96 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 
{Inclosure 1 in No. 48.] 
Sir L. West to Mr. Bayard. 
WASHINGTON, August 11, 1887. 
Sir: [have the honour to inform you that Her Majesty’s Government have received 
a telegram from the commander-in-chief of Her Majesty’s naval forces in the Pacilic, 
dated Victoria, British Columbia, 7th August, reporting the seizure by United States 
eruizers of three British Columbian sealing schooners in Behring’s Sea, a long dis- 
tance from Sitka, and that several other vessels were in sight being towedin. In 
conveying this information to you, I am requested at-the same time by the Marquis 
of Salisbury to state that, in view of the assurances given in your note of the 35rd 
February last, Her Majesty’s Government had assumed that pending the conclusion 
of discussions between the two Governments on general questions inyolyed, no 
further seizures would be made by order of the United States Government, 
I have, &c. 
(Signed) L. S. SACKVILLE WEST. 
[Inclosure 2 in No. 48.] 
Mr. Bayard to Sir L. West. 
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, August 13, 1887. 
Sir: I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 11th instant 
received yesterday afternoon, informing me of a telegraphic communication from 
the Commander-in-chief of Her Majesty’s naval forces in the Pacific, dated at Vic- 
toria, British Columbia, August 7th, reporting the seizure of three British Coluin- 
bian sealing schooners ‘‘in Behrine’s Sea, a long distance from Sitka,” and that 
“several other vessels were in sight being towed in.” 
The reference to ny note to you of the 3rd February last; which you make under 
the instruction of the Marquis of Salisbury, has caused me to examine the expres- 
sions contained therein, and I can discover no ground whatever for the assumption 
by Her Majesty’s Government, that it contained assurances ‘‘ that, pending the con- 
clusion of discussions between the two Governments on general questions involved, 
no further seizures would be made by order of the United States Government.” 
Until your note of the 11th instant was received I had no information of the 
seizure of the sealing vessels therein referred to, and have no knowledge whatever 
of the circumstances under which such seizures have been made. 
I shall at once endeavour to supply myself with the information necessary to 
enable me to reply to you more fully. 
The cases of seizure referred to in my note of the 3rd February, 1887, had occurred 
during the previous August, and upon the basis of the information then obtained I 
wrote you as follows: 
“In this connection I take occasion to inform you that, without conclusion at this 
time of any questions which may be found to be involved in these cases of seizure, 
orders have been issued by the President’s direction for the discontinuance of 
79 all pending proceedings, the discharge of the vessels referred to, and the 
release of all persons under arrest in connection therewith.” 
Having no reason to anticipate any other seizures, nothing was said in relation to 
the possibility of such an occurrence, nor do [ find in our correspondence on the sub- 
ject any grounds for such an understanding as you inform me had been assumed to 
exist by Her Britannic Majesty’s Government. 
A short time since, when you called upon me and personally obtained copies of the 
record of the judicial proceedings in the three cases of seizure in August last in 
Behring’s Sea, nothing was said in relation to other cases. Whether the circum- 
stances attendant upon the cases which you now report to me are the same as those 
which induced the Executive to direct the releases referred to remains hereafter to 
be ascertained. and this with as little delay as the circumstances will permit. 
Ihave, &c¢. 
(Signed) T. F. BAYARD. 
