No. 247. Foreign Office to Sir C. Lampson and Co. Foreign Office, November 13, 1889. Gentlemen, I AM directed by the Marquis of Salisbury to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th instant, with its inclosure, again calling attention to the effects which are to be apprehended from the indiscriminate slaughter of female seals in the waters of Behring's Sea, and I am to say that your representations on the subject will receive careful attention. Lord Salisbury will be glad to receive any statistical evidence which you may be able to furnish as to the extent to which the number and quality of the catch of male seals has been affected of late years by the increased slaughter of female seals in the open sea, and any other information which might be of assistance in considering the remedial measures which it may be desirable to adopt. His Lordship presumes that you would have no objection to the eventual publication of your letter under reply, and of any subsequent communications not marked "Confidential." I have, &c. (Signed) T. H. SANDERSON. Dear Sir, No. 248. Sir C. Lampson and Co. to Foreign Office.--(Received November 15.) 64, Queen Street, London, November 14, 1889. WE have to acknowledge receipt of your valued favour of the 13th instant, and beg to thank you for having taken the matter into consideration. We are now collecting all the information we can with reference to the details Lord Salisbury is anxious to obtain, and when we have completed our Statement, will forward it to you. We are quite willing to have any of our letters used as Lord Salisbury may see fit. Yours, &c. Sir, No. 249. Colonial Office to Foreign Office.-(Received December 1.) Downing Street, November 30, 1889. WITH reference to the letter from this Department of the 9th August last, I am directed by Lord Knutsford to transmit to you, to be laid before the Marquis of Salisbury, a copy of a despatch from the Deputy Governor of Canada, inclosing an important Minute of the Dominion Privy Council on the subject of the proposed close time for seals in Behring's Sea. I am to request that the inclosures in Sir W. Ritchie's despatch, which are sent in original, may be returned after perusal. I am, &c. My Lord, Inclosure 1 in No. 249. Deputy-Governor Sir W. Ritchie to Lord Knutsford. Ottawa, November 11, 1889. WITH reference to Lord Stanley of Preston's confidential despatch of the 3rd August, 1888, in which was inclosed a copy of a Minute of Council of the 14th July of that year, protesting against the proposal made by the United States' Government for the establishment of a close season for seals in Behring's Sea, I have the honour to forward herewith, for your Lordship's information, a copy of an approved Report of a Committee of the Privy Council, to which are appended certain declarations and statements tending to support the contentions advanced by the Dominion Government in the above-mentioned Minute. Report of a Committee of the Honourable the Privy Council, approved by his Excellency the Governor-General in Council, November 4, 1889. ON a Report dated the 26th October, 1889, from the Minister of Marine and Fisheries, stating that he has recently received from parties interested in the fur-sealing industry of the Behring's Sea, further information relative to seal-hunting. The Minister desires attention to the Minute of Council dated the 14th July, 1888, made on a Report of the then Minister of Marine and Fisheries upon a proposal from Mr. Secretary Bayard, for the establishment of a close season for seals in the Behring's Sea, which was a proposition to agree to enforcing a close season from the 15th April to the 1st November in each year. The Minute of Council dealt very fully with this and pointed out: That the United States' Minister, as reported in the despatch from Lord Knutsford, of the 8th March, 1888, then under consideration, had asserted that there were both close and open seasons for killing seals in the Behring's Sea, and that the United States' Government was endeavouring to enforce the observance of these seasons by all nationalities alike, and, consequently, that during the open season seals could be pursued without fear of molestation, whereas, in fact, the killing of seals, except by the Alaska Commercial Company, lessees of the Seal Islands, is entirely prohibited by the laws of the United States, and this law was then being enforced against citizens of the United States and those of Canada. That the Alaska Commercial Company, under the terms of their lease, had a monopoly of the industry, and killed 100,000 seals annually, for which monopoly they paid yearly into the Treasury af the United States over 300,000 dollars. The Minute of Council above referred to went on to show that no pressing necessity existed for the establishment of such a close season, since careful measurement of the "Rookeries" on St. Paul and St. George Islands showed 6,337,750 seals, whilst only 100,000 were annually killed, and the United States' Special Agent for Alaska in 1887, reported the seals on the increase. That as the seals arrive in May and leave about the end of October, a close season from the 1st April to the 16th November, as proposed by the Honourable Mr. Bayard, would practically prohibit all fishing except by the Alaska Commercial Company, who could kill on the only places where the seals "haul out " during June, July, September, and October, four of the months of the proposed close season, thus establishing their monopoly more effectually. That while under Mr. Bayard's proposition this area would be closed against all operations except those of their own sealers on the Pribyloff Islands, other sealing areas in America and Asia would be open to her as before. That the Alaska Commercial Company has a leasehold from the Russian Government which does not fall under the proposed area. That while the arrangement would benefit Russia and the United States, Canada would lose the whole sealing industry. The Minister further observes that this Minute of Council called attention to the opinion of experienced sealers, who aver that by the present methods of hunting with gun and spear not more than one in ten of the seals struck is lost, and that it is not believed that these methods are so destructive as alleged. In the said Minute of Council it is claimed that the sole object of the United States was to establish a monopoly in the manner and locality of killing seals in favour of such United States' citizens who might from time to time enjoy the privilege of sealing on Pribyloff Islands. The Minister submits the appended declarations and statements in support of the views expressed in the Minute above referred to: they are as follows: Appendix No 1. Statement prepared by practical seal-hunters. Appendix No. 2. Statement prepared by A. R. Milne, Esq., giving a history of the sealing industry as pursued by British subjects in the Behring's Sea. Appendix No. 3. Solemn declaration of Carl A. Lundburg on the slaughter of about 10,000 seals at Robin Island by the crew of the schooner "Leon," a watch-vessel of the Alaska Commercial Company. The Minister states that it will be seen that the first Appendix, in which the different hunters describe their operations in detail, fully bears out the position taken in the Minute of Council of the 14th July, 1888, that the destructive nature of the modes of killing seals by spears and fire-arms has been greatly exaggerated by the United States' authorities, a very small percentage of loss occurring. Also that the operations of the Canadian sealers in the Behring's Sea are of necessity during the months proposed by the Honourable Mr. Bayard as a close season. The Minister desires to invite particular attention to the fact that, while female seals with pup are taken to some extent along the coasts approaching the Behring's Sea, such instances are of rare occurrence in the sea itself. Appendix No. 2 treats altogether of the history and extent of the Canadian sealing interest in the North Pacific Ocean and Behring's Sea, and concludes by showing that, as the seals travel singly and in pairs, not in droves or numbers as has been claimed, there is no opportunity for the indiscriminate slaughter alleged. The percentage of seals wounded or killed and not secured is placed at 6 per cent. The Minister of Marine and Fisheries is of opinion that the action described in Appendix No. 3, of the servants of the Alaska Commercial Company at Robin Island, under lease to them from Russia, in wantonly and maliciously slaughtering on their rookeries 10,000 seals at one time, principally cows and pups, and destroying their skins for the avowed purpose of insuring the failure of other sealers, is but another argument against securing a monopoly of the seal-fishing interest in the North Pacific Ocean for the Alaska Commercial Company, and while this one act has been more destructive than the combined operations of the other sealers in the Behring s Sea, it renders altogether erroneous the interference of United States' authorities on the plea of protection with the legitimate pursuits of sealers in the open sea. The Committee concurring in the above Report recommend that your Excellency be moved to forward a copy hereof to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and that a copy be also forwarded to the High Commissioner for Canada for his information. All which is respectfully submitted for your Excellency's approval. (Signed) JOHN J. MCGEE, Appendix 1. Statements of Practical Hunters. James Wilson. I WAS carpenter on board the sealing-schooner "Triumph " on her voyage this year. One of the hunters was drowned just before entering Behring's Sea, and I took his place. I was out hunting seals about a week, but the weather was bad, and I got only twenty-three seals. I had had no experience. I used a breech-loading shot-gun, and shot seals at a range of from 10 to 15 yards. I lost one seal through the carelessness of the boat hands running the boat over the seal, which sank directly under the boat. Most of seals lost by hunters are shot at long ranges with the rifle. One hunter on the Triumph" this year got over sixty seals and only lost one. I never saw a cow seal with her young beside her. Out of the twenty-three I got, five or six were cows carrying their young. (Signed) JAMES WILSON. Victoria, British Columbia, August 9, 1889. William Fewings. I have been three years hunting seals on the Pacific Coast and in Behring's Sea. In 1887 I was on board the sealing-schooner "Favourite," in 1888 on the "Viva," and in 1889 on board the "Triumph." In each year the vessel I was on entered the Behring's Sea early in July, and left the sea the latter part of August or carly in September, except this year, when the "Triumph" left the sea on the 11th July, under threat of seizure, after searched by the United States' cutter "Rush." In 1887 the hunters I was with were partly Indians and partly whites. In the two last years the hunters were all whites, using shot-guns and rifles. The rifles were used by the more experienced hunters and better shots for long-range shooting, up to 100 yards, but few hunters attempted that range. The general range for rifles is not over fifty yards, and most shots are made at a less range. A few hunters used the rifle for all distances. I use either rifle or shot-gun, according to the distance and position of the seal and the condition of the water. My first year I got about 400 seals. In getting this number, I failed to capture about twenty-five shot at, or killed, or wounded, but which escaped. In my second year I got over 500 and lost about thirty. This year I got 140, and lost only one. I have frequently shot from two to five seal in a bunch, and got them all. One day in 1887 I got two bunches of five each and another of four, and got the whole fourteen. Indian hunters use spears, and either get every seal they throw at or it escapes unhurt, or but slightly wounded. Indians, it can be safely said, get every seal they kill. Oscar Scarr, a hunter on the "Viva" in 1888, got over 600 seals, and lost only about twenty. The average number lost by white hunters does not exceed six in 100, and by the Indians not six in 1,000. I have never shot nor have I ever seen a female seal with a young one beside or with her. It is very seldom a female is killed in Behring's Sea, carrying her young with her, and out of 1,000 killed on the coast earlier in the season less than one-third are females carrying their young. (Signed) WM. FEWINGS. Victoria, British Columbia, August 9, 1889. Captain J. D. Warren. I am a master mariner, and have been actively engaged in the deep-sea sealing business for twenty years. I have owned and commanded sealing-vessels on voyages along the Pacific Coast from 47° or 48° north latitude to 56° or 57° north latitude within Behring's Sea. I have generally employed Indians, except in 1886 and 1887, the last years I was out, when I had white hunters as well. White hunters use rifles and shot-guns entirely, Indian hunters use spears. Bullets weighing from 300 to 400 grains are used with rifles, and ordinary buck-shot with guns. Both rifles and shot-guns are breech-loading, and of the best make. Seals are approached by the hunters in boats, to 10 or 15 yards, lying generally asleep on the water. Frequently seals are taken alive when asleep, especially by the Indians, who, in their canoes, get within from a spear's length (14 or 15 feet) to 30 feet before they throw. Indians rarely lose a seal they strike, and if one escapes it is always but slightly wounded. Of seals killed by white hunters, probably not over 10 per cent. are killed with rifle, which is generally used for only a long range. Sealers divide the seals for hunting purposes into two classes, "sleepers" and "feeders;" or "travellers sleepers" are almost always shot at from 10 to 15 yards range, and are seldom lost. "Feeders" are shot at just as their heads emerge from the water. From this fact the range is always from a few feet to 100 yards, though few are fired at that distance. Hunters use a " gaff," a pole about 10 or 12 feet long, with one to three hooks upon it, with which they catch the seal and bring it into the boat. If the seal sinks, the "gaff" is run down, and the seal hooked up. The British sealing-vessels employ more Indian than white hunters. My experience with white hunters is not so extensive as with Indians, but from what I have seen while engaged in sealing I can say that not over six in every 100 seals killed by white hunters are lost or escape. Experienced hunters seldom lose a seal; the losses are chiefly made by inexperienced hunters, only a few of whom are employed, for the reason that as hunters are paid so much a skin, inferior men cannot make good wages. I have noticed no diminution in the number of seals during the twenty years I have been in the business, but if any change at all, an increase. Of the seals taken along the coast about one-half are females, and of the females not more than one-half are with young. In Behring's Sea not one in 100 of those taken by the hunters are females with young; because as soon as the females carrying their young get into the sea they go to the breeding islands or rookeries, and in a few days their young are born. The cows remain with their young until they are quite able to take care of themselves. I do not think that out of the seals taken by Indian and white hunters more than 30 per cent. are females actually breeding or capable of breeding. "Old bulls," "bachelors," "two-year-old pups," and "Barre cows" make up the great majority Cows actually breeding are very watchful, and while on the voyage northward are ever on the alert, so they are difficult to take. On the other hand, the other classes above named make up the great class of "sleepers" from which fully 90 per cent. of the whole catch of hunters is derived. I never saw or heard of a "cow" having her young beside her in the water, either on the coast or in Behring's Sea. Victoria, British Columbia, August 10, 1889. (Signed) J. D. WARREN. Captain Sieward. I have been a master sealer for two years. In 1888 I commanded the " Araunah," and in 1889 the "Walter L. Rich," and during both years sealed along the coast from off Point Northward to Behring's Sea. In 1888 I had Indian hunters, and this year white hunters. The Indians lose very few seals, for if the spear strike the seal is got, and if the spear misses the seal of course escapes unhurt. The white hunters use rifles and shot-guns, the latter much more than the former. Rifles are used only by good shots, and then at only long range. The seals lost by white hunters after being shot or wounded do not on the lower coast exceed six in 100, and on the Alaska coast and in Behring's Sea not over four in 100. On sailing I generally take 10 per cent. additional ammunition for waste shot, that is, if calculating on a catch of 3,000 seals, I would take ammunition for 3,300 shots. That was double the excess the hunters would consider necessary, and I never knew that percentage of waste shot to be used. I never saw a female seal with her young beside her in the water. Out of a catch of 1,423 seals this year, I had only fifty-five seals under 2 years old, i.e., between 1 and 2 years old. When at Ounalaska this year, I learned that the Alaska Commercial Company last year fitted out two small schooners belonging to private parties with large deep nets several hundred fathoms long, which were set across the passes leading from Behring's Sea for the purpose of catching young seals. One of these schooners got 700 of these young seals, about 4 months old, and sold them to the Alaska Commercial Company at 2 dol. 50 c. apiece. A schooner, the "Spencer F. Baird," 10 or 12 tons, was then at Ounalaska fitting up to go to Akoutan Pass for the same purpose this fall. The law forbids the killing of all fur-bearing animals in Alaskan waters by any hunters except the natives, yet such is done every year at Kodiak, Sanaka, and the Aleutian Islands by white hunters fitted out by the Alaskan Commercial Company, under the agreement that the furs must be sold to the Company. (Signed) Victoria, British Columbia, August 10, 1889. H. F. SIEWARD, Master, American schooner " Walter L. Rich." Walter House. It was my I was a hunter on the schooner "Walter L. Rich," on her sealing voyage this year. first year on the Pacific coast, but I had had seven years' experience on the Newfoundland coast catching hair-seals. This year on the "Rich" I got 185 seals and lost five, which sank before I reached them. I used a shot-gun. The hunters on the "Rich" lost about the same proportion, some a few more, some less. I never saw a cow seal in the water with her young beside her or near her, nor have I ever heard of such a case. (Signed) WALTER HOUSE Victoria, British Columbia, August 10, 1889. Memorandum ESTIMATE of the Amount paid for Wages, &c., of the Victoria Sealing Fleet, and the probable Returns. |