386 APPENDIX TO COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



I had the honour to iuforui yonr Excellency on the 12th November, 1819, that I coulp 

 not lind amongst the jiapers left by my predecessor any trace of proposals made by 

 M. Dobello, or of instructions given to him. From the Agreement and letter now 

 received, I conclude that he was instructed, or permitted, amongst other things, to 

 endeavour to establish a whale fishery on the shores of Kamtshatka, and it follows 

 that this matter has already been inquired into, and that some decision has been 

 arrived at by the Government. Under these circumstances, the Government will 

 only have to examine the terms of the Agreement. In case, however, contrary to 

 what appears to be the case, the matter should not yet have been decided, even in 

 principle much less in detail, I venture to offer the following observations: 



1. As to the principle of the establishment of the whale fishery. 



The advantage of establishing it may be twofold: First, an immediate advantage, 

 consisting in the fact that food will be supplied to the people of Kamtshatka. This 

 will be a great benefit in case the supply of fish, which is almost the only means of 

 subsistence of the people of Kamtshatka, should fail. Your Excellency will see, from 

 the inclosed extract from a letter from the Governor of Okhotsk, with what delight 

 the Tunguz iuhabiting the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk hailed, last autumn, the 

 appearance of the carcasses of whales thrown up by the sea on their coast. The 

 second advantage consists in the prosjiect of the gradual establishment of whaling 

 operations with whalers of our own. This advantage is a very remote one, and I do 

 not think that whaling carried on by our Government is ever likely to be a success. 

 There is a great difl:'e)ence between having ten sailors taught whaling and estab- 

 lishing a Russian whale fishery; ships, tackle, money, and, above all, a master's eye, 

 are indispensable. But even if we consider that the ultimate establishment of a Rus- 

 sian whale fishery is possible, and even probable, the following drawbacks to placing 

 the industry in the hands of foreigners must be taken into consideration : 



(1.) We are familiar with the complaints made by the American Company in 

 regard to the bartering carried on by citizens of the United States at their estab- 

 lishments, and in regard to their supplying the natives with fire-arms. Tliese com- 

 plaints are well-founded, but nothing can be done iu the matter. It would be use- 

 less to apply to the United States Government to stop the trading; the commercial 

 rules of the United States do not allow such interference on the part of their Gov- 

 ernment. The only thing to be done is for the Company to endeavour to strengthen 

 the defences of the principal places in the Colonies, and for the Government, at least, 

 not to favour this foreign trade. But the establishment of a whale fishery on the 

 eastern shores of Siberia would undoubtedly favour it in a high degree. The estab- 

 lishment of a whale fishery would be a pretext for, and an encouragement to, foreign 

 trade. 



(2.) Although the fur industry in Kamtshatka and Okhotsk, which has been declin- 

 ing from various causes, has now become unimportant, nevertheless, the present trade 

 and its prospects for the future are in the hands of Russian traders. If an industry 

 in the hands of foreigners is established on the coast, the whole trade will certainly 

 pass into foreign hands. In this thinly-populated region it is impossible to establish 

 an effective supervision; moreover, how is the imi)ortation of brandy, rum, &c., to 

 be prevented? 



(3.) The American Company may, and, in the interest of the consolidation and 

 preservation of its Colonies, ought to wish to establish a whale fishery of its own, 

 employing for the purpose its own servants, or, at any rate, keeping the operations 

 in its own hands. Its present financial position is not merely satisfactory, but bril- 

 liant; its operations should therefore be extended, but the Agreement concluded 

 with the foreigners will place insurmountable obsfacles in the way of such extension. 



(4.) M. Ricorl says, in his letter, that, owing to the smallness of our forces in that 

 part of the world, we cannot prevent foreigners from whaling. In the first place, 

 we may not be so weak as he supposes. The occasional appearance of a single prop- 

 erly-armed ship may be sufficient to keep quiet and disperse all these whalers. In 

 the second place, if they are able to get possession of this industry by force, why 



should this force be sanctioned by a formal Agreement? 

 61 2. These observations on the principle of establishing the whale fishery may 



be supplemented by the following remarks on the provisions of the Agreement: 



(1.) If Pigott himself asked for nothing more than a local and limited pe.rmit for 

 taking whales on the shores of Kamtshatka, why is he not given such a limited per- 

 mit, which could easily be withdrawn at will? Why sign an Agreement for ten 

 years? In what way is this Agreement binding on Pigott? Will it, or can it, force 

 him to carry on the industry if he does net find it profitable? How easily he could 

 find pretexts for evading or rendering useless the one stipulation which is in our 

 favour, namely, that which provides for the instruction of our sailors in whaling. 



(2.) Why was it considered necessary to use in the Agreement the indefinite 

 expression "Eastern Siberia," instead of the word "Kamtshatka"? By the use of 

 the words " Eastern Siberia," the right to fish for whales is extended not only to the 

 Sea of Okhotsk, but also to the Kurile Islands, which our American Company will, 

 after this, be forced to give up. 



