Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1894
Mr. Gresham to Mr. Bayard.
Washington, October 26, 1893.
Sir: I inclose for your information a copy of the contract between the United States and the North American Commercial Company, which enjoys the exclusive right of taking fur seals upon the Pribilof Islands; also extracts from the instructions, dated May 2, 1892, and April 22, 1893, sent to the special agent in charge of the islands in relation to the number of seals to be taken under the modus vivendi between the United States and Great Britain.
I am, etc.,
Copy of contract between the United States and the Worth American Commercial Company, under which said company is granted the exclusive right of taking fur seals upon the Pribilof Islands in Alaska.
This indenture, made in duplicate this twelfth day of March, 1890, by and between William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, in pursuance of chapter 3 of title 23, Revised Statutes, and the North American Commercial Company, a corporation duly established under the laws of the State of California, and acting by [Page 123] I. Liebes, its president, in accordance with a resolution of said corporation adopted at a meeting of its board of directors held January 4, 1890:
Witnesseth: That the said Secretary of the Treasury, in consideration of the agreements hereinafter stated, hereby leases to the said North American Commercial Company for a term of twenty years, from the first day of May, 1890, the exclusive right to engage in the business of taking fur seals on the Islands of St. George and St. Paul in the Territory of Alaska, and to send a vessel or vessels to said islands for the skins of such seals.
The said North American Commercial Company, in consideration of the rights secured to it under this lease above stated, on its part covenants and agrees to do the things following, that is to say:
To pay to the Treasurer of the United States each year during the said term of twenty years, as annual rental, the sum of sixty thousand dollars, and in addition thereto agrees to pay the revenue tax, or duty, of two dollars laid upon each fur-seal skin taken and shipped by it from said Islands of St. George and St. Paul, and also to pay to said Treasurer the further sum of seven dollars sixty-two and one-half cents apiece for each and every fur-seal skin taken and shipped from said islands, and also to pay the sum of fifty cents per gallon for each gallon of oil sold by it made from seals that may be taken on said islands during the said period of twenty years, and to secure the prompt payment of the sixty thousand dollars rental above referred to, the said company agrees to deposit with the Secretary of the Treasury bonds of the United States to the amount of fifty thousand dollars, face value, to be held as a guarantee for the annual payment of said sixty thousand dollars rental, the interest thereon when due to be collected and paid to the North American Commercial Company, provided the said company is not in default of payment of any part of the said sixty thousand dollars rental.
That it will furnish to the native inhabitants of said Islands of St. George and St. Paul annually such quantity or number of dried salmon, and such quantity of salt and such number of salt barrels for preserving their necessary supply of meat as the Secretary of the Treasury shall from time to time determine.
That it will also furnish to the said inhabitants eighty tons of coal annually, and a sufficient number of comfortable dwellings in which said native inhabitants may reside; and will keep said dwellings in proper repair; and will also provide and keep in repair such Suitable schoolhouses as may be necessary, and will establish and maintain during eight months of each year proper schools for the education of the children on said islands; the same to be taught by competent teachers, who shall be paid by the company a fair compensation, all to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury; and will also provide and maintain a suitable house for religious worship; and will also provide a competent physician or physicians, and necessary and proper medicines and medical supplies; and will also provide the necessaries of life for the widows and orphans and aged and infirm inhabitants of said islands who are unable to provide for themselves; all of which foregoing agreements will be done and performed by the said company free of all costs and charges to said native inhabitants of said islands or to the United States.
The annual rental, together with all other payments to the United States, provided for in this lease, shall be made and paid on or before [Page 124] the first day of April of each and every year during the existence of this lease, beginning with the first day of April, 1891.
The said company further agrees to employ the native inhabitants of said islands to perform such labor upon the islands as they are fitted to perform, and to pay therefor a fair and just compensation, such as may be fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury; and also agrees to contribute, as far as in its power, all reasonable efforts to secure the comfort, health, education, and promote the morals and civilization of said native inhabitants.
The said company also agrees faithfully to obey and abide by all rules and regulations that the Secretary of the Treasury has heretofore or may hereafter establish or make in pursuance of law concerning the taking of seals on said islands, and concerning the comfort, morals, and other interests of said inhabitants, and all matters pertaining to said islands and the taking of seals within the possession of the United States. It also agrees to obey and abide by any restrictions or limitations upon the right to kill seals that the Secretary of the Treasury shall judge necessary, under the law, for the preservation of the seal fisheries of the United States; and it agrees that it will not kill, or permit to be killed, so far as it can prevent, in any year a greater number of seals than is authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury.
The said company further agrees that it will not permit any of its agents to keep, sell, give, or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors or opium on either of said islands or the waters adjacent thereto to any of the native inhabitants of said islands, such person not being a physician and furnishing the same for use as a medicine.
It is understood and agreed that the number of fur seals to be taken and killed for their skins upon said islands by the North American Commercial Company during the year ending May 1st, 1891, shall not exceed sixty thousand.
The Secretary of the Treasury reserves the right to terminate this lease and all rights of the North American Commercial Company under the same at any time on full and satisfactory proof that the said company has violated any of the provisions and agreements of this lease, or in any of the laws of the United States, or any Treasury regulation respecting the taking of fur seals or concerning the Islands of St. George and St. Paul or the inhabitants thereof.
In witness whereof, the parties hereto have set their hands and Seals the day and year above written.
Secretary of the Treasury
North American Commercial Company.
By
President of the Worth American Commercial Company
{North American Commercial Company, incorporated December, 1889.}
Attest:
Treasury instructions to agents in charge of Seal Islands.
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, D. C., May 2, 1892.
Sir: As already advised by telegram, you will proceed at once to the Seal Islands as “Treasury agent in charge,” taking passage for that purpose either on the U. S. revenue steamer Bear, which leaves Port Town send on or about May 7, or the Alaska Commercial Company’s steamer Bertha, which leaves San Francisco about the same date.
Upon your arrival at the islands you will assume charge of the interests and property of the Government, and as its representative you will see to it that the authority with which you are invested is respected in all quarters.
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Modus vivendi.—You will find inclosed a copy of the modus vivendi between the United States and Great Britain, which you will see goes into force May 1, 1892, and continues while the arbitration is pending, unless otherwise provided for after October 31, 1893.
Foreign agents.—You will observe that the modus (Art. II) permits the landing on the islands of British agents. In accordance with the international agreement you will permit such duly accredited persons to land for the purposes indicated in the modus.
Your attention is called to the unfortunate representations made to Lord Salisbury last year by the British commissioners. Their statements concerning the alleged violation of the modus in the matter of seal killing were based upon their misinterpretation of the terms of the modus and their misunderstanding of the facts. Especial effort should be made, therefore, to present with exceeding clearness any fact that you may deem necessary or proper to communicate to any British official visiting either island. All affidavits obtained by such agents from the natives or other persons on the island must be taken in the presence of a Government officer, and the foreign agents must conform to such rules of conduct concerning the rookeries as are required of citizens of the United States.
Seat quota.—It is essential to the carrying out of the modus that all seals taken for their skins be killed under the direction of the Government agent. No quota has therefore been assigned the North American Commercial Company. As the limit to be killed for all purposes during the season of 1892 is fixed by international agreement at 7,500, you will so adjust the killing as to provide for a fresh-meat supply for the natives throughout the season. As under the terms of the lease all skins taken will ultimately be turned over to the North American Commercial Company, you will confer with the agent of the lessees as to the kind of skins desired, and request his cooperation in selecting them.
The number of seals to be killed on each island will be in about the proportion of former years, unless, in your judgment, there should be made some modification of the ratio.
Killing season.—The killing season will begin as soon after your arrival as in your judgment the rookeries are in proper condition for driving, and the period for taking seals is left entirely to your discretion, [Page 126] with the exception that no seals are to be taken during the stagy season, which embraces the time between August 10 and September 30.
Driving of seals.—As the perpetuation of seal life has always been and is now the paramount concern of the Government, and is also of the greatest interest to all persons connected with the seal industry, you will take especial care that no methods are permitted in the driving, killing, or general handling of the seals which in your opinion would directly or remotely be injurious to them or in any way jeopardize even in the slightest degree the increase of the seal herd.
Killing of pups.—It was the custom in former years to permit the killing in the fall of a certain number of young seals for the natives food and clothing. As the skins are not now used for the latter purpose, and as the carcass furnishes not more than 8 pounds of meat when dressed, the value of the food supply thus contributed is not commensurate with the destructive effect which the killing of pups has upon the seal herd. No killing of pups during the coming year will therefore be permitted.
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Respectfully, yours,
- Charles Foster, Secretary.
- Maj. W. H. Williams,
United States Treasury Agent.
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, D. C., April 26, 1893.
Sir: Having been appointed Treasury agent in charge of the Seal Islands in Alaska, you are directed to proceed to San Francisco, Cal., so as to arrive there as early as the 10th proximo, and to take passage on the first available conveyance to the islands.
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Copy of the modus vivendi between the United States and Great Britain is also inclosed for your information, which you will observe continues in force pending the arbitration of the Bering Sea question, unless otherwise provided for after October 31, 1893.
In accordance with the provisions of the modus vivendi the number of seals to be taken during the season of 1893 will be limited to 7,500. In taking this number you will permit no seals to be killed except those yielding good merchantable skins. The killing of pup seals for food for the natives or any purpose will not be permitted.
The killing season will begin as soon after your arrival as in your judgment the rookeries are in proper condition for driving, and the time for taking seals is left to your discretion, with the exception that no seals are to be taken during the stagy period, which is understood to be the period between the 10th of August and the 30th of September. It is believed that if the killing should be confined between the 1st of June and the 10th of August a better quality of skins would be obtained, and less injury would be done to the rookeries. This matter is, however, left, as above stated, to your discretion, and in reference thereto you will confer fully with the representative of the company, [Page 127] its interests and those of the Government in the preservation of the fur seal industry being indentical.
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Respectfully, yours,
- C. S. Hamlin, Acting Secretary.
- Mr. Joseph B. Crowley,
Special Agent in Charge of Seal Islands,
Washington, D. C.