216 Australian Life 



the residents often find a few oyster shells upon 

 the beach at low tide. A new arrival there 

 had the pleasure of opening his first find and dis- 

 covering two pearls, one worth ^10, and the 

 other worth ^50. This took place in the presence 

 of a resident who had been picking up shells for 

 years without any notable result, and the disgust 

 of the latter was naturally too deep for words. 

 The pearls are sometimes found in the fish, some- 

 times attached to the shell, and sometimes in a 

 "blister" covered over with mother-of-pearl. 



The crews of the pearling boats are paid from 

 thirty to fifty shillings a month, according to 

 their length of service, while the divers earn a 

 great deal more. Most of them are engaged 

 under contract at Singapore, and when the term 

 of service has expired are able to renew their 

 engagement on better terms. A clever and reli- 

 able diver is thus placed in the position of being 

 able to make his own terms, and these are fre- 

 quently a very remunerative kind. The masters 

 of the boats are made responsible for their men, 

 and should one of these desert his boat and escape 

 into Australia, a penalty of ^100 is inflicted. As 

 a further precaution, these men are not even 

 allowed to go ashore until an official permit has 

 been obtained. These conditions are considered 

 quite severe enough by those engaged in the in- 

 dustry, and they threaten they will transfer their 

 headquarters to Dutch territory (in Java or else- 

 where) if any further restrictions are imposed. 



