Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 189l. Behring Straits.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 13 January 1891, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1891. Behring Straits.

As the cable news is trying to get up an excitement about the dispute between England and America as to the rights of sealing in Behring Straits, a little information on the subject will be nseful. Not much over 100 years ago the sealing ground was discovered, after a thi'ee years search, by a Russian mate, who loyally took possession of it in the name of his country, calling the island St. George, after the vessel that took him there. The islands are known collectively as the Pribylov islands, but St. George and St. Paul, a little over thirty miles from St. George, are the seal islands. The Straits run between Alaska, a territory north of Vancouver, and Siberia, and connect the Behring sea with the Arctic sea. The trade of Ala-ska gradually dvilted into the hands of the Americans, and in 1867 the Russians sold it. to the Uuited

States with all its islands. Alaska is a vast territory, as large as France, y Spain, and the British Islands all ( combined. The Pribyloy Islands ) are not a large portion of the territory, as collectively they cto Hot ex- } ceed seventy square miles. The , whole Value is given them by the i seals, and this is described as the only spot where fur seals ftre" itow < found in theiy rtriginai or even in- , creaSefl numbers. ! After the sale by the Russians, two ! Americans soon appeared upon the ] grouud, and they formed the Alaska ' Commercial Company and secured ! a lease of the sealing grounds, Which i expired last year-. They had to ptty the Government a royalty of two and ( a half dollars for every skin, and ; were restricted to 100J000 skins a year. The company has had a good time, and the restriction has been useful in letting 1 the seals increase, it is said that iioav there are other breeding grounds established, away fvora the influence oi tile Company. This may have a great deal to do with the attempts -made by the Americans to claim over areas that are beyond their control. They have stocked other islands and no doubt it is annoying to them to view the efforts they have me de to preserve this industry, shared by others. It is satisfactory to learn that the whole claims will go to arbitration, which is far better than to kill thousands of men to secure the right to kill tens of thousands of seals.