4, FUR SEALS OF ALASKA. 
Anglo-American Joint High Commission went to him and said, ‘‘ No; 
we have got charge of that; we are going to meet soon, and we have 
got it all settled.” Be oat : 
Mr. Tawney. What I want to get: at is, if this bill is passed there is 
authority. In fact, Congress has directed the President of the United 
States to reopen these negotiations for the purpose of adopting new 
regulations. 
Mr. Exuiotrr. The Senate has passed a simple resolution to that 
effect. a 
My. Tawney. The sundry civil appropriation bill gave the provision 
to that effect. 
Mr. Exziorr. That is it; that is very true; but it does not carry this 
clause. 
Mr. Tawney. But if this was adopted, then it would lead to the-—— 
Mr. Etriorr. Oh, yes. 
Mr. Tawney. It would lead to the negotiations that the President 
is authorized to open in the sundry civil bill? 
My. Exxiotr. It would put a stop to killing on land. 
Mr. Tawney. And then the State Department would be authorized 
to go ahead and negotiate with foreign governments. 
The Cuarrman. How about Great Britain? They kill more by the 
pelagic sealing, and, as I understand it, we are willing to have it 
stopped. It is Great Britain we want to act upon. In regard to one 
of these questions that Mr. Tawney has asked you in regard to Russia 
having stopped it, at that time was there pelagic sealing going on to 
any extent? - 
Mr. Exziorr. No, sir; there was none. 
The CHarrMan. So the effect it produced upon the seal life then 
can not be compared with the effect it might produce now with pelagic 
sealing ? 
Mr. Exziorr. Not as rapid or disastrous; but it would amount to 
the same thing. It shows without pelagic sealing, with the same law 
we are applying to-day, we can ourselves destroy that life. That is 
beyond alr argument. 
The CuarrMan. You were going on to speak about the effect of this 
bill in regard to bringing about negotiations with Great Britain. 
Mr. Extiotr. The resolution has this simple effect in my opinion. 
It has a good effect for the Secretary of State, because it eliminates 
all commercialism from his negotiations. Now, we are constantly 
being met by the British side of the case: ‘‘ You want to save seals for 
your butchers, and my butchers are as good as yours, and if you don’t 
get rid of your butchers I am not going to meddle with mine.” That 
is the long and short of it. If westop our butchers from killing these 
seals, which we must do—and the deadly parallel of the Russian record 
shows it has been done by land killing—we will be able to save the 
species; if we do not do that, we shall destroy the species itself, and 
the sin and shame of it will then be on our own hands and not on the 
hands of the Canadian butchers. 
Mr. Tawney. Under the contract of this lessee, at what age are 
they permitted to kill young seals? 
Mr. Extrorr. They are not permitted to kill young seals under 1 
year of age. But I have the records here that show that since 1899 
thousands and tens of thousands of yearlings have been killed, and 
