Damages claimed by the owner of Schooner "Carolina" in respect of her Seizure by the United States' Steam-ship "Corwin" while fishing in Behring's Sea.

British Columbia, to wit.

I, William Munsie, of Victoria, British Columbia, owner of the British schooner "Carolina," do solemnly and sincerely declare:

1. That the value of the said vessel at the time of her seizure by the United States' steam-ship "Corwin" was 4,000 dollars, and the cost of her outfit, when she left Victoria for the Behring's Sea, was 3,000 dollars.

2. That she carried a crew of eleven men, and the estimated wages due to the master and men for four months from the 15th day of May, 1886, to the time of the return of the said men to Victoria is 4,500 dollars.

3. That at the time of her capture by the "Corwin" she had 686 seal-skins, which were worth, at 7 dollars each, 4,802 dollars.

4. That the probable catch for the season, estimated from the number of skins taken by the schooner "Mary Ellen," which was 3,554 skins, and by the number of skins taken when the said schooner was captured, would be 3,000 skins, the value of which would be 21,000 dollars.

5. That the loss sustained by me in consequence of the detention of the said schooner, and my being unable to employ her in ordinary work after the sealing season is over, is 450 dollars a-month, which sum I claim until the vessel is returned home in good order and condition.

6. That I have also paid and incurred liabilities connected with the arrest of the said vessel, and in defence of the master and crew, for legal and other expenses, 1,000 dollars.

And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true, by virtue of the Act passed in the 37th year of Her Majesty's reign, intituled "An Act for the Suppression of Voluntary and Extra-judicial Oaths."

(L.S.)

(Signed)

WILLIAM MUNSIE.

Taken and declared before me this 20th October, 1886. (Signed) M. W. TYRWHITT DRAKE,

Notary Public, Victoria, British Columbia.

Damages claimed by the Owner of the "Onward" and "Favourite" in respect of their Seizure by the United States' Steam-ship "Corwin" while fishing in Behring's Sea.

British Columbia, to wit.

I, Charles Spring, of Victoria, British Columbia, owner of the British schooners "Onward" and "Favourite," do solemnly and sincerely declare :

1. That the value of the said vessel "Onward" at the time of her seizure by the United States' steam-ship "Corwin" was 4,000 dollars, and the cost of the outfit when she left Victoria for the Behring's Sea was 1,000 dollars.

2. That she carried a crew of twenty men, and the estimated wages due to the master and men for four months from the 12th day of June to the time of their return to Victoria is 7,500 dollars.

3. That at the time of her capture by the "Corwin" she had 400 seal-skins, which were worth 2,800 dollars.

4. That the probable catch for the season estimated on the number of skins taken by other schooners, and by the number of skins taken when the said schooner was captured, would be 3,000 skins, the value of which, at 7 dollars a skin, would be 21,000 dollars.

5. That the loss sustained by me in consequence of the detention of the said schooner, and my being unable to employ her in ordinary work after the sealing season, is over 500 dollars a-month, which sum I claim until the vessel is returned to me in good order and condition.

6. That I have also paid and incurred liabilities connected with the arrest of the said vessel, and in defence of the master and crew for legal and other expenses, 1,000 dollars, and I also claim 3,000 dollars damages, because the officer in command of the United States' steam-ship "Corwin" as she passed the "Favourite" ordered her to cease sealing, which she did, and thereby lost her season.

And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believin the same to be true, by

virtue of an Act passed in the 37th year of Her Majesty's reign, intituled "An Act for the Suppression of Voluntary and Extra-judicial Oaths."

(L.S.)

Taken and declared before me this 18th October, 1886.
(Signed)
M. W. TYRWHITT DRAKE,

(Signed)

C. SPRING.

Notary Public, Victoria, British Columbia.

Damages claimed by the Owner of the Steam-vessel "Thornton" for illegal Seizure by the United States' Steam-ship "Corwin" while fishing in Behring's Sea.

British Columbia, to wit.

I, James Douglas Warren, of Victoria, British Columbia, owner of the British steamvessel "Thornton," do solemnly and sincerely declare :

1. That the value of the said vessel at the time of her seizure by the United States' steam-ship "Corwin "Corwin" was 6,000 dollars, and the cost of her outfit when she left Victoria for the Behring's Sea was 4,000 dollars.

2. That she carried a crew of fifteen men, and the estimated wages due to the master and men for four months from the 26th day of May to the 1st day of October, the date of their return to Victoria, which I have to pay, is 5,100 dollars.

3. That at the time of her capture by the "Corwin" she had 403 seal-skins, which, at 7 dollars each, were worth 2,821 dollars.

4. That the probable catch for the season, estimated on the number of skins taken by the schooner "Mary Ellen," and by the number of skins taken when the said vessel was captured, would be 3,000, of the value of 21,000 dollars.

5. That the loss sustained by me in consequence of the detention of the said vessel, and by being unable to employ her in ordinary work after the sealing season is over, is 500 dollars a-month, which sum I claim until the vessel is returned to me in good order and condition.

6. That I have also paid and incurred liabilities connected with the arrest of the said vessel, and defence of the master and crew for legal and other expenses, 1,000 dollars.

And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true, by virtue of the Act passed in the 37th year of Her Majesty's reign, intituled "An Act for the Suppression of Voluntary and Extra-judicial Oaths."

(L.S.)

(Signed)

J. D. WARREN.

Taken and declared at Victoria this 19th October, 1886, before me.

(Signed)

M. W. TYRWHITT DRAKE,
Notary Public.

Victoria, British Columbia.

I, James Blake, mate of the schooner "Carolina," claim 5,000 dollars as damages for my illegal arrest and imprisonment on board the "Corwin" and in goal at Sitka from the 1st August to the 16th September, 1886.

I, John Margotich, mate of the schooner " Onward," claim 5,000 dollars as damages for my illegal arrest and imprisonment on board the United States' vessel "Corwin" and in gaol at Sitka from the 23rd August, 1886, to the 29th September in the same year. (John Margotich, by his Attorney), (Signed) C. SPRING.

Victoria, British Columbia.

I, Harry Norman, mate of the steamer "Thornton," claim as compensation for my illegal arrest and imprisonment on board the United States' steam-ship "Corwin" and in gaol at Sitka, the sum of 5,000 dollars, dated the 19th October, 1886.

I, James Ogilvie, master of the schooner "Carolina," claim as compensation for my arrest and imprisonment on board the United States' steam-ship "Corwin" and in gaol at Sitka, the sum of 5,000 dollars, dated the 19th October, 1886.

October 19, 1886.

(James Ogilvie, by his Attorney),
(Signed)

A. J. BECKTIL.

For illegal Arrest and Imprisonment.

Daniel Munroe, master of "Onward," for indemnity for illegal seizure, loss, &c.

Foreign Office, February 14, 1887.

Sir, I HAVE laid before the Marquis of Salisbury your letter of the 8th instant, forwarding a copy of a despatch, with its inclosures, from the Governor-General of Canada, relating to the claims for damages sustained and compensation demanded by the owners, masters, and mates of the British schooners "Onward," "Thornton," and "Carolina," which were seized by the United States' Revenue cruizer" Corwin " last August, while engaged in seal fishing in Behring's Sea.

In reply, I am directed by his Lordship to request that you will suggest to Sir H. Holland that it might be desirable to defer laying these claims before the Government of the United States until Her Majesty's Government have had an opportunity of examining the statement as to the circumstances under which the seizures took place which is referred to in Sir L. West's telegram of the 4th instant, communicated to you on the following day.

I am to add that, should this suggestion meet with Sir H. Holland's concurrence, instructions will be sent accordingly to Sir L. West.

I am &c.

My Lord,

No. 30.

Sir L. West to the Marquis of Salisbury.-(Received February 15.)

Washington, January 30, 1887.

I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith the Report of the Governor of Alaska for the year 1886.

Extract from the Report of the Governor of Alaska for the Fiscal Year 1886.

Protection of Fur Seal and Sea Otter.

THE capture of one American and three British vessels while engaged in taking seals in the inland waters of Alaska by the Revenue cutter "Corwin" has no doubt been fully reported by her zealous and meritorious Commander, Captain C. A. Abbey, to the proper Department, and but for the fact that the officers and crews were brought to Sitka, and, together with the captured property, turned over to the United States' Marshal, the subject might not be considered one within the province of this Report. The masters and mates of the several vessels were tried at a special term of the District Court, and all convicted and sentenced to brief terms of imprisonment, and three of them to payment of fines ranging from 300 dollars to 500 dollars each.

The terms of imprisonment of all save the master of the American vessel having very nearly expired on the 29th September, on the urgent request and recommendation of the honourable Judge of the District Court before whom the convictions were had, I granted respites in the several cases, save the exception noted, and the prisoners were released and allowed to depart for their several homes. They were without means, and, had they been detained until the expiration of their sentences, would have become objects of charity among strangers until the sailing of the next monthly steamer.

As these seizures have most probably raised an international question involving the right of the United States to exclusive jurisdiction over the waters of the Behring's Sea north of the Aleutian Islands and east of the 193rd meridian west longitude, it may not be unbecoming in me to suggest that unless that right is insisted upon and maintained, an industry which now yields a revenue equal to a fair rate of interest on the amount paid for the whole of Alaska will not only be destroyed, but the means of livelihood will likewise be taken away from a large number of people whom the Government is bound by every consideration of honour and public policy to protect. I can conceive of no other plan by which the seal fisheries can be preserved than the one long ago adopted and now in vogue; whether they ought not now to be yielding a very much larger revenue to the Government is a question to be discussed a year or two hence. It is reasonably certain, however, that unless our Government asserts and maintains the jurisdiction ceded to it by Russia, the Seal Islands will in a very few years be robbed of all present or prospective value to any one.

It is just as essential to the preservation of this industry that the seals be protected against indiscriminate slaughter while on their way to and from their breeding places as that the number to be taken on the islands should be limited, and every necessary restriction imposed as to age, sex, and the mode of killing. The use of fire-arms is prohibited by law, even to the natives, in the killing of seal and other fur-bearing animals in Alaskan waters and on the islands thereof, and it would be a manifest act of injustice to them to permit either foreign or American vessels to enter and engage in the indiscriminate

exclusive jurisdiction and control. Unless our right to such jurisdiction be waived or abandoned, seals once in Behring's Sea are as much the property of the United States as the islands themselves, and should be no less zealously guarded than are the Newfoundland cod-banks by the Dominion of Canada. Unless so guarded, chartered rights will not only be impaired, but a source of large and perpetual revenue to the Government utterly destroyed.

But there are other than selfish reasons why the United States should insist upon its right to exclusive jurisdiction over the waters of Behring's Sea as far west as the boundary line described in the Treaty of Cession. The principal occupation of the inhabitants, some 10,000 or 12,000 in number, of the islands therein and adjacent thereto, is sea-otter hunting, an occupation which will be completely destroyed if its waters are thrown open to all who choose to enter. It is manifestly the duty of the Government to protect these people in the enjoyment of rights which to them are inherent; an abandonment of the jurisdiction claimed by us would be practically assenting that the people in question may be driven from their homes and the employment by which they and their fathers for generations remote have obtained a livelihood.

Transportation Facilities needed.

In the foregoing connection I desire to call attention to the imperative necessity which exists for some means of transportation for the officials of the Civil Government to and from the different parts of the Territory. In the present condition of affairs the Marshal can only reach a very few points to serve the processes of the Court, and in each and every case must undergo an enforced absence of at least a month. The civil officials are charged with the responsibility of enforcing the laws, and yet are not furnished with the means absolutely necessary to enable them to do so. The authorities at Washington do not seem to realize the fact that there are no waggon or other roads in Alaska, and that all travel must necessarily be by water. Crimes are reported from the various places of settlement, but the executive officers have no available means of going from place to place to make arrests and enforce the laws. Smuggling is carried on, distilled spirits are being surreptitiously imported into the Territory in spite of the decision of the District Court, thousands of dollars' worth of dutiable merchandize is imported across the border from British Colombia, and we are powerless to prevent any of these things.

If a sprightly Revenue cutter could be stationed here with orders to cruize in the inland waters of South-eastern Alaska, and give aid to the Civil Government, by carrying its officers to points necessary to be visited by them on official business, bringing witnesses and jurors, &c., I am reasonably certain the lawlessness now so prevalent could be broken up, the Government's revenues secured, the laws enforced, and life and property rights fully protected. Until something is done in this direction to enable the officials to perform their duties, civil government in Alaska will be little better than a ridiculous farce.

The following letter, addressed to me by the District Attorney, fully explains the necessity of the case, and how it may be provided for without detriment, but rather to the advantage of the Revenue Marine Service :

"Sitka, September 20, 1886.

"Sir, "As the official charged with the institution of the initiatory judicial proceedings against parties becoming liable to answer for breach of the laws in this district, I desire to call your attention to a most serious want in the facilities necessary to enable the officers of the Court to perform their duty effectively.

We are, as matters now stand, entirely dependent on the line of monthly mail-steamers from Port Townsend, Washington, to Sitka, for any certain or regular means of getting to or from other places in the district, being thus not only limited in communication to three or four other Settlements, but also forced to an absence from Sitka of not less than one and possibly two months in any event in which it becomes necessary to visit them. Besides this, there are many Settlements where important business enterprises are located needing protection, which we are not able to visit at all.

"At one of these, Newchuk, some 300 or 400 miles up the coast to the west, a trader was brutally murdered by Indians last December. Valuable mineral discoveries have just been made in that section which it is proposed very soon to develop, and there are large fishing establishments near and trading posts from which appeals have been sent to such officials as could be reached, to have the case inquired into and the offenders punished.