THK WHALE FISIIKUY. 207 



"During tin- sie^e l>y iln> An^lo- French licet tbe Tnrko was in the harbor of Petiopaulovsk, 

 but succeeded in making her escape, discharging liri- valuable cargo at Kailiak for safe keeping, 

 and liually reached Silka, where slie remained safely unlil I lie end of I lie \vai. 



" Tlie third whale-ship dis])a(elied to tlie Isortli Paeiiie from Finland was tin- Aian. 540 tons. 

 She was commanded by a Finlamler. Captain Knderg, and readied the sea of Okhotsk in 1854. 

 The eatdi dining the lir>l year \vas not great, and in the spring of 1S55 the naval commander of 

 Kamtchatka ordered the captain to land his cargo and to transport tbe families of officers and 

 soldiers from I'etropavlovsk to t he Amour, and during this voyage the ship was captured by 

 an English frigate and burned. At the end of the war the whaling company discovered tbat, 

 though 110 actual loss had been incurred, tbe profits of the business were not what they had 

 expected, and the subsequent operations do not seem to have been pushed witb energy or vigor. 



" A few more ships were fitted out, but as soon as tbey returned with tbeir cargoes of oil and 

 bone they were sold for whatever price tbey would bring. It was perhaps unfortunate for tbe 

 interests of the Eussian whaling industry in tbe North Pacific that the company engaged in the 

 business was so closely connected with the Enssiau- American Company, which was then becoming 

 more deeply embarrassed every year."* 



WHALE FISHERY OF FRANCE. 



" The whale fishery was established in France in 1784, by means of encouragements held out 

 by Louis XVI, who ordered that no duty should be collected on tbe articles exported, and that the 

 produce of the fisheries should pay no import duty. He guaranteed the adventurers against loss, 

 and ultimately paid, in addition to 12,500, which he advanced without interest, an additional 

 Mini of 6,695, being tbe balauce of loss on seventeen voyages ; but notwithstanding these encour- 

 agements, tbe whole project was abandoned in 1787. In 1816 the offer of bounties attracted new 

 adventurers into this branch of trade. The premium offered by the Government was 50 francs 

 (*-.') per man, and two-thirds of the crews were allowed to be foreigners. In 1819 40 francs were 

 allowed to foreign vessels having a crew half French, 50 francs when tho captain and one-third 

 of tbe crew were French, the premium to be doubled if the vessel passed Cape Horn. In 18'_'9 a 

 new ordinance granted 90 francs per ton on vessels wholly equipped by Frenchmen, 40 francs when 

 only two-thirds were Frenchmen, and 30 francs if the captain was a foreigner. The premium was 

 doubled if tbe vessel passed Cape Horn. A supplementary premium was allowed to vessels fishing 

 to the southeast of tlie Cape of Good Hope, and the double premium was given to all vessels fish- 

 ing at a higher northern latitude than 60 degrees, and as the fishing is seldom or never prosecuted 

 at a lower latitude, this premium of 180 francs per ton (7 4.v.) was invariably paid. The law of 

 1832, which regulates the whale fishery of France, established a bounty of 70 francs per ton from 

 March, 1832, to March, IS.",:!, if the whole crew were French ; the bounty to be diminished 4 francs 

 yearly till it reached 54 francs. If one-third of tbe crew be foreigners, the bounty to be 48 francs 

 per ton, to diminish 1' trains yearly till it reached 40 francs per ton. A supplementary bounty to 

 be given of 50 francs per ton if the crew be French, decreasing :i francs per juinnin per ton ; and 24 

 francs if one-third be foreigners, decreasing ! franc per annum, to be paid to vessels doubling Cape 

 Horn, or reaching 62 degrees of south latitude, if returning with less than half a cargo or after an 

 absence of sixteen months ; "ino tons to be the minimum for a single whaler. 



"Witb these extraordii. :ry encouragements capital was attracted to this new line of industry, 

 and in 1831 three vessels cleared out for the Greenland whale fishery and thirteen for tbe South 



" Report on the Population, Industries, anil . E AlH liy I\:m IVIrnlt', spn-i.-il a^iut I T . S. (' 



Washington. 11. 



