196 



most of this was in my mind, and it led me to insert the concluding 

 paragraph as a venture, in which I asked if some yacht owner 

 would make his vessel available for this search. There was little 

 possibility of the large and perpetually busy South African 

 Government Fisheries research vessel being seconded for such a 

 project, but there have been a number of wealthy men, owners of 

 sea-going yachts, who have rendered great service to science by 

 placing these at the disposal of biologists over wide areas of the 

 ocean. One of them might be attracted by this venture. 



In the nightmare weeks that followed our return to Grahams- 

 town this matter had to be relegated to a temporary background, 

 but it pushed itself right to the front with the receipt of a most 

 interesting letter f»'om Jersey, Channel Islands. Dated i6th Jan- 

 uary 1953, it came from W. J. Stuttard, who represented himself 

 as owner-master of a 150-ton twin-screw yacht, La Contenta. He 

 offered this vessel, himself, and crew. He had a photographer, 

 and stated that their expedition was not a profit-making concern 

 other than what they might make out of travel-films, and he 

 mentioned their thirst for knowledge and adventure. 



The Channel Islands ! The place, we are told, to which people 

 of means or those with enough to live on without working go to 

 escape British income-tax. This looked like the answer, but even 

 though with our resources this seemed the only way, it is almost 

 always cheaper in the long run to pay in cash for what you get 

 rather than in other ways, and anything like this would need the 

 most careful handling, and even then endless difficulties and com- 

 plications can arise that had never been foreseen. No matter what 

 terms or conditions might be agreed upon in advance, should any 

 dispute arise in a case like this my party would be under most 

 severe handicaps. The possibility of trouble is much greater when 

 arrangements and agreements have to be made by correspondence. 



So I replied with gratitude but without committing myself, and 

 immediately put the issue to the Prime Minister's Department, 

 as a matter of policy, and because this gave a sounder approach 

 to the possibility of a Government vessel of some kind being sec- 

 onded for this purpose, one which despite its global interest had 

 acquired so clearly a South African national character. The reply 

 indicated that there appeared to be no valid reason for refusing 

 the offer of the La Contenta. The issue was then in turn submitted 



