CONCLUSION 
THE BALANCE-SHEET : MORAL AND COMMERCIAL 
To the strict moralist some of the episodes herein 
related may appear to savour somewhat of the free¬ 
booter, especially when judged in the light of what 
has been written of late years by those who, in order 
to get rid of rivals, are interested in suppressing the 
pelagic hunter. The sea-otter hunter and sealer has 
been called by these people all sorts of names— 
poacher, freebooter, pirate, and even worse. He, 
however, is not nearly so black as he is painted by 
these unscrupulous slanderers. The only item ap¬ 
proaching the truth in these accusations is that of 
hunting in prohibited waters, which, after all, may 
be regarded as a very venial offence, and which, 
moreover, carries with it the severe penalty of 
confiscation of the vessel, if caught within territorial 
waters. 
It is well known that pelagic sealers have visited 
rookeries some of which are on islands which are 
permanently inhabited and leased to certain com¬ 
panies ; others on islets which, although not within 
territorial waters, are guarded for a time and then 
abandoned ; and others, again, on rocks and islets 
which are uninhabitable, are not within terri¬ 
torial waters, and on which no guard was ever 
placed. When the protected places have been 
263 
