The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-07-30
wu1id compensate us for the loss for the decline
of the while 6shery9 -.-......

wouid compensate for the oss for the decline
| Mr.. President, ! have tried to win the favor of
the Senate toward the National whale fishery for
purpose. The whales have found retreat in
the Seas Of Ocbotsk and Anadir, soutb Of Bhering
Straits and in that part of the Arctic Ocean lying
nerth Of them. in 1913, Captain Roys in the whale
| ship Superior, passed through those seas and
known way and nm inhosptable climate. He filed
his ship in few weeks. and the news of his
cess went abroad. In FS49 Heet of 1854 sail went
up to thi: new hshing,ground; in 1850, fleet Of
i44j and in 1851, fleet Of les. The vessels
ii.ahbea With thirty persons each and their
lue, incicdln6 that Of the average annual cargoes
procured there, 10 equal to nine mIIions-and
thus exceeds by near two millions tho highest
annual import from China. Bot these fteeis are
beset by not only such dangers of their calling
as customariiy occur on well-explored hshing-
aTounds, but aso by the multiplied dangers-
Of shfpwreck resulting from the want of accu-
rate Typographical knowledge the only charts Of
these seas being imperfect end unsatisfactory.
While many and deplorabe losses were sustained
by he deets OF ls49-5O we have aiready Informal
tiOn OF tie pSs o. eleven vessels, one thirteenth,
part of the Whole feet Of 1861, many Of which dis
asters might baye been avoided had there been
charts, accurately indicating the shoals and head
lands, and also places Of sheltered anchorage near
them. These facts are represented to us by the
merchants, ship-ownera, aud underwriters, and
are confirmed by Lieutenant Maury, who presides
in this department of sccncs in the navy well
in the labors and atudies of the National Observa-
tory. We want, then, not bounties protec ton,
nor even accurate survey, but simply explo-
ration and Reconnaissance OF these seas, which have
recently become she theatre Of profitable adven-
ture and brave achievement OF our whale hunters.
This service can be performed by oihcers and
crews now belonging to the navy, in two or three
eessels which already belong or may be added to
It, arid would continue at most only throughout
two or three years. Happily, the measure involves
nothing new, untried, or uncommon. 70 say moth
ing of recent search for the lamented Sir John
Franklin, nor OF our great exploring expedition
under Captain Wilkes, we already engaged in
trianguatng a coast survey of the Atlantic shore.
Charts, light houses, and beacous show the pilot
his way not over that ocean and among it's siands.
but along all our rivers and even upon our inand
LAKES. The absence of similar guides and beacons
IN the waters now In results from the iact
that the Pacific coas but recently fallen undo.
under our sway, and Hhsving Straits and the seas
they connect have not until now been frequently
navigatcd by the senmen of any nation. Certainly
somebody Inost do this service. But who viii:
The whalers cannot. No foreign nation will for
none il interested. The constitutional power and
responsibility rests with the Federal Government.
and its means adequate. ~ .s. ..
California ia near this fshing ground. Her en-
terprisng citizens are already engaged in this
suit1 and henceforward the whale hunters of Nan
tucket mus. compete with new rival possessing
the advantage Of nearness to the scenes OF ,heir
abors. California, therefore, joins Massachusetts
in this reasonable demand. -. .&.-
MIR. President, the small exploring fleet thus
proposed would be obliged to quit the northern
seas early in September, and could not return to
them until the succeeding June. Propose that il
should spend that long season in pertaining Ger,
vice not dissimiar under mder skics, in that part
OF the Pacific ocean and its adjoining seas which
is usually traversed BY vessels sailing from New
York and San Francisco 10 China and the Indies.
Remember. sir, II You please, that not only has no
Asiatic prince, merchant, or navigator, ever e1-
plored this one OF all the oceans the broadcast and
most crowded and crowned with islands, but that
they have forbidden that exploration by European
navigators, who have performed whatever has been
done at the peril, and often at the cost, of impri
| comment and death. We have made no accurate
survey, for we have only Just arrived and
taken our stand on the Pacific coast We are new
Oh that ocean--nay, We are only as OF yesterday
upon this continent; and yet maps and charts are
as necessary to the seafaring man thai ocean 60
on any other; and just as necessary ON every ocean
as monuments ana guides are to him who travcrses
deserts Of sand or wastcs of tracklcss sno~.
Lieutenant Maury Informs US that every nnvi-
sense Of surrounding dangers-they exist. and ye:
the only charts that have been made fail to indi-
cate in what forms or in what places they will ap
ination, that a large leland called 6usina, sup
posed to be thickly Inhabited and highly cult
vaed lies in the fair way to China, and yet no ves
sci has ever touched or gone around il. 1t would
repay tenfold the cost OF the whole exploration if
VIC shonld find on that island good harbor and o
friendly people," Hosburgh's charts Il these paa.
sages are the best. Bot these are of old dates and
although they have been corrected from time to
time, yet they are very imperfect. The shoals in
the China sea- the of Japan, and the straits OF
Casper, are represented to by navigators as be
ing formed of coral, mixture of animal and veg
eable organization, and therefore increasing rap
iply In magnitude rs they approach near 10 the
surface OF the waters il is particularly necessary
to explore and note the shoals and islands lying
between the coast of Palawan on the China and
that OF Cochin. China, and also the shoals in the
vicinity of West London, Prince of Wales. and.
Paulo Sapata islands. The perils existing there
o6l'ge ships going up and coming down through
those seas against the monsoons TO beat at di:sd-
vantage. while an exploration would probably
disclose eddies and Currents which would allow
OF straight courses where now no one dare pursue
them. Clements Strait and the Caramatu Pasz
sage are filled with the same dangers. Again
the great outlet from The China into the
passages between the islands Of Luconia and
the coast Of China and Formosa, need 10 be sur
veyed, although the islands are generally well de-
signated on the maps. Then proceeding north
wardly, regard to the safety OF the whalemap
demands that the islands between the coasts Of
China and japan, and from thence TO the Loo
Choo Islands, and 30 on TO the Russian POSSESSIONS
and along them eastwardly 10 Bhering Straits.
should be surveyed. The last attempt 10 perform
that duty was made by small Russian fleet.
which was captured and destroyed, while its off,
Gers and crew were Imprisoned by the Japanese.
Lastly, IA we advance eastwardly in the very
track pursued by our wbaers and China men, SO
encounter ISLANDS, and many shoals imperiecty
defined, aud especially the BoDin islands; whiic
prudence requires a careful nossance also Of
the Fox islands, which, although lying somowha,
northwardly OF the passage, might, il well known,
Afford shelter in case Of Indictment weather. Huber
you must carry your own mails tho Pacific
ocean, or Great Britain will carry them for you,
and in either case they will be carried very SOON
by steam. Yet for want OF the very money. pro
pose you have no cualing station, and can make
none, although the voyage would be seven thou
sand miles long. THIS reconnaissance IN L tcn.
perate latitude Is demanded 10y the mcrchants,
underwriters, and navigators in uil our a tisn,ic
as well as in our two great Pacific porte, aud the
argument f"r il rests on the same foundation with
that which supports the proposition for the moro
northwardy exploration
Sir, have you looked recently at the China tradef
1t reachcs already seven millions in value annual.
ly. Have you watched the California trader. Jts
export Of bullion alone already exceeds fifty NIL,
hons of dollars annually, and yet the mineral
development Ut that State has only begun. The
settlement OF the Pacific Is in a stale If sheer
infancy. There IL, speaking relatively. neithcr
capital nor labor there adequate to exhibit ths
ivrces OF industry that might be employed in tina,
wonderful region. Nor Ia California yet cOnyc
nientiy acccei IDLE. The railway across PLnaml
is not yet completed. The passage through Mica.
ragua is not perfect; thai which leads through