FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 239 



Q. It SO liappeued last year that there were no seizures made ? — A. 

 No, sir. 



Mr. Macdonald. Suppose you get him to state why? 



Mr. Jeffries. I do uot care to go into that. The committee can if 

 it chooses. 



By Mr. Dingley: 



Q. Why were no seizures made hist season ? — A. I found no vessels 

 violating the law according to the instructions I received from the 

 Treasury Department in regard to the raking of fur seals up there. 



Q. There were instructions issued by the Treasury Department in 

 regard to vessels catching seals unlawfully"? — A. I found no vessels 

 liable to seizure under the instructions I received. 



Q. Do you mean to say there were no illegal catchiugs ? — A. No, sir; 

 I do not say that. 



Q. There were vessels catching seals illegally ?— A. I saw vessels in 

 Bering Sea apparently for the purpose of taking seals. 



Q. But under your instructions you could not seize them? — A. No, 

 sir. 



Q. Will you state to the committee how those instructions varied 

 from the instructions previously given How were they different from 

 the instructions of last season? — A. I received confidential instructions 

 from the Treasury Department, a copy of which is on file in the De 

 partment, and which were returned to the Department by their orders. 

 If it is all the same to the committee, I would ask that it apply to the 

 Secretary of the Treasury for a copy of those instructions, rather than 

 ask me to divulge them 



Mr. DiNGLEY. We will ask the Treasury for them. 



By Mr. Jeffries : 



Q. What I was about to ask you was whether there is a large number 

 of residents of the United States who are determined to enter Bering 

 Sea this next summer if they have an opportunity? — A. I think those 

 vessels are about equally divided between American and British. 



Q. There were no American vessels taking seals in 1888, were there? — 

 A. I heard of two American vessels, but did not see any. 



Q. Who was it that took seals unlawfully in 1888 — what nationality ?— 

 A. The vessels I "spoke" hailed from Victoria, British Columbia. 



Q. Were they American or British ? — British. 



Q. If the Government had been firm and had exhibited a determina- 

 tion to i)rotectthese seals would there have been any danger from these 

 marauders ? — A. It would be necessary always to keep a vessel there to 

 enforce the law. 1 think the issuing of a proclamation would be a 

 great assistance. They would then certainly have no excuse for going 

 there. 



By Mr. D ingle Y : 



Q. I will ask you, in order to be certain upon one point, this ques- 

 tion ; I understand you to say that there w^ere no American vessels 

 catching seals, but if there had been you would have seized them ? — A. 

 I said I did not see any, but heard of two or three. 



Q. As a matter of fact there were none ? 



Mr. Dunn. He said he saw none, but there were one or two. 



By Mr. Dingley : 

 Q. If you had discovered an American vessel catching seals there 

 would you have seized her ? 



