Sandal- Wood and its Commercial Importance. 83 



the "Brigand," which, however, was frustrated by the pru- 

 dence of the captain. An attack on the " Sisters " unhappily 

 proved successful, and since that time a number of white lives 

 have been sacrificed in trading with Mare for sandal-wood. 

 When H.M.S. " Havannah," Capt. Erskine, visited the Loyalty 

 Islands, it was learnt that Capt. Lewis had shot a native, who 

 with some others attempted to board the " Will-o'-the-Wisp." 

 The justification of his conduct given by Capt. Lewis not being 

 deemed sufficient, a complaint was lodged at Sydney, in con- 

 sequence of which Lewis was arrested on an accidental visit to 

 the place, and on the 7th July, 1851, brought to trial for 

 murder. Though every effort was made to obtain a conviction, 

 the jury found the prisoner not guilty. Capt. Lewis then 

 returned to his station, and one of the first acts of the natives 

 was to capture his cutter and murder the whole of her crew. 



Owing to the ferocious character of the Polynesian natives 

 in whose islands the sandal-trees grow, and the difficulty 

 hitherto experienced to put this trade upon a different footing 

 than it is at present, the loss of life resulting from this species 

 of commerce is proportionally much greater than experienced in 

 the whaling trade, with which it ranks as the most adventurous 

 of callings. Mr. M'Gillivray, who is now employed in the 

 sandal-wood trade, states that the profits obtained from this 

 species of commerce are sometimes enormous, whatever that 

 may mean. Lieut. Pollard, formerly of H.M.S. " Havannah," 

 has furnished more satisfactory estimates, as far as the South 

 Sea is concerned, and shows that in the case of the "Julia 

 Percy," which cost £1200 with her boats, yielded in one voy- 

 age, after all expenses, including interest, and amounting to 

 £2595, had been paid, a clear profit of £1182 4s. to the 

 owner. The Australian vessels employed in the collection are 

 in general small, and such as have been nearly worn out, and 

 are unfitted for other branches of commerce. The crews, col- 

 lected at Sydney, or picked up amongst the islands, are almost 

 universally paid by the lay, as in whaling voyages ; that is, by 

 a share either of the wood collected, or of the value calculated 

 at a low fixed price (about £12 a ton), the proportion for each 

 seaman being one seventy-second part, so that for every 

 ton of sandal -wood he receives £12. The amount of trade 

 between the Australian colonies and China depends entirely 

 on the price of the commodity in the market, which varies 

 from £40 to £12 a ton. 



