In 1725
Capt. Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator in the service of Peter the
Great, discovered the sea which bears his name, and in 1741 he made an imperfect exploration of a portion of the
Alaskan coast.
By virtue of these discoveries, the Emperor Paul of
Russia, in 1799, assumed the sovereignty over the
American coast as far south as lat. 55°, and formally annexed that part of the continent to the
Russian domains.
In 1867
Russian America was purchased by the United States government for $7,200,000. The only wealth of the country known at that time was its fur-producing animals, particularly the fur-seals of the coasts and islands, and it was for this mainly that the purchase was made.
The officials who conducted the transaction were not mistaken in their estimates of the revenue to be derived from this source, for during the twenty years which followed the seal-fisheries paid into the national treasury a rental which exceeded the purchase-price of the territory by $6,350,000. That
Bering Sea, with its islands, was the exclusive property of
Russia for the sixty-eight years of her domination in
Alaska had never been questioned, and that the
United States, by purchase, succeeded to the same rights of possession no one could, it would be supposed, deny.
About 1886, however, some ship-owners in
British Columbia began to encroach upon these rights by sending vessels into the sea to intercept the seals as they made their annual migration to their breeding-grounds on the
Pribyloff Islands.
This unlawful poaching and the unregulated pelagic sealing were carried on to such an extent that in 1890 the
Canadian intruders secured 20,000 skins.
As very many of the seals thus taken were females, and their young were left to perish for want of sustenance, the actual number destroyed was far in excess of the number of skins, and the extinction of the entire species was threatened.
At this juncture a
United States revenue-cutter captured one of the poaching vessels.
The seizure became at once the subject of correspondence between the
British government and the State Department at
Washington.
Secretary Blaine urged that illicit sealing was a pursuit contra bonos mores, against international comity; and he argued against the claim of Lord Salisbury, who had asserted that
Bering Sea could not be mare clausum under any circumstances.
The British premier declined to recognize the claims of the
United States, although he expressed regret at the “wanton destruction of a valuable industry,” and asked that the right of the
United States to
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seize the
Canadian vessels be submitted to a court of arbitration.
While this correspondence was going on the poachers continued their depredations, and the number of seals was so materially reduced that in 1891 not more than one-fourth of the usual number of pelts were taken by the legally authorized sealers.
An agreement was finally entered into to submit the matter to a court of arbitration, composed of commissioners selected by the two governments.
The questions at issue to be decided by this court were as follows:
1. What exclusive jurisdiction in
Bering Sea did
Russia exercise prior to the cession of
Alaska?
2. To what extent was this jurisdiction, especially as regarded the seal fisheries, recognized by
Great Britain:
3. Was the
Bering Sea included in the phrase “Pacific
Grean” in the Anglo-
Russian treaty of 1825; and what rights did
Russia exercise in the
Bering Sea after the treaty?
4. Did not all the
Russian rights in the fisheries east of the water boundary pass to the
United States when the treaty was ratified by which she acquired possession of the
territory of Alaska?
5. What right of protection of property has the
United States in the seals frequenting
United States islands, when found outside the ordinary 3-mile limit?
Pending the decision of the case by arbitration, an agreement was entered into between the two governments, June 15, 1891, providing:
1. That
Great Britain shall use her best efforts to prohibit sealing by her subjects in
Bering Sea until May, 1892.
2. That the
United States shall limit the number of seals to he taken by the North American Commercial Company to 7,500 per year, and shall not permit more to be taken previous to the date above given.
3. That offending vessels outside the territorial limits of the
United States may be seized by either of the contracting parties; and,
4. That British agents may visit or remain on the islands during the present season to make such observations as may be necessary for the proper presentation of the case to the court of arbitration.
Expert agents were appointed by each government to visit the localities under dispute, and make a thorough investigation of the material facts.
A treaty was signed at
Washington, Feb. 29, 1892, providing for the settlement by arbitration of the vexed seal question.
The treaty was ratified in
London, and the arbitrators met in
Paris; they were Lord Hannen,
Sir John Thompson,
Justice Harlan,
United States Senator Morgan,
Baron de Courcelles,
M. Gregero Gram, and
Marquis Visconti Venosta.
The decision of the tribunal was rendered Aug. 15, 1893.
The findings of the arbitrators were:
Russia never claimed exclusive rights; (
Great Britain had not conceded any claim of
Russia to exclusive jurisdiction;
Bering Sea was included in the Pacific Ocean in the treaty of 1825: all
Russian rights Passed to the
United States; the
United States have no rights when seals are outside the 3-mile limit.
Restrictive regulations were also adopted: proclaiming a closed season from May 1 to July 31 in
Bering Sea and the
North Pacific; establishing a protected zone within 60 miles of the
Pribyloff Islands; forbidding steam-vessels, use of nets, fire-arms, and explosives.
The award was regarded as a compromise, in which the
United States was technically defeated, but acquired substantial advantages in the regulations.
The complaints came mainly from Can ada. See
Bering sea arbitration.
In 1894, the year following the signing of this treaty, more seals were slaughtered by poachers than ever before.
The
United States again asked
England to interfere against the
Canadian poachers, but that country refused to act unless the
United States should pay
Great Britain $500,000 in discharge of all claims for damages resulting from alleged illegal seizures of British vessels in
Bering Sea.
The
United States denied the justice of this claim, hut after another year of seal slaughter, agreed to submit the claim to arbitration In July, 1896,
Judge G. E. King, of
Canada, and
Judge W. E. Putnam, of the
United States, were chosen commissioners to settle the matter.
On Jan. 14, 1898.
President McKinley submitted to Congress the report and awards of the commission, the last aggregating $473,151 in favor of
Great Britain, and on June 14 Congress appropriated
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that amount.
In the mean time (June, 189）6)
President Cleveland appointed a commission to make an exhaustive study of the fur-seal question, and on its report (1897)
president McKinley appointed a new commission to devise protection for the seals.
Then efforts were made to induce
Great Britain to consent to an international conference, but
Canada objected to the representation of
Russia and
Japan, whom the
United States had invited, and on this objection
Great Britain declined.
Subsequently the
United States invited all interested nations to a conference separately.
See
Anglo-American commission.
Bering sea arbitration 
