Page images
PDF
EPUB

Sec. 2.

Sec. 3.

Sec. 4.

part, abolished or modified by common agreement between
the governments of the United States and of Great Britain.
The said concurrent regulations shall be submitted every
five years to a new examination, so as to enable both inter-
ested
governments to consider whether, in the light of past
experience, there is occasion for any modification thereof.
Now therefore, be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That no citizen of the United States, or person
owing the duty of obedience to the laws or the treaties of
the United States, nor any person belonging to or on board
of a vessel of the United States, shall kill, capture, or
pursue, at any time, or in any manner whatever, outside of
territorial waters, any fur seal in the waters surrounding
the Pribilov Islands within a zone of sixty geographical
miles (sixty to a degree of latitude) around said islands,
inclusive of the territorial waters.

No citizen of the United States, or person above described in section one of this act, nor any person belonging to or on board of a vessel of the United States, shall kill, capture, or pursue, in any manner whatever, during the season extending from the first day of May to the thirty-first day of July, both inclusive, in each year, any fur seal on the high seas outside of the zone mentioned in section one, and in that part of the Pacific Ocean, including Behring Sea, which is situated to the north of the thirtyfifth degree of north latitude and to the east of the one hundred and eightieth degree of longitude from Greenwich till it strikes the water boundary described in article one of the treaty of eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, between the United States and Russia, and following that line up to Behring Straits.

No citizen of the United States or person above described, in the first section of this Act, shall, during the period and in the waters in which by section two of this Act the killing of fur seals is not prohibited, use or employ any vessel, nor shall any vessel of the United States be used or employed, in carrying on or taking part in fur-seal fishing operations, other than a sailing vessel propelled by sails exclusively, and such canoes or undecked boats, propelled by paddles, oars, or sails as may belong to, and be used in connection with, such sailing vessels; nor shall any sailing vessel carry on or take part in such operations without a special license obtained from the Government for that purpose, and without carrying a distinctive flag prescribed by the Government for the same purpose.

Every master of a vessel licensed under this act to engage in fur-seal fishing operations shall accurately enter in his official log book the date and place of every such operation, and also the number and sex of the seals captured each day; and on coming into port, and before landing cargo, the master shall verify, on oath, such official log book as containing a full and true statement of the number

and character of his fur-seal fishing operations, including the number and sex of seals captured; and for any false statement willfully made by a person so licensed by the United States in this behalf he shall be subject to the penalties of perjury; and any seal skins found in excess of the statement in the official log book shall be forfeited to the United States.

No person or vessel engaging in fur-seal fishing operations under this Act shall use or employ in any such operations, any net, firearm, airgun, or explosive: Provided however, That this prohibition shall not apply to the use of shotguns in such operations outside of Behring Sea during the season when the killing of fur seals is not there prohibited by this Act.

Sec. 5.

The foregoing sections of this act shall not apply to Sec. 6. Indians dwelling on the coast of the United States, and taking fur seals in canoes or undecked boats propelled wholly by paddles, oars, or sails, and not transported by or used in connection with other vessels, or manned by more than five persons, in the manner heretofore practiced by the said Indians: Provided, however, That the exception made in this section shall not apply to Indians in the employment of other persons, or who shall kill, capture, or pursue fur seals outside of territorial waters under contract to deliver the skins to other persons, nor to the waters of Behring Sea or of the passes between the Aleutian Islands.

The President shall have power to make regulations respecting the special license and the distinctive flag mentioned in this Act and regulations otherwise suitable to secure the due execution of the provisions of this act, and from time to time to add to, modify, amend, or revoke such regulations, as in his judgment may seem expedient.

Except in the case of a master making a false statement under oath in violation of the provisions of the fourth section of this Act, every person guilty of a violation of the provisions of this Act, or of the regulations made thereunder, shall for each offense be fined not less than two hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than six months, or both; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, at any time used or employed in violation of this Act, or of the regulations made thereunder, shall be forfeited to the United States.

Sec. 7.

Sec. 8.

Any violation of this Act, or of the regulations made Sec. 9. thereunder, may be prosecuted either in the district court of Alaska or in any district court of the United States in California, Oregon, or Washington.

If any unlicensed vessel of the United States shall be Sec. 10. found within the waters to which this Act applies, and at a time when the killing of fur seals is by this Act there prohibited, having on board seal skins or bodies of seals, or apparatus, or implements suitable for killing or taking seals; or if any licensed vessel shall be found in the waters 14317-03-17

Sec. 11.

Sec. 12.

R. S., 1956.
Mar. 3, 1899.
Sec. 173.

Feb. 14, 1903.
Sec. 7.

to which this Act applies, having on board apparatus or implements suitable for taking seals, but forbidden then and there to be used, it shall be presumed that the vessel in the one case and the apparatus or implements in the other was or were used in violation of this Act until it is otherwise sufficiently proved.

It shall be the duty of the President to cause a sufficient naval force to cruise in the waters to which this Act is applicable to enforce its provisions, and it shall be the duty of the commanding officer of any vessel belonging to the naval or revenue service of the United States, when so instructed by the President, to seize and arrest all vessels of the United States found by him to be engaged, used, or employed in the waters last aforesaid in violation of any of the prohibitions of this Act, or of any regulations made thereunder, and to take the same, with all persons on board thereof, to the most convenient port in any district of the United States mentioned in this Act, there to be dealt with according to law.

Any vessel or citizen of the United States, or person described in the first section of this Act, offending against the prohibitions of this Act or the regulations thereunder, may be seized and detained by the naval or other duly commissioned officers of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, but when so seized and detained they shall be delivered as soon as practicable, with any witnesses and proofs on board, to any naval or revenue officer or other authorities of the United States, whose courts alone shall have jurisdiction to try the offense and impose the penalties for the same: Provided, however, That British officers shall arrest and detain vessels and persons as in this section specified only after, by appropriate legislation, Great Britain shall have authorized officers of the United States duly commissioned and instructed by the President to that end to arrest, detain, and deliver to the authorities of Great Britain vessels and subjects of that Government offending against any statutes or regulations of Great Britain enacted or made to enforce the award of the treaty mentioned in the title of this Act.

310. Provisions of Revised Statutes.

No person shall kill any otter, mink, marten, sable, or fur-seal, or other fur-bearing animal within the limits of Alaska Territory, or in the waters thereof; and every person guilty thereof shall, for each offense, be fined not less than two hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than six months, or both; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, furniture and cargo, found engaged in violation of this section shall be forfeited; but the Secretary of the Treasury shall have power to authorize the killing of any such mink, marten, sable, or other furbearing animal, except fur-seals, under such regulation as he may prescribe; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to prevent the killing of any fur

seal, and to provide for the execution of the provisions of this section until it is otherwise provided by law; nor shall he grant special privileges under this section.

Section nineteen hundred and fifty-six of the Revised Statutes of the United States is hereby declared to include and apply to all the dominion of the United States in the waters of Behring Sea; and it shall be the duty of the President, at a timely season in each year, to issue his proclamation and cause the same to be published for one month in at least one newspaper if any such there be published at each United States port of entry on the Pacific coast, warning all persons against entering said waters for the purpose of violating the provisions of said section; and he shall also cause one or more vessels of the United States to diligently cruise said waters and arrest all persons, and seize all vessels found to be, or to have been, engaged in any violation of the laws of the United States therein.

Mar. 2, 1889.

Sec. 3.

Mar. 24, 1874.

Mar. 3, 1899.

Sec. 177.

It shall be unlawful to kill any fur-seal upon the islands R.S., 1960. of Saint Paul and Saint George, or in the waters adjacent thereto, except during the months of June, July, September and October in each year and it shall be unlawful to kill such seals at any time by the use of fire-arms, or by other means tending to drive the seals away from those islands; but the natives of the islands shall have the privilege of killing such young seals as may be necessary for their own food and clothing during other months, and also such old seals as may be required for their own clothing, and for the manufacture of boats for their own use; and the killing in such cases shall be limited and controlled by such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor.

It shall be unlawful to kill any female seal, or any seal less than one year old, at any season of the year, except as above provided; and it shall also be unlawful to kill any seal in the waters adjacent to the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, or on the beaches, cliffs, or rocks where they haul up from the sea to remain; and every person who violates the provisions of this or the preceding section shall be punished for each offense by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, and furniture, whose crews are found engaged in the violation of either this or the preceding section, shall be forfeited to the United States.

Feb. 14, 1903.

Sec.7.

R. S., 1961.

Mar. 3, 1899.
Sec. 178.

When the lease heretofore made by the Secretary of the R. S., 1963. Treasury to "The Alaska Commercial Company," of the right to engage in taking fur-seals on the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, pursuant to the act of July one, one thousand eight hundred and seventy, chapter one hundred and eighty-nine, [R. S. 1957, 1960-1971, 5293] or when any future similar lease expires, cris surrendered, forfeited,

Feb. 14, 1903.
Sec. 7.

R. S., 1964.

Feb. 14, 1903.
Sec. 7.

R. S., 1965.
Feb. 14, 1903.
Sec. 7.

R. S., 1966.

R. S., 1967.

or terminated, the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall lease to proper and responsible parties, for the best advantage of the United States, having due regard to the interests of the Government, the native inhabitants, their comfort, maintenance, and education, as well as to the interests of the parties heretofore engaged in trade and the protection of the fisheries, the right of taking fur-seals on the islands herein named, and of sending a vessel or vessels to the islands for the skins of such seals, for the term of twenty years, at an annual rental of not less than fifty thousand dollars, to be reserved in such lease and secured by a deposit of United States bonds to that amount; and every such lease shall be duly executed in duplicate, and shall not be transferable.

The Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall take from the lessees of such islands in all cases a bond, with securities, in a sum not less than five hundred thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful observance of all the laws and requirements of Congress, and the regulations of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, touching the taking of fur-seals and the disposing of the same, and for the payment of all taxes and dues accruing to the United States connected therewith.

No persons other than American citizens shall be permitted, by lease or otherwise, to occupy the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, or either of them, for the purpose of taking the skins of fur-seals therefrom, nor shall any foreign vessels be engaged in taking such skins; and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall vacate and declare any lease forfeited if the same be held or operated for the use, benefit, or advantage, directly or indirectly, of any persons other than American citizens.

Every lease shall contain a covenant on the part of the lessee that he will not keep, sell, furnish, give, or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors on either of those islands to any of the natives thereof, such person not being a physician and furnishing the same for use as medicine; and every revenue officer, officially acting as such, on either of the islands, shall seize and destroy any distilled or spirituous liquors found thereon; but such officer shall make detailed reports of his doings in that matter to the collector of the port.

Every person who kills any fur-seal on either of those islands, or in the waters adjacent thereto, without authority of the lessees thereof, and every person who molests, disturbs, or interferes with the lessees, or either of them, or their agents or employés, in the lawful prosecution of their business, under the provisions of this chapter, shall for each offense be punished as prescribed in section nineteen hundred and sixty-one; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, appurtenances, and cargo, whose crews are found engaged in any violation of the provisions of sections nine

« PreviousContinue »