities above mentioned, where no restrictions 

 of any kind were then or are imposed upon the killing souu^'s^'sealr "^ 

 of seals at any time without regard to age or sex, the 

 seal rookeries in those localities were after a few years of such killing 

 practically exhausted. 



That about twenty years ago the South Shetland Islands were again 

 visited, and for two or three years there were obtained 

 from these islands a considerable number of skins, landlsiallr*^ ^^^*' 

 amounting in the aggregate to perhaps 5,),000 skins. 

 At the end of a three years' catch of skins it was re- Rookeries exhaust- 

 ported that the rookeries were again exhausted, and *"^' 

 the islands were not again visited for several years, not until five 

 years ago, when deponent understands that a vessel was sent to those 

 islands by the firm of C. A. Williams & Co., of New London, United 

 States of America, and that that vessel was only able to obtain 39 

 skins. 



271G— VOL II 37 



