Those persons to whom the inspection and management of our numerous
and extensive prisons in England are committed will perform a service
to society by attending to the foregoing observation. Let us always keep
in view, that punishment, when not directed to promote reformation,
is arbitrary, and unauthorised.
CHAPTER XIX.
Facts relating to the probability of establishing a whale fishery
on the coast of New South Wales, with Thoughts on the same.
In every former part of this publication I have studiously avoided
mentioning a whale fishery, as the information relating to it will,
I conceive, be more acceptably received in this form, by those to whom it
is addressed, than if mingled with other matter.
Previous to entering on this detail, it must be observed that several of
the last fleet of ships which had arrived from England with convicts,
were fitted out with implements for whale fishing, and were intended to
sail for the coast of Brazil to pursue the fishery, immediately on having
landed the convicts.
On the 14th of October, 1791, the 'Britannia', Captain Melville, one of
these ships, arrived at Sydney. In her passage between Van Diemen's Land
and Port Jackson, the master reported that he had seen a large shoal
of spermaceti whales. His words were, 'I saw more whales at one time
around my ship than in the whole of six years which I have fished on the
coast of Brazil.'
This intelligence was no sooner communicated than all the whalers were
eager to push to sea. Melville himself was among the most early; and on
the 10th of November, returned to Port Jackson, more confident of success
than before. He assured me that in the fourteen days which he had been
out, he had seen more spermaced whales than in all his former life.
They amounted, he said to many thousands, most of them of enormous
magnitude; and had he not met with bad weather he could have killed
as many as he pleased. Seven he did kill, but owing to the stormy
agitated state of the water, he could not get any of them aboard. In one
however, which in a momentary interval of calm, was killed and secured
by a ship in company, he shared. The oil and head matter of this fish,
he extolled as of an extraordinary fine quality. He was of opinion the
former would fetch ten pounds per ton more in London than that procured
on the Brazil coast. He had not gone farther south than 37 degrees;
and described the latitude of 35 degrees to be the place where the whales
most abounded, just on the edge of soundings, which here extends about
fifteen leagues from the shore; though perhaps, on other parts of the
coast the bank will be found to run hardly so far off.
