The object of the conference is to decide whether the seal herd is really decreasing, and if so, to make strict laws to protect the mother seals and their poor helpless little puppies. A British war-ship, the _Wild Swan_, which is stationed in the Bering Sea to protect the sealing interests of Great Britain, has just arrived at Victoria, British Columbia. The officers state that the seal herd is undoubtedly very much smaller this year; so small indeed that there is the gravest reason to fear that the seals are really dying out. The Englishmen lay the blame of the smallness of the herd on the shoulders of Professor Jordan, and declare that it is due to the branding of the seals. They insist that the seals who were branded last year were so badly frightened that they will not venture into the same waters again. Instead of coming to the Pribylov Islands, the officers say that they have made their way to some other islands north of Japan, and that the Japanese are reaping the benefit of Professor Jordan's experiment. The British officers also say that the electric apparatus which Dr. Jordan took with him this year has proved to be a failure, and that the branding has had to be done with hot irons as usual. Trouble with the apparatus caused considerable delay, and according to the story told by the officers of the _Wild Swan_, only a few pups have been branded. This news makes the conference all the more necessary. If there are no means of marking the female seals without frightening the herd away from their feeding-grounds, the different countries interested in the sealing trade should lose no time in coming to an understanding, that the herd may be preserved. The Japanese and Russian representatives are already on their way here, but the meeting cannot be held until the beginning of November, as Sir Julian Pauncefote, who will attend the conference on behalf of England, cannot arrive here before that time. We shall, in all probability, gain much interesting information about seals and seal life from this convention. * * * * * Several fresh meetings have been held in Athens to protest against the treaty of peace with Turkey. It is said that the people are becoming more violent, and are calling upon the King of Greece to continue the war. At one of the meetings the other day, angry things were said about the King and the Crown Prince, the people blaming them for the unfortunate results of the war. The cabinet ministers and the more thoughtful people in Greece are, however, of opinion that the best thing to be done is to bear, as best they may, the burdens which it puts on the country. The Russian Minister in Athens has laid the treaty officially before the Greek minister of foreign affairs, and now all the necessary formalities have been gone through, and it only remains for the Greek parliament to accept or refuse the terms offered.