APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 825 
No. 95. 
Sir J. Pauncefote to the Marquis of Salisbury.—( Received July 10.) 
[Telegraphic.] 
WASHINGTON, July 10, 1891. 
With reference to your Lordship’s telegram of the 6th instant on 
the subject of Behring’s Sea arbitration, | have sounded the United 
States Government unofficially on the subject of the new clause No. 7 
respecting damages, which I submitted to your Lordship in my tele- 
gram of the 27th ultimo. 
Before arriving at any decision on this subject, the President wishes 
to be officially informed of the precise grounds on which Her Majesty’s 
Government object to clause 7 as proposed by him. With your Lord- 
ship’s approval, I propose to inform him that Her Majesty’s Government 
are of opinion that in a case like the present, it is unusual and inex- 
pedient to make use of terms providing that compensation shall be 
awarded on an hypothetical state of facts, and thus prejudging the 
question of liability; that, further, they consider that the question 
whether any legal liability arises out of any particular state of facts is 
a matter which should be adjudged upon by the Arbitrators after dis- 
cussion before them. Her Majesty’s Government would therefore pro- 
pose that, in order to place both Governments in this respect on the 
same footing, a new clause in the form submitted in my telegram of 
the 27th June should be substituted for clause 7 as proposed by the 
President. 
I have the honour to request that I may be informed as soon as pos- 
sible as to whether the above reply receives your Lordship’s approval. 
58 No. 96. 
Colonial Office to Foreign Office.—(Received July 11.) 
DOWNING STREET, July 10, 1891. 
Sir: I am directed by Lord Knutsford to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 8th instant, inclosing a paraphrase of a telegram of 
the 6th instant from Her Majesty’s Ambassador at St. Petersburgh 
relating to the Behring’s Sea question. 
In reply, I am to state, for the information of the Marquis of Salis- 
bury, that Lord Knutsford is of opinion that, in considering whether 
the Russian proposals should be accepted, it should be borne in mind 
that, unless the United States agree to them also, United States seal- 
ers would be free to catch seals to the west of the line of demarcation 
in the Treaty of 1867, so that the assent of Her Majesty’s Government 
would appear to be necessarily conditional upon the agreement of the 
United States. 
Lam, &e. 
(Signed) EDWARD WINGFIELD, 
