Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-05-14

| islands in which similar prohibitions may be
| enforced? The following would be the need
i ed legislation for such purpose by con-
| gress, and it is but paraphrase of the act OF
parliament:
1.-The fur seal board may, by by law or by
| laws, direct that the methods of sealing
: known as spearing, or happening, or with
| firearms. shall not be used within a line
| drawn from the shores of the Pribyloff
! islands. sixty miles in the Behrng sea, and
| said board may, from time to time make,
alter and revoke y-laws for the purpose of
| this section; but no such by law shall be of
| any validity until it has been confirmed by
| the secretary of the treasury.
"second-Any person who uses any such
| method of sealing in contravention of such
by laws shall be liable, conviction, to a
fine not exceeding 500 for the first offense
and not exceeding $500 for the second or any
subsequent offense; and every spear, har-
poon or firearm attempted to be used in con-
travention of any such Law may be seized
and DESTROYED or otherwise disposed of as
| said fur seal board may direct"
1t must not escape observation that the
| area of water outside the three mile line on
the coast of Scotland, whose control is
sumed by Great Britain is as large would
be found inside line drawn. from Cape Cod
to Portland harbor, on the New England
coast.
Lord Salisbury reasserts his contention
that the words tPacif1c ocean" at the time
of the treaty between Russia and Great
Britain did include Behring Undoubt-
edly the Pacific ocean includes Behring sea
in the same sense that the Atlantic ocean in
cludes the gulf of Mexico, and yet it would
be regarded as avery inaccurate statement
to say that the Mississippi river flows into
the Atlantic ocean.
think Lord Salisbury fails to recognize
the common distinction between the "Atan-
tic ocean" and 1.-THE waters of the Atlantic. :"
While the Mexican gulf is not part of the
Atlantic ocean, it would, am sure, comport
with general usage to say that it belongs to
the waters of the Atlantic; and while Beh-
ring sea is not technically part of the Pa
cific ocean it undoubtedly belongs to the
waters of the Pacific.
The English channel would not ordinarily
be understood as included in the term AT
lantic ocean" One would not say that
Dover Calais is on the coast of the At
lantic ocean, and yet clearly the English
channel belongs to the waters of the Allan
tic In point of fact therefore, according to
the usage of the world there is no dispute of
any consequence between the two govern
ments on the geographical point under con-
sideration. The historical point is the one
at issue. The explanatory note from Rus
STA, filed in the state department
of this country, especially referred
to in Mr.. John Quincy Adams diary and
quoted in my note of December II, 1890,
plainly draws distinction between the Pa
cific ocean on the one hand, and the 'sSea of
Okhotsk, the sea of Kamschatka and the
Iced sea" on the other; and so long Rus
STA drew that distinction it must apply to,
and must absolutely decide all the cOntcn
tions between the two countries as far as
the waters of the Behring sea con-
cerned. To discuss this point further would,
in the opinion of the president, contribute
nothing of value to the general contention.
In the opinion of the president Lord Sails
bury is wholly and strangely in error in
making the following statement:
"Nor do they (the advisers of the pres idcnt)
rely. as a justification of the seizure of
British ships in the open sea, upon the con-
tention that the interests of the seal fish
cries give to tn" United States government
any right for the purpose, which, according
to international law, it would not otherwise
possess"
The government of the United States has
steadily held just the reverse of the position
which Lord Salisbury has imputed to it. 1t
holds that the ownership of the islands upon
which the seals breed; that the habit Of
seals in regularly resorting thfther and rear
ing their young thereon; that their going
out from the islands in search of food
and regularly returning thereto, and
all the facts and incidents of their
relation to the island, give to the United
States property interest therein that this
property interest claimed and eXer-
cised by Russia during the whole period of
it's sovereignty over the land and waters of
Alaska; that England recognized this prop
erty interest so 1ar as recognition IS lnpleu
by abstainng from all interference with
it during the whole period of Rus
sa's ownership of Alaska and during the
first nineteen years of the sovereignty of the
United States 1t is yet to be determined
whether the lawless intrusion of Canad ian
vessels in 1886 and subsequent years has
changed the law and equity of the case here
tofore prevailing.
have the honor to be, with the highest
consideration, sir, your obedient servant,
JAMES G. BLAINE.