Office of the Historian

Mr. Bayard to Mr. Olney.

Embassy of the United States,
London, November 26, 1895 (Received Dec. 7.)
No. 541.]

Sir: To-day I obtained copies of a royal order in council, of November 21st instant, regulating the capture of seals in the zones of Bering Sea contiguous to the Russian coasts and islands, together with a definition of the mutual powers of Russian and British officers in relation to such seal captures.

I have now the honor to inclose herewith the copies above referred to.

I have, etc.,

T. F. Bayard.
[Inclosure in No. 541.]

Royal order in council regulating the capture of seals, etc.

At the court at Windsor, the 21st day of November, 1895.

Present, the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, Lord President, Lord Privy Seal, Marquess of Lansdowne.

Whereas by “the seal fisheries (North Pacific) act, 1895,” it is enacted that Her Majesty the Queen may by order in council prohibit, during the period specified by the order, the catching of seals by British ships in such parts of the seas to which that act applies as are specified by the order; and that for carrying into effect an arrangement with any foreign State an order in council may provide that the powers under the act of any commissioned officer on full pay in the naval service of Her Majesty the Queen may, subject to any limitations, conditions, modifications, and exceptions specified in the order, be exercised in relation to a British ship, and the equipment, crew, and certificate thereof, by such officers of the said foreign State as are specified in the order, and that any such order may contain any limitations, conditions, modifications, and exceptions which appear to Her Majesty in council expedient for carrying into effect the object of that act;

And whereas the said act applies to the seas within that part of the Pacific Ocean known as Behring Sea, and within such other parts of the North Pacific Ocean as are north of the forty-second parallel of north latitude;

And whereas an arrangement has been made between Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the Emperor of Russia whereby British ships engaged in hunting seals within such parts of the said seas as are hereinafter specified may be seized by Russian cruisers;

And whereas Her Majesty was pleased, by and with the advice of her privy council, on the 24th day of August, 1895, to make an order in council as a provisional order within the meaning of the rules publication act, 1893;

And whereas the provisions of the rules publication act, 1893, have been complied with:

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in virtue of the powers vested in her by the said first-recited act, and of all other powers enabling her in that behalf, is hereby pleased, by and with the advice of her privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:

1.
From and after the date of the present order, until Her Majesty in council shall otherwise direct, the catching of seals by British ships is hereby prohibited within such parts of the seas to which the recited act applies as are comprised within the following zones (in |his order referred to as “the prohibited zones”), that is to say:
(1)
A zone of ten marine miles on all the Russian coasts of Behring Sea and the North Pacific Ocean; and
(2)
A zone of thirty marine miles round the Kormandorsky Islands and Tulenew (Robben Island).
2.
The powers under the recited act of a commissioned officer on full pay in the naval service of Her Majesty may be exercised in relation to a British ship, and the equipment, crew, and certificate thereof by the captain or other officer in command of any war vessel of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia (hereinafter referred to as an “authorized Russian officer”), but subject to the limitations, conditions, modifications, and exceptions following, that is to say:
(1)
The said powers shall not be exercised by an authorized Russian officer, except in relation to British ships engaged in hunting seals within either of the prohibited zones.
(2)
A British ship shall not be liable to seizure or detention by an authorized Russian officer by reason of the contravention of any regulations made under section 2 of the recited act.
(3)
The powers under section 3 of the recited act of detaining any portion of the equipment or any of the crew, and the powers under section 4 of giving a provisional certificate in lieu of a ship’s certificate which is seized and retained, or of indorsing on a certificate the grounds on which it was, seized, and of directing the ship to proceed forthwith to a specified port, shall not be exercised in relation to a British ship by an authorized Russian officer.
(4)
Where an authorized Russian officer in exercise of the said powers stops and examines and detains a British ship or her certificate of registry, he shall as soon as possible hand over the ship, or deliver or transmit the certificate, as the case may be, either to the commanding officer of a British cruiser or to the nearest British authority, as defined by this order, and shall then, or within a reasonable time thereafter, satisfy such officer or authority that there were reasonable grounds for the detention or seizure, and that the case is proper to be adjudicated in a British court, and also furnish to such officer or authority the evidence sufficient, in the opinion of such officer or authority, for such adjudication; and if the said Russian officer fails to satisfy such officer or authority, or to furnish to such officer or authority such sufficient evidence as aforesaid, the said officer or authority may release the ship.
3.
(1) Where the commanding officer of a British cruiser receives a British ship from an authorized Russian officer, and is satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for the detention or seizure, and that the case is proper to be adjudicated in a British court, he may exercise the powers conferred by section 4 of the recited act as if he had himself stopped and examined and detained the ship, and that section shall apply accordingly.
(2) Where the commanding officer of a British cruiser, or a British authority, receives a British ship from an authorized Russian officer, and sends the case for adjudication in a British court, he shall, for the purposes of section 76 of “the merchant shipping act, 1894,” be deemed to have himself seized or detained the said ship.
4.
For the purposes of this order the expression “British authority” means any officer of customs in Her Majesty’s dominions, and any British consular officer having authority as such in any port or place.
5.
“The seal fishery (North Pacific) order in council, 1894,” is hereby revoked, without prejudice to anything done or suffered under that order.
6.
This order may be cited as “the seal fisheries (North Pacific) order in council, 1895.”

And the most honorable the Marquess of Salisbury, K. G., and the right honourable Joseph Chamberlain, two of Her Majesty’s principal secretaries of state, and the lords commissioners of the admiralty, are to give the necessary directions herein as to them respectively appertain.

C. L. Peel.