The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-06-13
THE BEHRING SEA DIFFICULTY
An Int ernatiOnal Agreement the only lasting
Cure for the Present Dilemma.


Cure for the Present Dilemma.
WASHINGTON, June 9.-The only effective
and lasting cure for the Behring se& dilemma
is an international agreement for the protaC-
tion OF the seal fisheries Every cOmmerclal
nation in the world is as much Interested as
the United States in the preservation OF these
nurseries of the fur bearing seal. and the an
swers received 10 Mr. Bayard's invitations to
a conference on the subject, sent out some
two years ago, revealed q general intelligent
comprehen,io ion of it, Tie suggestion was
Hospitality received by all the maritime ma
tions interested in the seal trade, including
Great Britain, Russia and japan Great
Britain withdrew her approval later, upon
the protest of the dominion government, in
spired by a tender regard for the interests of
the seal pirates of British Columbia and Nova
Scotia. So the conference came to nothing.
Mr.. Bayard's diplomacy generally came to
nothing. However clever;y conceived, 1t
was apt to be feeblv executed. His enemies
say he lacked that combination OF tact
and vgor which makes the successful diplo-
mat His friends say hostile senate par
alyzed his energies and defeated his plans
He was practical failure anyway. Never
theless his successor may achieve brilliant
success by following precisely the lines OF
some of his abortive diplomatic enterprises
with more force and persistence than was in
Mr.. Bayard and with the efficient co-opera-
ton OF friendly senate. The Behring sea
difficulty is q case in point. Mr.. Blaine has
the opportunity to succeed where Bavard
failed, and to bring about an international
agreement, to which the United States and
Great Britain shall be the principal parties,
to protect the Alaskan seal fisheries from ex-
81, in ba infa nf no
merclal world The only parties adverse to
such an agreement are the Canadian seal
pirates, who, if allowed TO continue their
depredations for few years, would destroy
the fisheries The dominion government
has M ade the cause of these pirates it's own,
but it is hardly likely that the imperial gov
ernment will take the same short-sighted
view of the case.
Pending the negotiation of such an agree
ment, the United States has no choice but to
assert its rights to jurisdiction over Behriug
sea under the treaties of 1929 and 1867, or
to see the seal fisheries DESTROYED by the in
discriminate slaughter of the animals at all
seasons. This policy was adopted in 1881,
when the depredatlOns of the Canadian seal
ers first attracted notice, and has been stead
lily maintained ever since. IL is important
to remember, however that exclusive juris-
diction over the sea Is asserted solely for the
protection of the seal fisheries. Vessels of
other nations enjoy oil other maritime rights
outside of the three-mile limit, except that
of destroying seals. This is denied them, be-
cause this concession would permit the
slaughter of tine ANIMALS on their migrations
from the main land to the islands, or from
one island to the other, and so work the COM
plete destruction of the fisheries on the
islands themselves. 1t is believed that all
the maritime nations will recognize the JUS
tice and necessity of the claims on our part
when it is fairly brought to their notice.
There has never been an opportunity tor a
proper adjudication of this question even in
the courts of our own country. Several seal
ing vessels were seized for trespass last year,
and were condemned with their cargoes in
the district court of Alaska. Three British
vessels were among them, and the owners
appealed to their government for its in
tervention. 1t was intended to take the case
to the supreme court and secure final
icialinterpretation of the law and treaty,
before making a diplomatic question of it;
but it was found that the loosely drawn law
for tine organization of the Territory OF
Alaska con tanned no provision for the appeal
of civil cases to the supreme court Not
WlshIng 10 MAKE sIano upon Lie ueclSl"h
of remote territorial court, the president
ordered the British vessels released upon his
executive authority.
1t is probable that greater pains will be
taken this year in making up case for ad-
judication and subsequent diplomatic con-
sideration The attention of both nations is
now concentrated upon Behring sea ana it
may be assumed that the commanders of
both the American and British vessels there
have received instructions to proceed with
the most exact regard TO law and treaty
rights and to so act that any CASES of dispute
may be settled in the light of the fullest evil
dence. The business OF the SUNNI er in Behr-
ing sea is to make up n case, on whose sub
sequent consideration by the two govern
ments this vexed question may be finally
disposed of T. A. earle.