FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, 241 



looking to securini? the consent of some of the maritime powers to the 

 extension of our i)rotection to the herds of seals in the waters in the 

 Pacitic Ocean, as well as in those of Bering Sea. 



Mr. Macdonald. In that pamphlet that I have mentioned is a letter 

 signed by H. F. French, Acting Secretary of the Treasury, dated March 

 12, 1881, construing the law relating to the killing of these fur- bearing 

 animals upon the islands of St. George and St. Paul. State Avhether 

 this letter is the instructions or constructions of the Treasury Depart- 

 ment that you refer to as a basis of reference. 



The Witness. They republish that letter each year, with a procla- 

 mation stating the claims of the United States, and it has never been 

 changed. 



Q. This letter contains the con struction of the Department upon the 

 law ? — A. Yes, sir. 



Treasury Department, Office of the Secretary, 



Washingioit, D. C, March 12, 1881. 



Sir : Your letter of tlie I9th ultimo, requesting certsiiu iuforniatiou in regard to 

 tbo nieauiug placed by this Departuieut iipou the law regulating the killing of fur- 

 bearing aniuials in the Territory of Alaska vras duly received. The law prohibits 

 the killing of any fur-bearing animals, except as otherwise therein provided, within 

 the limits of Alaska Territory or in the waters thereof, and also prohibits the killing 

 of any fur seals on the islands of St. Paul and St. George, or in the waters adjacent 

 thereto, except during certain months. 



You inquire in regard to the interpretation of the terms "waters thereof" and 

 "waters adjacent thereto," as used in the law, and how far the jurisdiction of the 

 United States is to be understood as extending. 



Presuming your inquiry to relate more especially to the waters of western Alaska, 

 you are informed that the treaty with Russia, of March 30, 1867, by which the Terri- 

 tory of Alaska was ceded to the United States, defines the boundary of the territory 

 so ceded. This treaty is found on pages o7I to 673 of the volume of treaties of the 

 Revised Statutes. It will be seen therefrom that the limit of the cession extends from 

 a line starting from the Arctic Ocean and running through Bering Strait to the north 

 of St. Lawrence Islands. The line runs thence in a southwesterly direction, so as to 

 pass midway between the island of Attoo and Copper Island of the Kromanboski 

 couplet, or group, in the North Pacitic Ocean, to meridian of 193 degrees of west longi- 

 tude. All the waters within that boundary, to the western end of the Aleutian 

 Archipelago and chain of islands, are considered as comprised within the waters of 

 Alaska Territory. 



All the penalties prescribed by law against the killing of fur-bearing animals 

 would therefore attach against any violation of law within the limits before de- 

 scribed. 



Very respectfully, 



H. F. French, 

 Actinff Secretary. 

 Mr. D. A. Ancona, 



Ko. 717 O'FarreU Street, San Francisco, Cat. 



Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 



Washingtoii, I). C, January 8, 1889. 



TESTIMONY OF LIEUT. HENRY E. NICHOLS. 



By the Chairman : 



Q. Please state your full name, your i)Iace of residence, and your bus- 

 iness? — A. Henry E. Nichols, commanding a naval vessel, at present 

 on duty in San Francisco. 



Q. State whether in the i)astvou have in any manner been engaged in 

 cruising or had any connection with any of the (jovernment vessels 

 or revenue cutters cruising about St, Paul or St. George Islands ? — A, 



