698 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 
No alt: 
Sir J. Pauncefote to the Marquis of Salisbury.—( Received May 14.) 
WASHINGTON, May 5, 1891. 
My Lorp: With reference to my immediately preceding despatch, I 
have the honour to inclose herewith copy of a note which I have this 
day addressed to Mr. Blaine in answer to his communication of yester- 
day relative to a modus vivendi in Behring’s Sea. 
I have, &e. 
(Signed) JULIAN PAUNCEFOTE. 
9 [Inclosure in No. 11.] 
Sir J. Pauncefote to Mr. Blaine. 
WASHINGTON, May 5, 1891. 
Sir: [have the hononr to acknowledge the receipt of your note of yesterday, in 
which you haye formulated, for the consideration of the Marquis of Salisbury, 
detailed proposals for the modus vivendi during the approaching fishery season in 
Behring’s Sea on the principle of a cessation of seal killing both at sea and on land, 
an arrangement to which, as I informed you in my note of the 20th ultimo, his 
Lordship was disposed to give his favourable consideration. I have forwarded to 
Lord Salisbury by this day’s mail a copy of your note, and I have telegraphed to 
his Lordship the precise terms of the proposal with which it concludes. 
I much regret to find that a misconception has arisen as regards your complaint of 
delay on my part in acquainting Lord Salisbury with your second or alternative 
proposal for a cessation of seal killing at sea and on land, which you originally 
made to me verbally. On that occasion, you may remember that I expressed some 
reluctance at sending any further proposals to his Lordship while his despatch cf 
the 21st February last (submitting amendments on the questions for arbitration) 
remained unanswered, and that I suggested that it would be more satisfactory if 
this new proposal were made concurrently with your reply to that despatch, which 
I hoped to receive with the least possible delay. 
I understood you to assent to that suggestion, and to say that you would “ proceed 
in that order.” 
If you had informed me that the President for any reason desired that this alter- 
native proposal should be telegraphed to Lord Salisbury, I need hardly say that I 
should have complied at once with his wishes. 
But I cannot call to mind that. the President’s name was ever mentioned at our 
interview, which you correctly describe as ‘‘a conversational exchange of views.” 
Fortunately, however, no appreciable loss of time occurred. I acquainted Lord 
Salisbury with your alternative proposal by the mail of the 7th April, a few days 
only after it was made, and I received a prompt answer by telegraph, which enabled 
me to inform you by my note of the 20th April that his Lordship was disposed to 
consider the proposal favourably. 
At an interview at your residence on the 23rd April you expressed your satisfaction 
at Lord Salisbury’s reply, and you stated that before taking any further steps you 
desired to communicate by telegraph with the President. 
At a further interview at your residence on the 27th, you informed me that the 
President desired that the modus vivendi should contain a reservation of the right to 
kill a certain number of seals for the support of the natives of the Pribyloff Islands. 
At first sight this reservation caused me some disappointment. It certainly 
appeared to me open to exception as detracting from the principle of equality, which 
was a feature of the original proposal. But I was more concerned at your stating 
that it never was the intention of the President or of yourself that the modus vivendi 
should be put in force until the terms of arbitration had been settled. 
This I feared would prevent the timely application of the modus vivendi, and I so 
informed Lord Salisbury by telegraph on the same day. 
I notice with satisfaction that no such condition is affixed to your present pro- 
posal, although the reservation as to the killing of a limited number of seals on the 
island is maintained. 
Iam glad to think that there is yet time to carry out for this fishery season any 
arrangement which may promptly be agreed to, and I hope that the above explana- 
