THE WHALE TIRADE OF THE INDIAN

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 232, 10 January 1860, Page 3

THE WHALE TIRADE OF THE INDIAN

AND AUSTKALASIAN SEAS. We (Melbourne Herald) make the subjoined extract from a late uumber of the Straits

Times: —

"Amongst tlie numerous American vessels which visit the harbor of Singapore in the course of the year, we observe from lime to time not a few whalers. Whale fishing in the Indian Oceau constitutes a large and profitable trade, la this trade, however, Great Britain has no share. From Java Head to Cape Leuwin the distance is about 1600 miles. Far and wide along this whole line of sea, ships of the United States are constantly cruising about in search of whales, and occasionally meet with immense prizes, even within sight of the colony whicli Great Britain lias planted on the western coast of the Australian continent. England in her own waters is, in. this respect, England no longer; and while ships of foreign nations, making light of a voyage of 13,000 miles, traverse the ocean to fish on British joasts, carrying away annual prizes of industry to the value of 1,000,000 sterling, Great Britain looks on uuheedingly. Is this an indicaion of national degeneracy ? Whatever point n futurity it may betoken, it cannot certainly be regarded as evincing a continuance of that universal superiority in maritime industry hitherto claimed for the Anglo-Saxons of the British Isles.

"An American whaler is. usually about 450 tons bin-then, and it is supposed that, in all parts of the Indian Ocean, there are not less than eighty always cruising about at one time. This gives an aggregate tonnage of 36,000 tons. Dutch ami French whalers are also occasionally to be met with in this region, and although, ia point of number, they perhaps do not constitute above a tenth of the number of American vessels, yet the quantities of oil which they, too, succeed in taking, sometimes; \a British waters, illustrates still further the. apathy of the English in regard to this source of wealth. "la 1838,, Auaeiiciui aod French whalers cruising in the vicinity of Cape Leuwin, captured, at one onslaught, a school of whales which yielded about 10,000 barrels of oil, estimated in value about £25,000; not tt, singe Bdtish or colonial craft being present to shaie \\. the gains. In February, 1845, seveial American ye39els encountered and captured a considerable number of whales at Champion Bay, in the 27th degree of S. lat, about ten miles from the shore—their operations being distinctly seen by some colonists from lan.l. The yield of oil was on this occasion upwards of 6090 barrels, estimated in value at about £16,000.

"In October, 1857, American, Duich,, and French whaler*, cruisjng off King Q-orge's Sound took, pnzes p,f oil anflountiiig to 12,000, banels-r^iii.; value about £28,000, , These various captures were exclusive of extensive ones made by the same vessels in their cruises further out at sea, and being 0. ily isolated occurrences amongst many of the simitar kind that might be named, they forcibly illustrate the auomaly that B.ritish enterprise, hitherto so active ano! vigilant, should permit foreigners to approach the very threshold of B.ritish, territi ry, and carry away wealth which, is so, easily v jtbiu their own grasp. " To illustrate still further the enterprise of the Americans in connection with their cruises, it niuqt be mentioned that the Amei^can whalecaptaiu uniyersally conjoins. th,e business of a merchant with his. other avowed character. Scarcely an island in the Indian Archipelago hut is visited by him in the course of his cruise, and in return for his plain and printed calicoes, his shoes, his glass dooanters, his glass tumblers, via knives and fork 3, razors, needles, scissors, earrings, bracelets, sugar, soap, biscuits, brandy, rum. gin, guns, and guuflints, he will accept by way fo barter from his half civilized customers whatever artiola of their produce he may deem likely to yield him a good profit in the §fcafcea. It is thus, that every whaleajup on itt retuVn home after a tv/o. or- three gears' 'cruise,*invariably brings along tfith it, iniadilition to its orl, a g6odsu[jt*ly of such commodiUes, >as sanJal wood, beeswax, tortoisesheU/and a large varje^jf of other tropical and intertropic^l proUtfOtions. - uXa offdriD^ theae hyieS, n%vfcs : <» A« «v-

tifprise of. the American's Hw tto* capture of whiles in the Indian Ocdan, we are glad to W able to, mention that Singapore herself is now about to enter the trade. A vessel of consider^ able dimensions is. now; being fitted; out by a wealthy Chinese, and will shortly ; proceed on its first whaling cruise. It bus thus been reserved for a Chinaman, living under the protection of British laws, to take away the scandal which has hitherto attached to British enterprisei in allowing so fruitful a source of .wealth as that referred to, to remain urinwsivMitprl.'' .

Rumoured Death of Blondin.t-I'iie fays of Paris extracts from theiV«M; York Examiner a long notice of a performance of Blondin on the tight rope at Niagara, the terrible conclusions of which wa3 a fall into the raging cataract. The sun, it is stated, came out from the clouds when he was half way across the rope, and, dazzled, he lost his balance and fall. His body bad not,been recovered.

The Jockey Club of Paris.—A Nice journal, the Avenir, has the following :—"The Jockey Club of Paris, it is known, had several of its members among the officers who served in the Army of Italy, and two of them, Count de la-Roclirf nicauld and Viscount A. Talon, escaped death in a miraculous w.iy. The former, in charging the Austrian cavalry, received five wounds, and was made prisoner. None of the wounds were mortal, but one of them was caused in a very extraordinary way *"A-Hulan placed his pistol-bios* to tire count's firehead, and pulled the .trigger;- but tiie ball, instead of shattering hi 3 skull, went round the frontal bone, tearing off the skin, and at last went out into empty space, in'king'a hole in the kepi. As to M, Talou, while diaroiitg at the head o( his com} any at the battle of Solferino, he arrived in au Austrian square, and received n discharge 'of balls, which, however, only wounded his horse, without touching him. The horse fell; but the rider jumped up, sword in hand, and presently had his kepi cut through by a swora. A moment after he received°a second blow on the he.id, but in the confusion which prevailed the hand of the soldier who struck was turned aside, so that tha flat of the sword only hit him ; in another moment a dra goon placed his carbine closa to-the-viscount's cheek, but it missed fire. M. Talon then received a violent thrust from a bayonet, which threw him to the ground, but the soldier who gave it was astonished to see him soon afer rise and get away. The soldier no doubt thought the young officer hud some talisman about him, and so he had. In the campaign in the Crimea, M. Talon one day complained ihat he had broken the glass of his watch, and could not get it replaced. One of his soldiers said, ' Lieutenant, you have no need to carry it to the PaLiis Royal. I am a watchmaker by trade, and have some tooh in my knapsack. If you have a piece of 2 francs, 1 will put you in a glass that will never break.' M. Talon gave the man his watch and a piece of 2 francs, and the man very skilfully beat out the coiu umil it became large enough,, and then fixed it in the cisc so as to occupy the place of the glass. The watch then presented this peculiarity that the cases were jgold, and the part where the glass ought to be seen silver. On his return to France M. Talon continued to wear the watch both as a curiosity and a souvenir of the Crimea. He had it in his pocket at the battle of Solferino, and it was agtinst it that the point of the Austrian bayonet struck. But so-violent was the thrust that the point of"the bayonet passed through both the coin and the watch ! 'Thus,' said M, Talon to his friends, in recounting the affair, ' I owe my life to a piece of 2 francs.' "And thj money,' said a gentleman present. ' was well invested.' The remaak although not new was appropriate."

The Revival. —The subjoined extract may well stagger the sfanchest Revivalist— namely, that since the commencement of the movement in Belfast crime has rapidly increased, a (strange fruit of the Spirit:—" Belfast Criminal Statistics.—A return of the criminal cases disposed of at the Belfast petty sessions for the eight months of 1858, and 1859, ending on the last of August in each year, shows the following result:—ln the months of January, February March, and April, 1858, the number of persons brought before the magistrates amounted to 2,890, while in the same four months of the present year—those immediately precedent to the Revival—amounted to 2,761 cases, being a falling off of 129 cases in the four first months of the present year. In May commenced the Revivals. In the four months from M.ay to August, 1858, the nnmber of prisoners brought before the magistrates of: Belfast amounted to 3,457, while in the four months of this year the number of persons, male and female, sentenced to punishment for being 4 drunk and disorderly' ranup to the sum total of 8,939, being an increase ot no fewer than 482 offenders."

An Incident op'the Revival- —The Glasgow fferaM says—"A trustworthy correspondent informs us tliat on a recent occasion a lady on the south side of the river reproved her servant girl, when she returned, for the third time, between one and two o'clock in the morning, reputedly from a revival meeting:—Do.n't speak to me, mem,' said the girl,' I'm one of the Lord's anointed!' "

Diminution of Rain.—Startling Speculations. —In the quarterly return of the RegistrarGeneral ending with June, it is stated that '** the deficiency in the fall of rain fro.m the beginning of the year is If inch. The deficiency in the fall of year 1§54, 1855, 1857, 1858^ amounted 'to the average faU of one year—viz., 25 inches. Kron\ a careful examination of the fall of rain (year by year) from the year 18.15, it would seem tliat the annual fall is becoming smaller, and tliat there is.but little probability that the large deficiency wi 1,1 be made up by excess'"in future years," "Should this.statement (says the correspondent of a contemporary), ma:le >y Mr. Gla,isher, and adopted; by the Registrar-General in a docu? ment issued by authority, be confirmed, it will constitute one of the moat important discoveries fiver made by meteorologists. In all countries traces of dried-up streams are met with ; but within the historical period there are few or no examples of new rivers- coming into existence. The Dnieper at Kiev is drying up. The redoubted plains o,f Troy can with difficulty be recognised ox traced, because the rivers, mentioned by Homer, whose descriptive topography is not doubted,. pith,ep cannot be found, or they are now such insignificant streams as to fall far below the descriptions of the poet. About the mouths of the Nile the water is becoming shallower; while tliere is reason to believe that the volume of its waters, has been within the period of history sensibly diminished. The Baltic is decreasing. The Adriatic derives its name from a town that is now 18 miles from the shore, and was once, % flourishing seaport; North America is eeusihly draining. The rivers are slowly wearing away the rock, and occupying a lower bed.1 v America oo; the Pacific Qcean, is notoriously rising, or the ocean whfeh' aurraunSs it is sinking, The Deluge |s v ayWy xfea'rly'everYt'iri the history of mankind atidyit is l consistent alike with sacred and profane 'history to suppose that1 ever since tb,a,V'perro.d, as .well as immediately after the fira,t fe,w v days when the dove found a res.Un.jg; pJLace, the, waters, of the earth hay? gradually, clnerl u,p. Jf it be a fact, the vquahlity of vain which falls lias Veeii'cpatluualiy diminishiivgl through a period of If pars, the alow and gradual diminution oftairi milk be ftOQpidese«i as the normal condition of

thW globe.'Most of'the changes which geology traces fri the crust of the globe have been in progress for. many ages, and, from the light which the gradual diminution of rain reflects on many geological phenomena, we are induced, at starting, to describe it as one of the most momentous discoveries, should it be confirmed, that observation has ever made."

English Oarsmen Astonishing the French. —On the 6th instant six sons of Thames effected a landing at Dieppe to compete for the different prizes oftered at the Regatta which took place on the7fh. The races were for fbur-oared and sixoared gigs, and a second foiir-oared race as a prize of honor for the victors of the above races, a handsome gold cup, given by the Emperor. Thirteen boats started for the four-oared prize, a purse of £16 snd a gold medal. The weather was delightful, the water quite smooth, the shore lined with all the elite of Dieppe, and the elegantly dressed ladies added, much to the eclat of the scene. At 3 oclock the signal gun fired to prepare; a second pop made every man bend the blade of his oar. A few minutes sufficed to show the Union Jack had a slight advance, but they were not yet disentangled from two of their adversaries, although it was evident that the long, quiet stroke of the English crew would last longer than the over-quick, energetic sfyle of the French. By degrees they .increased their distance, and had the pleasure of showing the others the way over the course.. The crew was composed of Thomas White, A. Chitty, W. Bell, and R. Bain. The same crew were joined by G. Driver, and E. Bell, and soon started for the six-oared race, for a prize, a purse of £2,0 and a gold medal. The same success, with a greater advantage, awaited them hr this'contest. The next day, the race for the Emperor's Gold Cup took place, and was won by our countrymen. It was gratifying to set> that, with the exception of some few, most of the spectators admitted the superior skill and strength of the English, and their style of rowing was much admired. After the above successes, our little corps pushed forward to Rouen—or as one of the crew termed it, *■> rowon " —and there they found the whole town alive, and out to see them row on or be rowed out. Rices for pairs, four-oared, and six-oared and sculling boats were offered. The first event was a pair-oared race. The English craw, W. and E. Bell, had a very inferior boat, which caused a ■terrific struggle between themselves and a good French crew, who had a very superior, and faster boat, with which they took a considerable lead, but afterls minutes of the hardest pulling in the world, British pluck rowed by them, winning by 10 boats lengths. Then followed the four and sixoared and sculling races, which they won, amounting to about £30 in money, with gold medal for each race. Elated with their good luck our crew moved on the same evening to Paris. The following morningoursix Britons were again on the banks of the Seine; and owing to the great number of boats that were entered for the different races, 15 and 18 for each race, they had to pull trial matches. The final heats commenced at 3 o'clock and after some of the hottest races ever run the English crew won them all, five in number, and added another .£4O and five medals to their trophies.

American Slave Labor and Free Labor. — Daily News. —We want to know (and our cousins should equally desire the information) why it is free-labor" produce of the states cannot compete successfully with that of France, while their slave-labor produce exported continues to increase in quantity but falls in value. The slave owner is obliged, whatever may be the condition of the foreign market, to maintain his hands, and he only stops increasing his produce of cotton, or turns his people to some other occupation, when he is on the verge of ruin. But the free cultivator of the north-west regulates his conduct immediately by the markets, and instead of growing wheat and grinding it into flour, fattens pigs or makes cheese, or leaves agriculture for some more successful pursuit. We are told accordingly that agriculture in the United States is retrogading, and has been for some years. Although the expense of transit from thtii furthest-off states is now- amazingly small, it is only able to compete in the great food markets of Europe when the seasons are found particularly advantageous. But this great food market, always extending, is precisely the market best suited for the food growers of the states, and to them it is of as great importance that this market should be preserved as it is that their mavket for manufactures should be preserved for Europe. Now the tariff of the Uuited States is expressly calculated, and It effects its object to a considerable extent, to exclude the manufactures of Europe, and especially of England from the market of the states, and exactly in proportion as it is efficacious to this end, it limits or destroys the food market of Europe for the agriculturists of the United States. . Were Franca to increase in manufactures, she must become a constantly food-importing country like England. Thus the American tariff which limits the sale of the manufactures of France as well as of England in the American market shuts out pro tanto the agricultural produce of the states from the European markets. That agriculture in the states does not flourish as it ought is the consequence of the protective tariif • But for the protective tariff agriculture would extend much more rapidlyand thefree population would increase in proportion faster than the slave population.

Cricket.—A. numerously attended meeting of the Cricketer's Association was held last evening, at Mr. Cunningham's Commercial Hotel, Mr. J. R.Clayton in the chair. The preliminaries for the approaching intercolonial match were freely discussed, and several new arrangements confirmed. Mr. R. Driver, junior (the secretary), submitted a communication from the Victoria Committee, regretting their inability to assent to an alteration of the date (2nd February), upon which it had previously been agreed to play the grand match. Mr. Tunks was appointed umpire, and Mr. P. Curtis, sco;er, for the great occasion. It was determined that the eleven players to represent New South Wales should be chosen on Monday, the 2ndJaunary next. The general oommittee having made arrangements with Mr. Richardson (of Bathurst), Mr. N. Thompson, and Mr. R. Murray, as round-arm bowlers, for daily attandance on the ground, prior to the departure of the eleven for Melbourne, the proceeding was confirmed by the meeting. Several new members of the association were elected and enrolled. It was proposed that so soon as the champion eleven are chosen, a series of scratch matches should be played by them against the best sixteen who will enter the field; and as it was reasonably anticipated that such matches would create more than ordinary interest, it was suggested that a small fee might be asked for admission to the enclosure, the receipts from such source to be incorporated with the general fund. A conversation took place as to the advisability of seeking the sanction of the proper authorities to the erection of a pavilion on the Domain ground, and thia undoubtedly would afford a very pleasant resort, as well from the glare of the sun's rays as from sudden showers; and at the same time might be convenient as a place for refreshment^ &o. The meeting gave authority to the officers to ' point but to the various clubs having the right to'practice on the Domain, ground, thedesirability of having but one set of vvi^ets pitched,.during the month to intervene before' the matth and to suggest, that the numbers of such cViiTbs should join in practice witty the Eleven A scratch match is. to be played in the Domain to-day between the eleven highest scorers in the match, <( l^atiojnal v. Albert," and any sixteen. The return, match, " Albert v. National," takes 'place on. Monday.— Sydney HemM % Dec. 24. • *

The following motion was made and carried at a recent meeting ot a colored parish in thi 8

city:—

" Mister Moderator, —In consekens ob de full attendus at dis meetin1, I moobe de meetin' nex' Wednesday ebenia' am. postponed to dis Monday ebenia far de chow ah direc-