time been desirous of layinj? before an audieiu-e composed of Intelligent and business men my views on a subject which I consider of great practical Imjiorlance to our noininlon generally but enilneni ly so to the city of Quel)ec. The trade In Kui- .Seals and the city of t2"f'''t'''< ''"ve long been associated and I de>iire that tills city shall not continue this association, but Hhall so extend her tr.illic therein that ail classes of our citizens will participate directly or indirectly In the advantages that must accrue therefrom. I hope to be able to set ix'foie you the iiractlcabillty of ma'Alng Hudson's Hay the stocking ground for Kur seals and showing to you the commercial importance espechilly to this city of such an (Miterprize and I trust that, it you are satisfied ou these points and the profits that must arise from judicious luvestmeut, you will not hesitate to form a I'ompany or aid In thr cases, slirouded in a good deal of obscurity. The British claim as lirst discoverers of the whole coast of this \)art of Xorth America, in the persons of John and Sebastian Cabot, about the 3'earl4i)7: hut it is contended on the other liaud that these discoveries did not extend to the Xorth of Newfoundland, which still retains the name they gave it. and which tliey supposed to form part of tli-' main laud. It is said indeed that the Cahots jienetrated to a very higli latitude far to the Xortli of the straits now bearing the name of Hudson, but it must be remarked that there apjiear to be no authentic records of the two voyages of the Oabots, their journals or ol)servatlons. i'he next navigator, through whom the French claim is maintained, was sent by Francis the First of France in 1523-4. This is the first voj-age. In behalf of either France or England, of which any authentic and circumstantial record exists, as written by the navi- gator himself, who gave the country the name of New Frauce. In 1534 Jacques Cartler's discoveries commenced and these are so well known that it is unnecessary to say more of them. ^ 'I'lie iiexl Kiifilisli iitt(iiui)ts ill dini'ovt'ry c()mm('iu'<'(l iii lo5.'{ wlien Willoughhy peiiotrattul to tho North of lIudsorrH lliiy, which however he did not disfoviM' or enter. '!'liia was* nineteen years after .laeiiucs Cartier's Hrst voyaji^e, and was followed l)v various otlier attempts at fiiidiii<; a North West passaf^e, all apparently directed to the North of Hudson's Straits, until KilO, the period of Hudson's voyage, in which he perished after wintering,' in the Hay which hears his name; l)ut l»y this time it must lie observed that < iinada was coloni/ed liy the French. Hudson's Bay has an area of rearly 4(»0,()()() square miles. I'he exploriiifj; expedition in the summer of 18S() in it. M. ship "Alert" sent to relieve the station^ esliililished in Hu Ison's Straits in 18S5, for the pur- pose of watchinj^ the movenii'iits of the ice and of tiikinj^ other oliservations to teat the practicability of the Hudson Bay rout;-, was quite a success and proved that the straits are never entirely fro/, mi over. Tlie average len?er period. The tish and miimmals in these waters arc the Right and vVliite NVliales, the Porpoise, the Walrus. Polar Bear iind several kinds of hair-seals; of the tish.sahnon and trout only arc at present exported, altliough a very tine species of white tish is found in .Nelson River, also co 1 in and about tln^ stralis. Mr. r.ow's party at Port Burwell, entrance of straits in one hour caught a boat load of tine cod this year MS<)4.) The rivers in the straits aboun I with salmon and trout. Dr. Robett Bell reports tliit the shores of Huilson's Bay have iron. mica, asbestos, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, antlir.icit.% lim"stone. pi'troieum and lignite, so that with the ahnost unbounded wealth of the surrounding counlry, and the known riches of th>! Fisheres. surely our inonied gentlemen of f^anada will not hesitate t OcIoIht I'liiiipurcd witli llcliriti^ Sen shows only ii diften-ncc of u llitlr more Uiaii oik> (l«'gr<'i> iiifiiii mid 1(> degrat's hi^ht'sl in fuvur of Hudson's Hay. »() tlial llic UMnpcratnre ol llic s«a is In every way favorable for the; fur-aeals to l»rin^ up their yonn«j. When t\v'. col 1 wfatlier sets in they have free aoeess lo tlic i'oast< of Morida and Hahaina Islands, tliere the temperature of the sen i» niiiili the same as on the (alifornlau coast where the Behrin)>; sea fur-seal ha^ Ix'tMi seen in winlei- hut only in small numbers. 'I he lloirhlf David Mills at the last session at Ottawa brought the same proposal lielore theVederal House, entirely unknown tome. In an>wer. sjr Charles llibhcrt Tupper said "There was no analogy bot- wetii th«' fur-sfal and the hair-seal, and their hablrs were widely dlft'ereul . 'The fur-seal consumed an em>rmous (piatitity of flsh. and even If the (iovern- ment stu'ceeded in establishing rookeries on the Atlantic Coast tliey might be very disiriiclivr to the iNheries." Now. Icon-ider Sir (liarlcj" answer very erroneous for It Is well known how very numerous both Inrand hair seals are on the Pacific Coast and the ti-iliei'les there have iml been iiijui'ed. To prove my statement Dr \\ llliam II. Dall. In his most valuable and interesting book "AlasUa and ks l.'esources" states Tage 180. lu tluly the Salmon begin toascen.l iht; Viikon Kiver. After .\ugust they are bruised and in bad conililion. being cast In layers a foot dee|> on t >e banks of the small riveis. I have seen lundreds oi thousands of , upon the surlace of the water as if raking, an Indian will till his conoe with herriuii in '1" minutes. Page •l')',i. At the K'apids of Deep Lake with Lake Uay. are tlie salmon fisheries. These lish aie given to all vvlio needed food, and the surplus over this ccnsumi)tion amounted to six hundred barrels. Page 2.>!». (.'oal Jlarbur on the Nortb alounds with Cor'. Page .481. The ••'tionndaiu'e -if flsli on the sliores of Alaska has been a matter of wonder since the voyages of tlie earliest navigators. Billings, Cook. IJelciier und Sir George Simpson ir.iw all born credible witness to the myriads of cod. salmon, habibiit and lierrlng which are found on the Nortlj West Coast. 'The tomlcods are plentiful and arc cauglu with are ivory hook without bait or barb Boat loails are obtained, as they bite at tlie wliite ivory hook as fast as they can be pulkd up. Page 485. 'The Ulikou (a small .silvery fisli about 14 inches long re8enil)ling smelt) are caught In a sort of basket make of wicker work. The Rivers an^ In t.ie sea.son literally alive with them, and appears as if boiling. Wild ;. lima I -i draw thein from the stream with their paws sufficient for all their needs. Dried they serve as torches. "TT" 1 'Vlio miinhcr of salmon annually oon.Hinnnfl by tho natives of Alaska cannot he less thsin twelve million at the lowest Estimate. At tlip mouth of the Yukon not less than two million salmon are dripd every summer and probably double that number. Words fail to deicribe their abuudanee. The weak and injured llsh after spawidnw I have seen piled three and four feet deep (m the banks of the river." Tliese extracts from such an eminent authority clearly show that Sir Charles has not given his usual careful attention to the consideration of this subject. I may also add, that facts are opposed to the conjecture of Sii' Charles as to the detriment of the Atlantic Fisheries viz: that Hehrinj? Sea, Coasts of Alaska and British Columbia teem with llsh of all sorts, while the seals in their millions have been there not for a few years, but for centuries I with many others Oelieve the food of the fur seal, is jnore of the S(iuid and other jelly tisii kind, than those used lor human food, if so the coasts of Newfoundland swarm with s(iuid.so nmch so that at Fhirbor Crace the tields are manured with them. On opening the fur seal, nothing has been found in the stomach to war- rant the belief tliat they live on fish of use to man. The company once formed could in the second year clear ofl' its outlay by the whale, walrus, hair-seal, porproise, salmon and cod flslieries. Sir Charles in his comnmnication to me of li»th April last, in answer to ndue, asking for a subsidy and exclusive right for 20 years to all fur-seals in Hudson's Hay and Atlantic Coast bordering on Canada, states "I have caused your proposition to be laid before His Kxcellency in Council for consideration- I am now to inform you, that the (iovernment are not prepared to grant any subsidy in the premises, but the (iovernment has no objection to exclusive priviledges being conceded to the company you propose forming upon their application to [•arliameut in the usual way." This I consider is as much as any responsible minister could say prior to the formation of a company. The United States F^ishery Commissioners." report shows that the average profit of each vessel employed in the whaling in Hudson's Bay (where they have no right;from the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut!ii!27,400,but( "apt (iordon estimates each cargo obtained valued $47,000. So that vessels winter- ing there with proper stations and necessary equipments could suiely do even better than those miming trips from the States. Mr. W'ilmot, of the Fishery Department at Ottawa, was ordered by the Honorable Mackenzie Howell, iii the absemte of Sir Charles, iu Paris in April last year, to enquire into my proposal, states: — "Tlie temperatures arc so nearly alike that it would appear quite feasible to introduce the Alaska seal to Hudson's Bay." Islands alioiimi in IIikIhou'.-' May in every way suital)lf for bit-piiing pur- puses an,()(iO. The (question is otteu asked to whit use the whalebone is put which gives it the great valiK! it has. Much of it, esj)ecially the long bone, is worked into the better class of silks to stippen tliem, and on this account alone, as the demand considerably exceeds the supply, thus keeping the price at its present figure. The IJottle nose whales arc; .seen in large numbers at the mouth of lludsoirs strait* in .lune :ind July. The white whale on the Churchill Hiver, the Vork and Nelson Rivers, they go up with the tide each day in great numbers : they are also in the straits. In 18S6 at ilie above stations tliey were so nmnerous, that the nets were taken up as all the available packages were filled with oil. Tliese whales are worth from $2't ro $25 eacli. At Xtd.son IJiver tlie Indians drive a row of stakes into the miui at low water, and there sitting on their littl« platforms, wliicli are built out on the flats by themselves, of four posts and a board, they shoot the whales as they come up, the carcase siid;s and taking against the row of stakes is grappled for and buoyed and anchored at low tide. The carcases are tiieu taken to the factory, the blubber and skin saved and the carcase put by for the food of the dog trains in winter. Nearly all the varieties of seals are representetl in liudion's liay. The Narwhal commonly known as the uiucoin is met with in the straits, and is much valued for it large ivory tusk, wincli often measures 5 ft in length. The salmon fishery is ocly carried on by the Hudson's Bay Company in Ungava Bay. R 5 I 257.04 :, [ 4u:{^ 51.20 Mean ^ oik Factoiv SO.fiO Iliijlif'Ki York K:icti.r\ .MEAN AND IIi.OHK.S T TKM I'KUATIJ UK IN BKUI{IN August .5't.0(i September 42.10 October 36.00 6G.00 70.(1(1 77.00 59.00 48.00 c At preafiiil tlu- cntin' ii;i<|.- ,>r tlu; »m> U in tlie Imihl-otilio llu.Uou .. \\a\ «'«Miip., and .Ainericiiii Wliulin^r < 'ompanii's. <'apt Tionlon slan's ill hi^ n'porl. to III.' Kcdcril (iuvciiiiiH'iil ••( miiikIm""' ri. I iliiiiK, nnquwstioiuid; and it seems o.ie sided, considfriiig o ir rtdiitioiis witli tlie I'lii- ^ led slates llslieiineii, tliat we should coiitiii 1,. to allow lliem to frequent the I'.ay and compete wilh foreign duly-free g'.iids against t'le Company which pay heavy duties to our I'l .-asuiy on all nicieles imported for tlieir trade." ' It is worthy of remark that up to this time noCan.'idi.ui has derived any ' profit from Hudson's IJ.iy, save iJi >se few who may happ -n l<> he slnrtdioliler^ / ill the nud.so I's Hay < ompaiiv." Winnipeg in her infaney is pusliiiig on a riilway to lliidsoirs May surely nld historical l^iiel) -c will avsaUe and arrive lir«l at thegate of weiillh which is. ^' 1 feel .sure, ready with open arm to receive us. and at once give a stimulus to increased commercial enterprise. invigorate the iln.ojiing spirits of many of onr ^ bread earning popiilalion, and enlarge the b.uik accon.its oi our iiieichaiils. ' .MKAN AN1> lIKillKST TK.MI'KKATLIKKiS A I \i)\{H KACtOUV, 111 (iSoNs HAY I KI«OM CAI'TAtN (JdlMMiV's UKI'Ol.T. i June 51.78 9.">.00 r, July t5S.24 })!) 00 ' .August 54.51 SO.OO I September 44.81 73.00 ), October 37.70 56.00 5 I 246.30 5 I 320, 00 ' 49.28 Mean Behring Sea ' Hudson's Bay f, 1.94 16.60 1.94 Mean in favor of Hudson's iiay r 16.60 Higliest in favor of Hudson's Bay. ) f ] i, I' 7 Kstiniiited outlay first year in stociiiiig llinlson's Kay witli Fur-seaU . from Ueliriiig Sea. Purchase of 100 cows ami 15 Hulls at $5 each • R75 00 Frel(?ht from Behring's Sea to ihitish Columbia 5000 00 ^ Frpi;;ht from lirltisli ('oluml)iii to Ciueltec iit f 1.50 per 100 llj^, each car to carry 20C0 lbs. 700 00 KrelKht from Quebec tc Hu.lsoii's Bay H(M)0 00 Viiriou.s ociitingeucie.s such as I-!il)()r, ("iirtuge ami Food (luring iransportatiou 2000 00 Totiil * 1 6-275 00 If griiuti'd us«> of GovtMiuueut steiimer from (jupbcc to Hudson's I Bay leas HOOO 00 < I'ot.il 9 8275 00 FUR-SEAL. / The Fur-Seal Fishery, formerly less Important than that of the Sea- ■ Otter, has of late years far exceeded it la value. I At present fur-scahs are almost exclusively <)l)tained on the isiiindsof V St. t'aul, St. George and Cooper in Behring Sea. A few stragglers only aie I obtained on the Falkland Isluuds and the extreme southwest c<;ast of South . ■ America. The ease was formerly very difl'crent. Many thousands were ob- tained from the South Pacific Islands and the coasts of Chili and South Africa. I The KalUland Island seal was at one time common in that group and the ^^ adjacent seas. The skins, worth fifteen Spanish dollars, according to Sir John Hichardson, were from four to five teet long, covered witli reddish down.ovei , whicli still" gray hair projected. They were hunted especially on the Falkland V Islands, Terra del Fuego, New (Jeoigia, .South Shetland and the coast of Chili. 1 Tliree and a half millions of skins were taken from Massa Fuero to i Canton between 1703 and 1807. 1/ .\iiother species formerly abounded on the coast of Africa, near the / ( ape of (jiood Hope. Their fur was the least valuable of the different kinds of ^ fur-seals, and seem? to have become extinct. They were smaller than thi^ other kinds, and said to be of a reddish-brown color. . Captain Beujamin Morrell, about the year 1823, found fur-seal in the sobos, .St. Ambrose, and St. Felix islands off" the coast of Chili ; he also obtained them from Kerguelen's Land, Staten Land, the Falklands, Tristau d'Acunha, Masa Fuero and the Auckland Islands. He states :— "The seal came ashore in the month of November for the purpose of bringing fortb theii young, remaining until May. The old males / are called "Wigs by th« sealers; the females "Clap-Matches" those two yeara I old, "dog-seal ;'" and the very young ones, "pups." The term of gestating is ten months. 8 The pups are born blind, and remain so for several weeks. At three or four weeks old they are taken by the niother^^ into the water, as a cat carries her kittens (in her mouth) and taught to swim. They seldom have more tlian one young one annually. The pups, after learning to swim, spend most of their time in the water. Thej' are easily tamed, and Morrell had two for several months. These seals are said to live on the Squid and to attain an age of thirty years. They are very active, often jumping six or eight feet out of the water, which is nevr-r done by the hair seals. Tliey swim with great swiftness Tliey will fight hard for their young and for the possession of the females, but are timid in other respects. ?]ach (dd male has a herd of eight or ten females. Their heiiring is very acute. At the end of February the p>ii)9 go ashore to shed their coats. About the first of Jlay all leave the land until the month of July, when they appear and disappear about the shore for some unknown reason. About September, first the young seal, and afterwards the old ones repair to tiieland as before. Large males reach seven feet in lenglit, and females about five feet. The fur-seals and sea-lions are closely allied. They are well distinguished from tiie hair-seal bj' their external ears and long flippers destitute of hair, and with only three nails. Tlie liair.seals liave no external ears, and tiieir flippers are broad, short and covered with hair, having five nails on the hind ones." The Alaskan fur-seal formerly extended from the ice Hue of IJehring Sea to the Coast of Lower California. At present a few reac'i the straits of Fuca, between Vancouver and State of Washington where five thousand were killed a few years ago, Init tlje great majority are confined to the Phibylofl" Islands, St. George, St. I'aul, Otter .-ind Walrus which lie in tiie heart of JJehr- ing Sea, some 200 miles from the mainland of Alaska. St. Paul the larger of the four, has an area of about Xi square miles and St. George about 27 square miles. The immber of fur-seals which annn;illy visit tin; i'^land of St. Paul is computed at five and six millions. Tlie males come first, accompanied by the young pups born during the previous summer, and choose their respective homes on the rocks. The fem- ales follow three weeks later, week little creatures, in steel gray garb, very dliferent from the big males with their fighting propensities. Often one seal possesses twenty wives, and he has a hard task to defend his home and family fron> his neighbours. Indeed, ^he old seals fight-like furies, bec(miiug covered with scars and terrible wounds; and sometimes losing an eye or part of a flipper in the fray. Most of the fighting is done by the mouth. The combatants approach each other with averted heads and sly looks till suddenly they utter a shrill piping whistle and engage with their sharp canine teeth, the liair flies, and the blood flows amidst much bellowing. 9 The fui-stial lias never lieeii fnund in Heliiing Strait, or within 300 miles of it. Thej' arrive at the Islands about tiie niidiUe of June /row tki'ir unknown n-inti'Tijuitrtprs, a few stragglers coming as early as May. They leave on the approach of winter, usually in ()ctol»er. They are sujiposed to spend the winter in tlie oi)en sea soutli of the Aleutian Isli nds. Tlie pui)s are born about the middle to end of .lime. I'hey are about a foot long and grow very rapidly. These young seal areeasily tamed and very playful. The bulls api)roaoh the females about a week after the young are Ixirn. Thf period of gestation is therefore nearly twelve months. The young seals are kept away fiom the females by the old bulls uutill they ar" I lin'". y(>jir>i old. When born the pups are covered with tine black hair without down. At the age of three months tlie down begins to appear, and about six months later the black hair is replaced by a stronger hair tipped with white or brown At three months the milk teeth are replaced l)y the permanent .set. The eye is black and hquid and large in proportion to the sizc; of the animal. Chamb- ers" Eucyclopeaia states^The teeth are well ailaptedfor the seizure of slippery l)rey, their chief food l)eing lishes, but do not object to otlier animal fttod and are said even to feed in part on vegetable substances." Seals have a remarkable habit of swallowing large 8ton»'s for which no probable reason has yet been conjectured. The resi)iration of seals is extremely slow, al)out two minutes interven- ing between each breath, when the animal is on land and in full ac^tivity. A seal has been knttwn to remain iv> minutes under water. The fur of seals is very smooth, and abundantly lultricated with an oily secretion. Seals produce their voung. one a year, and liave one and sometimes two at a birth. Seals are very much nth^cted by musical sounds, a Hute is said to attract them to a boat, where they have not learned caution from sore experience; and the ringing of the church l>e!l at Hoy, in Orkney, Scotland has very often caused the aj pearanoe of nmneroua seals in the little bay." They will semain many days on shore without food. Nothing is found in the stomach. They sleep in the water on their sides, with the upper flippers out of water, and receive the bull in the same position. 'I'hey have three cries, a kind of roar lika that of a young calf, which indicates anger; a milder cry, which they use in calling to one another; and a kind of piping whistle when they are hot or tired. They come up in droves of many tliousands on the hill-sides near the shore, and literally blacken tlie is- lands with their numbers. The rocks; which they have scrambled over for ages, aie polished and rounded. I 10 The ground which they frequent Is uvoideil by the sea-lions, and is quite destitute of herbage. Tlie vicinity has a strouj^; and disagreeable odor. They get along very awkwardly on land, going at a kind of gallop, both hind flippers moving together. Tliey can ascend almost perpendicular rocks as the skin which covers the flippers is harsh and granulated, looking like horse leather. They fight desperately among themselves, each bull having from five to fifteen females which he defends with the greatest courage, while they look on quietty or encourage liini with their cries. The female s>'al has four teats, but they are almost invisible except when sucking, 'i'bej- have a shorter tail, and more reddlst brown on thej!- liodics than the male. The latter lias a mane, which is absent in the females. In the fore flippers there are no visit)!*; toes, but the land flippers are very long and tlnn, with strips of skin extending several inches beyond the bones of tlie toes, which are connected by a web A favorite attitude, whtn on land, is sitting with the heail l)ent sideways, the mouth open and thrown uj), fanidng themselves meanwhile with one hind flip- per. When swinmung, the palms of the two latter are placed together and extend behind , performing the oflice of a tall. The fishery is conducted as follows : — A number of natives go along the watiir's edge, and getting between the animals and tiie water, shout .md wave their sticks. The seals are very timid and always follow each other like slieep; yet, if brought to i)ay, they will fight bravely. A man who should venture into the midst of a herd would doubtless be torn in pieces, for their teeth, tljough small, are exceedingly sharp. A body of four or five hundred having been separated, as above, from the main assembly, they can be driven very slowly, by two men, into the in- terior of the island, exactly as a shepherd woulil drive his sheep. Their docil- ity depends on circumstances. If the sun is out and the grass dry they can- not be driven at all. If the day is wet, and the grass sulHciently moist, they may be driven several miU-s. I'lvery few nunutes they must Ite allowed to rest. Tiiose that become tired are killeil aad skinned (ui the spot by the drivers, us it is of no use to attempt to drive them. They would at once attack the driver, and perhaps seriously injure him. When the seals have been brought to a suitable place, they are left with someone to watch them until It is desired to kill them The skins of old males are so thick as to be useless. The company restrict the killing solely to young males, less than five and more than one year old. No females, pups or old makis are killed. 'VhU is a necessarj' provision to prevent externunation. The seals are killed by a blow on the back of the head witli a heavy sharp edged club. This fractures the skull, which is very thin, and laj's them out stitl' instantly. The native then plunges his sharp knife into the heart, and with wonderful dexterity, bj- a few sweeps of his long weapon, separates the skin from the blubber to which it is attached . 11 'I'hc 1 ose and wrists mip euf aniuml, rml tho oars aud tail left attached to the skiu. Wheu the operation is over, ilie skin is of an oval shape, with four holes where the extremities protruded. (Tliese skin sveigli from 5i to 12 lbs each according to the age of the animal.) They are then taken aud laid in a pile with layers of salt between them in bins for two or three weeks, till the)' are pickled. They are then taken out and rollea into bundles of two skins each with the hairy .'.des out, ready for shipment in batches in casks, through San Francisco and Xe v Yorl; to London, each cask contains 40 to 45 skins packed in salt. The iv in its natural state has a very dificrcnt appearance from that presented Ity the prei)ared skin. A machine is used by which the skia is shaved very thin; the roots ol the stifl' hairs are cut and they may tli»*n he brushed olf. The line close elastic fur does not penetrate the skin to any distance and is changed l)y dying from its original yellowish and silvery color to a rich black or brown. Some of the Victorian females have a slight wig or crest on the head, the under fur is red. The Alaska tishery is rented by the L^nited States to the Alaska Com- mercial Company of San Francisco for .*J )0,0;)0 per annum aud $2. SO loyalty for everv skin shipped. The capture is restricted mostly to the islands on which 100.000 annually are captured, i»esides what the natives may re(piire for their food on an average of 7.000. In addition to the fur seals an average annual capture of 1800 sea otter worth #100 each are taken. The hnicding grounds have gentle slopes of shingle or a firm well drained surface, to wliicli th.; seals can travid svitliout diseomfort. and where they can lie without annoyance from mud or sand from May till October every year, in peace and security. Each bull selects a spot about eight feet square which he defends as his own against all rivals and to which he invites the females as they coma to the nIioit, till he has collecteil a harem of fifteen or twenty cows around him. The females bear their first young wlien ai>out three years old. By far the larger number of the male seals, including those which are not yet six years old, fail to estal)lisli tlieuiselves on the breeding grounds aud to secure harems. They are called ''Itatchelor seals" aud are allotted distinct grounds, called hauling grounds after the seal's peculiar m )de of progression. 'I'he hauling grounds, with the passages le.iding to them through the breeding grounds are clearly marked oil" aud the boundaries are strictly res- pected by botli l)reeding and batchelor seals. The batchelor seals are the particular objects of the chase which is conducted ou the islands. The hunting season nearly corresponds with the breeding season, the greater proportion of the work being done iu June, July and August. ^1 12 The flesh of the fur-seal and sea lion serve the natives for food, and the blubber for fuel. The flesh of the fur-seal fornis^but a small portion of the body, the greater part is blubber, and this is more noticeable because of the thousands of bodies wliich are scattered over the islands. If tliey were com- posed in large part of muscular fibre, as in the case of the walrus, the dacaying bodies would breed a pestilent;e. As it is, the oder is surtU-iently preceptible, though a month or two shows the skeleton nearly dean. The flesh of the young fur-seal, placed in running water overnight and then broiled, is far Trom disagreable, in fact it tastes almost exactly like mutton chop. The young sea lion is said to be even better eating. The natives make boot soles, which are very durable, of the skin of the flippers. The blubber of the fur-seal makes oil of the first quality, and is worth two dollars a gallon. Each seal will make a little over half a gallon of oil worth at the islands as much as the skin. The Alaska company paid into the Treasury of the United States in ten years in taxes and rental $;^,462,408 equal to $345,240 per annum. No authentic record is given of what sort of fish these seals live on . The Alaska company employ a fleet of four steamers and fifteen sailing vessels, consequently giving employment to man j'. Act. Vict of 31 St July 1868. Chap CV. Cancells King Charles' Charter to Hudson Hay Company "and whereas for the purpose of carrying into ettect the provisions of the said British North American Act. 1867, and of admitting Rupert's Land into the said Dominion as aforesaid upon such terms as Her jNIajesty ihlnks fit to approve, it is exped. ientthat the said Lands, Territories, Right, Privileges, Liberties, Franchises, Powers and Authorities, so far as the same have been lawfully granted to the said company, should be surrendered to Her Majesty, her Heirs and successors upon sucIj terms and conditions as may be agreed upon and between Her Majesty and the said governor and company as hereinafter mentioned. The term "Buperts Land" shall include the whole of lands and territor- ies held and claimed to be held by the said Governor and Company." Art. 4. .'\11 rights absolutely extingu!shed,exc«j3« afaw acres aroundeach post now held, on an average of from twenty to thirty acres. ->^>^^if^i