INVESTMENTS. 277 



asfffreg-ate tonna2:e of 1,464 tons, in 1889 was Canadian invest- 



^^ ^ ^ ' ' ment, iu 1890. 



$200,500/ or S83.50 per ton, wliicli is $38.04 

 per ton less than tlie valuation given in 1890. 

 It is difficult to see how the wear and tear on a 

 vessel can appreciate its value, but such seems 

 to be the case with the Victoria sealing fleet, 

 according to the reports of Canadian officials. 



But admittino' the Canadian valuation to be Contrast bo- 



^ tween British and 



correct, the British capital (£1,000,000) invested <^=^"';'^'/"''''^'-^t- 



' X \ 7 7 / mcuts lu 1890. 



in the sealskin industry, which latter must be 

 abandoned if pelagic sealing continues, exceeds 

 the investment of Canada by over $4,600,000; 

 in other words, the Canadian capital invested is 

 less than 6 per cent of the British investment. 



The value of the Victoria fleet of forty-nine ,.^Jtm''eut! 1^1891." 

 vessels and outfit in 1891 is given by the Cana- 

 dian Fisheries Report for that year as $425,150, 

 which is also excessive." According to the Cana- 

 dian valuation of 1890 the average value per ton 

 for the fleet, including outfit, is $130.20; in 1891 

 the same authority gives the valuation per ton 

 for vessels and outfit as $132.73, or $2.53 per 

 ton over and above the inflated valuation of 

 1890. Levi W. Myers, esq.. United States con- 

 sul at Victoria, had a careful estimate made of 

 the value of the vessels engaged in the sealing 

 business in Victoria, by two experts, both resi- 



1 T. T. Williams, Vol. II, p- 499-500. 



- Canadian Fisheries Report (1891) p. Lxxxv, 



