252 COMMITTEE ON 



"JANUARY 30, 1835. 



" SIR : In answer to the inquiry contained in your note of the 

 25th ultimo, I send you a statement of the amount of tonnage and 

 capital at 'this moment afloat,' and engaged in the spermaceti 

 whale-fishery. 



" The document from which this statement is taken has 

 recently been prepared with great care by very competent per- 

 sons in Nantucket.* 



" The details comprise the names of the ships and barks thus 

 employed, names of the masters, ports to which they belong, dates 

 of departures, periods of absence, quantities of oil when last heard 

 from, and tonnage of vessels, respectively, together with much 

 other valuable information. ,_*. v , 



" On inspecting this tabular statement, it is found that the whole 

 number of ships engaged in this valuable branch of the fisheries 

 is 273, of which 257 are now absent, viz. : 



From New Bedford, - - - 94 

 " Nantucket, - - - - 63 

 " Fairhaven, - - - - 14 

 " Bristol, ----- 13 

 9 



Hudson, 9 



Warren, .^ r -, .'._- 7 

 Edgarton> - - - - 6 



" New London, - " "Mj 



From Falmouth, - - - - 6 



" Newport, 6 



" Sag Harbour, - - - 5 



" Salem, 3 



" Newburyport, - - - 3 



" Poughkeepsie, - - - 2 



" Portsmouth,- - - - 2 



" Dartmouth, - - - - 2 



And one from each of the following ports, viz. : Boston, Plymouth, 

 Wareham, Rochester, Portland, Wiscasset, Fall River, Providence, 

 Stonington, Newburgh, New York, and Wilmington, (Delaware). 

 Sixteen ships only are in port, belonging as follows : To New 

 Bedford, 7; Nantucket, 5; Fairhaven, Plymouth, Sag Harbour, 

 and Edgarton, each one. 



" The agregate tonnage of the 257 absent ships is nearly one 

 hundred thousand tons. The number of seamen and navigators 

 employed on board these vessels is not far from nine thousand. 



* "Nantucket Inquirer." 



