196 
PORTER’S* JOURNAL. 
Partido, Soccoro, and Quibo, and cruizing in the Gulph of Cali¬ 
fornia. In the course of this voyage, which occupied twenty-two 
months, it does not appear that he made either any new discove¬ 
ries, or accomplished the object for which he was sent out. It 
was found necessary, therefore, to stimulate seamen to the under¬ 
taking voyages of such length and importance (where their suf¬ 
ferings were like to be so great), by every motive of interest, arid 
to this end, on the 22d June, 1795, the British parliament passed 
an act for further encouraging and regulating the southern whale- 
fisheries, in which it is enacted, that for eight whale ships or ves¬ 
sels which shall sail from England on the last day of December 
of every year, for three years, and proceed into the Pacific, either 
by the way of the Streights of Magellan, or around Cape Horn, 
and shall not return in less than sixteen calendar months, nor be 
absent longer than two years, premiums shall be allowed as fol¬ 
lows : 
The ship bringing the greatest quantity of oil and head-mat¬ 
ter, provided it exceeds thirty tons, is entitled to six hundred 
pounds : and each of the other seven ships (provided the oil and 
head-matter exceeds thirty tons) is entitled to five hundred 
pounds. And on the 25th May, 1811, it was enacted, that premi¬ 
ums should be paid for the three succeeding years to ten ships, 
under the conditions aforesaid. 
It was also further enacted (with a view of extending the 
whale-fisheries, and giving encouragement to foreigners to esta¬ 
blish themselves in England, and particularly Americans, who 
were supposed to be the most skilful in that pursuit), that forty 
families of foreigners, who had carried on that business, might 
establish themselves at the port of Milford, in the county of Pem¬ 
broke, bringing with them twenty ships, with their crews, on giv¬ 
ing bond, that they will reside in the kingdom of Great Britain 
during three years, and that they will not absent themselves du¬ 
ring that time, without the consent of his majesty, except it be on 
a whaling-voyage. Those ships, on their first arrival, and after¬ 
wards, were allowed to import cargoes of oil, on paying the same 
duties as are paid on oil imported in British vessels, provided the. 
owner should have taken the oath of allegiance to his majesty, in 
