BERING SEA CONTROVERSY. An inter national dispute, in which Great Britain and the United States were the principal parties eon (erned, arising out of the depredations of un licensed Canadian sealers on the seal-fisheries of the North Pacific.
The Prihylov Islands in the Bering Sea are the largest seal-rookery in the world. The seals con gregate upon these islands for about eight months in the year, for a day or two at a time to seek food in the surrounding waters within a radius of 50 or 100 miles. In the win ter the entire herd scatters far to the south and west in the Pacific Ocean. For ninety years the seals had been preserved under the supervision of the Russian Government, and this was con tinued by the United States after the cession of Alaska in 1867, the business being leased to the North American Commercial Company and the slaughter carefully restricted to 100,000 seals annually. This represented in 1885 a capital of about $30,000,000, at a royalty of $10 per skill, yielded the Government a yearly revenue of $1,000,000. in 18811 a fleet of vessels was fitted out in British Columbia by Canadian and American capital to hunt seals while feeding in the water beyond the territorial three-mile limit. This increased rapidly, until in 1893 there were about seventy craft engaged in it. The number of seals captured was estimated at 30,000, and the depredations on the herd neces sitated the reduction of the licensed slaughter to 21,000. This pelagic sealing was especially destructive, because the majority of the animals killed were females.
Secretary Manning. of the Treasury Depart ment, ruled that Bering Sea, to the western limit covered by the Russian cession, was e/o.sed, or under the exclusive of the United States, and seizures of Canadian schooners were made by the American patrols. This was fol lowed by protests from Sir Saekville-West, then British Minister. Meanwhile, Secretary Bayard sent a circular letter to Great Britain, France, Germany, .Japan, Russia, and Sweden, asking for cooperation to prevent destruction of the in dustry. Negotiations conducted between Great Britain and the United States resulted finally in the Blaine-Panncefote Treaty of 1892, provid ing for an arbitration of the questions at issue.
The Court of Arbitration, composed of Baron de Coureel (France), Marquis Emilio Visconti Venosta (Italy), Judge Gregers W. W. Gram (Sweden and Norway), Lord Hannen (England), Sir John Thompson (Canada), and Justice John M. Harlan and Senator John T. Morgan (United States), met in Paris. March 23, 1893.
The United States based its ease upon three grounds: First, a prescriptive right of territorial jurisdiction over the Bering Sea; second, a right of private property in the seals; third, the com mon interest of mankind in the preservation of the species and the prevention of its ultimate annihilation for temporary gain. On August 15
the tribunal rendered a decision mainly unfavor able to the American contention, to the etfect that Russia did not assert or claim exclusive jurisdiction over Bering Sea or rights in seal fisheries beyond the three-mile limit; that the body of water known as Bering Sea was included in the phrase 'Pacific Ocean' in the Treaty of 1825, by which Russia granted Great Britain commercial privileges in those waters; that the United States had no right to protection of prop erty in seals frequenting. the islands of the Unit ed States beyond the three-mile limit. But regu lations were adopted establishing a close season from May I to July 31, forbidding pelagic seal ing within 60 miles of the Pribylov group, and prohibiting the use of steam vessels or explosive weapons, and provided for licensing of the ves sels and proper qualifications of the parties en gaged in the business, these regulations to be enforced by the governments of the United States and Great Britain acting concurrently.
These restrictions proved ineffectual, and after much friction between the two powers a meet ing of experts was arranged for November. 1897. The American offer to suspend seal-killing for a year meantime, provided „the Canadian Gov ernment would prevent pelagic sealing, was re fused, unless the Canadian vessels received com pensation. Congress retaliated by prohibiting sealskin importation unless the skins were from the Pribylor Islands. The rapid depletion of the herd that had taken place was claimed by the British experts to be due to unscientific killing on the islands. Meanwhile, in accordance with the treaty of 1896. a eommission in 1897 had assessed the damages to Canadian ship-owners by reason of American seizures at $473,151.26. uhffgl Ni as accepted by Congress and was paid in the following year. The whole question was finally referred to the Anglo-American Com mission, which had reached no conclusion upon its indefinite adjournment in February, 18911. because of the deaths of Lord Herschel and Mr. Dingley. All efforts to restrict the wholesale de struction of seals have thus far proved unavail ing. and the species bids fair to be exterminated. Consult: Henderson, American. Diplomatic Ques tions (New York, 1901) ; Snow, Treaties and Topics in American Diplomacy (Boston, 1894) ; and Stanton. The Bering Sea Controversy (New York, 1892 ) .