The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1897-07-15

!
90 possible, lhe depleted condition of the
herd of Pnbylo0 Stands. and requires o
/ critical examination not possible within
| the limits Of 'hc present instruction. bot
| IT, general purpose may BE- briefly stated
| n n TO Dc regretted that be should have
contracted mis- study far within the pur-
view Of his INSTRUCTIONS He confined
/ nir inquiry ana refers 10 the subordinate
subject Of the numijeF Of seals resorting
| 20 th" island. and particularly 10 the
relative number In 80 nnd 1896 The
! result OF his observance and Inquiries
/ seemed to b" that on some rookerles
/ there was an increase and on others "a
/ decrease. but on the whole possible
state of equilibrium for the last TWO
ycurs, although he comedies dlmlnu-
tio1 as compared With isg2 " nn the
professor. claims Il admitted. II is not
mltIgatrd against tha contention that
since peIAgic scaling became general the
/ decline Of the herd has been steady and
rapid. since the date OF Lord Salisbury
I dispatch explicit inquiry has been made
or pr Jordan 40 TO the relative condition
of The herd In 1895 and i1S and IN prevl-
Gus years. aud he has furnished the
chapter on The decline Of the seal herd
for the forthcoming final report Of him
SELF aud associates
Although Prof Thompson has been
very careful throughout the report 70 say
nothing likely to crnbarrass his govern
mcnt IN the conclusions" the voice Of
thc true scientific Investigator speaks In
firm and certain tones While he regards
the alarming statements Of the
herds immense decrtasc ~ oyerdrawn,
h" says. There Is s,il abundant nced
Tor care and for prudcn, measures Of
conservation in the Interest Of all"
IT Is not easy to uracrsiand how Lord
Salisbury can reconcile his refusal to
entertain the proposals OF the president
with the interests OF his own country
men. TO say nothing Of the friendly re-
la,ions which be has been dcslrous Of
maintaining with the United States. Rus
sla and Japan
The experience had with the scientific
commission or 1899. ns well as the reports
OF 1896. Just under review, shows that
II IL difficult through them TO reach
harmony OF views. but We have ~ hand
certain statistics OF undsputed authority
pointing unmistakably TO commissions
which should BE- controlling"
Here Secretary Sherman quotes a we'll
known statlsucian. showing the decrease
OF the seals. He says;
Lord Salisbury attributes this large
falling on In Behring sea to the stormy
weather prevailing but does not cite his
authority | am not aware OF any pur-
pose TO that effect Captain Hooper,
who commanded the American fleet in
weather in Behring sea was not materi-
ally different the last two years The
RehrinE sea In lsg5 and 1896 reports, The
point when scaling ceased to be profit
able seems TO have been reached during
the last year. Lord Salisbury informs
us that the result has brought many
NNll"4N kA 1fttlAilE NffNHtta ~ AAAt NAEkf UL
bankruptcy II thus appears tha; the
condition Of things predicted by the
government OF the United States has
already come TO pass-the commercial |
determination OF the seals"
Here follows long and exhaustive |
review writien by the secretary, showing |
the reports made by Secretaries Gresham /
and Olney 10 secure a settlement OF the /
dispute. Continuing. Secretary Sherman
says:
The manner in which the British /
tlse under the award is in marked con-
trast with It's appeal for a strict observ-
ance OF the i've years period Of the
regulations, An equal obligation rests /
upon each government to patrol the wa
tcrs embraced in the award. In order
to see that the regulations are not vlo-
lated by the sealing vessels"
The secretary Of state here quotes fig
urcs 90 sustain his contention and then
says:
As it is shown that practically no
patrol service has been rendered in BeS-
ring sea by the British cruisers during
the previous year. the Inference would
seem to be that her majes,y's govern
mcnt understood that American cruisers
were only to perform patrol duty and
the British cruisers to talk over and
act upon the validity Of the seizure of
British vessels The detailed enforce
ment of the regulations has further de-
on the part of the British gov
ernment a strange misconception OF the
true spirit and intent of the arbitrn-
tors"
In thds connection sherman hlames
the British authorities for giving notice
that their government would not renew
the arrangement as to the sealing Of
arms tt,
The next paragraph says that the
tarly action OF the British government
In refusing to renew the arrangement Of
1894 led to much trouble and inconven-
ience in connection with the patrol Of
Rchring sea The complaints of the
British government against the severe
measures OF search resor:ed to Ivy Amer
lean cruisers. the resultant lengthy cor
rcspondcnce, the various propositions
made by Secretary Oney and the fact
that another season had been entered
upon without any settlement Of the ques-
tion, are al commented upon by Secre-
tary sherman
The president therefore. entertains
the hope that at even this late day the
British government may yet yield TO his /
continued desire so often expressed, for |.
a conference of the interested powers.
and In delivering TO Lord Salihury a
copy OF this instruction you will state
that the president will hail with great
satisfaction any indication on the part
Of her majestys government of a dispo-
sitiOn 10 agree upon such a conference |