PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TICO. 885
سائل
22 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE ]. BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC:
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
*
28
Whaling cannon. —
-Whaling cannon are not part of the equipment of a floating factory, but the "Benguela was taking one home. It is of the type now usual, namely a glycerine recoil cannon firing a heavy harpoon, fitted with four flukes or claws barbed and hinged, and an explosive head beyond the flukes. The cannon is about 6 feet long over all and 4 feet in the barrel, with a bore of 34 inches. A long sight is fixed above the barrel. Below the barrel is the glycerine apparatus to take up the recoil, having the appearance of a second shorter barrel. The harpoon is about 6 feet long and weighs over a hundredweight. Its stem is slit right through for about 4 feet, and a rope attachment runs in this slit. Before the harpoon is fixed this attachment is at the front of the slit, where the latter protrudes from the muzzle of the gun, and when the harpoon leaves the gun the attachment slides down to the hinder end. The explosive head of the harpoon is screwed on in front of the barbed flukes and fixed by a time fuse ignited by the discharge of the gun itself and adjusted so as to explode in the whale's body. Harpoons are occasionally lost, but, as a rule, are used many times with the renewal of the explosive head only.
With the exception of the introduction of the glycerine recoil apparatus, this form of gun has hardly changed since the days of its discoverer Svend Foyn.
Its useful range is limited to a maximum of 60 yards, according to Herr Krogh- Hansen. Mr. Salvesen says the ordinary range is 15 to 20 yards. Considerable skill is required for its use, and the difference between individual operators is marked. One of the steam whalers attached to the "Benguela" secured 261 whales, against 241 secured by the other two combined. This was mainly, if not entirely, due to better shooting.
Whale-oil: Uses, value, &c.—Whale-oil is used as a substitute for linseed, cotton- seed, and other vegetable oils. The quantity of whale-oil produced is very small in comparison with that of the vegetable oils, and accordingly the price of the former is entirely dependent on that of the latter. The best quality is largely used for making margarine, and other qualities for making soap.
The prices of whale oil per ton packed in barrels are now (December, 1912), for the various qualities as follows:-
No. 1, £20.
No. 2, £18.
No. 3, £16 10s.
No. 4, £15.
No. 1 is the best quality of oil obtained from the blubber, No. 2 is obtained from the tongue and liver fat, No. 3 from the flesh and bones, and No. 4 consists of inferior oil, such as oil which has been damaged in boiling or has been obtained from carcases not perfectly fresh. The " Benguela" brought home the equivalent of 8,000 barrels of No. 1, 1,500 barrels of No. 2 and 4,000 barrels of No. 3.
This oil was in tanks and will cost about £2 5s. a ton to pack in barrels. Accordingly the value of the eargo was about £36,000, and, I am informed, will probably show a margin of only 12 or 15 per cent. over the out-of-pocket expenses, ie., without allowing for depreciation or reserve fund.
1)
Other whale products.--Guano is worth £5 or £6 a ton, and a humpback yields about a ton of it. The gross value of this product not utilised by the " Benguela was therefore about £1,900 to £2,250, but, owing to the high cost of production of guano afloat, it is doubtful whether any profit could have resulted if its manufacture had been undertaken.
The "Benguela" also brought about 10 tons of humpback whalebone, worth about £10 a ton. Whalebone has fallen in price nearly one half in the last twelve months, and its present prices per ton are:-
Humpback, £8 to £10.
Fin or blue whales, £35. Right whales, £850-£700.
28 December, 1912.
E. R. D.
2095
SIR,
29
No. 18.
UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA.
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
(Received 18 January, 1913.)
(Confidential.)
Governor-General's Office, Pretoria,
30 December, 1912.
I HAVE the honour to transmit to you herewith, with reference to your despatch, Confidential, of 11th July, 1912,* copy of a Minute, No. 1059, from Ministers, with enclosures, dated 24th December, on the subject of the protection and preservation of whales.
I have, &c.,
(Minute. No. 1059.)
Enclosure in No. 18.
GLADSTONE,
Governor-General
Prime Minister's Office, Pretoria, 24 December, 1912. With reference to a Confidential Minute, dated the 3rd of August last, from His Excellency the Acting Governor-General, on the subject of the protection and preservation of whales, Ministers have the honour to state that the position of affairs in the Union is, at present, somewhat as follows:-
1. A number of sites have been leased at various localities on the coasts of both Natal and the Cape Provinces for the purpose of the erection of whaling fac- tories, and of these some nine are already occupied by buildings in which whaling operations are being carried on. The remaining fifteen sites are not yet actually being used for whaling purposes, but in most cases the companies are in course of formation with a view to their occupation and the commencement of whaling as soon as possible. The leases of these sites in the Cape Province are each for a period of one year, renewable at the end of each year, at the option of the lessee, for a period of not exceeding a total of twenty-five years. In Natal the leases are for a period of five years, renewable at the option of the lessee in each case for a further period of five years. The leasing of these sites was effected by the Union Government with the consent, in the Cape Province, of Parliament, but the control of whaling opera- tions, after the leases have once been entered into, is in the hands of the Provincial authorities.
2. This control in Natal is exercised by the Honourable the Administrator on the lines laid down by Act 31, of 1906, of that Colony, and of the regulations con- tained in Government Notice, No. 17, of 1907, which were issued thereunder. Recently, however, an amending Ordinance (No. 12, of 1912), providing specially for the control of whaling, was passed, and regulations under it are in course of preparation for promulgation as soon as possible.
3. In the Cape Province the Honourable the Administrator has the power to deal with fishing matters (inclusive of whaling) under the authority of the Fisheries Ordinance of 1911 (Cape). Draft regulations have been framed and, having been submitted to the Union Government some months ago, were returned to the Pro- vincial Administration, but they have not yet been issued, as provided in Section 8 of the Ordinance.
Owing to the fact that in the Cape no licence has up to the present been issued specially authorising the capture of whales, there has been no necessity for the com- panies operating to furnish a return showing the number of animals captured by them. It is, therefore, impossible to furnish at present a return showing the destruc- tion which has occurred among whales off the South African coast, but, from the information available, it would appear that an average catch of from 30 to 40 whales per month for each factory may be regarded as probable. For the information
• No. 7.