The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-02-05
THE PASSING OF THE FUR SEAL.
The Result af the Paris Award-Disastrons
to the Sealing and the Sealing Industry.
(Henry Loomis Nelson in Haprer's Nh o
azine.

Henry Loomis Nelson in Hanrer,s Nh -
azine
All the regulations reouested bv tho
United States are essential for the proper
carrying out OF the Paris award. and the
fact that the British governments has
failed or refused to meet our own COW.
eminent must be accepted as evidence
that the Canadian pelagic sealers have
succeeded in forcing it to abandon the
attempt to prevent ths destruction of the
fur seal by Dominion sealers With
American sealers it is different, and it is
reported that during the season of 1895
| the British cruiser devoted all its ener-
gies to preventing violations of the act of
Congress by vessels from this country,
i Notwithstanding the fact that tho Cana
dian sealers outnumbered our own at
least two to one.
Not only have the suggestions looki ng
to the extension of the award and to the
| euro of it's demonstrated inadequacies
| been negatived by the British govern
ment, but in May. 1896, after the season
had begun, this government was notified
! that even the insufficient regulations of
| 1894 would not be renewed. This refusal
was ased on the ground that the award
did not prohibit the possession of fire.
arms by sealers, and therefore the British
government declined to enter into an
| arrangement which would make it well
for Canadian vessels to secure the sealing
of their arms. This decision by the home
government was received with great joy
| in the Dominion, for it enormously facil-
| itated the use Of firearms in the killing
of seals.
The result of the Paris award has been
disastrous to the seals and to the seal
industry. Before the refusal of the Brit
lsh government to roneW the regulations
Of 1894 the subject had been considered
| in Congress. In answer to q resoluti on
| introduced into the House of Representa-
| tives by Mr.. Dingley of Maine, Secretary
Carlisle stated that from the statistics of
| the pelagic catch OF 1894 sit becomes evil
dent that during the present season there
has been an unprecedented increase over
preceding years in the number of seals
killed by pelagic sealers, both in Ameri-
| can and Aslatio waters. This increase
has caused an alarming decrease in the
NUN Der of seals on tho islands, as herein
after explained. The alarming in
crease in the number of seals killed by
pelaglc sealers emphasizes the
conclusion expressed. in nv annual reporU
to Congress that long before the expira-
tioa OF the five years. when the regula-
lions enacted by tbs tribunal of arbitra-
ton are to be submitted to the respective
on "a ia for IN tbo
seal will have been practically extermi-
mated.
Bills were Introduced in both house
Of Congress contemplating the destruc-
tion of all seals by the government, and
thereby a determination of the question
On one of these bills, that introduced by
William L. Wilson, of the ways and means
committee made an interesting report.
This bill provided that the president
should invite the appointment of joint
commission by the United States. Great
Britain, Russia and Japan, and an ar
rangement for modus yiyendl pending
the proposed Investigation. In the event
of a refusal by Great Britain to agree to
the modus yivendi, and to make proper
regulations to carry it out, the secretary
of the treasury was to be authorized to
arrange for the killing of the ssseals as
they visited the Pribyloff islands. The
bill was passed by the House OF Repre-
sentatives, and if it had been permitted
to become law, 1t might have COM
PEELED the Dominion to consent that
Great Britain should change her course,
for if the section directing the killing of
the seals as they visited the islands had
been executed, the quarry of the Cana
dams would have been destroyed, and
the United States would have reaped the
advantage. Rather than that. Canada
would have preferred the enforcement of
the Paris award. But when the bill
reached the Senate Its passage was pre-
vented by the objection of Senator Nor
gan, who had been one of the arbitrator.
This conduct on his part was especially
strange. because he had devoted his time
and his energies, to insisting that the
administration was not doing all that it
might do to enforce the award, although
the administration was really doing all
that was possible in view of the regula-
tions which had been made by the
tribunal.
So much for the effort of Congress to
come to the aid Of the executive depart
ment of the government. In its report
on the Wilson bill the ways and means
committee presented tables showing the
effect of pelagic sealing on the catch. It
appears from these tables that the an
nual pelagio catch on both sides of the
Pacific ocean increased since 1890 from
Ol,olf w 49, WV Ill AOo1, anu Ul0
Pribyloff islands catch decreased from
104, 521 in 1886 to Is, 033 in 1894. 1t also
appears that the destruction of the Rus
sian seals now exceeds that of the Amer
lean SEALS and that the pelagic catch in
Asaan waters has increased from 5847
in 1891 to IS, 691 in 1894. In the season of
1896 the catch fell off. This was because
of perceptilbe diminution in the herds
1t is evident that the seals have already
begun to disappear. The legitimate
catch on the Commander islands for 1896
was 1900, as against $1,000 in 1894.
The catch on the Pribyloff islands was
about Is, 600. The pelagic catch was as
follows:
Japanese coast, So, 00U
American northwest coast, about, $4,000
Behring sea, So, 600,
Total, $1,000
Yin 1894 the pelagic catch WAS $4,000
The commercial interests are succumb-
ng to the pelagio sealer, and it is appar-
emit that the seal is doomed unless Great
Britain and Russia can be persuaded to
defend the interests of their oitizens
against the determination of Canadians
to kill off the seals as rapidly as possible.