The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-07-31
THE BHERING FUR SEALS.

Reference was made in these
columns, a few days since, to the
mission of Minister Foster to Rus
sia, England and Japan, to secure
more efficient cooperation on the
part of those governments, and par
ticularly of England in preserving
the fur seals in the Behring Sea,
from total destruction by unlawful
pelagic sealing. As was shown
in the article referred to, female
seals were unfortunately killed
at sea by the poachers, from lack
of patrol service, thus threatening
the extinction of this business in
a very short period, if not stopp ed.
AS has generally been reported, the
patroIling of the Behring Sea, dur
ing the past two years, has been
performed almost wholly by Unit
ed States war vessels, although the
treaty calls for prompt and effec-
tive patrol by England and the
United States, jointly. In response
to Mr.. Fosters request, Russia at
once gave her consent to the new
regulations, and signed the treaty.
Mr.. Foster then returned to Eng
land, and the dispatch of Secretary
Sherman, relating to this matter,
was presented to the British Sec
rotary of State, and has been pub
lished, both in England and Am
erica. In it Mr.. Sherman takes
the ground that the British Gov
eminent has not performed its
share of the service of patrolling
the seal grounds, imposed on it by
the Paris tribunal. He says:
The manner in which the British
Government has discharged its police
duties under the award is in marked
contrast with it's appeal for strict
observance of the five years period OF
the regulations. An equal obligation
rests upon each Government to patrol
the waters embraced in the award, In
order to see that the regulations are
not violated by the sealing vessels.
The Secretary of State here quotes fig
ures to sustain his contention, and
then says: LAS it is shown that prac-
tically no patrol service has been rem
dered in Behring Sea by the British
cruisers during the previous year, the
inference would seem to be that Her
Majesty's Government understood that
the American cruisers only were to
perform the patrol duty. The
point when sealing ceased to be profit
able seems to have been reached dur
ing the last year. Lord Salisbury in
forms. us that the result has brought
many owners of the sealing vessels to
the verge of bankruptcy" In this it
appears that the condition of things
predicted by the Government of the
United States has already come to pass
the commercial determination of the
seals.
The British press claim that Mr..
Sherman's letter in insulting and
should be resented. Its publica
ton has provoked considerable
feeling on the subject, but for all
that, it is based on facts that can
not be controverted, and has al
ready resulted in several British
vessels being ordered out to patrol
the seal grounds. If this serves to
check pelagic sealing, it will ac-
complish the purpose which the
tribunal sought to establish. If it
does not, Congress will probably
authorize the branding of the
female seals, which will render
their skins valueless for trade pur-
poses, bat preserve them for breed
ing. Branding is done on cattle
and horses, and the same designa-
ton of ownership cannot be OBJ
jected to, when it becomes the only
way In which to protect the seals
from total extinction, as is now
threatened by pelagic sealing.