Show THAT HUMILIATION The DEMOCRAT recently alluded to the great fear which the naval editor of the morning Republican organ expressed of another national humiliation as the result re-sult of the seizure by a revenue cutter of two English schooners while killing seals in Alaskan waters and plainly pointed out that the humiliation incident to the seizure would be in the sanctum of said organ The New York Sun of the 30th nit has the following on the subject The section of the Revised Statutes under which these seizures are made was framed I in the interest and for the protection of the Governments tenant in the Seal Islands the Alaska Commercial Company No person shall kill any otter marten mink sable or fur seal or other furbearing animal within the limits of Alaska Territory Terri-tory or within the waters thereof and every person guilty thereof shall for each offense be fined no less than 200 nor more than 1000 or imprisoned not more than six months or both and all vessels their tackle apparel furniture and cargo found engaged m violation of this seection shall he forfeited What are the waters of Alaska Territory This phrase together with the phrase and the adjacent waters occurs frequently in the laws relating to Alaska These laws and the Executive orders based thereon rest upon the treaty of 1807 by which we acquired Alaska from lliiasia The western boundaries of that purchase are thus defined in the treaty The western limit within which the territories ter-ritories and dominion conveyed are con tained passes through a point in Behrinps Straits on the parallel of 65 degrees 30 minutes min-utes north latitude at its intersection by the meridian which passes midway between the island of Krusenstern or Ignalook and the island of Ratmanoff or Nunarbook and proceeds duo north without limitation into the Frozen Ocean The same western limit beginning at the same initial point proceeds thence in a course nearly southwest through Behriugs Straits and Behrines Sea so as to stop midway mid-way between the northwest point of the is land of St Lawrence and the southeast point of Cape Ohoukotski to the meridian of 172 west longitude thence from the intersection inter-section of that meridian in a southwesterly direction so as to pass midway between the island of Attou and the Copper Island of the Komandorski couplet or group in the North Pacific Ocean to the meridian of 193 degrees west longitude so as to include in the territory conveyed the whole of the Aleutian Islands east of thnt mnrirKnn The English schooners were taking seals within the limits herein named and under the law governing Captain Abbey he could not do otherwise than seize them The Sun asks the following questions But will Great Britain orany other foreign Power except Russia recognize our right to exercise dominion over this vast ocean re gion in the North Pacific Will any foreign Power recognize Russias right in the first instance to convey the greater part of Beh rings sea to the United States by sale If under international law we have the right to prohibit British fishermen from taking fur seals one hundred and twenty milesfrom land have we not the same right to prohibit British or Norwegian whalers from taking whales within the same seas The answer is plainly no The whole Territory of Alaska was bought by the United States solely for its value as a fishing station for seals and its price was set having the returns from that industry in view and at the time of sale and purchase pur-chase the country had no other recompensing recom-pensing value for the money paid hence to enter these forbidden bounds and kill seals before they could get to land where they are always takenor rather on the ice skirting the landwould be to rob the Americans of the only source of profit which passed to them in the transfer of the Territory and even the naval editor of the morning organ will not say that would be right We repeat that humi sanctum liation will be in our contemi > orarys I |