CONFIRMATION BY BISHOP SELWFN. 409 
say, 'I am grateful.' The Bishop remained 
with us on this occasion three days, and held a 
confirmation of three persons, there being no 
more of sufficient age. His Lordship then made 
sail for the Isles of darkness in this vicinity; and 
we are expecting his return in a week or two, on 
his way to Auckland. He is as kind as ever, 
and we are the recipients of many, very many 
favours at his hands. There is no one here but 
loves his lordship truly. 
" Our people succeeded in taking a hundred 
and twenty barrels of oil last year, one hundred 
of which were sent to Sydney, and realized 
£240. This money has just been remitted to 
us, but will not more than cover the expenses of 
the fitting out of last season, and the cost of 
new boats, lines, casks, &c. for an establishment 
on a larger scale this year. We have now four 
boats well equipped, which require twenty- 
four men to work them. The whaling season 
is now almost over; but not more than thirty 
barrels of oil have yet been secured, owing to 
the scarcity and shyness of the whales ; but 
this is nothing strange in the whaling lottery : 
another year may be altogether as plentiful. 
Two weeks since they killed three large cow 
whales, but they sank immediately (a common 
case) ; one was afterwards recovered, but the 
sharks had so preyed upon it that not more than 
fifteen barrels of oil were obtained. In the 
meUe at that time we had one boat smashed, 
but the boat's crew would not run from the 
whale. With a hole in the fore part of the boat 
big enough for a man to go through, they all 
