Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-05-16
BERlNG SEA QUESTION.
secretary Blaine Writes Anotber
Note to Lord Salisbury
on the Subject OF the Berinr Sc. Co,.
~oVersy-Tho Claims of the United
states Ably Defended 49, The
Grounds Upon Which Thl,
Government win Agree
to Arbitration.

auhceIote, the British minister. and
reads as follows:
StR-The notifications which lord s.t,s,,u.
suggests IN the questions for arbitration ao mo-,
whoily meet the views OF the president but m
president changes the text OF third and t3fth IN
sueh manner, 1t is hoped as will result In an
agreement between the two governments
'Whiie Lord Salisbury suggests different mode
OF procedure from that embodied IN tbe sivth
question the president does not understand i'm
ectually to object to the question, and he there.
fore assumes that 1t is agreed to that the s,Y
Quea.i~ns as now proposed by the president are
Is follows. VI .
Ffrst-What exclusive Jurisdiction In tho On,
now known us the Beting sea and Whit oyeII,
sve rights in the seal fisheries therein did Rus
oiu assert ana exercise prior and up To the tina
Vi tne cesslon of Alaska to the United States,
Second-How far were these claims of nr, !.
ulction as to the sea! fisheries reco .nized and
conceded by Great Brtain2 "'''
I1ird-Was the body of water now known as
onoa' o p'rns sea included in the phrase "Pacife
oeoan' as used in the treaty Of 1924 between
Gfeat Brltain and Russia; and what rights II
any, IN the BerlnS sca were hold and exclusive
ly exercised by Russia after said treatyY
Fourth-Did not all the rights of Russia as To
jurisdiction and as to the seal fisheries in ner.
ing sea- east OF the water boundary described
IN the treaty between the Upitei Ststes ava
Russia OF March 80, 1857, pass unimpalred to
the United states under that treaty.
F1ith--Has the United States any right. and
So what right OF protection or property in n =
lur seals frequenting the Islands OF tbe IJn,ted
STATES IN Beripg sea- when such seals are found
outside the ordinary three mile limit?
Sikth-lf the determination Of tho forepoing
questions shall lesve the subject in such nosff
tlOQ that the cOncnrFanpp of nj T.
necessary In prescribing regulations for tho
killing OF the fur seal in any part of the waters
OF Bering sea, than Il shall be further deter
mined:
First, how far, il at ali, outside the ordinary
territorial limits ia II necessary that the United
states should exercise an exclusive iurisdo,
tlon, In order to protect the seal for tie time
living upyR the islands of the United States
and feeding therefromY
Second whether q closed seasou (during
which the killing of seal In the waters of BERN,
sea outside the ordinary territorial limits shall
be prohibited Is necessary TO save the seal
nsnlng industry SO valuable and important to
mankind, from deterioration or destructionY :
And, II so lhlrd, what months or parts Of
months should bo included In such season and
over what waters 1t should extend
Tho president does not object TO the addi
tlonal question respecting alleged damages to
English ships proposed by Locd salisbury, II
ter the issues OF the arbitration are ioined, il
the United States shall prevail. all the seal,
taken by Canadian vesse 8 curing the period
shall be paid for 1T the price for which seals are
sold. This seems 10 the president to be the
complement of Lord Salisburys proposition,
ana he doubts not that 1t viii secure Ms lord
ships assent
In the first paragraph OF Lord Salisburv's dis.
patch OF February u he makes the following
declaration.
Ii Is now quite clear that tho advisers OF the
president do not claim Berng sea as mare
clausum, and indeed that they repudlate that
contention in expire terms
Lord Saltsbury's expression ia nut Ia such
form us 10 Imply (whetber he 80 intended /
know not that the United States had hitherto
been resting lis contention upon the fact that
Inc Boring aea was mare eiausum. II that was
mia Intention IT would have been well for his
lordship 10 specify wherein the United States
ever made the assertion The emphatic denial
In nv dispatch af Deoon,so- i7 Iaot Voc IN
tondru 10 put an end to the iteration ~ the
charge and to eliminate it from the current d s.
cuss on.
Lord Salisbury complains that did not deal
with certain protests, written by Lord London
Derry and tho Duke OF Wellington in 1879, which
he had before quoted. If he will recur to the
twenty sixth and twenty.seyenth pages Of my
dispatch OF December Il he will observe that
especially dealt with these; that maintained
hHu, lllnh, pTUftu from tUc ttNI tnht lUbfb
was not q single word In these protests refer,
ring 10 the Beriug sea, but that they referred
the language OF tho Duke of Wellington of the
nth of October, lH!2 only TO he lands extend.
ing along the shores OF the Pacific ocean from
latitu ~ degrees TO latitude 80 degrees
north"
In the first paragraph OF Lord Londonderrys
protest on January Is, ls3! addressed to Count
tieveA, of Russia he alludes to the matters in
dispute as Especially connected with the terri.
toria rights OF the Russian crown on the north.
west coast Of America bordering on the Pacific
ocean and the commerce and navigation OF his
imperial majestys subjects in the seas adjacent
thereto"
From these and other pertinent facts il is
evident that the protests Of Lord Londonderry
and the Duke Of Wellington had nothing what.
ever to do with the points now at issue between
the American and British governments con.
ccrning the waters OF the Bcring sea. They both
referred In different buJ substantially identical
phrases. TO the territory south of the Alaskan
peninsula bordering on the Pacific and geo.
shut out from the Dering sea | re.
gret that my arguments on point which Lord
considers OF great Importance should
have escaped his lordship's notice.
In Lord Saiburys judgment the contention
of tho United States now rests wholly upon the
ukase OF 1871 by Emperor Alexander |. OF Rus
sia The United States has at no time rested
its argument solely on the ground mentioned
and this government regrets that Lord sails
bury should have so misapprehended the Amer
lean position as TO limit its basis OF right IN
Bering sea TO the ukaSe of 1891. The United
States has among other grounds, insisted with
out recurring to any of its inherited and su
perior rights in Alaska, that this government
has as full authority for going beyond the three
mile line in case Of proved necessity as Great
Britain possesses.
Two or three instances OF the power which
Great Britain exercises beyond the three mile
line have already been quoted but have failed
thus far to secure comment or explanation from
Lord Salisbury. Another case can be added
which, perhaps, is still more to the point. In
lSSg-only two years ago-the British parlla'
ment enacted a law the effect OF which is fully
shown By map inclosed herewith Far out
side the three mile line, the parliament OF
Great Britain has attempted to control body
Of water situated beyond the northeastern sec
tion of Scotland 400 square miles IN extent
and to direct that certain methods OF fishing
shall not be used within that great body OF
" water under prescribed penalty
If Grent Britain may thus control an area OF
!, ZOO miles of ocean coast OF Scotland, why may
not the United States proscrlbe space around
Tho pribyloI islands in which similar prohibl.
lions NAV be enforcedi The following would
be the needed legislation for such purpose oy
congress but paraphrase act oi parilsment'
The fur seal board may by by law or bylaws
1lreCt tnQt tnt UtlHbuo VI sN"Aihb hhp"h
,noarinp or harp oning or with firearms. snail
rot be used within line drawn from the Priby,
of Islands sixty miles in the Berlng sea ana
said board may from time to time make, aller
and revoke bylaws for the purpose OF ms sec.
lion; but no such by law snail DC OF any vallulty
intil It has been confirmed ny thesccfe'aryo' Vi
he treasury. III.
Secondary person who uses any sueh ine.n,
M of scaling in contrayention of such bylaws
shall be liable on conviction TO hno NOV es
,eeding 500 for tho first oGense ana hot exeeee'
ag 40 for the second or any SUBSEQUENT o.
ehse, aud every spear harpoon Vi n,e's" ~, onv
empked to be used in contraventlon oi ahy
,uch bylaw may be seized and destroyed 0,
Of as said fur seal poaro
n must not escape observation that tho area
If water outside the threemlie nne ON ,no @
,oast OF Scotland whose coniro s y. aSso ,omrd IN.
treat Britain Is as large as would be ivunu ~
,ide n line drawn from Cape Coz 10 Foru"nu
,arbor on the New England coast ,,,n ,,ot
Lord Salisbury reasserts his cohten.lou '% %a
no words ''l'aclfc ocean" at the tlne o.. ai1 su1
reaty between Russia and Great nri',.,n mac vic
include Bering sea. Undouo'eals '', sno sense
,cean includes Berinr sea IN the sau,o 90, so" ~
INT the Atlantic ocean includes 'he uuii v,
Vpxico AM vel Il would be regarded us u WHY
Inaccurate statement TO say lhHl the Mis'ior
,ippi river flows into the Atlantic uuoon, n,n
hink ord Salisbury fai sto reco my .ne
non distinction between er,ic the n.'"h While the
Mexican M nm gulf IS not part o. the Atlantic ocean
4 would am sure comport with genera, us'so
o say that II belongs to the watetsT. tuJ ~ n
aniic and while Berng sea II my oJy bcion,s
,art OF the Pacific ocea u uhoouo'o"'s 'V''0
% the waters OF the Pacific. In ,oto
John Quincy Adams diary, quot s ~ ,dN %st mo-
Il Dcoember IL, 1870 plainly draws @ n us ",mJ ND
ion between the Pacific ocean on tnn one o"
md tho ''Sea OF Oshot X, the sea OF h",,sV m ,nn
ca ana the 10y sea- on the other and snrIS 50 Sa
IS Russia drew til At d tnction !, mus. appS
md mu I absolutely decide all the Ss ne,crs
!, tnn pnrInw r e seS are concerned To discuss
his % point iurthcr would in the opinion Of inc me
,resident, contribute nothing OF value 10 'no
Ieneral contention. .,,.,, f.ord Sails.
,,rv n wholly and strangely In errar In making
he following statement, .,.. or.siiann /
viz % Justification Tor me sslsuts sssssa Y. tSai