File 2830/1914 Pt 2 'Persian Gulf: Pearl Fisheries. Investigation into Alleged Depletion of Pearl Banks. Germans and the Industry. Concessions, etc.' [‎254v] (521/578)

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ground of ill-health, declined to take lector M H e ?h^e«^
brother of the Mastei Attendan , was , ointm e n t was re-appointed on a reduced salary
remained on the banks a short ime g e p 1 p from the banks and gent to car ry the English
wet ^io^bo^dBoibir Thelwo Government vesse.e, the •< Wellington ” and “ Anne|
were 6old r V 00 ^ of the Commissioners of Inquiry, that an officer
In my numDie opinion bM aV . A 1 l i fl bpi annointed, was a good one. It was a mistake
to be called ^ u P er ? S b r ^ ^de him an independent officer instead of Assistant (as suggested by
however, as I believe to have MWor Attendant. I have been told by those who knew
Captain Steuart) to the Inspec o x , re ] a ^ ons between them were very strained, and they
Captain Steuart and Mr. Qumton w wondered at Mr Quinton was an elderly man with a
would not work together. This J^cUo the poM He had been in the Na^y most of his
wife and family of grown-up son independent- Post at Arippu, it is evident (from Captain
life, and, though holding nomma 7 placed under Captain Steuart, and this he of course
Steuart’s ‘‘^ cc ^ t , h ) ^ in Mr G. Steuart acted apparently as Inspector for twelve
mon^hs^'an^was^ien^sent^^carry th^mmls^between^Colombo^nd^Bombay^^Captain^James^Steuart
retired°£rfter^the fishery of that yeai. The ha8 ^ BinC6 been
held by his successors, Captain Higgs, Captain Pritchard, and Captain Donnan.
Supervisor.
y° rs ^ e ^ fishery ^f r i 86 ^ m The a appoiiftment^is e notraade^on r the same lines
Xlt Sr 6 Q^nto^ e Acc 1 ording b to b s e o r me > instructions issued to him by Mr. Vane, he was apparently
to consider himself as immediately responsible to Mr. Vane.
Diving Bells.
In 1825 at the instance of Sir Edward Barnes, two diving bells were brought out from England
for use on the pearl banks. I find the following notes regarding them in Captain Steuart s “Account,
page 20 :— .
It had been believed by many persons that the native divers employed by Government at the examination ot
the banks were subiect to the improper influence of certain wealthy natives who were suspected of employing boats
and divers to rob the oyster beds, and that therefore the reports given by the divers could not be depended upon It
had also been said that the oyster beds were at some periods overwhelmed with drifted sand, which at othei times
passed away To clear up these doubtful reports appears to have been one, if not the only use, of the diving bells,
for one native diver at a pearl fishery would collect more oysters in a day than could be obtained by all the men that
could work in a diving bell. a
Mr. Jonville makes the following remark in his report (see Captain Steuart s “Account,
page 51) :—
It also appears from the same report that the Dutch used diving bells, which were not found to answer the
purpose expected.
On the above statement the Hon. Mr. Robert Boyd made the following remark (page 02, Steuart s
“ Account ”) :—
The inapplicability of the diving bells to fishing for oysters arises from the difficulty of working such a machine
and from the small surface included within its circumference.
The cost of working the diving bellsf is not given, but it must have been considerable. The
persons sent down in the bells were soldiers of one of the regiments, as I was informed. ^
Captain Steuart makes special mention of the good services rendered by the “ Seaforth,
especiallv in towing into position the unwieldly inspection boats in 1840. She was, however, removed
from the banks as remarked in 1841, turned into a mail packet, and sent to carry the mails between
Colombo and Bombay. She was no doubt too expensive a vessel for service on the pearl banks. She
was again employed for a short time at inspections in 1851, 1852, and 1853, was sold off in lb54, and
was sent to Cochin to be converted into a sailing vessel, and was there burnt. The “ Wellington
and “ Anne ” having been sold, Captain Steuart had to revert to a hired sailing vessel, and made the
inspections for the fishery of 1855 in a brig, the “ Rangoon.” All the inspections and fisheries from
that time to 1858 were made in a hired native schooner, the “ Geraldine,” with the native inspection
boats and two English boats belonging to the Master Attendant’s Department, Colombo, which were
sent up for inspections and fisheries.
Inspections previous to 1841 unsatisfactory, but not expensive.
The inspections thus made up to 1858, unsatisfactory though they were in some respects, were
not at the same time expensive. To 1840, as remarked, two Government sailing _ vessels, the
“Wellington” and the “Anne,” were alternately employed in guarding the banks and in inspection
The pearl fishery headmen received certain privileges at a fishery up to 1862, and the Adigar
up to 1863, and were bound to supply boats at a fixed rate for inspections and for guard ^boats at
fisheries. The upkeep of the “Wellington” amounted to £850 (see Steuart’s “Account’). Ihe
“Wellington” and “Anne” rendered good service in other ways in conveying troops, stores, «c.,
and a number of Ceylon lads were trained in them as seamen, and some of them were afterwards
employed in the Master Attendant’s Department, Colombo and Galle, in the “ Seaforth,” and on the *
* Mr. G-eo. Steuart was subsequently head of the firm of Geo. Steuart & Co., the firm having been founded by Cap a
James Steuart, who retired in 1855, leaving the firm of Geo. Steuart & Co. to Geo. Steuart, who himself retired from the r
somewhere about 1860, taking out a large sum of money (it is said £80,000). Managing the firm of Geo. Steuart & Do.
evidently more profitable than commanding the “ Seaforth ” on £300 a year. _ , r
f I find by a memorandum in page 74 of Steuart’s “ Account,” that the estimated cost of the diving bell establishmen p
annum came to £47. The cost of the bells seems to have been £1,700.