Show THE depredations IN AN WATERS A LITTLE breeze has been created between the united states and england over the alaska seal question quest iOB tiie the whole of that district and the adjacent islands which comprise the greater part of the sealing waters of the world beloat to this country by right of purchase from russia and nd consequently it has the right to exclude individuals or nations from the profits accruing to that class of business which it has all along endeavored to do but predatory vessels belon belonging gc on tile the other side of the atlantic a and which fly the british flag when they fly one at all have been tempted into repeated violations of american rights and the amenities which should exist between friendly nations by making of the alaskan waters a common rendezvous lor for purposes of unlawful plunder up to the present time the seals are the principal sources of discovered wealth in our northern possessions I gold and silver have been found in paying quantities and the indications are that in a short time the output of buth will be considerable there is also plenty of timber but the inclemency of the weather the greater part of the year has prevented anything like an organized effort being made to utilize source but the seals are not only superior to all otlyn otar present considerations in point of value but immensely so A Aseal sealskin is worth from froin to and aad when a vessel in a short cruise can take from to the enormity ot 01 the spoliation of which our government is the victim can be seen at a glance to thit this should be added the lac t that seals are nt not like fish existing innumerably and inexhaustibly they are rather similar to the buffalo numerous yet but growing perceptibly less with each recurring season in fact the field is so circumscribed and themselves so accessible that their total number in alaskan waters has been approximately given and of course the work q 0 enumeration will be a lighter task next year than this and so on it is not howe seals that are taken and skinned which alone causes tile the rapid diminution in their numbers though heavy enough it is the additional and weightier fact that not more than one out of halt hall a dozen anat is struck and either killed or fatally wounded i is captured to multiply the number of skins on board a vessel by six therefore would about fairly represent the amount of destruction st it has occasioned ou one trip this swells the subject to such proportions as justify more severe me measures agures la in dealing with the semi piratical craft than the united states piratical gira has as ever yet adopted the principal hardship to which their owners and other interested parties have yet been subjected is the seizure of the ahe ship and the confiscation of its unlawful cargo this would seem to be pretty severe to take the profits after the offenders had done all the work but it is not severe e enough to te check it in fact it is just hard enough to impart to the business sufficient risk to whet the edge of an adventurous disposition and in this way to indirectly encourage it the object should not be as we do not think it is to merely avail the country of the profits accruing from the business as great as they are but to put a check check upon the ruthless devastation among and threatened extinction of a useful and wealth producing animal the killing must not be indiscriminately engaged in but confined to those who have authority to carry it on and even they must be restricted to certain times methods and numbers ba hamiag vi g due regard for the habits of the te seal e its rate of increase etc and gauging the destruction so that it may not it i poss possible iOle exceed the crea clodi the govern mem has found it necessary to keep two or three armed cruisers at a great expense constantly in that portion of the pacific ocean lying south and east of the behring bearing sea to act as police craft in the prevention prevent ioa of unlawful sealing and the e capture of vessels which have bave eluded their vigilance they have done good work this summer several thousand skins having been recaptured but no punishment of any consequence by dav of example or otherwise has been inflicted upon the guilty marauders ra and yet a murmur of complaint comes from beyond the eastern sea because of the seizures eves even an investigation and settlement are to take place and perhaps it will be a good thing for both powers if they make a thorough and complete job or of it now that we are going into the fisheries disputes in a formal and perhaps final manner let all branches of the family that have ever figured in the difficulties be discussed and the question of ef their ownership disposed of and while they are at it let the measure and nature of punishment fo fot depredations which should be promptly meted out be agre agreed dupon upon tile the best time to dispute is when the disputants are friendly this often obviates disputing as enemies |