72 WHALE-FISHKRY. 



not until they had determined to abandon the trade. 

 The bounty first offered to adventurers, consisted in 

 tin annual award of 20s. iJCi' ton on the burden or 

 tonnage of all British whale-fishing ships of 200 tons 

 and upwards *. Two ships sent out by private in- 

 dividuals, alone enjoyed the benefit of this bounty ; 

 but yet it appears without deriving any advantage 

 from the voyage. 



The Bergen Greenland Conipan}% at this time 

 again resolved to renew the Davis' Straits trade f ; 

 but whether it was confined to the traffic with the 

 Esquimaux, or it likewise extended to the whale- 

 fishery, does not appear ; at any rate, this trial, like 

 their former, seems to have been so imbecile, as to 

 merit but little of our curiosity as to the event. 



In 1736, a London ship, which visited the whale- 

 fishery, procured a cargo of seven fish \ ; a degree of 

 .success which was fortunately different from that 

 of most of tlie antecedent English whalers. At the 

 same time, 191 Dutch ships captured 85 7 j whales. 

 A successful attempt was also made in the whale- 

 fishery the following year from Ireland, a number 

 of fish having been killed in the neighbouring sea, 

 sufficient to supply several counties with oil and 

 bone ^. 



*6tl) Geo. II. c. 33. + Hist des Peches, torn. iii. 



X Anderson, a. d. 1736. § Gent. Mag. vol. vii. p. 70S-. 



