The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-02-06

ISpecialt TO THE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Dispatch
New YORK, Feb. 5.-A World special
from Washington says: Professors Men
denhan and Merriam, the American Beh-
ring sea commissioners, called on Secre-
tary Blaine this morning and afterwards
spent an hour with General John w. Eos
ter in arranging the prelimineries Tor
Joint conference, which will begin next
week. 1t is understood that the commls-
sion will make two reports, one to Secretary
Blaine, to be signed by the American COM
missioners, and one TO Sir Julian Paunce-
fote, to be signed by the English commits
sioners AS these reports are intended to
be advisory to the arbitrators, it is of the
greatest Importance that they should be
based upon facts upon which both sides
agree. That the two sides are not now q
unit on the most important points involved
can be said on the highest authority. Ihere
is one point on which there Is no disagree
ment Both the Englishmen and Amerl-
cans agree that the seals have been mate
rally reduced in numbers within the last
five years AS to the direct causes which
have contributed to this result, there is a
wide diversion of opinion. The English
men do not believe Canadian poachers have
been nearly so destructive OF seal lie az
the Americans. Prof. Mendenhall and his
colleague are satisfied that the Canadian
poachers have not only taken from forty
10 sixty thousand seals annually, but have
slain female seals whose young subse
Quently starved TO death on the rookeries
for lack of nourishmeat, and that not more
than one in four seals shot in the open ses
is recovered.
Prof Henry w. Elliott the zoologist,
who has made many visits to the sea
A. Fr,, ,h.Nv, of nhGnrrInC
habits of the seals, is making an effort t
bring about Joint discussion between thu
American and British commissioners, II
order that joint report can be draw
which will represent simple statement o
fact to the arbitrators. If the two report
to be made do not agree, as they probaol.
will not, Prof Elliott holds that nothing
but confusion can follows
An important detail upon which the twt
parties disagree, and which trancends ev
erything else so far as the preservation o
the seal is concerned, is the questlo
whether or not the seal can be extern
mated by poachers who do not so int
Behring sea at all. Prof. Elliott hold
that the Canadian poachers will take a
least 10000 seals during the coming seaso
without venturing within the boundary c
the Behring sea. He says they will fit on
their vessels and take positions south c
the passes between the Aleutian island
where they can anticipate the seal on thei
annual immigration into Behring sea
Prof. Elliott claims that even should Gres
Britain declare Behring sea moare clausun
a contention which the United States hs
expressly disavowed, 1t would make no oil
ference so far as preserving the species
concerned, for the reason that the poachel
could capture all the seals before they gC
into the waters of Behring sea in tt
spring. No regulation for the protectio
of the seals will be effective that does nj
contemplate the habits of seal swimmin
many hundred miles down into the Pacif
and along the shores of Alaska to tt
Aletian chain