New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1877.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4949, 1 February 1877, Page 2

New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1877.

"The question is sometimes asked, What has become of our whalers ? And it is a question of far more importance' and more deeply suggestive than might be imagined on first hearing it. Let us look at the following figures In 1853 we exported" whale oil to ' the value of £22,275, in-1856 £10,514, and in 1874 we imported fish oil amounting in value to £3950, only £325 worth of which came [from-our own fisheries (that is so - far as wo,have been, able to gather from statistics within our reach). In 1875 our take amounted £6802, showing a considerable increase on that of the previous year. We need not ask if these figures show a satisfactory state, of things. - Most; cer-< tainly' they, do not. Many causes may have combined to bring about this result. There is an opinion common among whalers that the fish are. not nearly so numerous and are,- more ; difficult to capture than in former years. This is doubtless to a large ’> extent ;i: true, and • the reason is ' obvious.’.!-Apart from the constant drain upon the Soil them fisheries Which Has been going on* for many years past in the legitimate pursuit of the enterprise, the common practice; of killing" .the.calves; that is, young animals, before they are of an age to have |tilfille ( d the purposes of reproduction, has, told imost heavily upon the supply. The affection of .the parent whale for its offspring is said to be peculiarly strong—leading it in fact;to run any. risk to secure its safety-. And'everi in-death it: will not (abandon it; This -is frequently taken-advantage of bywhalers,, who, haying-first killed the calfj find little difficulty in securing the parent. The fecundity of true fishes is enormous; the roe of the cod contains millions of ova, Not so. with the aquatic mammalia, which propagate slowly. , Many:ocean,fishes are protected from wholesale and indiscriminate destruction by legal enactments.- This is . not an easy ; matter in respect of; -the whale and other- aquatic imammals. The so-called empire of the. sea; is more a name than reality. Thus-the young of these animals are exposed • to’rutjiless slaughter. Among the'- chiiif ' whaling grounds in the Southern Hemisphere may be mentioned the Great Australian-Bight, , the south,-and west.coasts of. Tasmania,, and New Zealand. That the number of sperm . and black whales on some of the most, celebrated fishing grounds is gradually diminishing is t admitted, and* maybe traced, to. a large .extent to the,, causes already assigned. On the coasts of these islands they 'are ’still' comparatively' numerous, as evidenced by the experience of the last few . years or, months ;j and that large quantities of ' oil could be obtained''if we had the capital ahd Spirit to embark in the i enterprise ; on a jscale sufficiently large to, ensure, success,) is a moral certainty. There, is ,a .degree of; uncertaihiy about the* whaling tradej and this-may have tended', not, a little ~to~iuin-ours-to—its-pyesept "State, j atj, a f tirae'-when the, priqe, ,o| ,'bil ■ Waa4low,)ds„ was the "case Some J since, and whem so many other'jopenings presented them-

selves in this colony for the profitable employment of capital;’ To engage in the undertaking with'; any prospects of success sufficient capital should be at command to refit and make .a second cruise, in the event of the , first being unsuccessful. As the men are shipped on the “lay” system, little or no pay is allowed -unless oil is taken ; and it seldom happens that a cruise is so unsuccessful as not to pay working expenses; experience has shown that when the trade is prosecuted with intelligence and perseverance it generally'realises large fortunes for the owners. Whaleships in these seas are mostly fitted out for a cruise of from twelve to eighteen months. The English and Scotch whalers which go north, return when the northern wealing season is over.’ The American whaleships, on the other, hand, are equipped for three or four years, and ply their avocation in all parts of the world, going north and south according to the season ; and they are seldom known to. return without a

“full ship;” many instances' are known where a voyage of this , kind has produced a handsome competencyfor. the proprietors. It does seem strange that our enterprising cousins-should-find it worth their while to pome to our shores to drive a trade which we almost,entirely neglect._ Shall we, go on' permitting distant nations to obtain ‘the wealth which lies at our very doorsj? If it pays the Americans to come hero to reap the “harvest of bur seas,” ought w.e not also to put in the sickle r andget at least a share 1 We throw 1 but these suggestions to nautical men and . capitalists, in the hope that may they not think them beneath their notice. In olden times bay- whaling was’ carried on extensively and- • w.ith considerable j success, both here and in some of, the Australian colonies, especially Tasmania. Several boats’ crews formed a party, and stationed themselves .at various,vantage points where whales were numerous. Tenders went to and fro-to take down supplies and bring back the oil. Many wore the’tales told,by: these old hands of hair-breadth escapes and stirring adventures (not without a strong: seasoning of romance) of things that happened in this primitive stage of colonial’ society. ! We have had a vessel ’pointed ’ out to us which formed one. of a JfiotiHa of gunboats similar to the old revenue cutters of the English coast; oThese vessels were cutter-rigged, and -manned- with twenty men, and carried bach aJ 12-pounder carronade, arid were intended to protect the whalers on the Tasmanian coast from the threatened attacks of the French cruisers. These facts, are suggestive of a state of things that existed even in these colonies in days of' yore'that'happily for us have long since passed into oblivion. But a time came when the whales forsook the vicinity of the coasts where they were persecuted,, and bay-whaling ceased’to pay. It then became, necessary to, employ vessels’ of .large size and [pursue,the whales -to.r their, new haunts. A word or two respecting the style .of vessels'best'suited to the tradewillnbt.be out of place. We have been informed by old whaling captains., that smart ships of the new: style ; ol.build are not adapted. These of ’ course ,’sail well, and soon work up to the whales-shonld they.be discovered far . to windward ; ..but when' they are taken, and made fast alongside, should rough weather; come on during the process of cuttingfin,- the smart ship headreaches too-‘fasty and ultimately breaks away from ; the. carcass,. and if is lost. American ships of light draught and bluff bows, that ride, easily in a -seaway, are found tb ’ answer best. These also, being' less ’ expensive, leave the greater margin for profit:' New Zealand ,is . conveniently situated for an extensive and important whale: fishery, and we see no reason why it should not be • revived .with. profit to all concerned., --We append'a table showing the value of the trade in oil, and whalebone, as carried on by the various Colonies, according to the latest statistics at hand :-;- ■ ” EXPORTS. Aggre- Tons of No. of gate ton- oil ox- Value. Year. Colony, ships. > hage. ' ported. . & • 1867 N.S.-Wales - ’ 7lU l 1868 „ ■ - ,-r 820, 1853 New Zealand 1870 Tasmania 10 3448 449 36,880 1874 ■ : 16 4088 842 30,780. 1875 New Zealand , During 1874-only thirteen of the Tasmanian fleet returned to port. The above, therefore, does not represent the valiie of the oil hfloat. ■ . , -