The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-18
LONDON TIMES REEVES THE EPI-
soDE OF THE FAMOUS BERING
SEA MESSAGE.
GIsT OF coRREsfP,oNDENcE.
20 Z nlrt sfe.l. el.ss
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. DISPATCH
ELIMINATED.
TIMES ABsoLyEs LORD SALISBURY.
Nothing Found in thew Correspon-
dence to Reflect USoR the Course
of the Premier.

of the Premier.
LONDON, Sept 17.-Fhe Times this
morning publishes the gist of the cor
respondence between Secretary Sher-
man and Lord Salisbury in the Beriny
sea controversy. The book covers a
period beginning with 1895 and ending
with July 30 Of the present year. AL
together there are LOT dispatches, which
show that the United States has press
ed for revision since January 1896. The
Times remarks: Though Mr.. Sherman
so far forgot himself as to sign the
famous dispatch, we cannot suppose
that he actually wrote it, Only the
concluding paragraph of the dispatch
is republished, all the terms deemed
d1scourteous being omitted. The Times
then adds: Lord Salisbury wisely re-
Trained from answering the dispatch
in detail. He confined himself to i'm
parting short note to Ambassador
Hay, dated July %, 1897, stating that
the government was willing to agree
to a meeting of the experts in October
preferably in Washington, and that
other portions of Mr.. Sherman's dis
patch, insofar as they required any
reply from her majesty's government.
had been answered by anticipation in
dispatches he 0ord Salisbury had ad-
dressed to Sir Julian Pauncefote on
April % and May 7, which had been
communicated to the government of
the United States on July &C."
In long letter from the colonial
office to the foreign Office signed Ed
ward Wingfeld, occupying four
columns of small print, the Times
deals with Mr. Sherman's dispatch in
detail. In this document, which is
prepared by Mr.. Chamberlain the lat
ter points cut that Mr.. Sherman's con-
tentlon that the determination of fur
bearing seals has been practically ac-
compllshed cannot have come to pass,
as In that case there would be moth
ing at all to form the subject matter
of negotiation. 60
The document proceeds: Lord Sal
isDury pointed out in May that the
English interests had for. some years
exceeded the American in the fur seal
ing industry. 1t cannot therefore be
for the advantage of thef British gov
eminent or those whom it represents
that the seals should be exterminated.
OBJECT IN. VIEW.
The dispatch explains that the OBJ
ject of the conference is to arrive, If
possible, at correct conclusions respect
ing the numbers, conditions and habits
of the seals frequenting the Pribyoff
islands at the present time as compared
with several seasons previous to and
subsequent to the Paris award. But
it must be clearly understood that this
limited inquiry does not involve an
assent to Mr.. Sherman'S strange mis-
conceptions.
Mr.. Chamberlain contends that
Great Britain has taken adequate
measures, much more complete in
some directions than those adopted by
the United States for securing the en-
forcement of the Paris. regulations and
says it was never Intended by. the
tribunal of arbitrati ton that United
States officers should be given the
power of supervising and controlling
the action of British naval and Gus
toms officers with regard to the in
spection of skins. He contends that
the British government has even eH-
ceeded the limits of its strict obliga-
tons as far as was possible without
injury to the interests of those it was
bound to protect. The government, he
continues, has not omitted to enact
legislation necessary to secure the con-
viction of the guilty; but it has re-
fused to pass legislation certain to en-
barrass and injure the innocent. It
izing the inspection of skins because
it does not believe such inspection
would serve any useful purpose.
The British government, he asserts,
has performed with the utmost r1gor
all the requirements of the award; but
it has had to make continual unavail
ing protests against the attempts Of
the United States to hamper and en-
barrass the operations of British SUBJ
jects pursuing their lawful vocation"
But the fact" continues Mr.. Cham
berlain, that in spite of those en-
barrassments British sealers have been
able to prosecute the industry success
fully has led to continual effort by
the United States to obtain such fur
Their regulations as would effectively
prevent that result, without regard to
the objects of the award
The colonial office dispatch concludes
as follows: 1.-The government has never
argued that the regulations are per-
feet; but it has maintained that, be-
fore they can be scientifically revised,
accurate information as to the increase
or decrease of the herd must be made
available Such information is only
obtainable by accurate observations
tending over a period sufficient to en-
eliminated AS soon as that is at hand
the government is ready to enter upon
a discussion of the question in the i'm
partial and friendly spirit with which
the government can confidently claim
it has acted throughout the entire con-
troversy.'
TIMES COMMENTS.
The Times, commenting editorially
upon the correspondence, says: THE
publication of the dispatches showing
how the agreement for new confer
ence was arrived at will be relief
to the public mind. Nothing has been