The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-02-25
THE SEAL CONTROVERSY.
The Governments Position in the
Behring Sea Matter.
UNCLE SANS CLAIM FOR DAMAGES

The UnGuestioned Rights of Russia Prior
to tho Ccssion of Alaska Reverted to
tho United States. and Must be Re-
spected.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2J The United
States claims in the Behring sea eontro-
versy, as they will be laid before the tri-
bunal of arbitration when it reassembles
in Paris. March %, are as follows:
That prior and up to the time of the
cession OF Alaska to the United States
Russia asserted and exercised an exclusive
right to the seal fisheries in the waters of
Behring sea, and also asserted and exer
cised throughout that sea the right
to prevent, by the employment, when
necessary, of reasonable force, any invasion
of such exclusive right. That Great
Britain not having at any time objected
to such assertions of exclusive right, or
the exercise of such power, 1t is to be
deemed as having recognized and assented
to the same
That the body of water now known as
Behring sea was not included in the
phrase Pacific ocean, as used in the
treaty of 1925 between Great Britain and
Russia, and that after said treaty, and
down to the time of cession to the United
States, Russia continued to assert the
same exclusive rights and to exercise the
Same exclusive power and authority as
above mentioned
That all the rights of Russia In respect
to the seal fisheries in Behring sea east of
the water boundary established by the
treaty of March 80 1867, between that ma
tion and the United States, and all the
power and authority possessed and as
serted by Russia to protect said right,
passed unimpaired to the United States
under the treaty.
Our Claim for Damages,
That the United States have such prop
erty and interest in the Alaskan seal herd
as to Justify the employment by that ma
tion, upon the high seas, of such means as
are reasonably necessary to prevent the de-
struction of such herd and to secure the
possession and benefit of the same to the
United States. and that all the acts and
proceedings of the United States done and
had for the purpose Of protecting such
property and interest were justifiable and
stand justified; and that compensation
should then be made to the United
States by Great Britain of the amount Of
the losses of the United States or such
other sum as may be deemed to be just;
and that should it be considered that the
United States have not the full property
or property interest asserted by them, 1t be
then decreed to be the international duty
of Great Britain to concur with the United
States in the adoption and enforcement
against the citizens of either nation such
regulations as will effectually prohibit
and prevent the capture anywhere upon
the high seas of any seal belonging to said
Alaskan seal herd
The claim for damages referred to is OF
course indefinite in amount, but includes
the losses of both the United States and
the Alaskan Commercial company owing
to the imitation of the catch necessitated
by the diminuton of the herd as the re-
suit of the pelagic sealing. The losses
will be calculated on the basis of the
number OF seals above the limit fixed by
the modus vivendi C1,50OJ which the arbi-
traitors find might have been taken with
out danger of diminishing the supply. 1t
is contended for the United States that
the number for basis of calculation is
10000