ia, and Japan to obtain the consent of these various
countries to the meeting, the attending delegates made him chairman of
the conference.

The result of the discussions so far has been most gratifying to this
country.

The Russian and Japanese commissioners are as fully convinced that the
seal herd is decreasing as the Americans are, and all three countries
have come to an agreement on the matter.

It has been decided to draw up a treaty between the three countries
mentioned, whereby each agrees to prevent her own hunters and those of
other nations from indulging in deep-sea sealing.

As soon as this document is fully prepared the conference will adjourn.

The result of the forthcoming British conference is awaited with
considerable interest.

It is openly stated that there would be no trouble at all with England
if it were not for the interference of Canada and the determination of
the mother country to bow to the wishes of her colony.

It is indeed reported that Lord Salisbury has at last been convinced
that the seals are diminishing.

Last week he sent for several of the leading fur merchants in London,
and asked them to tell him the true state of the case.

According to the accounts that have reached us, one and all of these men
assured him that the reports of Dr. Jordan were strictly correct, and
that beyond any doubt the seals were being killed off.

Even then the Prime Minister doubted, and thinking that the merchants
might be in league with the Americans, he asked suspiciously:

"If this is true, how is it that the price of sealskin is no higher now
than it was when the supply of seals was abundant?"

It was not till he had been convinced that sealskin was no longer the
fashionable fur, and that astrakhan had largely taken its place, that he
was willing to believe them.

It is reported that Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Premier of Canada, is
coming here to be present at the next conference.

It is to be hoped that Lord Salisbury's eyes may now be opened to the
true state of the case, and that he may be able to convince Sir Wilfrid
that common sense demands that England and Canada shall make a similar
agreement with us to that which is just being prepared with Russia and
Japan.

* * * * *

The engineers' strike in England has not yet come to an end.

A special cablegram reports that the situation is unchanged. The Society
of Engineers insists on the eight-hour day,