The Indianapolis journal., 1897-04-12
ANNUAL SEAL SQUABBLE
M'KINLEY MOVE TO HAVE QUICK
AND AMICABLE SETTLEMENT.
Strained Relations of State Depart
ment and England on Account OF
BerinE Sea POa ching.

WASHINGTON, April 1.-THE recent ap-
pointment of ex-Secretary Foster and ex-
Assistant Secretary Hamlin by the Presi-
dent to assist in the negotiations now in
progress with Great Britain respecting the
Bering sea seal fisheries is indicative that
this long-standing diplomatic issue has at
last assumed grave Importance and that an
earnest effort is to be made to end the
present unsatisfactory state of affairs, or at
least to place the subject on such footing
before the beginning of the approaching
open season as will prevent it from passing
into more serious phase. The diplomatic
correspondence of the past year makes it
evident that severe strain was placed
the patience of the officials of both the
United States and Great Britain and the
warning. given quietly yet firmly by the
British premier, that further proceedings
by the American revenue cutters i'm the line
of last years programme could not be
tolerated and the intimation from Secretary
Olney that there would be no change unless
additional restrictions were imposed on the
British sealing vessels hold out latent pos
sibilites of serious ENHANCEMENT of the
two friendly powers unless some arrange
ment can be made before the end of May.
For the reason that ex-Secretary Foster
was familiar with the earlier stages Of the
negotiations leading up to the Paris arbi-
tration while to ex-Assistant Secretary
Hamin is due in large measure the credit
for the conduct of the negotiations of the
last administration on this subject, they
have been chosen to assist now in compos-
ing this threatened difficulty.
The trouble appears to have begun prin-
clpally through the refusal Of the British
authorities to renew last year the regula-
tions requiring British vessels going into
the seal waters to place their firearms un-
der seal, to give effect to the Paris regula-
ton prohibiting the use of such weapons in
killing seal. This regulation was laid down
on evidence that large proportion of the
recovered, involving wasteful mortality
The British having refused TO seal up their
arms the United States government
thorough search of every sealing vessel in
Bering sea- There justification for a
search in the regulations, but again the
British government protested, claiming
that British vessels were thereby subjected
to unnecessary and most vexatious deten-
tion; that their catches were overhauled
and thrown into confusion and that the
only result was the discovery of one skin
in which the American boarding officer
thought he saw shot wound and of a
log book a few days in arrears in entries
Yet for this twenty-six out of twenty nine
British vessels i'm the seal waters were
searched eighty-twO times, one vessel be-
ing boarded six times in twenty-four days.
Secretary Olney, on the other hand, justi-
0eO the course or the revenue OfflcerS by
pointing out that all of the three seized
vessels were convicted in British courts. He
also gave some startling figures to show
the need of the additional restrictive regu-
latiOns which he invited the British gov
ernment to accept. From actual count he
showed that in 1895 no less than $4,000 dead
seal pups were found on the seal islands.
which had periShed from starvation, be-
cause their mothers had been killed at sea
by sealing vessels. Also 1t was stated that
in the same season the vessels had taken
"A, 1863 skins. as against 81 5S5 in the previous
year. and Secretary Olney asserted that If
the killing was to go on at this rate the
total destruction of the seal herd would be
accomplished in the course of about two
more seasons. To make the showing worse
from our point of view it stated tina
the lawful catch on the seal islands had
largely fallen off. Efforts were made to de-
wise some way of insuring the seal against
the use of firearms by pOachers but they
came to nothing. and the upshot was that
both sides stood firm, the British warning
against further indiscriminate search of
British vessels and Secretary Olney stand
ing on our right to make it, Meanwhile an
expert commission sent out by both gov
ernments made an exhaustive report tend
ing to sustain Secretary Olney's assertions
regarding the probable determination of the
seals under present conditions and ii must
be on this basis that the negotiations will
now proceed.