Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North West And Western Australia Volume 1 (Of 2) by George Grey (read book txt) 📕

Them Is A Species Of Labour In

Which The Native Tribes Would More Willingly Engage Than Any Other I Am

Acquainted With.

 

Immediately Off North-West Cape Is Good Whaling Ground. The Schooner

Employed On The Expedition Fell In With Two Vessels--The Favourite,

Captain White,  And The Diana,  Captain Hamott,  Whalers Belonging To

Messrs. Bennett & Co.,  Of London,  And Then Fishing Between North-West

Cape And The Position Usually Assigned To The Tryal Rocks. Both These

Vessels Had Been Very Successful.

 

Commercial Prospects. Trade With The Asiatic Archipelago.

 

With Regard To The Commerce That Might Be Carried On By Northern

Australia With The Islands Of The Indian Archipelago I Have Made Many

Enquiries,  And Have Gained From The Most Authentic Sources Some Important

Facts.

 

The Points Upon Which I First Endeavoured To Obtain Information Were:

 

1. What Desire Was Evinced By The Inhabitants Of The Islands Of The

Indian Archipelago And The China Sea To Become Possessed Of Articles Of

British Manufacture; And,

 

2. If They Were Able To Pay A Fair Price,  Either In Money,  Or By Giving

Goods For Which There Would Be A Demand In European Markets,  In Exchange

For Such Articles Of British Manufacture As Might Be Introduced Amongst

Them.

 

Upon Both Of These Points I Received Very Satisfactory Information. In

Some Instances Most Respectable Merchants Detailed To Me The Result Of

Speculations Of This Kind In Which They Had Been Engaged; In Others

Mercantile Letters Were Placed In My Hands,  Fully Corroborating What Had

Been Told Me; But The Information I Thus Obtained Bore Reference Also To

The Following Points:

 

1. The Degree Of Labour Necessarily Required To Transport Articles Of

British Manufacture To Such A Distant Mart As The One Here Contemplated

For Their Consumption.

 

2. The Length Of Time During Which Wages Must Be Paid To And Food

Provided For The Individuals Engaged In This Labour.

 

3. The Duties To Which The Articles Will Become Liable In The Various

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Ports; And,

 

4. The Danger Of Loss Or Injury That May Be Incurred In Their Transport

Thither.

 

With Regard To The Two First Of The Above Heads It Appears That The

Profit That May Be Realized By The Trader Is So Considerable As Not Only

To Cover The Expenses That They Would Necessarily Entail Upon Him; But

After These Expenses Have Been Defrayed The Residue Of Profit That Would

Remain In His Hands Would Be So Large As To Render This Commerce One Of

The Most Lucrative In Which Capital Could Be Embarked.

 

Method Of Barter.

 

This Will Be Readily Conceived When It Is Considered That The Mode Of

Barter Is That Which Is Most Usual Amongst The Inhabitants,  And That The

Trader Puts His Own Valuation Upon The Articles He Exchanges With Them.

One Of The Oldest And Most Respectable Merchants At The Cape Made A

Voyage Through These Islands For The Purpose Of Procuring Gold Dust,  And

He Detailed To Me The Mode In Which He Conducted The Traffic. A Spanish

Doubloon Was Placed In One Of The Scales,  And Gold Dust In The Other;

When The Quantity Of Gold Dust Was Equal In Weight To The Doubloon,  He

Gave A Doubloon's Worth Of Goods They Required,  At His Own Valuation; The

Profit Realized Was Large.

 

One Great Drawback To This Commerce At Present Is The Necessity Of

Coasting From Place To Place In Order To Obtain A Full Cargo. The Same

Inconvenience Was Felt Along The Coasts Of Africa And Madagascar Until

Some Enterprising London And Liverpool Mercantile Houses Established The

System Of Receiving Vessels,  Which Remained Stationary At One Point

Whilst Smaller Vessels Collected Cargoes For Them. Now A Colony In Some

Northern Part Of Australia Would In The Same Manner Totally Obviate This

Inconvenience By Affording A Place In Which Cargoes Could Be Collected

From Small Vessels,  And To Which The British Manufactures To Be Exchanged

Could Be Brought. Kupang In Timor At The Present Moment Is Used For This

Purpose By The Dutch.

 

Duties Levied At The Islands.

 

With Regard To The Third Point I Find That At The Native Ports,  In

General,  No Duty Is Required; But Where There Is A Rajah It Is Politic To

Make Him A Present In Goods. The Duties Levied By The Portuguese At Dili

In The Month Of June 1838 Was 10 Per Cent. With Regard To The Duties

Levied By The Dutch On British Merchant Vessels I Know But Little; But

The Duty Demanded At Kupang And Roti On Each Horse Exported,  Or Each

Musket Imported,  Was Six Rupees,  Being Almost Equal To Their Original

Value. Arms Or Ammunition Are No Longer Contraband Either In The Dutch Or

Portuguese Possessions.

 

In Considering The Danger Of Loss Or Injury That May Be Incurred In The

Transport Of Merchandise To These Parts It Is Unnecessary To Compute The

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Ordinary Dangers To Which The Merchant Is More Or Less Liable In All

Quarters Of The World; But Two Distinct Drawbacks To Commercial

Enterprise At Present Exist In These Countries,  Which Are Peculiar To

Them,  These Are The Prevalence Of Piracy,  And The Constant Occurrence Of

Political Commotions In The Native States. The Establishment Of A

Settlement On The North Or North-West Coast Of New Holland Would Have

However The Effect Of Diminishing Both These Evils In So Great A Degree

That A Very Few Years Would Probably Suffice For Their Complete

Annihilation.

 

Success Of American Vessels. Causes Of It.

 

Notwithstanding The Drawbacks Occasioned To Commercial Enterprise By The

Circumstances Above Detailed,  There At This Moment Exists A Very

Considerable Trade In The Indian Archipelago,  Which Is,  With The

Exception Of The Few Vessels That Sometimes Bring Ponies To The Isle Of

France And The British Settlements,  Almost Wholly In The Hands Of The

Americans. Indeed No Fact Which I Have Met With Has So Much Surprised Me

As The Extraordinary Diffusion Of The American Commerce,  And The Great

Spirit Of Enterprise Exhibited By Them. For In Many Places Where The

British Merchants Can Find No Commerce Apparently Worth Their Attention

The Americans Carry On A Lucrative And Prosperous Trade,  And In

Half-Civilized Countries,  Where The Largest Profits Are Always Realized,

The Americans Are So Eminently Successful That The British Merchant

Cannot Attempt To Compete With Them.

 

This Appears To Arise From The Following Circumstance. The Masters Of The

American Vessels Engaged In This Kind Of Trade Are,  In Many Instances,

Whole,  And In All Other Instances,  Part Owners Of The Vessel And Cargo;

Whereas Masters Of English Vessels Have Frequently Little Or No Interest

In The Vessel And Cargo,  And Are Moreover Frequently Tied Down By

Directions Issued From The Firm For Which They Act.

 

The Difference Between These Two Cases Is Very Great; The American Can

Turn Every Circumstance That Occurs To Account: He Can Instantly Enter

Into Any Speculation That Holds Out A Prospect Of Success; And Can Act

With Rapidity And Decision On His Own Responsibility. The English Master,

On The Contrary,  Has Usually A Certain Prescribed Line Of Duty To Fulfil,

From Which He Cannot Vary.

 

Hence It Is That We Often See The American Whalers With Arms,  Ammunition,

And Other Articles For Barter On Board. They Whale Off Madagascar,  And,

Whenever An Opportunity Offers,  Carry On A Lucrative Trade With The

Natives. From Thence Their Course Is Directed To St. Paul's And

Amsterdam,  And Afterwards Along The Coast Of New Holland; And When It

Again Becomes Necessary For Them To Refresh They Touch At Some Island In

The Archipelago,  And The Scene Of Barter Is Once More Renewed. Their

Cargo Eventually Consists Of Sperm Oil,  Gum Copal And Other Gums,  Ebony,

Tortoiseshell,  Gold Dust,  Seal-Skins,  Shells,  And Curiosities; Yet They

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Physical Geography Commercial Prospects) Pg 175

Originally Started Upon A Whaling Voyage.

 

Instances.

 

During The Years 1824 And 1825,  When The Port Of Mombas Upon The East

Coast Of Africa Was Temporarily Ceded To The British Government,

Lieutenant Emery,  R.N.,  Who Was Stationed There As Commander,  Was Witness

To A Curious Instance Of This Nature.

 

Whilst This Port Was In The Possession Of The English But One British

Merchant Vessel Arrived There,  Yet Three American Vessels Entered The

Harbour. The Master Of The English Vessel Was Not A Part Owner; The

American Masters Were All Part Owners And Carried On A Very Lucrative

Trade,  Shipping A Large Quantity Of Ivory,  Whereas The English Master Was

Placed In A Very Unpleasant Position,  For,  Owing To The Orders He Had

Received From His Owners (Messrs Tobin And Co. Of Liverpool) He Had Not

Been Able To Ship A Cargo Suited To The Market Of Mombas,  And If

Lieutenant Emery Had Not Kindly Cashed A Bill For Him The Speculation

Would Have Been A Total Failure.

 

The Cargo These American Vessels Brought To Mombas Was Principally

Muskets And Ammunition,  Which They Bartered With The Natives For Ivory;

And This Is The Cargo They Always Ship For Trade With The Inhabitants Of

The Indian Archipelago,  And,  As Muskets And Ammunition Are There Of Great

Value,  The Profit They Realize Is Enormous.

 

As An Instance Of The Kind Of Persons These American Masters Often Are I

May State The Following Circumstance.

 

Captain Wickham,  R.N.,  Was At Valparaiso In South America In The Year

1836,  Where He Met A Purser In The American Navy Who Had Realized About

3000 Pounds Sterling; This Person Here Quitted The American Service And

Laid Out His Capital In The Purchase Of A Small Vessel In Which,  Having

Embarked A Cargo Suited To The Trade Of The Country,  He Started For The

Coast Of California; In A Short Period He Returned To Valparaiso,  Having

In This Single Trip More Than Doubled His Capital; This Captain Wickham

Also Stated Was By No Means A Rare Instance.

 

Trading Products Of The Several Islands.

 

Having Bestowed Some Attention On The State Of Trade In The Indian

Archipelago,  And Collected Considerable Information From Various

Individuals Who Had Been Engaged In It,  I Shall Here Subjoin A Summary Of

Such Of The Principal Facts As I Think May Be Depended On.

 

Trade With Timor.

 

In All The Ports Of The Natives,  As Well As Those Under The Dutch And

Portuguese Authorities,  The Produce Is Much The Same. It Consists Chiefly