The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-08-03
SLAUGHTER OF THE SEALS
BARBARIOUS PRACTIC ES RESORTED
TOBY PELAGIC HUNTERS.

Mothers Ruthlessly Killed and Their
Young Starved-The Untenability of
England's Position Clearly Showu-If
Present Methods Are suffered to Con-
tinue Seals Will be Exterminated.
London, Aug. 2.-Mr Herman Liebes,
president of H. Liebes & Co. of San
Francisco, which firm, with Mr.. David
Ogden Mills, the New York banker,
and Mr. Lloyd Tevls, president of
Wells, Fargo s. Co.'s Express system,
compose the North American CONNER
cial company, has addressed a letter
to the Times in which among other
things, he says: II and my colleagues
Of the North American Commercial
company entirely disclaim any desire
for measures made in the interests Of
one nationality and against the inter-
ests of the other and we do not and
never have suggested that the English
government should surrender the exer-
else of a lucrative industry without
receiving an equivalent merely in Or
der to increase our actual and prospec-
tive profits. Pelagic sealing is open to
ourselves and to the whole world and
speaking for myself (and I am sure 1
should have the cooperation of my col
leasues), I should be perfectly willing to
concur in any reasonable arrangement
with our own and also with the British
government with view to (either en-
tirely or at any rate for given num-
Der of years. discontinuing the killing
of seals upon the islands in question
as also all pelagic sealing, and l would
do this not because the killing of young
bachelor seals as conducted upon the
Pribyloff Islands in any way endan-
gers the propagation and existence Of
the seal (because l am sure it does noO
but simply to assist In bringing about
an arrangement for the suspension Of
pelas1c sealing In order to avoid what I
am absolutely satisfied will otherwise
very shortly come to pass, viz: The
entire determination of the seal from
the waters In question and further be-
cause l Will not share the responsibility
OF those who, by allowing the present
barbarous system to be continued are
rapidly destroying In very cruel way
very valuable industry
Professor Thompson's conclusions
with reference to the decrease in the
supply of seals is very unsatisfactory.
He says:
We may set the 10000 skins taken
this year against the 1000 that were
got with neither more nor less diff
Guilty in the plentitude OF the supply.
We should then have to admit that the
herd was now something less than one
ty-I Nf r1,of
Even In this admission we admit too
much, for apart from other corrections
that might be suggested we should
merely add for the purpose of such a
comparison to the 10000 taken on the
islands the number of males taken in
the sea, but this for lack Of better
knowledge of the proportion Of each
sex and age in the pelagic catch we
cannot do
Il am in a position to prove conclu-
sively that of the seals caught by the
pelagic sealers at least so per cent
are females and the remaining 20 per
cent. are mostly pups in which the sex
is not distinguishable after the skins
are removed from the body. AS I have
said the skins all come to London to
be dressed and there is not the slight
est difficulty in determining the sex Of
the adult seal from the skins, an in
spection of them would convince all
who saw them. The males are much
more active than the females, who are
all heavily encountered and float at the
top of the water and are unable to es-
cape so rapidly as the males.
II see from notice which appeared
in the Standard of July IA that Sir
Louis H. Davis, Canadian minister Of
marine fisheries, recently made a state
ment to a representative of Reuters
agency to the effect that pelagic seal
ing employs a large number of white
people and Indians, while not less than
5000 Canadians are dependent upon the
industry.
Professor Thompson in his report
gives the number Of vessels and the
number Of people employed in the catch
for the year 1896 There were, accord
ing to this report, sixty-five vessels
employed in this work. having in the
aggregate crews Of 800 white men and
SS9 Indians, or 1888 in all. The skins
of the seals when caught are packed
by the crews of the ships and forward
ed Immediately to London for SALE
Where, may l ask, are the 5000 Cana
dians to whom Sir l.. H. Davis alIudes
as being dependent on the industry un-
less they be the shareholders of the
companies owning the vessels and
which shareholders, certainly during
the last three or four years, never saw,
as the result of seal fishing, a penny
dividend, as their skins, the last few
years, did not bring thirty shillings
per skin, and 1t certainly cost them
forty shillings to catch them, and in
some instances much more?
During the last seven years our
company (the so-called great monopo-
lists) have killed only about $4,000 seals
per annum, and the average price re-
ceiyed for the skins in London was
certainly under five pounds per skin
gross.
"a great deal has been said about
the Americans not paying compensa-
tion to the owners of the vessels seized
in the years 1867 and 1890, a list of
which vessels is set forth in the award.
The Partisan arbftrators by their award
did not asses any damages, but left
that matter open for further negotia-
ton between the two governments. The
owners of the vessels seized were
promptly asked to send in their claims
and did so.
"All the merchants who had pur-