The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1852-07-31

Der, l7S2. ''On the Sd of February, l7S3" Ct read from
sn English paper OF that period) ''the ship Bedford.
Caplan Moores belonging 10 Massachusetts. arrived in
The Downs She passed Grayesend on the 4th. and on
me ON was reported al the custom house London
She was not allowed regular entry unn after con
sullaon between the Commissioners of Customs and the
Lords OF the Council, account of the many acts OF
Parliament yet IN force again. the rebels of America
She was loaded with 3s7 barrels of whale oil and man
ned wholly with American seamen, and belonged 10 The
island of Nantucket, The vessel lay at the Horsey-
Downs, little below the Tower, and was the first
which displayed The thirteen stripes OF America in any
British port"
Nevertheless the lost vantage ground was not easily
nor speedily regained The effort made agains, pro
lection, against exclusion in fotegn markets. and against
bounlies by the English government equivalent TO forty
dollars per man employed, fifty per cent the value
OF every cargo obained--bounes not occasionally nor
rregularly offered but continued from 1850 10 1924 and
amounting IN the aggregate 10 three ml,onr OF pounds
sterling. Nor this all These bounties, enhanced
tucke, fsherlnen condition OF their abandoning their
country and becoming Inhabitants OF the ad acen British
colonies, of the British islands II seemed indeed,
hat crisis in this great national interest had come
Happily, there was, the French side of the channel
a, least unwearied friend of America, there
many watchul enemies OF England Lafayette wrote
several letters 10 Boston, and arrested immigration
from Nantucket TO the British colonies and islands already
on the OF embarkaon, and then addressed himself to
The French monarch and bis France at once
the danger of transfer of so great number OF sea-
men, together with the very secret art and mystery oil
whale hunting to her hereditary and relentless enemy.
The good but i'll. faed Louis XVI equipped six whaling
and offered bounty of nine dollars per man, payable by
the Royal Treasury, to every American fisherman who
should emgrae to France. In whole year, only nine
families, containing thirty three PERSONS accepted this Of
fer; and therefore the King, in compliance with Laay
ettes first advice, adopted the expeden OF dscrimna
ting in favor OF American cargoes OF oil and whaebone
gan revive, and in 1757 17SS, and 1859, it employed
average OF 1872 vessels But s labored under the
fessure of compeiiton, stimulated by bounties both in
England and in France In 1880, the Great and General
Council OF Massachusetts appealed 10 Congress for pro-
lection to this great interest of that Commonwealth. Mr.
Jefferson the Secretary OF State, submitted elaborate
reply which, while il was liberal in It's spirit neverlhe-
less closed with the declaration, that The whale fishery
branch oil industry poor 10 come 10 nothing
with distant nations who did not support II IRON ihelr
treasuriesthat position placed shing ground
somewhat higher such relieve the national treasury
from giving support but not 10 permit it 10 derive sup
port from The fishery nor to relieve the from
the obligation 10 provide free markets fo the productions
OF the fishery, II possible"
The enterprise had not yet langushed into life when
the French revolution OF 1883 occurred, which involved
Europe and ultimately the United States, in that
swept the latter well the French and Ddlcb, from
all the fisheries, and lett them in the exclusive oyment
of Britain, who achieved in those wars her estab
lshed pre-emnence the conqueror OF the Al
their ciose the British had l46 vessels In The northern
whaling ground, which captured less than 33 whales,
and thus obtained 1880 tons OF oil and 43S tons OF
whaebone and So ships The southern whale hshery
equally successful The Americans now reentefed the
game and the tables speedy-and, as we think,
pesmanenty-tuIned in their favor In is24 the British
became discouraged, and Withdrew their bountes and 10
1912 they had than IS vessels IN The north hsl
cry, which captured only "a whales The southern fish
cry declined still more rapidly that, IN lS45 not one
British whaer appeared in the South seas Since that
time all nations have virtually abandoned this hardy
form OF penlous industry" in favor of the Americans.
The entire whaling flee, OF the world IN lS47, consisted
about 900 vessels, 10 OF which belonged France 90
TO Bremen and other poris 10 northern Europe 20 to New
Holland and other British Polyneslan colonies, and all
others, that 500 IN number with tonnage oi 24O
900 TONS belonged the United States The capital thus
employed exceeded twenty millions OF dollars, and the
annual productions of the sheres amounted TO thirteen
millions OF dollars With the decline oil this enterprise
in Great Britain, her commercial writers began to DIS
couDienance whale hshing altogether and while they
now represent II as new gambling adventure, they en-
deavor 10 stimulate the people OF continental Europe TO
substitute vegetable OILS Tor those procured IN the
Mr. President, pray consider the COST time, dangers,
and hazerd OF the whale fishery. Each vessel With It's
outht IS worth $4,000, and carries thirty able-bodled
seamen, and Is aiUat single voyage or two, per-
haps three years. IL finds the whale never below the
sixtieih degree OF latitude, and remain there only
during the brief polar summer oil three months The
whole time may elapse without whale being seen.
When discovered every stage OF his capture is oilsome,
and attended with multiplied dangers TO the assalans,
increased by the shoals the ce the storms and the fog
which protect the animal against his pnrsuers The sta
,is,ics are absolutely fnghuu to a landsman a COM
mon seaman In 1919, OF sixtythree British ships sent
10 Davss Straits, len were lost In 1921, out Of
sixty nine eleven lost Of eighty ships tha,
sailed for Davss Straits in 1880 less that eighteen
were lost twenty -four returned etenn, while not OF
the remainder had full cargo, and only two halt
fshed.
PRAY consider now SIR that the great triumph Of the
American fishermen achieved, and is still sustained,
not only without aid from the government, bu, practi
cally also without aid from the capital enterprise oi
general commerce. and indeed, TO quote the Lam
guage OF Jefferson "with auxares but poverty and
rigorous economy" The whaling fleet of the United
States in ls46 consisted of hundred and thirty
seven vessels. OF the thirty States, only hve-New
Hampshire, Rhode Island Connecticut, Massachusetts,
and New York represented and all OF them except
New York--are The States least blessed in fertility aud
climate. New Hampshire, having only single port sent
out only vessel Rhode Island, OF the three most
dminuvc States, equipped hltytvo Connecticut, small
State, sent hundred and twenty y-iour. New
York, with her extended territory, vast wealth, and stu
pcndous commercial establishments, sent only eghyh
and all the proceeded from that State inferior 10
many others in extent, wealth, and commerce, but supe
rior them all IN Intellectual and social Development
Massachusetts,
Wealth does nothing, patronage does nothing while
vgor doe. everything Tor the whale fishery In Great
Britain London resigned II in favor of those poor and
obsolete towns HUH in England and Peterhead, IN
Scotland, soon as the government bonnttes ceased
SO of the eighyfve vessels which n 1sl6 represented
port of New York. the commercial capital of the State
and OF the coanen while less than eight proceeded
from Cold Spring nook in the mountains, which
crowd toward each other Just above the city as u TO
prevent the waters of The Hudson from their destined
meeting with the tides of the All the others were
sent forth from New Suffolk Greenport, and Sag Bar
bor inconsiderabe villages hamets the outward
coast OF Long Island. Massachusetts exhibits the same
case Boston finds more lucrative employment for her
capital in spndles in railroads and in her fields OF
ice and quaries OF granite and leaves the profits and
tolls OF The whale fishery to Freetown, Falmouth, SIP
pican Warebam, Plymouth. Holiness Hole, Fall river
Provincetowp Fairhaven, New Bedford and Nantucket