Mr. Sherman to Mr. Hay.
Washington, November 22, 1897.
Sir: I transmit you herewith the protocols of the conference of the seal experts of the United States, Great Britain, and Canada recently held in this city.
The results of the conference will be found in the “conclusions” on pages 15 to 19. You will observe that these “conclusions” substantially confirm the facts contended for by the Government of the United States since the regulations of the Paris Tribunal went into operation. It therein appears that the seal herd of the Pribilof Islands shows a decrease from year to year from 1884 (when the effects of pelagic sealing first began to appear) up to 1897; that the herd has diminished to [Page 320] one-third (the British concession) or one-fifth (the American contention) of its former size; that a notable decrease has been suffered during the last year; that this decrease has been brought about by the excessive killing of females; that the proportion of females to males taken in pelagic sealing is from 62 to 84 per cent; that while the herd is not threatened with actual (biological) extermination so long as it is protected on the islands, in its present reduced condition it is neither profitable to the lessees nor the pelagic sealers—in other words, its commercial extermination has been reached, that the method of killing on the islands is fully approved, and that a large number of males may be taken with impunity from the herd.
Respectfully, yours,