Mr. Gresham to Mr. Bayard.
Washington, October 18, 1893.
Sir: I have to acknowledge receipt of your dispatch of the 30th of September, in reply to letters I addressed to you on the 13th and 19th of the same month, in which you say that on Lord Roseberys return to London you will continue your effort to obtain adequate action on the award of the Paris Tribunal.
[Page 121]I have had an interview with the President and the Secretary of the Treasury on that part of your letter in which you state:
“To suspend wholly, even for a single year, the seal catch on the islands might be highly prejudicial to the United States or their lessees, and as in the provisional or temporary arrangement of May, 1893, between Russia and Great Britain, a limit of 30,000 seals on the Russian islands was agreed to, it would seem a very reasonable figure to adopt for the catch on the Pribilof Islands, whose product has been supposed to be about double that of the Russian islands. I would respectfully ask for an expression of your views on this subject, and how far we ought to go in restricting the seal catch on these islands.”
After again consulting with the President and Secretary Carlisle upon this subject to-morrow the desired instructions will be sent to you.
I inclose herewith, for your information, copy of a note which I sent to the British ambassador at Newport on the 13th instant, informing him that the President would adhere to his purpose of having you conduct the negotiations at London for concurrent action to make the award and recommendations of the Paris Tribunal effective.
I am, etc.,